History of Today in India – 27 March

Explore the history of today 27 March in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 27 March 2026, 04:21 AM

📜 Important Events on 27 March in World History

• 27 Mar 2023: Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed in a mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Read more
• 27 Mar 2023: Forty people are killed in a fire at a migrant detention facility in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Read more
• 27 Mar 2020: North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of NATO. Read more
• 27 Mar 2016: A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claims over 70 lives and leaves almost 300 others injured. The target of the bombing are Christians celebrating Easter. Read more
• 27 Mar 2015: Al-Shabab militants attack and temporarily occupy a Mogadishu hotel leaving at least 20 people dead. Read more
• 27 Mar 2014: Philippines signs a peace accord with the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, ending decades of conflict. Read more
• 27 Mar 2009: The dam forming Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails, killing at least 99 people. Read more
• 27 Mar 2004: HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe. Read more
• 27 Mar 2002: Passover massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel. Read more
• 27 Mar 2002: Nanterre massacre: In Nanterre, France, a gunman opens fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors; 19 other people are injured. Read more
• 27 Mar 2000: A Phillips Petroleum plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas kills one person and injures 71 others. Read more
• 27 Mar 1999: Kosovo War: An American Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk is shot down by a Yugoslav Army SAM, the first and only Nighthawk to be lost in combat. Read more
• 27 Mar 1998: The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States. Read more
• 27 Mar 1993: Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People’s Republic of China. Read more
• 27 Mar 1993: Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo. Read more
• 27 Mar 1990: The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí. Read more
• 27 Mar 1986: A car bomb explodes outside Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, Australia, killing one police officer and injuring 21 people. Read more
• 27 Mar 1981: The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours. Read more
• 27 Mar 1980: The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212. Read more
• 27 Mar 1977: Tenerife airport disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 248 on KLM and 335 on Pan Am). Sixty-one survived on the Pan Am flight. This is the deadliest aviation accident in history. Read more
• 27 Mar 1976: The first section of the Washington Metro opens to the public. Read more
• 27 Mar 1975: Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins. Read more
• 27 Mar 1964: The Good Friday earthquake, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage. Read more
• 27 Mar 1958: Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union. Read more
• 27 Mar 1945: World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan’s ports and waterways begins. Argentina declares war on the Axis Powers. Read more
• 27 Mar 1943: World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands: In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska. Read more
• 27 Mar 1942: The Holocaust: Nazi Germany and Vichy France begin the deportation of 65,000 Jews from Drancy internment camp to German extermination camps. Read more
• 27 Mar 1941: World War II: Yugoslav Air Force officers topple the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup. Read more
• 27 Mar 1938: Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Taierzhuang begins, resulting several weeks later in the war’s first major Chinese victory over Japan. Read more
• 27 Mar 1933: Japanese invasion of Manchuria: Japan leaves the League of Nations after it approves the Lytton Report that ruled in favour of China. Read more
• 27 Mar 1918: The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania. Read more
• 27 Mar 1915: Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States, is put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life. Read more
• 27 Mar 1912: First Lady Helen Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, plant two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the origin of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Read more
• 27 Mar 1901: Philippine–American War: Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of the First Philippine Republic, is captured by the Americans. Read more
• 27 Mar 1899: Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino forces for the only time during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Marilao River. Read more
• 27 Mar 1886: Geronimo, Apache warrior, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars. Read more
• 27 Mar 1884: A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and burn down the courthouse. Read more
• 27 Mar 1871: The first international rugby football match, when Scotland defeats England in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place. Read more
• 27 Mar 1866: President of the United States of America Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9. Read more
• 27 Mar 1836: Texas Revolution: On the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican Army massacres 342 Texian Army POWs at Goliad, Texas. Read more
• 27 Mar 1814: War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Read more
• 27 Mar 1809: Peninsular War: A combined Franco-Polish force defeats the Spanish in the Battle of Ciudad Real. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 27 March in World History

• 27 Mar 2002: Daria Snigur, Ukrainian tennis player Daria Serhiivna Snigur is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 105 in singles, achieved on 14 November 2022. Snigur has won 11 singles titles at tournaments of the ITF Women’s Circuit. Read more
• 27 Mar 2001: Natanael Cano, Mexican rapper and singer Natanael Rubén Cano Monge is a Mexican singer, musician and rapper. Natanael is known for his fusion of trap music and regional Mexican corridos, known as corridos tumbados. The idea to fuse the two genres was proposed by Dan Sanchez who wrote Natanael’s first corrido tumbado, “Soy el Diablo”. Read more
• 27 Mar 2000: Halle Bailey, American singer-songwriter and actress Halle Lynn Bailey, also known mononymously as Halle, is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She first became known as a member of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Chloe Bailey. They have released the albums The Kids Are Alright (2018) and Ungodly Hour (2020), and have together earned five Grammy Award nominations. In 2023, Bailey released her debut solo single “Angel”, which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. On October 24, 2025, she released her debut solo studio album Love?… or Something Like It. Read more
• 27 Mar 2000: Sophie Nélisse, Canadian actress Marie-Sophie Nélisse is a Canadian actress. She made her film debut in the French-language drama Monsieur Lazhar (2011), for which she won a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress. She played Liesel Meminger in the 2013 war drama The Book Thief, young Joan Fischer in the biographical film Pawn Sacrifice (2014), Casey Caraway in the coming-of-age drama Mean Dreams (2016), Aster in The Rest of Us (2019), and Irena Gut in Irena’s Vow (2023). Since 2021, she has starred as Shauna Shipman in the Showtime psychological thriller series Yellowjackets and as Rose Landry in the Canadian sports romance series Heated Rivalry. Read more
• 27 Mar 1999: Jesser, American YouTuber Jesse Riedel, better known as Jesser, formerly JesserTheLazer, is an American YouTuber who makes videos based around basketball, being the largest basketball creator on the platform. His videos usually include challenges or meeting professional athletes. Read more
• 27 Mar 1999: Alex O’Connor, English media personality Alex J. O’Connor, also known as CosmicSkeptic, is an English podcaster and YouTuber. He is known for his videos on philosophy on YouTube, most notably on the subjects of ethics, religion and atheism. Read more
• 27 Mar 1998: Giannis Bouzoukis, Greek footballer Giannis Bouzoukis is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League club Volos. Read more
• 27 Mar 1997: Lisa, Thai rapper and dancer Lalisa Manobal, known mononymously as Lisa, is a Thai rapper, singer, dancer, and actress. She rose to prominence as a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, which debuted under YG Entertainment in August 2016 and became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Read more
• 27 Mar 1995: Bill Tuiloma, New Zealand footballer Bill Poni Tuiloma is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for A-League Men club Wellington Phoenix. Read more
• 27 Mar 1993: Brandon Nimmo, American baseball player Brandon Tate Nimmo is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets. Nimmo was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut with them in 2016. Read more
• 27 Mar 1992: Marc Muniesa, Spanish footballer Marc Muniesa Martínez is a Spanish professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back or left-back for Qatari Stars League club Al Shahaniya. Read more
• 27 Mar 1991: London on da Track, American record producer London Tyler Holmes, known professionally as London on da Track, is an American record producer and rapper. He is a frequent collaborator of fellow Atlanta rapper Young Thug, and has also produced songs for Kodak Black, Nicki Minaj, Tyga, Lil Wayne, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Rich Homie Quan, Gucci Mane, Birdman, Saweetie, Sfera Ebbasta, Post Malone, T.I., G-Eazy, 50 Cent, Summer Walker, Roddy Ricch and Ariana Grande, among others. Read more
• 27 Mar 1990: Erdin Demir, Swedish-Turkish footballer Erdin Demir is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a left back. He played in Sweden, Norway, and Belgium during a career that spanned between 2008 and 2021. A full international between 2012 and 2014, he won six caps for the Sweden national team. Read more
• 27 Mar 1990: Ben Hunt, Australian rugby league player Benjamin Hunt is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a mix of hooker, five-eighth and halfback for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League, with whom he won the 2025 NRL Grand Final. He has also represented the Queensland Maroons at State of Origin level. Read more
• 27 Mar 1990: Nicolas Nkoulou, Cameroonian footballer Nicolas Julio Nkoulou Ndoubena is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Read more
• 27 Mar 1990: Luca Zuffi, Swiss footballer Luca Zuffi is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as midfielder for Winterthur. Read more
• 27 Mar 1990: Kimbra, New Zealand musician Kimbra Lee Johnson, known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and seven New Zealand Music Awards. Read more
• 27 Mar 1990: Brodha V, Indian rapper and music producer Vighnesh Shivanand, better known by his stage name Brodha V, is an Indian rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Kanchipuram, the Bengaluru-based artist started rapping at the age of 18 and took part in online rap battles on Orkut. As an independent artist, Brodha V released a mixtape called Deathpunch! which had a limited release and which garnered him some attention from the hip hop fraternity and the independent music circuit in Southern India. Read more
• 27 Mar 1989: Matt Harvey, American baseball player Matthew Edward Harvey, nicknamed “the Dark Knight”, is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Baltimore Orioles. Read more
• 27 Mar 1989: Camilla Lees, New Zealand netball player Camilla Lees is a New Zealand netball player. Read more
• 27 Mar 1988: Jessie J, English singer-songwriter Jessica Ellen Cornish, known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Republic Records, Jessie J came to prominence with the release of her debut single, “Do It like a Dude”, which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Her following single, “Price Tag”, was an international success, topping the charts in nineteen countries, including the UK. It was followed by the release of her debut album, Who You Are (2011), which peaked at number two in the UK. Other singles from the album included “Nobody’s Perfect”, “Who You Are”, “Domino” and “Laserlight”, all of which peaked within the top ten in the UK, making Jessie J the first British female artist to have six top-ten singles from a sole studio album. Read more
• 27 Mar 1988: Atsuto Uchida, Japanese footballer Atsuto Uchida is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Read more
• 27 Mar 1988: Brenda Song, American actress Brenda Song is an American actress. Born in Carmichael, California, Song began her career at the age of six, working as a child model. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the sitcom Thunder Alley (1995), and went on to roles such as the children’s television series Fudge (1995) and the Nickelodeon series 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd (1999). She starred in the Disney Channel original film The Ultimate Christmas Present (2000), which won her a Young Artist Award. She subsequently signed a contract with Disney Channel and earned widespread recognition for playing the titular character in the action film Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (2006), and London Tipton in The Suite Life franchise (2005–2011), earning her acclaim and two Young Hollywood Awards. She additionally played the recurring role of Tia in Phil of the Future (2004–2005), and had starring roles in the television film Get a Clue (2002), the sports comedy film Like Mike (2002) and the comedy film Stuck in the Suburbs (2004). Read more
• 27 Mar 1988: Mauro Goicoechea, Uruguayan footballer Mauro Daniel Goicoechea Furia is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Uruguayan Primera División team Danubio. Read more
• 27 Mar 1988: Holliday Grainger, English actress Holliday Clark Grainger, also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children’s series Roger and the Rottentrolls, Lucrezia Borgia in the Showtime series The Borgias, Robin Ellacott in the BBC One crime drama Strike, Rachel Carey in the Peacock/BBC One conspiracy thriller The Capture, and Estella in Mike Newell’s 2012 film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1861 novel Great Expectations. Read more
• 27 Mar 1987: Jefferson Bernárdez, Honduran footballer Jefferson Jair Bernárdez Bennett is a Honduran football forward who currently plays for Parrillas One. Read more
• 27 Mar 1987: Samuel Francis, Nigerian-Qatari sprinter Samuel Adelebari Francis is a sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres. He was born in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, Nigeria. He is a naturalized Qatari and has competed for Qatar from July 2007. His personal best of 9.99 seconds is the former Asian record for the 100 m. Read more
• 27 Mar 1987: Polina Gagarina, Russian singer-songwriter Polina Sergeyevna Gagarina is a Russian singer and songwriter. She represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with “A Million Voices” where she finished second with 303 points. In doing so, she became the first second-placed finisher to exceed 300 points. Gagarina also participated in the Chinese reality-competition Singer in 2019, where she was one of the finalists. Read more
• 27 Mar 1987: Buster Posey, American baseball player Gerald Dempsey “Buster” Posey III is an American baseball executive and former professional baseball catcher. He is currently the president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Giants, from 2009 until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2021 season. Internationally, Posey represented the United States. In the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC), he helped win Team USA’s first gold medal in a WBC tournament. Read more
• 27 Mar 1986: Manuel Neuer, German footballer Manuel Peter Neuer is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper and is the captain of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Considered one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the sport, and one of the greatest ever and most influential goalkeepers of all time, Neuer has been described as a “sweeper-keeper” because of his playing style and speed when rushing off his line to anticipate opponents, going out of the penalty area. He was named the best goalkeeper of the decade from 2011 to 2020 by IFFHS. Read more
• 27 Mar 1985: Dustin Byfuglien, American ice hockey player Dustin Byfuglien, nicknamed “Big Buff”, is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Winnipeg Jets. Drafted as a defenseman, he played both forward and defense in his career, though he generally played defense in his later seasons. Byfuglien helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2010. Byfuglien was the first Black American-born player to win the Stanley Cup. Byfuglien became a professional fisherman after his hockey career. Read more
• 27 Mar 1985: Danny Vukovic, Australian footballer Daniel Vukovic is a former Australian professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the goalkeeping coach for Central Coast Mariners FC. Vukovic also represented the Australian national team during his career. Vukovic is the holder of several A-League records: he has the most clean sheets of any goalkeeper in A-League history (103), and he is the only goalkeeper to score in the A-League. Read more
• 27 Mar 1984: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Australian rugby player Adam Ashley-Cooper, nicknamed “Swoop” and “Mr. Versatile”, is an Australian former rugby union player who last played for the LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby (MLR). He has played in 121 matches for Australia, the third most of any Australia player at the time of his retirement. He was the senior assistant coach for backs with the LA Giltinis. Read more
• 27 Mar 1984: Ben Franks, Australian-born New Zealand rugby player Ben John Franks is an Australian-born New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He played as a prop. He is one of only 43 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions. Read more
• 27 Mar 1984: Brett Holman, Australian footballer Brett Trevor Holman is an Australian former professional soccer player who last played for Brisbane Roar in the A-League as an attacking midfielder. Read more
• 27 Mar 1983: Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter Yuliya Alekseyevna Golubchikova is a Russian pole vaulter. Read more
• 27 Mar 1983: Vasily Koshechkin, Russian ice hockey player Vasily Vladimirovich Koshechkin is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played exclusively in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Read more
• 27 Mar 1983: Román Martínez, Argentinian footballer Román Fernando Martínez Scharner is an Argentine former footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
• 27 Mar 1982: Shawn Beveney, Guyanese footballer Shawn Beveney is a Guyanese footballer who plays for Haringey Borough F.C. Read more
• 27 Mar 1981: Terry McFlynn, Irish footballer Terence Martin “Terry” McFlynn is a retired footballer from Northern Ireland who is most well known for playing for the A-League club Sydney FC. He is the director of football for A-League expansion club Auckland FC. Read more
• 27 Mar 1981: Akhil Kumar, Indian boxer Akhil Kumar is an Indian boxer who has won several international and national boxing awards. He practices an “open guarded” boxing style. In 2005, the Indian government gave him the Arjuna Award for his achievements in international boxing. In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Akhil Kumar along with Mary Kom as national observers for boxing. Read more
• 27 Mar 1981: Jukka Keskisalo, Finnish runner Jukka Pekka Sakari Keskisalo is a Finnish athlete competing in 3000 m steeplechase and 1500 m. He won the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg and was also an Olympian in 2012. Read more
• 27 Mar 1981: Hilda Kibet, Kenyan runner Hilda Kibet is a Dutch runner of Kenyan birth. She is the sister of Sylvia Kibet and the niece of Lornah Kiplagat. She obtained Dutch nationality in October 2007. Read more
• 27 Mar 1981: Cacau, Brazilian-German footballer Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto, known as Cacau, is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Brazil, he represented Germany at international level. Read more
• 27 Mar 1981: JJ Lin, Singaporean singer-songwriter Wayne Lim Junjie, professionally known as JJ Lin, is a Singaporean singer, songwriter, record producer, and businessman. Known for his vocal performances in the Chinese-speaking world, Lin achieved recognition with his pop ballads, songwriting, and emotional vocal delivery. Read more
• 27 Mar 1980: Sean Ryan, American football player Sean P. Ryan is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL draft. Read more
• 27 Mar 1980: Michaela Paštiková, Czech tennis player Michaela Paštiková is a retired tennis player from the Czech Republic. Read more
• 27 Mar 1980: Maksim Shevchenko, Kazakhstani footballer Maksim Igorevich Shevchenko is a Kazakhstani professional football coach and former player. He works as a deputy director at the academy of the Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. He also holds Russian citizenship. Read more
• 27 Mar 1979: Tom Palmer, English rugby union player Tom Palmer is a former English rugby union player. His position is a lock Read more
• 27 Mar 1979: Mohsen Moeini, Iranian author and director Mohsen Moeini is an Iranian author and director. His work mainly centers around his philosophical and historical preoccupations. As well as directing his own plays, he has directed plays by foreign authors such as Peter Handke and Rainer Werner Fassbinder whose works he staged in Iran for the first time. He has directed the first play to be staged in the Milad Tower. Read more
• 27 Mar 1979: Imran Tahir, Pakistani-South African cricketer Mohammad Imran Tahir is a South African former international cricketer. A spin bowler who predominantly bowls googlies and a right-handed batsman, Tahir played for South Africa in all three formats of cricket. Read more
• 27 Mar 1979: Jennifer Wilson, Zimbabwean-South African field hockey player Jennifer “Jen” Wilson is a former South Africa international field hockey player who became a coach after retiring as a player. She was appointed Head Coach for Scotland on a 3-year contract, starting on 1 August 2018. Read more
• 27 Mar 1978: Gabriel Paraschiv, Romanian footballer Gabriel Ioan Paraschiv is a Romanian former football player, currently the manager of Liga III side Flacăra Moreni. Read more
• 27 Mar 1978: Marius Bakken, Norwegian runner Marius Bakken is a Norwegian runner who specializes in the 5000 metres, having run distances from 800 to 10,000 metres in his early career. He represents IL Runar. Read more
• 27 Mar 1978: Amélie Cocheteux, French tennis player Amélie Cocheteux is a former professional tennis player from France. She reached her career-high ranking of No. 55 in the world on 10 May 1999. She defeated world No. 10, Nathalie Tauziat in the Prostějov tournament in 1999. As a junior, she won the 1995 French Open title. Read more
• 27 Mar 1977: Vítor Meira, Brazilian race car driver Vítor Meira is a Brazilian former auto racing driver. He formerly competed in the IndyCar Series and has twice finished second in the Indianapolis 500. Read more
• 27 Mar 1977: Ioannis Melissanidis, Greek artistic gymnast Ioannis Melissanidis is a retired Greek artistic gymnast and the 1996 Olympic champion on the floor exercise. He was also the first Greek gymnast ever to medal at the World Championships. He was named one of the 1996 Greek Male Athletes of the Year. Read more
• 27 Mar 1976: Roberta Anastase, Romanian politician, 57th President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania Roberta Alma Anastase is a Romanian politician and former first female President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania between 19 December 2008 and 3 July 2012. Read more
• 27 Mar 1976: Danny Fortson, American basketball player Daniel Anthony Fortson is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2007. Read more
• 27 Mar 1976: Adrian Anca, Romanian footballer Adrian Gheorghe Anca is a former Romanian football striker and manager. Read more
• 27 Mar 1975: Andrew Blowers, New Zealand rugby player Andrew Francis Blowers is a former rugby union player who played in the back row as either a flanker or number 8. He earned 11 caps for the New Zealand national team between 1996 and 1999. He retired from playing in 2009. Read more
• 27 Mar 1975: Kim Felton, Australian golfer Kim Felton is an Australian professional golfer. Read more
• 27 Mar 1975: Fergie, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress Stacy Ann “Fergie” Ferguson is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. After earning recognition as a child actress in the 1980s, Fergie achieved international fame as a member of the Black Eyed Peas from 2002 to 2018. During her tenure with the group, she also achieved success with her solo career, film and television appearances, and business ventures. Read more
• 27 Mar 1975: Christian Fiedler, German footballer and manager Christian Fiedler is a German football coach and former player who is goalkeeper coach at Greuther Fürth. A goalkeeper, he spent his entire playing career with Hertha BSC. Read more
• 27 Mar 1974: Marek Citko, Polish footballer and manager Marek Citko is a Polish former professional footballer who played as an offensive midfielder. During the professional career Citko represented numerous clubs in Poland and outside the native country, including Włókniarz Białystok, Jagiellonia Białystok, Widzew Łódź, Legia Warsaw, Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Hapoel Be’er Sheva, FC Aarau, Cracovia and Polonia Warsaw. Read more
• 27 Mar 1974: George Koumantarakis, Greek-South African footballer Georgios “George” Koumantarakis is a South African former soccer player of Greek descent. He was born in Athens, Greece but grew up in Durban, South Africa. He studied BCom & LLB degrees from the University Of Kwazulu Natal. Read more
• 27 Mar 1974: Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer Gaizka Mendieta Zabala is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
• 27 Mar 1973: Roger Telemachus, South African cricketer Roger Telemachus is a former South African international cricketer. He played 37 One Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals for his country. Read more
• 27 Mar 1972: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Surinamese-Dutch footballer, coach, and manager Jerrel “Jimmy” Floyd Hasselbaink is a professional football manager and former player who is now an assistant coach for the Suriname national team. Read more
• 27 Mar 1972: Charlie Haas, American professional wrestler Charles Doyle Haas II is an American professional and former amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2000 to 2009 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010 to 2013. In WWE he was a member of Team Angle, which later became a Tag team duo with Shelton Benjamin known as “The World’s Greatest Tag Team”. Read more
• 27 Mar 1971: David Coulthard, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster David Marshall Coulthard is a British former racing driver and broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from 1994 to 2008. Nicknamed “DC”, he was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship in 2001 with McLaren, and won 13 Grands Prix across 15 seasons. Read more
• 27 Mar 1971: Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor Nathan Christopher Fillion is a Canadian and American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds on Firefly and its film continuation Serenity, and Richard Castle on Castle. As of 2018, he stars as Officer John Nolan on The Rookie and is an executive producer on the show, as well as its spin-off series, The Rookie: Feds during its run, as well as being a producer on an upcoming spin-off, The Rookie: North. Read more
• 27 Mar 1970: Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (died 2001) Leila Pahlavi was a princess of Iran and the youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Shah and his third wife, Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi. Read more
• 27 Mar 1970: Derek Aucoin, Canadian baseball player (died 2020) Derek Alfred Aucoin was a Canadian professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in two games in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos during the 1996 season. He had a 0–1 record, in 2+2⁄3 innings, with a 3.38 ERA. He was signed by the Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent in 1989. Read more
• 27 Mar 1970: Brent Fitz, Canadian-American multi-instrumentalist and recording artist Brent Fitz is a Canadian-American musician and multi-instrumentalist. In his career, he has worked with Slash, Myles Kennedy, Theory of a Deadman, Alice Cooper, Vince Neil, Union, Gene Simmons, The Guess Who, Brad Whitford from Aerosmith, Derek St. Holmes, Ronnie Montrose, Indigenous, Lamya, Streetheart, Harlequin, and Econoline Crush. Read more
• 27 Mar 1970: Jarrod McCracken, New Zealand rugby league player Jarrod McCracken is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is a former captain of the New Zealand national rugby league team and is the son of New Zealand rugby league international, Ken McCracken. McCracken played club football in Australia, captaining both the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers during his career which ended with a spear tackle which he successfully sued for. During his time in the game, McCracken was regarded as one of the hardest running and most damaging centres in the world. Read more
• 27 Mar 1970: Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress Elizabeth Mitchell is an American actress. She received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her lead role as Juliet Burke on the ABC mystery drama series Lost (2006–2010). She also had lead roles on the television series V (2009–2010), Revolution (2012–2014), Dead of Summer (2016), and The Santa Clauses (2022–2023), for which she received a Children’s and Family Emmy Award nomination. She had recurring roles on the television series ER (2000–2001), Once Upon a Time (2014), The Expanse, and Outer Banks (2021–present). Read more
• 27 Mar 1970: Uwe Rosenberg, German game designer, created Bohnanza Uwe Rosenberg is a German game designer and the co-founder of Lookout Games. He initially became known for his card game Bohnanza, which was successful both in Germany and internationally. He is now renowned for developing many highly-acclaimed strategy games, such as Agricola and A Feast for Odin. As of May 2025, six of his games are on BoardGameGeek’s top 100 board games of all time, the most of any designer. Read more
• 27 Mar 1969: Gianluigi Lentini, Italian footballer and manager Gianluigi Lentini is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a winger. Read more
• 27 Mar 1969: Pauley Perrette, American actress Pauley Perrette is an American retired actress and singer. She played Abby Sciuto in the television series NCIS from 2003 to 2018. Read more
• 27 Mar 1969: Mariah Carey, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the “Songbird Supreme”, Carey is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, signature use of the whistle register, and diva persona. An influential figure in popular culture, she was ranked as the fifth-greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023. Read more
• 27 Mar 1968: Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete Irina Nikolaevna Belova is a retired heptathlete from Russia. In her early career she represented USSR, with a fourth place at the 1990 European Championships and a bronze medal at the 1991 World Championships. Her career highlight came in 1992 as she won an Olympic silver medal. In February the same year she set the world record in indoor pentathlon with 4991 points. She “won” the pentathlon at the 1993 World Indoor Championships, but failed a drug test and received a four-year suspension and her performance for the competition was nullified and she was forced to return the gold medal. Upon returning she won two silver medals at the European and World Indoor Championships respectively. She retired after the 2001 season. Read more
• 27 Mar 1967: Talisa Soto, American actress Talisa Soto is an American retired actress and model. She is known for portraying Bond girl Lupe Lamora in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill and Kitana in the 1995 fantasy action film Mortal Kombat and its 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Prior to her acting career, Soto worked as a model, appearing in magazines such as Mademoiselle, Glamour and Elle. Read more
• 27 Mar 1966: Žarko Paspalj, Serbian basketball player Žarko Paspalj is a Serbian former professional basketball player and sports administrator, who is currently the sporting director for Partizan of the Serbian Serbian League (KLS), the ABA League, and the EuroLeague. The EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 1994, his sixteen and a half seasons career was mostly spent in Yugoslavia and Greece, along with several short stints in the NBA, France, and Italy. Read more
• 27 Mar 1965: Gregor Foitek, Swiss race car driver Gregor Foitek is a Swiss former racing driver. He won the 1986 Swiss Formula 3 Championship. Foitek participated in 22 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 26 March 1989. He scored no championship points. He later made two CART starts for Foyt Enterprises in 1992 but was knocked out of both races by mechanical issues. Read more
• 27 Mar 1963: Cory Blackwell, American basketball player Cory Blackwell is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round of the 1984 NBA draft. Read more
• 27 Mar 1963: Randall Cunningham, American football player, coach, and pastor Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. is an American pastor and former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for his Minnesota Vikings tenure. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Cunningham is fourth in NFL quarterback rushing yards, which he led at the time of his retirement. Read more
• 27 Mar 1963: Georgios Katrougalos, Greek jurist and politician Georgios Katrougalos is a Greek jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from February to July 2019. He is currently UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order. He previously served as an Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs from 5 November 2016 to 15 February 2019, as the Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity from 23 September 2015 to 5 November 2016 and from 18 July 2015 to 28 August 2015. From 27 January 2015 to 17 July 2015 he served as an Alternate Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction in Tsipras’s first cabinet. Read more
• 27 Mar 1963: Filippos Sachinidis, Greek-Canadian economist and politician Filippos Sachinidis is a Greek politician of the Movement for Change. Elected on the list of his former party PASOK, he served as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament from 2007 to 2014. In 2012, he briefly served as Minister of Finance in the Coalition Cabinet of Lucas Papademos. Read more
• 27 Mar 1963: Gary Stevens, English-Australian footballer and physiotherapist Michael Gary Stevens is an English physiotherapist and retired footballer who played as a right-back. Read more
• 27 Mar 1963: Quentin Tarantino, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to popular culture. His work has earned a cult following alongside critical and commercial success; he has been named by some as the most influential director of his generation and has received numerous awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. His films have grossed more than $1.9 billion worldwide. Read more
• 27 Mar 1963: Xuxa, Brazilian actress, singer, businesswoman and television presenter Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel is a Brazilian TV host, actress, singer, and businesswoman. Nicknamed “The Queen of Children”, Xuxa built the largest Latin and South American children’s entertainment empire. In the early 1990s, she presented television programs in Brazil, Argentina, Spain and the United States simultaneously, reaching around 20 million viewers daily. According to different sources, the singer’s sales range between 30 and 50 million copies. Read more
• 27 Mar 1962: Jann Arden, Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter, author and actress. She is best known for her signature ballads, “Could I Be Your Girl” and “Insensitive”, which is her biggest hit to date, as well as other ballads, such as “Cherry Popsicle” and “I Would Die for You”. Read more
• 27 Mar 1962: Brett French, Australian rugby league player Brett French is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. A Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club football in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast, plus in England for St Helens R.F.C. He is also the brother of fellow Queensland Maroon Ian French. Read more
• 27 Mar 1962: Rob Hollink, Dutch poker player Rob Hollink is a professional poker player based in Groningen. He has won both a European Poker Tour (EPT) title and World Series of Poker bracelet, becoming the first person from the Netherlands to do so, first was at the EPT’s inaugural Grand Final of the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo in 2005 and then he won his first bracelet at the 2008 World Series of Poker in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em World Championship, becoming the first Dutch bracelet winner. Read more
• 27 Mar 1962: John O’Farrell, English journalist and author John O’Farrell is a British author, comedy scriptwriter and political campaigner. Previously a lead writer for such shows as Spitting Image and Have I Got News for You, he is now best known as a comic author for such books such as The Man Who Forgot His Wife and An Utterly Impartial History of Britain. He is one of a small number of British writers to have achieved best-seller status with both fiction and nonfiction. His books have been translated into around thirty languages and adapted for radio and television. Read more
• 27 Mar 1962: Brad Wright, American-Spanish basketball player Bradford William Wright, is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Daniel Murphy High School in Los Angeles, and played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. Wright was drafted by the NBA’s Golden State Warriors with the 49th pick of the 1985 NBA draft. He played 14 games with the New York Knicks and 2 games with the Denver Nuggets before injury. Read more
• 27 Mar 1962: Kevin J. Anderson, American science fiction writer Kevin James Anderson is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E. and The X-Files, and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the Dune prequel series. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award–nominated Assemblers of Infinity. He has also written several comic books, including the Dark Horse Star Wars series Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Dark Horse Predator titles, and The X-Files titles for Topps. Some of Anderson’s superhero novels include Enemies & Allies, about the first meeting of Batman and Superman, and The Last Days of Krypton, telling the story of how Superman’s planet Krypton came to be destroyed. Read more
• 27 Mar 1961: Ellery Hanley, English rugby league player and coach Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley is an English former rugby league player and coach. Over a nineteen-year professional career (1978–1997), he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Leeds. He won 36 caps for Great Britain, captaining the team from 1988 to 1992, and 2 for England. Nicknamed ‘Mr Magic’ and ‘The Black Pearl’, he played most often as a stand-off or loose forward after starting out as a centre or wing. Read more
• 27 Mar 1961: Tony Rominger, Swiss professional cyclist Tony Rominger is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d’Italia in 1995. Read more
• 27 Mar 1960: Hans Pflügler, German footballer Johannes Christian “Hans” Pflügler is a German former professional footballer. He could operate as either a left-back or a central defender, and played solely for Bayern Munich, winning ten major titles and appearing in nearly 400 official games. Read more
• 27 Mar 1960: Renato Russo, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1996) Renato Russo was a Brazilian musician who was the lead singer of the post-punk band Legião Urbana. A Brazilian film depicting his life and career was released in 2013, called Somos Tão Jovens. Read more
• 27 Mar 1959: Andrew Farriss, Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Charles Farriss is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. He released his debut solo album in 2021. Read more
• 27 Mar 1959: Ivan Savvidis, Russian-Greek oligarch and politician Ivan Ignatyevich Savvidi, also known as Ivan Savvidis, is a Russian-Greek businessman who has been called an oligarch. He is one of Russia’s wealthiest men and was a member of the Russian Parliament, closely linked to the President Vladimir Putin.
  According to Forbes, his fortune is estimated to $1.4 billion. Read more
• 27 Mar 1958: Didier de Radiguès, Belgian race car driver and motorcycle racer Didier de Radiguès is a Belgian former professional motorcycle racer, auto racing driver and current artist. He also serves as a television sports color commentator for Belgium television, a Moto GP riders manager and as the owner of a motorcycle riding school. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1980 to 1991. Read more
• 27 Mar 1957: Kostas Vasilakakis, Greek footballer and manager Kostas Vasilakakis is a Greek football manager and former footballer. His career began in 1973 at the age of 16 when he signed a contract with Panthrakikos. He was transferred to Doxa Drama in 1981 and fought in Alpha Ethniki for thirteen years. He ended his career as footballer of Doxa Drama in 1995 at the age of 38. Read more
• 27 Mar 1957: Stephen Dillane, English actor Stephen John Dillane is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Leonard Woolf in the 2002 film The Hours, Stannis Baratheon in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2012–2015) and Thomas Jefferson in the HBO miniseries John Adams (2008), a part which earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination. An experienced stage actor who has been called an “actor’s actor”, Dillane won a Tony Award for his lead performance in Tom Stoppard’s play The Real Thing (2000) and gave critically acclaimed performances in Angels in America (1993), Hamlet (1990), and a one-man Macbeth (2005). His television work has additionally garnered him BAFTA and International Emmy Awards for best actor. Read more
• 27 Mar 1956: Leung Kwok-hung, Hong Kong activist and politician Leung Kwok-hung, also known by his nickname “Long Hair” (長毛), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council, representing the New Territories East. A Trotskyist in his youth, he was a founding member of the Revolutionary Marxist League. He became a political icon with his long hair and Che Guevara T-shirt in the protests before he was elected to the Legislative Council in 2004. In 2006, he co-founded a social democratic party, the League of Social Democrats (LSD) of which he was the chairman from 2012 to 2016. Read more
• 27 Mar 1956: Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross country skier Lars Thomas Wassberg is a Swedish former cross-country skier. A fast skating style – push for every leg – is still called “Wassberg” after him in several countries. Wassberg’s skiing idols when growing up were Sixten Jernberg and Oddvar Brå. He has described his mental strength and physical fitness as his greatest abilities as a skier, with his main weakness being a lack of sprinting ability. Read more
• 27 Mar 1955: Patrick McCabe, Irish writer Patrick McCabe is an Irish writer. Known for his mostly dark and violent novels set in contemporary—often small-town—Ireland, McCabe has been twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, for The Butcher Boy (1992) and Breakfast on Pluto (1998), both of which have been made into films. Read more
• 27 Mar 1955: Mariano Rajoy, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018. A member of the People’s Party, he served as the party’s president from 2004 to 2018. At a total of nearly 15 years, Rajoy was the longest-serving politician in the Spanish government since the transition to democracy, having held ministerial offices continuously from 1996 to 2004 and from 2011 to 2018. Read more
• 27 Mar 1955: Susan Neiman, American-German philosopher and author Susan Neiman is an American moral philosopher, cultural commentator, and essayist. She has written extensively on the juncture between Enlightenment moral philosophy, metaphysics, and politics, both for scholarly audiences and the general public. She lives in Germany, where she is the Director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam. Read more
• 27 Mar 1954: Gerard Batten, English lawyer and politician Gerard Joseph Batten is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 2004 to 2019. Read more
• 27 Mar 1953: Herman Ponsteen, Dutch cyclist Herman Ponsteen is a retired track cyclist from the Netherlands. He represented his native country at two Summer Olympics, at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany and 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. Read more
• 27 Mar 1952: Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Austrian skier Annemarie Moser-Pröll is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Born in Kleinarl, Salzburg, she was the most successful female alpine ski racer during the 1970s, with an all-time women’s record of six overall titles, including five consecutively. She had most success in downhill, giant slalom and combined races. In 1980, her last year as a competitor, she secured her third Olympic medal at Lake Placid and won five World Cup races. Her younger sister Cornelia Pröll is also a former alpine Olympian. Read more
• 27 Mar 1952: Maria Schneider, French actress (died 2011) Maria-Hélène Schneider, known professionally as Maria Schneider, was a French actress. Read more
• 27 Mar 1951: Andrei Kozyrev, Belgian-Russian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Russia Andrei Vladimirovich Kozyrev is a Russian politician and businessman who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Boris Yeltsin, during the Russian SFSR from 1990 and during the Russian Federation from 1992, in office until 1996. Kozyrev was seen as supporting Yeltsin’s liberal democratic outlook and tried to develop Russia’s foreign policy immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union to no longer see NATO as a threat, pursue integration with the West, and not assert itself in the former Soviet countries. Kozyrev’s pro-Western and liberal foreign policy fell out of favor because of NATO expansion that began from 1995, and he was replaced by Yevgeny Primakov in early 1996, who represented Russian “security state” interests. Read more
• 27 Mar 1951: Chris Stewart, English musician and author Christopher Stewart is a British author who was the original drummer and a founding member of Genesis. When not writing, he runs a farm, where he lives, near Orgiva in Spain. Read more
• 27 Mar 1950: Tony Banks, English keyboardist and songwriter Anthony George Banks is an English musician primarily known as the keyboardist and founding member of the rock band Genesis. Banks is also a prolific solo artist, releasing six solo studio albums that range through progressive rock, pop, and classical music. Read more
• 27 Mar 1950: Petros Efthymiou, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs Petros Efthymiou is a Greek academic and politician of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement. A former minister and MEP, he is currently the parliamentary spokesman of his party. Read more
• 27 Mar 1950: Maria Ewing, American soprano (died 2022) Maria Louise Ewing, Lady Hall was an American opera singer. In the early part of her career she performed solely as a lyric mezzo-soprano; she later assumed full soprano parts as well. Her signature roles were Blanche, Carmen, Dorabella, Rosina and Salome. Some critics regarded her as one of the most compelling singing actresses of her generation. Read more
• 27 Mar 1950: Terry Yorath, Welsh international footballer and international manager (died 2026) Terence Charles Yorath was a Welsh professional football player and manager at both club and international level. Read more
• 27 Mar 1948: Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish lawyer and politician (died 2021) Jens-Peter Rossen Bonde was a Danish politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the June Movement. He resigned as an MEP in May 2008. Bonde was elected to the European Parliament in the first election in 1979 with the People’s Movement against the EU. He was re-elected 6 times consecutively. In 1992 he co-founded the June Movement which he chaired until his retirement in May 2008. Read more
• 27 Mar 1947: Oliver Friggieri, Maltese author, critic, poet and philosopher (died 2020) Oliver Friggieri was a Maltese poet, novelist, literary critic, and philosopher. He led the establishment of literary history and criticism in Maltese while teaching at the University of Malta, studying the works of Dun Karm, Rużar Briffa, and others. A prolific writer himself, Friggieri explored new genres to advocate the Maltese language, writing the libretti for the first oratorio and the first cantata in Maltese. His work aimed to promote the Maltese cultural identity, while not shying from criticism: one of his most famous novels, Fil-Parlament Ma Jikbrux Fjuri, attacked the tribalistic divisions of society caused by politics. From philosophy, he was mostly interested in epistemology and existentialism. Read more
• 27 Mar 1947: Brian Jones, English balloonist and pilot Brian George Jones is an English balloonist. Read more
• 27 Mar 1947: Walt Mossberg, American journalist Walter S. Mossberg is an American retired technology journalist and moderator. Read more
• 27 Mar 1947: Doug Wilkerson, American football player (died 2021) Douglas Wilkerson was an American professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and San Diego Chargers. Named to the Pro Bowl three times, he was also a three-time All-Pro, including a first-team selection in 1982. He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame. He also played one season in the Austrian Football League for the Graz Giants in 1987. Read more
• 27 Mar 1946: Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (died 1999) Michael Vaillancourt Aris was a British historian who wrote and lectured on Bhutanese, Tibetan, and Himalayan culture and history. He was the husband of Aung San Suu Kyi, who would later become State Counsellor of Myanmar. Read more
• 27 Mar 1946: Andy Bown, British singer, songwriter and musician Andrew Steven Bown is an English musician, who has specialised in keyboards and bass guitar. He is a member of the rock band Status Quo, initially working with them as a session/touring musician during the late 1970s and becoming an official member in the early 1980s. Prior to joining Status Quo, he was a member of The Herd during the 1960s. Read more
• 27 Mar 1944: Jesse Brown, American marine and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (died 2002) Jesse Brown was an American politician and Marine Corps veteran who served as the second United States secretary of veterans affairs under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. Read more
• 27 Mar 1944: Bryan Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player Bryan Albert Campbell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played 260 games in the National Hockey League and 433 games in the World Hockey Association between 1967 and 1978. He played for the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Black Hawks, Vancouver Blazers, Cincinnati Stingers, Indianapolis Racers, and Edmonton Oilers. He retired to Deerfield Beach, Florida, with his wife Jo-anne. Read more
• 27 Mar 1943: Mike Curtis, American football player and coach (died 2020) James Michael Curtis, nicknamed “Mad Dog” or “the Animal,” was an American professional football player for the Baltimore Colts, Seattle Seahawks, and Washington Redskins. He played a total of 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), running from 1965 to 1978. Read more
• 27 Mar 1942: Michael Jackson, English journalist and author (died 2007) Michael James Jackson was an English beer and whiskey writer. He was a regular contributor to a number of broadsheets, particularly The Independent and The Observer. Read more
• 27 Mar 1942: John Sulston, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2018) Sir John Edward Sulston was a British biologist and academic who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the cell lineage and genome of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans in 2002 with his colleagues Sydney Brenner and Robert Horvitz at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. He was a leader in human genome research and Chair of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester.
  Sulston was in favour of science in the public interest, such as free public access of scientific information and against the patenting of genes and the privatisation of genetic technologies. Read more
• 27 Mar 1942: Michael York, English actor Michael York, OBE is a British film, television, and stage actor. After performing on stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (1968). He played leading roles in several major British and Hollywood films, especially in the 1970s. Read more
• 27 Mar 1941: Ivan Gašparovič, Slovak lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Slovakia Ivan Gašparovič is a Slovak politician and lawyer who was the third president of Slovakia from 2004 to 2014. He was also the first and currently the only Slovak president to be re-elected. Read more
• 27 Mar 1941: Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete and politician, Austrian Minister of the Interior (died 2006) Liesel “Liese” Prokop-Sykora was an Austrian athlete and, later in her life, a politician. She competed mainly in the pentathlon. Read more
• 27 Mar 1940: Sandro Munari, Italian race car driver (died 2026) Alessandro Munari, also nicknamed Il Drago, was an Italian motor racing and rally driver. Read more
• 27 Mar 1940: Austin Pendleton, American actor, director, and playwright Austin Campbell Pendleton is an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. Read more
• 27 Mar 1939: Jay Kim, South Korean-American engineer and politician Jay Chang Joon Kim is a Korean-American politician and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California. He was the first Korean American to be elected to the United States Congress. Read more
• 27 Mar 1939: Cale Yarborough, American race car driver and businessman (died 2023) William Caleb Yarborough was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, farmer, and rancher. He was the first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1976, 1977, and 1978. He was one of the preeminent stock car drivers from the 1960s to the 1980s and also competed in IndyCar events. His fame was such that a special model of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was named after him. Read more
• 27 Mar 1937: Alan Hawkshaw, English keyboard player and songwriter (died 2021) William Alan Hawkshaw was a British composer and performer, particularly of library music used as themes for films and television programs. Hawkshaw worked extensively for the KPM production music company in the 1950s to the 1970s, composing and recording many stock tracks that have been used extensively in film and TV. Read more
• 27 Mar 1936: Malcolm Goldstein, American violinist and composer Malcolm Goldstein is an American-Canadian composer, violinist and improviser who has been active in the presentation of new music and dance since the early 1960s. He received an M.A. in music composition from Columbia University in 1960, having studied with Otto Luening. In the 1960s in New York City, he was a co-founder with James Tenney and Philip Corner of the Tone Roads Ensemble and was a participant in the Judson Dance Theater, the New York Festival of the Avant-Garde and the Experimental Intermedia Foundation. Since then, he has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, with solo concerts as well as with new music and dance ensembles. Read more
• 27 Mar 1935: Stanley Rother, American Roman Catholic priest and missionary (died 1981) Stanley Francis Rother was an American Catholic priest from Oklahoma who was murdered in Guatemala in 1981. He had worked as a missionary priest there since 1968. He held several parish assignments as a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City from 1963 to 1968 before being assigned to Guatemala. Read more
• 27 Mar 1935: Julian Glover, English actor Julian Wyatt Glover is an English actor with many stage, television, and film roles. Classically trained, he is a recipient of the Laurence Olivier Award and has performed many times for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Read more
• 27 Mar 1934: István Csurka, Hungarian journalist, author, and politician (died 2012) István Csurka was a Hungarian nationalist politician, journalist and writer. He was the founder and inaugural leader of the Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIÉP) from 1993 until his death. He was also a Member of Parliament from 1990 to 1994 and from 1998 to 2002. Read more
• 27 Mar 1934: Ioannis Palaiokrassas, Greek politician (died 2021) Ioannis Palaiokrassas was a Greek politician. Read more
• 27 Mar 1933: Lê Văn Hưng, South Vietnamese Brigadier general (died 1975) Lê Văn Hưng was an infantry general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Hưng was perhaps best known as the “Hero of An Lộc” in 1972 when he commanded the 5th Division in defense of the city of An Lộc from the coordinated attacks of the North Vietnamese People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces in the Battle of An Lộc. Read more
• 27 Mar 1932: Junior Parker, American singer and harmonica player (died 1971) Herman “Junior” Parker, also known as Little Junior Parker, was an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best remembered for his voice which has been described as “honeyed” and “velvet-smooth”. One music journalist noted, “For years, Junior Parker deserted down home harmonica blues for uptown blues-soul music”.
  In 2001, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Parker is also inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. Read more
• 27 Mar 1932: Bailey Olter, Micronesian politician, 3rd President of the Federated States of Micronesia (died 1999) Bailey Olter was a Micronesian political figure. He was elected to the Senate of Micronesian Congress from Ponape district. He served as Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia from 1983 to 1987, and as the third president of the Federated States of Micronesia from 1991 to 1996. Read more
• 27 Mar 1931: David Janssen, American actor and screenwriter (died 1980) David Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive (1963–1967). Janssen also had the title roles in three other series: Richard Diamond, Private Detective; O’Hara, U.S. Treasury; and Harry O. Read more
• 27 Mar 1930: Daniel Spoerri, Romanian-Swiss photographer, writer and artist (died 2024) Daniel Spoerri was a Romanian-born Swiss visual artist and writer. He is considered to be an important figure among the artists within the so-called “second wave” of the Pop art movement. Read more
• 27 Mar 1929: Anne Ramsey, American actress (died 1988) Anne Ramsey-Mobley was an American actress. She was best known for her film roles as Mama Fratelli in The Goonies (1985) and as Mrs. Lift in Throw Momma from the Train (1987), the latter of which earned her nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Additionally, Ramsey’s respective turns in both aforementioned films earned her two Saturn Awards. Read more
• 27 Mar 1929: Reg Evans, Australian actor (died 2009) Reginald Evans was a British-born actor active in Australian radio, theatre, television and cinema from the 1960s, after having started his career in his native England. Read more
• 27 Mar 1928: Jean Dotto, French cyclist (died 2000) Jean-Baptiste Dotto was the first French racing cyclist to win the Vuelta a España. He rode the Tour de France 13 times, coming fourth in 1954. Read more
• 27 Mar 1927: Anthony Lewis, American journalist and academic (died 2013) Joseph Anthony Lewis was an American public intellectual and journalist. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and was a columnist for The New York Times. He is credited with creating the field of legal journalism in the United States. Read more
• 27 Mar 1927: Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (died 2007) Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was a Russian cellist and conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enlarged the cello repertoire more than any cellist before or since. He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces, forming long-standing friendships and artistic partnerships with composers including Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutosławski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris, Leonard Bernstein, Aram Khachaturian, and Benjamin Britten. Read more
• 27 Mar 1926: Frank O’Hara, American writer (died 1966) Francis Russell “Frank” O’Hara was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O’Hara became prominent in New York City’s art world. O’Hara is regarded as a leading figure in the New York School, an informal group of artists, writers, and musicians who drew inspiration from jazz, surrealism, abstract expressionism, action painting, and contemporary avant-garde art movements. Read more
• 27 Mar 1924: Sarah Vaughan, American singer (died 1990) Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed “Sassy” and “The Divine One”, and the “Queen of Bebop”, she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Awards. She was given an NEA Jazz Masters Award in 1989. Critic Scott Yanow wrote that she had “one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century”. Read more
• 27 Mar 1924: Ian Black, Scottish international footballer and lawn bowls player (died 2012) Ian Henderson Black was a Scottish professional footballer who made over 260 appearances in the Football League for Fulham as a goalkeeper. He also played for Southampton and was capped by Scotland at international level. Read more
• 27 Mar 1924: Margaret K. Butler, American mathematician and computer programmer (died 2013) Margaret Kampschaefer Butler was a mathematician who participated in creating and updating computer software. During the early 1950s, Butler contributed to the development of early computers. Butler was the first female fellow at the American Nuclear Society and director of the National Energy Software Center at Argonne. Butler held leadership positions within multiple scientific organizations and women’s groups. She was the creator and director of the National Energy Software Center. Here, Butler operated an exchange for the editing of computer programs in regards to nuclear power and developed early principles for computer technology. Read more
• 27 Mar 1923: Shūsaku Endō, Japanese author (died 1996) Shūsaku Endō was a Japanese author who wrote from the perspective of a Japanese Catholic. Internationally, he is known for his 1966 historical fiction novel Silence, which was adapted into a 2016 film of the same name by director Martin Scorsese. He was the laureate of several prestigious literary accolades, including the Akutagawa Prize and the Order of Culture, and was inducted into the Roman Catholic Order of St. Sylvester by Pope Paul VI. Read more
• 27 Mar 1923: Louis Simpson, Jamaican-American poet, translator, and academic (died 2012) Louis Aston Marantz Simpson was an American poet born in Jamaica. He won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his work At the End of the Open Road. Read more
• 27 Mar 1922: Dick King-Smith, English author (died 2011) Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE, known by his pen name Dick King-Smith, was an English writer of children’s books. He is best known for The Sheep-Pig (1983), which was adapted as the movie Babe (1995) and translations have been published in fifteen languages. He was awarded an Honorary Master of Education degree by the University of the West of England in 1999 and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours. Read more
• 27 Mar 1922: Stefan Wul, French author and surgeon (died 2003)
  Stefan Wul was the nom de plume of the French science fiction writer Pierre Pairault, born in Paris. Read more
• 27 Mar 1922: Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, and sculptor (died 2007) Jevel Demikovski, known professionally as Jules Olitski, was an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Read more
• 27 Mar 1921: Phil Chess, Polish-American record producer, co-founded Chess Records (died 2016) Philip Chess was a Polish-born American record company executive, the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Leonard. Read more
• 27 Mar 1921: Moacir Barbosa Nascimento, Brazilian footballer and coach (died 2000) Moacir Barbosa do Nascimento was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His career spanned 22 years. He was regarded as one of the world’s best goalkeepers in the 1940s and 1950s, and was known for not wearing gloves, as would be typical. Barbosa is mainly associated with Brazil’s defeat against underdogs Uruguay in the decisive match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, an upset dubbed the Maracanazo. Barbosa is also known for his achievements at Vasco da Gama, especially the first South American Championship, and the club’s domination in the Campeonato Carioca in 1940s and 1950s. Read more
• 27 Mar 1921: Harold Nicholas, American actor and dancer (died 2000) Harold Lloyd Nicholas was an American dancer specializing in tap. Nicholas was the younger half of the tap-dancing pair the Nicholas Brothers, known as two of the world’s greatest dancers. His older brother was Fayard Nicholas. Nicholas was featured in such musicals as An All-Colored Vaudeville Show (1935), Stormy Weather (1943), The Pirate (1948), and The Five Heartbeats (1991). Read more
• 27 Mar 1920: Colin Rowe, English-American architect, theorist and academic (died 1999) Colin Rowe was a British-born, American-naturalised architectural historian, critic, theoretician and teacher. He is acknowledged to have been a major theoretical and critical influence in the second half of the twentieth century on world architecture and urbanism. During his life he taught briefly at the University of Texas at Austin and, for one year, at the University of Cambridge in England. For most of his life he was a professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Many of Rowe’s students became important architects and extended his influence throughout the architecture and planning professions. In 1995 he was awarded the Gold Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects, its highest honor. He was also awarded the Athena Medal from the Congress for the New Urbanism posthumously in 2011. Read more
• 27 Mar 1917: Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th United States Secretary of State (died 2002) Cyrus Roberts Vance was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 57th United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Johnson administration. During the Kennedy administration he was Secretary of the Army and General Counsel of the Department of Defense. Read more
• 27 Mar 1917: Mary Watt, New Zealand landscape architect and gardener (died 2005) Muriel Mary Watt was a New Zealand landscape architect and gardener. Read more
• 27 Mar 1915: Robert Lockwood, Jr., American guitarist (died 2006) Robert Lockwood Jr., a.k.a. Robert Jr. Lockwood, was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly from Robert Johnson. Robert Lockwood was one of the first professional black entertainers to appear on radio in the South, on the King Biscuit Time radio show. Lockwood is known for his longtime collaboration with Sonny Boy Williamson II and for his work in the mid-1950s with Little Walter. Read more
• 27 Mar 1914: Richard Denning, American actor (died 1998) Richard Denning was an American actor who starred in science fiction films of the 1950s, including Unknown Island (1948), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Target Earth (1954), Day the World Ended (1955), Creature with the Atom Brain (1955), and The Black Scorpion (1957). Denning also appeared in the film An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant and on radio with Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband (1948–1951), the forerunner of I Love Lucy. He’s more well-known as Governor Paul Jameson in late 1968-1980 police procedural TV series Hawaii Five-O. Read more
• 27 Mar 1914: Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (died 2009) Budd Schulberg was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his novels What Makes Sammy Run? (1941) and The Harder They Fall (1947), as well as his screenplays for On the Waterfront (1954) and A Face in the Crowd (1957), receiving an Academy Award for the former. Read more
• 27 Mar 1913: Theodor Dannecker, German SS officer (died 1945) Theodor Dannecker was a German SS-captain, a key aide to Adolf Eichmann in the deportation of Jews during World War II. Read more
• 27 Mar 1912: James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 2005) Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is the only person to have held all four Great Offices of State, having also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1964 to 1967, Home Secretary from 1967 to 1970 and Foreign Secretary from 1974 to 1976. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1987. Read more
• 27 Mar 1911: Veronika Tushnova, Russian poet and physician (died 1965) Veronika Mikhailovna Tushnóva was a Soviet poet and member of the Soviet Union of Writers. After completing her medical school studies, she found little satisfaction in being a doctor and turned her attention to writing. Read more
• 27 Mar 1910: Ai Qing, Chinese poet and author (died 1996) Ai Qing, born Jiang Zhenghan and styled Jiang Haicheng, was a 20th-century Chinese poet. He was known under his pen names Linbi, Ke’a and Ejia. Read more
• 27 Mar 1909: Golo Mann, German historian and author (died 1994) Golo Mann was a popular German historian and essayist. After completing a doctorate in philosophy under Karl Jaspers at Heidelberg, in 1933 he fled Hitler’s Germany. He followed his father, the writer Thomas Mann, and other members of his family in emigrating first to France, then to Switzerland and, on the eve of war, to the United States. From the late 1950s he re-established himself in Switzerland and West Germany as a literary historian. Read more
• 27 Mar 1909: Ben Webster, American saxophonist (died 1973) Benjamin Francis Webster was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, and others. Read more
• 27 Mar 1909: Valery Marakou, Belarusian poet and translator (died 1937) Valery Marakou was a Belarusian poet and translator. Read more
• 27 Mar 1906: Pee Wee Russell, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (died 1969) Charles Ellsworth “Pee Wee” Russell was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet. Read more
• 27 Mar 1905: Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 1935) Leroy Carr was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. Music historian Elijah Wald has called him “the most influential male blues singer and songwriter of the first half of the 20th century”. He first became famous for “How Long, How Long Blues”, his debut recording released by Vocalion Records in 1928. Read more
• 27 Mar 1905: Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, German general (died 1980) Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff was an officer in the German Army. As a Wehrmacht intelligence officer, he attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bombing on 21 March 1943; the plan failed when Hitler left early, but Gersdorff was undetected. That same month, soldiers from his unit discovered the mass graves of the Soviet-perpetrated Katyn massacre. Read more
• 27 Mar 1905: Elsie MacGill, Canadian-American author and engineer (died 1980) Elizabeth Muriel Gregory MacGill, known as the “Queen of the Hurricanes”, was a Canadian engineer. She was chief aeronautical engineer at Canadian Car and Foundry (CC&F) in Fort William, Ontario during the Second World War. There she oversaw manufacturing of 1,451 Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force and the British Royal Air Force, then 835 Curtiss Helldivers for the U.S. Navy, which contributed greatly to the war effort and did much to make Canada a powerhouse of aircraft manufacturing. After her work at CC&F, she ran a successful aeronautical engineering consulting business. Between 1967 and 1970, she was a Commissioner on the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada, which published a report in 1970. Read more
• 27 Mar 1903: Leif Tronstad, Norwegian chemist and military leader (died 1945) Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad was a Norwegian inorganic chemist, intelligence officer and military organizer. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1927 and was a prolific researcher and writer of academic publications. A professor of chemistry at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1936, he was among the pioneers of heavy water research, and was instrumental when a heavy water plant was built at Vemork. Read more
• 27 Mar 1903: Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet and playwright (died 1950) Xavier Villaurrutia y González was a Mexican poet, playwright, translator, and literary critic whose most famous works are the short theatrical dramas called Autos profanos, compiled in the work Poesía y teatro completos, published in 1953. Starting in the late 1930s, Villaurrutia’s work reflects his preoccupation with death. He wrote about feeling a nostalgia for death, and about invitations to death. Read more
• 27 Mar 1902: Sidney Buchman, American screenwriter and producer (died 1975) Sidney Robert Buchman was an American screenwriter and film producer who worked on about 40 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He received four Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay for the fantasy romantic comedy film Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), sharing the award with Seton I. Miller. Read more
• 27 Mar 1902: Charles Lang, American cinematographer (died 1998) Charles Bryant Lang Jr., A.S.C. was an American cinematographer. Read more
• 27 Mar 1901: Carl Barks, American illustrator and screenwriter (died 2000) Carl Barks was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck. He worked anonymously until late in his career; fans dubbed him “The Duck Man” and “The Good Duck Artist”. In 1987, Barks was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. Read more
• 27 Mar 1901: Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (died 1963) Erich Ollenhauer was the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1952 until 1963. He was a key leader of the opposition to Konrad Adenauer in the Bundestag. In exile under the Nazis, he returned to Germany in February 1946, becoming vice chairman of the SPD. He was a close ally of the chairman Kurt Schumacher, and worked on party organization. Where Schumacher was a passionate intellectual, Ollenhauer was a thorough and efficient bureaucrat. He became party leader after Schumacher’s death in 1952. Besides attending to organizational details, his main role was moderating the tension between the left-wing and right-wing factions. He remained party leader until his death, but yielded to the charismatic Berlin mayor Willy Brandt in 1961 as the party’s candidate for chancellor. Read more
• 27 Mar 1901: Eisaku Satō, Japanese politician, Prime Minister of Japan, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1975) Eisaku Satō was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972. He was the third longest-serving and second longest-uninterrupted–serving Japanese prime minister. Satō is best remembered for securing the return of Okinawa in 1972, and for winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974, which stirred controversy. He was a former elite bureaucrat like his elder brother Nobusuke Kishi and a member of the Yoshida school like Hayato Ikeda. Like his predecessor he also supported Keynesian economic policies. Read more
• 27 Mar 1901: Kenneth Slessor, Australian journalist and poet (died 1971) Kenneth Adolphe Slessor was an Australian poet, journalist and official war correspondent in World War II. He was one of Australia’s leading poets, notable particularly for the absorption of modernist influences into Australian poetry. The Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry is named after him. Read more
• 27 Mar 1899: Francis Ponge, French poet and author (died 1988) Francis Jean Gaston Alfred Ponge was a French poet. He developed a form of prose poem, minutely examining everyday objects. He was the third recipient of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1974. Read more
• 27 Mar 1899: Herbert Arthur Stuart, German-Swiss physicist and academic (died 1974) Herbert Arthur Stuart was a German experimental physicist who made contributions in molecular physics research. During World War II, he was director of the experimental physics department at the Technische Hochschule Dresden. From 1955, he was the head of the high polymer physics laboratory at the University of Mainz. Read more
• 27 Mar 1899: Gloria Swanson, American actress and producer (died 1983) Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 turn in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, which earned her a Golden Globe Award. Read more
• 27 Mar 1897: Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (died 1958) Douglas Rayner Hartree was an English mathematician and physicist most famous for the development of numerical analysis and its application to the Hartree–Fock equations of atomic physics and the construction of a differential analyser using Meccano. Read more
• 27 Mar 1897: Fred Keating, American magician, stage and film actor (died 1961) Frederic Serrano Keating, best known as Fred Keating, was an American magician, stage, and film actor. Read more
• 27 Mar 1895: Roland Leighton, English soldier and poet (died 1915) Roland Aubrey Leighton was a British poet and soldier, made posthumously famous by his fiancée Vera Brittain’s memoir, Testament of Youth. Read more
• 27 Mar 1894: René Fonck, French colonel and pilot (died 1953) Colonel René Paul Fonck was a French aviator who ended the First World War as the top Entente fighter ace and, when all succeeding aerial conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries are also considered, Fonck still holds the title of “all-time Allied Ace of Aces”. He received confirmation for 75 victories out of 142 claims. Taking into account his probable claims, Fonck’s final tally could conceivably be nearer 100 or above. He was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1918 and later a Commander of the Legion of Honor after the war, and raised again to the dignity of Grand Officer. Read more
• 27 Mar 1893: Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-English sociologist and academic (died 1947) Karl Mannheim was a Hungarian sociologist and a key figure in classical sociology as well as one of the founders of the sociology of knowledge. Mannheim is best known for his book Ideology and Utopia (1929/1936), in which he distinguishes between partial and total ideologies, the latter representing comprehensive worldviews distinctive to particular social groups, and also between ideologies that provide support for existing social arrangements, and utopias, which look to the future and propose a transformation of society. Read more
• 27 Mar 1893: G. Lloyd Spencer, American lieutenant and politician (died 1981) George Lloyd Spencer was an American politician from Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the state in the United States Senate from 1941 to 1943. Read more
• 27 Mar 1893: George Beranger, Australian-American actor and director (died 1973) George Beranger, was an Australian-born silent film actor, director and film writer in New York and Hollywood. He is also sometimes credited under the pseudonym George Andre de Beranger and multiple variations of the same. Read more
• 27 Mar 1892: Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (died 1972) Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé was an American composer, arranger, pianist, and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement symphonic poem the Grand Canyon Suite, and for orchestrating George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for its 1924 premiere. Read more
• 27 Mar 1892: Thorne Smith, American author (died 1934) James Thorne Smith, Jr. was an American writer of humorous supernatural fantasy fiction under the byline Thorne Smith. He is best known today for the two Topper novels, comic fantasy fiction involving sex, frequent drinking and ghosts. With racy illustrations, these sold millions of copies in the 1930s and were equally popular in paperbacks of the 1950s. Read more
• 27 Mar 1891: Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian novelist and playwright (died 1974) Lajos Zilahy was a Hungarian novelist and playwright. Born in Nagyszalonta, Austria-Hungary, he studied law at the University of Budapest before serving in the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War, in which he was wounded on the Eastern Front – an experience which later informed his bestselling novel Two Prisoners. Read more
• 27 Mar 1891: Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski, Belarusian-Lithuanian architect, journalist, and diplomat, created the Flag of Belarus (died 1959) Klawdziy Stsyapanavich Duzh-Dushewski was a Belarusian civil engineer, architect, diplomat and journalist. He is believed to be the creator of the national flag of Belarus in 1917. Read more
• 27 Mar 1890: Harald Julin, Swedish swimmer and water polo player (died 1967) Harald Sigfrid Alexander Julin was a Swedish swimmer and water polo player who competed at the 1906, 1908, 1912 and 1920 Olympics. In 100 m freestyle swimming he won a bronze medal in 1908, and failed to reach the finals in 1906 and 1912; he finished fifth in the 4×250 m freestyle relay in 1906. In water polo he won bronze medals in 1908 and 1920 and a silver at the 1912 Summer Olympics in his native Stockholm. His sons Åke and Rolf also became Olympic water polo players. Read more
• 27 Mar 1890: Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Scottish admiral (died 1974) Sir Frederick Hew George Dalrymple-Hamilton, KCB was a British admiral who served in World War I and World War II. He was captain of HMS Rodney when it engaged the Bismarck on 27 May 1941. Read more
• 27 Mar 1889: Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Egyptian-Turkish journalist, author, and politician (died 1974) Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu was a Turkish novelist, journalist, diplomat, and member of parliament. Read more
• 27 Mar 1889: Leonard Mociulschi, Romanian general (died 1979) Leonard Mociulschi was a Romanian Major General of Polish origin during World War II. Read more
• 27 Mar 1888: George Alfred Lawrence Hearne, English-South African cricketer (died 1978) George Alfred Lawrence Hearne was an English born South African cricketer who played Test cricket. Read more
• 27 Mar 1887: Väinö Siikaniemi, Finnish javelin thrower, poet, and translator (died 1932) Väinö Villiam Siikaniemi was a Finnish athlete who competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He finished fifth in the conventional javelin throw and won the silver medal in the two-handed javelin throw, a one-time Olympic event in which the total was counted as a sum of best throws with the right hand and with the left hand. Read more
• 27 Mar 1886: Sergey Kirov, Russian politician (died 1934) Sergei Mironovich Kirov was a Russian and Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and a member of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Kirov became an Old Bolshevik and personal friend to Joseph Stalin, rising through the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ranks to become head of the party in Leningrad and a member of the Politburo. Read more
• 27 Mar 1886: Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian painter and illustrator (died 1917) Vladimir Davydovych Burliuk was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist and book illustrator from the Russian empire. He died at the age of 32 in 1917 in World War I. Read more
• 27 Mar 1886: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect, designed IBM Plaza and Seagram Building (died 1969) Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German and American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture. Read more
• 27 Mar 1885: Julio Lozano Díaz, Honduran accountant and politician, 40th President of Honduras (died 1957) Julio Lozano Díaz, was first Vice President of Honduras (1949–1954) and then President of Honduras, from 5 December 1954 until 21 October 1956. Read more
• 27 Mar 1885: Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, English navy officer and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (died 1961) Reginald Thomas Herbert Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, was a British Liberal then Labour politician. He was Minister of Civil Aviation under Clement Attlee between 1945 and 1946 and Governor of Cyprus between 1946 and 1949. Read more
• 27 Mar 1884: Gordon Thomson, English rower and lieutenant (died 1953) Gordon Lindsay Thomson was an English rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics for Great Britain. During the First World War, he served as a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force. Read more
• 27 Mar 1883: Marie Under, Estonian author and poet (died 1980) Marie Under was an Estonian poet. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 16 times in 15 separate years. Read more
• 27 Mar 1882: Thomas Graham Brown, Scottish mountaineer and physiologist (died 1965) Thomas Graham Brown FRS was a Scottish mountaineer and physiologist, most famous for finding three new routes up the east face of Mont Blanc. Read more
• 27 Mar 1881: Arkady Averchenko, Russian playwright and satirist (died 1925) Arkady Timofeevich Averchenko was a Russian playwright and satirist. He published his stories in the journal Satirikon, of which he was also an editor, in the series of New Satirikon, and other publications. He published a total of around 20 books. Averchenko’s satirical writings can be described as liberal. After the Russian Civil War, he emigrated to Central Europe and died in Prague. Read more
• 27 Mar 1879: Sándor Garbai, Hungarian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Hungary (died 1947) Sándor Garbai was a Hungarian socialist politician who was the de jure leader of the Hungarian Soviet Republic as both its head of state and prime minister. Read more
• 27 Mar 1879: Miller Huggins, American baseball player and manager (died 1929) Miller James Huggins was an American professional baseball player and manager. Huggins played second base for the Cincinnati Reds (1904–1909) and St. Louis Cardinals (1910–1916). He managed the Cardinals (1913–1917) and New York Yankees (1918–1929), including the Murderers’ Row teams of the 1920s that won six American League (AL) pennants and three World Series championships. Read more
• 27 Mar 1879: Edward Steichen, Luxembourger-American painter and photographer (died 1973) Edward Jean Steichen was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter and curator and a pioneer of fashion photography. His gown images for the magazine Art et Décoration in 1911 were the first modern fashion photographs to be published. From 1923 to 1938, Steichen served as chief photographer for the Condé Nast magazines Vogue and Vanity Fair, designating him the “greatest living portrait photographer” even as he turned to painting. Steichen worked for many advertising agencies, including J. Walter Thompson. During these years, Steichen was regarded as the most popular and highest-paid photographer in the world. Read more
• 27 Mar 1878: Kathleen Scott, British sculptor (died 1947) Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and also of several larger public monuments. These included a number of war memorials plus statues of her first husband, the Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott. Although the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes her as “the most significant and prolific British women sculptor before Barbara Hepworth”, her traditional style of sculpture and her hostility to the abstract work of, for example Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, has led to a lack of recognition for her artistic achievements. Read more
• 27 Mar 1877: Oscar Grégoire, Belgian water polo player and swimmer (died 1947) Oscar Grégoire Jr. was a Belgian water polo player and backstroke swimmer who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics, in the 1908 Summer Olympics, and in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Belgian water polo team and was able to win two silver and one bronze medal. In 1908 and 1912 he also participated in the 100-metre backstroke events, but was eliminated in the first round in both. Read more
• 27 Mar 1875: Albert Marquet, French painter (died 1947) Albert Marquet was a French painter. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturalistic style, primarily landscapes, but also several portraits and, between 1910 and 1914, several female nude paintings. Read more
• 27 Mar 1871: Heinrich Mann, German author and poet (died 1950) Luiz Heinrich Mann, best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German writer known for his sociopolitical novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy of Arts. His fierce criticism of the growing Fascism and Nazism forced him to flee Germany after the Nazis came to power during 1933. He was the elder brother of writer Thomas Mann. Read more
• 27 Mar 1871: Joseph G. Morrison, American captain and Nazarene minister (died 1939) Joseph G. Morrison (1871–1939) was an American minister and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene. Read more
• 27 Mar 1871: Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician, Minister of Labour (died 1948) Petrus Josephus Mattheus “Piet” Aalberse Sr. was a Dutch politician of the General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations, later the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People’s Party (KVP) and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 31 December 1934. Read more
• 27 Mar 1869: James McNeill, Irish politician, 2nd Governor-General of the Irish Free State (died 1938) James McNeill was an Irish colonial administrator, politician, and diplomat, who served as the first High Commissioner to London and second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. Read more
• 27 Mar 1869: J. R. Clynes, English trade unionist and politician, Home Secretary (died 1949) John Robert Clynes was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 35 years, and as Leader of the Labour Party (1921–1922), led the party in its breakthrough at the 1922 general election. Read more
• 27 Mar 1868: Patty Hill, American songwriter and educator (died 1946) Patty Smith Hill was an American composer and teacher who is perhaps best known for co-writing, with her sister Mildred Hill, the tune that later became popular as “Happy Birthday to You”. She was an American nursery school, kindergarten teacher, and key founder of the National Association for Nursery Education (NANE) which now exists as the National Association For the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Read more
• 27 Mar 1866: John Allan, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Victoria (died 1936) John Allan was an Australian politician who served as the 29th Premier of Victoria. He was born near Lancefield, where his father was a farmer of Scottish origin, and educated at state schools. He took up wheat and dairy farming at Wyuna and was director of a butter factory at Kyabram. In 1892 he married Annie Stewart, with whom he had six children. Read more
• 27 Mar 1863: Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, founded Rolls-Royce Limited (died 1933) Sir Frederick Henry Royce, 1st Baronet was an English engineer famous for his designs of car and aeroplane engines that had a reputation for reliability and longevity. He and his two business associates Charles Rolls (1877–1910) and Claude Johnson (1864–1926) together founded the Rolls-Royce Limited company in 1904. Read more
• 27 Mar 1862: Jelena Dimitrijević, Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist and polyglot (died 1945) Jelena Dimitrijević was a Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist, and a polyglot. She is considered to be the first woman in modern Serbian history to publish a work of travel related prose in 1894. During the years 1926 to 1927 she traveled around the world, including the Far East, East Asia, and India, where she was the guest of Rabindranath Tagore. Read more
• 27 Mar 1862: Arturo Berutti, Argentinian composer (died 1938) Arturo Berutti was an Argentine composer of classical music and librettos. He was best known for his notable theme Pampa (1897). The opera was based on the life of Juan Moreira. One of the influential Argentine opera composers of the late 19th and early 20th century and his music was influenced by the Italian opera. In 1895, he composed the opera Taras Bulba inspired on the novel by Nikolai Gogol. Read more
• 27 Mar 1860: Frank Frost Abbott, American-Swiss scholar and academic (died 1924) Frank Frost Abbott was an American classical scholar. Read more
• 27 Mar 1859: George Giffen, Australian cricketer and footballer (died 1927) George Giffen was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia during the 1894–95 Ashes series and was the first Australian to score 10,000 runs and take 500 wickets in first-class cricket. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on 26 February 2008. At the end of his test career in 1896 Griffin scored 1,238 runs with 1131 runs coming in the Ashes tests making him at the time the leading run getter in Ashes tests. Read more
• 27 Mar 1857: Karl Pearson, English mathematician, eugenicist, and academic (died 1936) Karl Pearson was an English biostatistician and mathematician. He has been credited with establishing the discipline of mathematical statistics. He founded the world’s first university statistics department at University College London in 1911, and contributed significantly to the field of biometrics and meteorology. Pearson was also a proponent of Social Darwinism and eugenics, and his thought is an example of what is today described as scientific racism. Pearson was a protégé and biographer of Sir Francis Galton. He edited and completed both William Kingdon Clifford’s Common Sense of the Exact Sciences (1885) and Isaac Todhunter’s History of the Theory of Elasticity, Vol. 1 (1886–1893) and Vol. 2 (1893), following their deaths. Read more
• 27 Mar 1855: William Libbey, American target shooter, colonel, mountaineer, geographer, geologist, and archaeologist (died 1927) William A. Libbey III was an American professor of physical geography at Princeton University. He was twice a member of the U.S. Olympic Rifle Team, and rose to the rank of colonel in the New Jersey National Guard. He is also known for his first ascent of Mount Princeton in 1877. He also competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 27 Mar 1854: Giovanni Battista Grassi, Italian physician, zoologist, and entomologist (died 1925) Giovanni Battista Grassi was an Italian physician and zoologist, best known for his pioneering works on parasitology, especially on malariology. He was Professor of Comparative Zoology at the University of Catania from 1883, and Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Sapienza University of Rome from 1895 until his death. His first major research on the taxonomy and biology of termites earned him the Royal Society’s Darwin Medal in 1896. Read more
• 27 Mar 1852: Jan van Beers, Belgian painter and illustrator (died 1927) Jean Marie Constantin Joseph “Jan” van Beers was a Belgian painter and illustrator, son of the poet Jan van Beers. They are sometimes referred to as Jan van Beers the elder and Jan van Beers the younger. In 1884, Jan Van Beers produced the pen-and-ink sketches for the edition de luxe of his father’s poetry. Read more
• 27 Mar 1851: Ruperto Chapí, Spanish composer, co-founded Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (died 1909) Ruperto Chapí y Lorente was a Spanish composer, and co-founder of the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers. Read more
• 27 Mar 1851: Vincent d’Indy, French composer and educator (died 1931) Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d’Indy was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Paris Conservatoire. His students included Albéric Magnard, Albert Roussel, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Yvonne Rokseth, and Erik Satie, as well as Cole Porter. Read more
• 27 Mar 1847: Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1931) Otto Wallach was a German chemist and recipient of the 1910 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on alicyclic compounds. Read more
• 27 Mar 1845: Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1923) Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was a German experimental physicist who produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays. In 1901, Röntgen became the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics “in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him.” The element roentgenium is named in his honor. Read more
• 27 Mar 1845: Jakob Sverdrup, Norwegian bishop and politician, Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs (died 1899) Jakob Liv Rosted Sverdrup was a Norwegian bishop and politician. Born into a prominent local family and well-educated, Jakob followed in the footsteps of his father Harald Ulrik Sverdrup and his uncle Johan Sverdrup by pursuing both a theological and political life. He served five terms in the Norwegian Parliament between 1877 and 1898, and was a cabinet member on several occasions. Originally a member of the Liberal Party, he later joined the Moderate Liberal Party, having partially been the cause of the split that formed the Moderate Liberal Party. He has been referred to as “one of the most controversial figures in modern Norwegian history”. Read more
• 27 Mar 1844: Adolphus Greely, American general and explorer, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1935) Adolphus Washington Greely was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. Read more
• 27 Mar 1843: George Frederick Leycester Marshall, English colonel and entomologist (died 1934) Major-General George Frederick Leycester Marshall was the son of William Marshall and his wife Louisa Sophia, also brother of C. H. T. Marshall and uncle of Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall. He became a colonel in the Indian Army and was a naturalist interested in the birds and butterflies of India. Marshall described several new species of butterflies, along with Lionel de Nicéville, and discovered the white-tailed iora, sometimes referred to as Marshall’s iIora. He wrote The butterflies of India, Burmah and Ceylon. Read more
• 27 Mar 1839: John Ballance, Irish-New Zealand journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1893) John Ballance was a New Zealand politician who served as the 14th premier of New Zealand from January 1891 until his death in April 1893. He governed as the leader of New Zealand’s first organised political party, the New Zealand Liberal Party, which was formed shortly after the 1890 election. Read more
• 27 Mar 1824: Virginia Minor, American women’s suffrage activist (died 1894) Virginia Louisa Minor was an American women’s suffrage activist in Missouri. She is best remembered as the plaintiff in Minor v. Happersett, an 1875 United States Supreme Court case in which Minor unsuccessfully argued that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote. And the first president of the Women’s suffrage Association in Missouri. Read more
• 27 Mar 1822: Henri Murger, French novelist and poet (died 1861) Louis-Henri Murger, also known as Henri Murger and Henry Murger, was a French novelist and poet. Read more
• 27 Mar 1820: Edward Augustus Inglefield, English admiral and explorer (died 1894) Sir Edward Augustus Inglefield was a Royal Navy officer who led one of the searches for the missing Arctic explorer John Franklin during the 1850s. In doing so, his expedition charted previously unexplored areas along the northern Canadian coastline, including Baffin Bay, Smith Sound and Lancaster Sound. Read more
• 27 Mar 1814: Charles Mackay, Scottish journalist, anthologist, and author (died 1889) Charles Mackay was a Scottish poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter, remembered mainly for his book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Read more
• 27 Mar 1811: Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (died 1880) Edward William Cooke was an English landscape and marine painter, and gardener. Read more
• 27 Mar 1809: Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French engineer, urban planner, and politician (died 1891) Georges-Eugène Haussmann, known as Baron Haussmann, was a French official who supervised a radical urban renewal programme of new boulevards, parks, and public works in Paris, referred to as Haussmann’s renovation of Paris, aimed at introducing grandeur in the city. First a prefect in Var (1849–1850), Yonne (1850–1851), and Gironde (1851–1853), his skills as an administrator led to his appointment in Paris by Emperor Napoleon III in 1853. Read more
• 27 Mar 1802: Charles-Mathias Simons, German-Luxembourger jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Luxembourg (died 1874) Charles-Mathias Simons was a Luxembourgish politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1853 until 1860. Read more
• 27 Mar 1801: Alexander Barrow, American lawyer and politician (died 1846) Alexander Barrow I was a lawyer, slave owner, and United States senator from Louisiana. He was a member of the Whig Party. He was the half-brother of Washington Barrow, sharing the same father. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 27 March in World History

• 27 Mar 2025: Christina McKelvie, Scottish politician (born 1968) Christina McKelvie was a Scottish politician and social worker who was a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP). She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse from 2011 until her death in 2025, having previously represented the Central Scotland region from 2007 to 2011. Read more
• 27 Mar 2024: Daniel Kahneman, Israeli-American author, psychologist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1934) Daniel Kahneman was an Israeli-American psychologist best known for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making as well as behavioral economics, for which he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences together with Vernon L. Smith. Kahneman’s published empirical findings challenge the assumption of human rationality prevailing in modern economic theory. Kahneman became known as the “grandfather of behavioral economics.” Read more
• 27 Mar 2024: Joe Lieberman, American politician and lawyer (born 1942) Joseph Isadore Lieberman was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, he was the party’s vice presidential nominee in the 2000 presidential election. During his final term in office, he was officially listed as an Independent Democrat and caucused with and chaired committees for the Democratic Party. Read more
• 27 Mar 2018: Bert Nievera, Filipino-American singer (born 1936) Roberto Jose Dela Cruz Nievera was a Filipino-American singer and businessman. He rose to prominence in 1959 after winning the “Search for Johnny Mathis of the Philippines”, a singing contest on the television variety show Student Canteen. He was one of the original members of the Society of Seven (SOS). Read more
• 27 Mar 2016: Mother Angelica, American Roman Catholic religious leader and media personality (born 1923) Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, commonly referred to as “Mother Angelica”, was an American Catholic nun of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. Read more
• 27 Mar 2015: Johnny Helms, American trumpet player, bandleader, and educator (born 1935) John Newton “Johnny” Helms was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, and music educator from Columbia, South Carolina. He performed with Chris Potter, Tommy Newsom, Bill Watrous, Red Rodney, Woody Herman, Sam Most, and the Clark Terry Big Band among others. In 1989, he was featured along with Terry and Oscar Peterson as part of Clark Terry and Friends at Town Hall during the JVC Jazz Festival. Read more
• 27 Mar 2015: T. Sailo, Indian soldier and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of Mizoram (born 1922) Brigadier Ṭhenphunga Sailo, AVSM was an Indian military officer and politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Mizoram. He founded the Mizoram People’s Conference, one of the major political parties in Mizoram. He was a recipient of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Padma Shri for his military service and humanitarian works, and the Mizo Award for his lifetime achievements. Read more
• 27 Mar 2014: Richard N. Frye, American scholar and academic (born 1920) Richard Nelson Frye was an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian studies, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Harvard University. His professional areas of interest were Iranian philology along with the history of ancient Iran and Central Asia. Read more
• 27 Mar 2014: James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense and first United States Secretary of Energy (born 1929) James Rodney Schlesinger was an American economist and statesman who was best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to becoming Secretary of Defense, he served as Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) from 1971 to 1973, and as CIA Director for a few months in 1973. He became America’s first Secretary of Energy under Jimmy Carter in 1977, serving until 1979. Read more
• 27 Mar 2013: Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater (born 1923) Hjalmar “Hjallis” Johan Andersen was a speed skater from Norway who won three gold medals at the 1952 Winter Olympic Games of Oslo, Norway. He was the only triple gold medalist at the 1952 Winter Olympics, and as such, became the most successful athlete there. Read more
• 27 Mar 2013: Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American scientist and engineer (born 1924) Yvonne Madelaine Brill was a Canadian American rocket and jet propulsion engineer. She is responsible for inventing the Electrothermal Hydrazine Thruster (EHT/Resistojet), a fuel-efficient rocket thruster that keeps today’s satellites in orbit, and holds a patent for its invention. During her career she was involved in a broad range of national space programs in the United States, including NASA and the International Maritime Satellite Organization. Read more
• 27 Mar 2013: Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (born 1917) Fay Kanin was an American screenwriter, playwright and producer. Kanin was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983. Read more
• 27 Mar 2012: Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist and feminist (born 1929) Adrienne Cecile Rich was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called “one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century”, and was credited with bringing “the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse”. Rich criticized the rigid identities that are sometimes created by feminism, called for feminism that is flexible and open to being transformed, and drew attention to the existing current of solidarity and creativity among women, which she named the “lesbian continuum.” Read more
• 27 Mar 2011: Clement Arrindell, Nevisian judge and politician, 1st Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis (born 1931) Sir Clement Athelston Arrindell was the first governor-general of Saint Kitts and Nevis, serving from 1983 to 1995, and also served as the country’s final colonial governor, from 1981 to 1983. Read more
• 27 Mar 2011: Farley Granger, American actor (born 1925) Farley Earle Granger Jr. was an American actor. Granger was first noticed in a small stage production in Hollywood by a Goldwyn casting director, and given a significant role in The North Star (1943), a controversial film praising the Soviet Union at the height of World War II, but later condemned for its political position. Another war film, The Purple Heart (1944), followed, before Granger’s naval service in Honolulu, in a unit that arranged troop entertainment in the Pacific. Here he made useful contacts, including Bob Hope, Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth. It was also where he began exploring his bisexuality, which he said he never felt any need to conceal. Read more
• 27 Mar 2010: Dick Giordano, American illustrator (born 1932) Richard Joseph Giordano was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics’ “Action Heroes” stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Read more
• 27 Mar 2009: Irving R. Levine, American journalist and author (born 1922) Irving Raskin Levine was an American journalist and longtime correspondent for NBC News. During his 45-year career, Levine reported from more than two dozen countries. He was the first American television correspondent to be accredited in the Soviet Union. He wrote three non-fiction books on life in the USSR, each of which became a bestseller. Read more
• 27 Mar 2008: Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (born 1921) Jean-Marie Balestre was a French motorsport administrator and journalist. From 1978 to 1991, Balestre served as president of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA); from 1985 to 1993, he also served as president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Read more
• 27 Mar 2007: Nancy Adams, New Zealand botanist and illustrator (born 1926) Jacqueline Nancy Mary Adams was a New Zealand botanical illustrator, botanical collector, phycologist and museum curator. Throughout her career (1943–1987), she worked at DSIR and later at the Dominion Museum in different roles as technician, artist and assistant curator of botany. Largely self-taught, Adams collected over 3300 botanical specimens in New Zealand, illustrated nearly forty publications on algae and other native plants, and authored numerous scientific publications. Her major work, Seaweeds of New Zealand – An Illustrated Guide, was published in 1994. Read more
• 27 Mar 2007: Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1929) Paul Christian Lauterbur was an American chemist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 with Peter Mansfield for his work which made the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) possible. Read more
• 27 Mar 2006: Dan Curtis, American director and producer (born 1928) Daniel Mayer Cherkoss, known by his pen name Dan Curtis, was an American television and film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was best known as the creator of the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966–71), and for directing the epic World War II miniseries The Winds of War (1983) and War and Remembrance (1988). Read more
• 27 Mar 2006: Stanisław Lem, Ukrainian-Polish author (born 1921) Stanisław Herman Lem was a Polish writer. He was the author of many novels, short stories, and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical and humorous character. Lem’s books have been translated into more than 50 languages and have sold more than 45 million copies. Worldwide, he is best known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris. In 1976, Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science fiction writer in the world. Read more
• 27 Mar 2006: Rudolf Vrba, Czech Holocaust survivor and educator (born 1924) Rudolf Vrba was a Slovak-Jewish biochemist who, as a teenager in 1942, was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. He escaped from the camp in April 1944, at the height of the Holocaust, and co-wrote the Vrba-Wetzler report, a detailed report about the mass murder taking place there. The report, distributed by George Mantello in Switzerland, is credited with having halted the mass deportation of Hungary’s Jews to Auschwitz in July 1944, saving more than 200,000 lives. After the war, Vrba trained as a biochemist, working mostly in England and Canada. Read more
• 27 Mar 2006: Neil Williams, English cricketer (born 1962) Neil Fitzgerald Williams was an England cricketer, who played first-class cricket for both Middlesex and Essex. In a first-class career spanning over seventeen years, he took 675 wickets and scored 4,457 runs. Read more
• 27 Mar 2005: Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (born 1913) Wilfred Gordon “Bill” Bigelow was a Canadian heart surgeon known for his role in developing the artificial pacemaker and the use of hypothermia in open heart surgery. Read more
• 27 Mar 2004: Robert Merle, French author (born 1909) Robert Merle was a French novelist. Read more
• 27 Mar 2003: Edwin Carr, New Zealand composer and educator (born 1926) Edwin James Nairn Carr was a composer of classical music from New Zealand. Read more
• 27 Mar 2002: Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (born 1908) Milton Berle was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC’s Texaco Star Theatre (1948–1953), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as “Uncle Miltie” and “Mr. Television” during the first Golden Age of Television. He was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in both radio and TV. Read more
• 27 Mar 2002: Dudley Moore, English actor (born 1935) Dudley Stuart John Moore was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. He first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writer-performers in the groundbreaking satirical comedy revue Beyond the Fringe from 1960 to 1964. With another member of that team, Peter Cook, Moore collaborated on the BBC television series Not Only… But Also from 1965 to 1970. In their popular double act, Moore’s buffoonery contrasted with Cook’s deadpan monologues. They jointly received the 1966 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance and worked together on other projects, such as the hit film Bedazzled (1967) and the Derek and Clive series of comedy albums. Moore and Cook ceased working together regularly after 1978, by which time Moore had settled in Los Angeles, California to concentrate on his film career. Read more
• 27 Mar 2002: Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1906) Billy Wilder was an Austrian-American filmmaker and screenwriter. Born in Sucha Beskidzka, at the time in Austria-Hungary, Wilder’s career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most versatile filmmakers of classical Hollywood cinema. He received seven Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or and two Golden Globe Awards. Read more
• 27 Mar 2000: George Allen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1914) George Trenholm Allen was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played Left wing in the National Hockey League, mostly for the Chicago Black Hawks, between 1938 and 1947. Allen was born in Bayfield, New Brunswick, but grew up in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan. Read more
• 27 Mar 2000: Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter and actor (born 1942) Ian Robins Dury was an English singer, songwriter and actor best remembered as the frontman of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Described by The Guardian as “one of few true originals of the English music scene”, Dury drew from music hall and punk traditions, often incorporating observational humour and word play in his lyrics. Read more
• 27 Mar 1999: Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (born 1946) Michael Vaillancourt Aris was a British historian who wrote and lectured on Bhutanese, Tibetan, and Himalayan culture and history. He was the husband of Aung San Suu Kyi, who would later become State Counsellor of Myanmar. Read more
• 27 Mar 1998: David McClelland, American psychologist and academic (born 1917) David Clarence McClelland was an American psychologist, noted for his work on motivation need theory. He published a number of works between the 1950s and the 1990s and developed new scoring systems for the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and its descendants. McClelland is credited with developing Achievement Motivation Theory, commonly referred to as “need for achievement” or n-achievement theory. A Review of General Psychology survey published in 2002, ranked McClelland as the 15th most cited psychologist of the 20th century. Read more
• 27 Mar 1997: Lane Dwinell, American businessman and politician, 69th Governor of New Hampshire (born 1906) Seymour Lane Dwinell was an American manufacturer and Republican politician from Lebanon, New Hampshire. Born in 1906 in Newport, Vermont, he served in and led both houses of the New Hampshire legislature before his tenure as the 69th governor of New Hampshire from 1955 to 1959. He died in 1997 aged 90 in Hanover, New Hampshire and is buried in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Read more
• 27 Mar 1997: Ella Maillart, Swiss skier, sailor, field hockey player, and photographer (born 1903) Ella Maillart was a Swiss adventurer, travel writer and photographer, as well as a sportswoman. Read more
• 27 Mar 1995: René Allio, French director and screenwriter (born 1924) René Allio was a French film and theater director. Read more
• 27 Mar 1994: Elisabeth Schmid, German archaeologist and osteologist (born 1912) Elisabeth Schmid was a German archaeologist and osteologist. She is best known for her work concerning the prehistoric ivory statue, the lion-man, and for her book, Atlas of Animal Bones. Schmid was the first woman to serve as dean of the natural sciences faculty of the University of Basel. In 1953 she co-founded the Swiss Archaeological Society with Rudolf Laur-Belart. Read more
• 27 Mar 1994: Lawrence Wetherby, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Kentucky (born 1908) Lawrence Winchester Wetherby was an American politician who served as 40th lieutenant governor and the 48th governor of Kentucky. He was the first of only two Kentucky governors born in Jefferson County, despite the fact that Louisville is the state’s most populous city. The second governor born in Jefferson County is the incumbent governor, Democrat Andy Beshear, who grew up in the Lexington area. Two other governors have been elected when residents of Jefferson: Republicans Augustus Willson, 1907–11, and Matt Bevin, 2015–19. Read more
• 27 Mar 1993: Kamal Hassan Ali, Egyptian general and politician, Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1921) General Kamal Hassan Ali was an Egyptian politician and military hero. Read more
• 27 Mar 1993: Paul László, Hungarian-American architect and interior designer (born 1900) Paul László or Paul Laszlo was a Hungarian-born architect and interior designer whose work spanned eight decades and many countries. László built his reputation while designing interiors for houses, but in the 1960s, largely shifted his focus to the design of retail and commercial interiors. Read more
• 27 Mar 1992: Colin Gibson, English footballer (born 1923) Colin Haywood Gibson was an English footballer who scored 57 goals from 288 appearances in the Football League playing for Cardiff City, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Lincoln City. He played as an outside right or inside right. Read more
• 27 Mar 1992: Lang Hancock, Australian businessman (born 1909) Langley Frederick George Hancock was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the spheres of business and politics. Famous initially for discovering the world’s largest iron ore deposit in 1952 and becoming one of the richest men in Australia, he is now perhaps best remembered for his marriage to the much-younger Rose Porteous, a Filipino woman and his former maid. Hancock’s daughter, Gina Rinehart, was bitterly opposed to Hancock’s relationship with Porteous. The conflicts between Rinehart and Porteous overshadowed his final years and continued until more than a decade after his death. Read more
• 27 Mar 1992: James E. Webb, American colonel and politician, 16th Under Secretary of State (born 1906) James Edwin Webb was an American government official who served as Undersecretary of State from 1949 to 1952. He was the second administrator of NASA from February 14, 1961, to October 7, 1968. Webb led NASA from the beginning of the Kennedy administration through the end of the Johnson administration, thus overseeing each of the critical first crewed missions throughout the Mercury and Gemini programs until days before the launch of the first Apollo mission. He also dealt with the Apollo 1 fire. He helped found the National Academy of Public Administration, a key locus for governmental reform studies. Read more
• 27 Mar 1991: Aldo Ray, American actor (born 1926) Aldo Ray was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Pictures before achieving stardom through his roles in The Marrying Kind, Pat and Mike, Let’s Do It Again, and Battle Cry. His athletic build and gruff, raspy voice saw him frequently typecast in “tough guy” roles throughout his career, which lasted well into the late 1980s. Read more
• 27 Mar 1990: Percy Beard, American hurdler and coach (born 1908) Percy Morris Beard was an American college and international track and field athlete who specialized in the high hurdles event, and won an Olympic silver medal. Beard later became a nationally prominent college track and field coach at the University of Florida. Read more
• 27 Mar 1989: May Allison, American actress (born 1890) May Allison was an American actress whose greatest success was achieved in the early part of the 20th century in silent films, although she also appeared on stage. Read more
• 27 Mar 1989: Malcolm Cowley, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (born 1898) Malcolm Cowley was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, Blue Juniata (1929), and his memoir, Exile’s Return, written as a chronicler and fellow traveller of the Lost Generation and an influential editor and talent scout at Viking Press. Read more
• 27 Mar 1988: Charles Willeford, American author, poet, and critic (born 1919) Charles Ray Willeford III was an American writer. An author of fiction, poetry, autobiography and literary criticism, Willeford wrote a series of novels featuring hardboiled detective Hoke Moseley. Willeford published steadily from the 1940s on, but vaulted to wider attention with the first Hoke Moseley book, Miami Blues (1984), which is considered one of its era’s most influential works of crime fiction. Film adaptations have been made of four of Willeford’s novels: Cockfighter, Miami Blues, The Woman Chaser, and The Burnt Orange Heresy. Read more
• 27 Mar 1987: William Bowers, American journalist and screenwriter (born 1916) William Bowers was an American reporter, playwright, and screenwriter. He worked as a reporter in Long Beach, California and for Life magazine, and specialized in writing comedy-westerns. He also turned out several thrillers. Read more
• 27 Mar 1982: Fazlur Khan, Bangladeshi-American engineer and architect, designed the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower (born 1929) Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect, who initiated important structural systems for skyscrapers. Considered the “father of tubular designs” for high-rises, Khan was also a pioneer in computer-aided design (CAD). He was the designer of the Sears Tower, since renamed Willis Tower, the tallest building in the world from 1973 until 1998, and the 100-story John Hancock Center. Read more
• 27 Mar 1981: Jakob Ackeret, Swiss engineer and academic (born 1898) Jakob Ackeret, FRAeS was a Swiss aeronautical engineer. He is widely viewed as one of the foremost aeronautics experts of the 20th century. Read more
• 27 Mar 1980: Steve Fisher, American author and screenwriter (born 1912) Stephen Gould Fisher was an American author best known for his pulp stories, novels and screenplays. He is one of the few pulp authors to go on to enjoy success as both an author in “slick” magazines, such as the Saturday Evening Post, and as an in-demand writer in Hollywood. Read more
• 27 Mar 1978: Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded the White Spot (born 1902) Nathaniel Ryal Bailey, better known as Nat Bailey, was an American-born Canadian restaurateur, and the founder of White Spot restaurants. He is known for building the first drive-in restaurant in Canada, in 1928, and developing the first carhop tray. His chain of restaurants continues to thrive today. Read more
• 27 Mar 1978: Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey (born 1922) Kunwar Digvijay Singh, popularly known as “Babu”, was an Indian field hockey player. He was born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. He is widely known for his passing ability and is considered by many to be the greatest dribbler of the game comparable only to Dhyan Chand. Read more
• 27 Mar 1978: Sverre Farstad, Norwegian speed skater (born 1920) Sverre Farstad was a Norwegian speed skater representing Sportsklubben Falken, Trondheim, as part of the Falken Trio also including Henry Wahl and Hjalmar Andersen. Farstad won one Olympic gold medal and one European Championship in his three-year international career. Read more
• 27 Mar 1977: Shirley Graham Du Bois, American author, playwright, and composer (born 1896) Shirley Graham Du Bois was an American-Ghanaian writer, playwright, composer, and activist for African-American causes, among others. She won the Messner and the Anisfield-Wolf prizes for her works. She was also the wife of activist W. E. B. Du Bois. Read more
• 27 Mar 1977: Diana Hyland, American actress (born 1936) Diana Hyland was an American stage, film, and television actress. Read more
• 27 Mar 1977: Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Dutch airline pilot (born 1927) Jacob Louis “Jaap” Veldhuyzen van Zanten was a Dutch aircraft captain and flight instructor. He was the captain of the KLM plane involved in the Tenerife airport disaster and died in the collision, which is the deadliest accident in aviation history. He was KLM’s chief instructor and commonly appeared on advertising. Read more
• 27 Mar 1976: Georg August Zinn, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Hesse (born 1901) Georg August Zinn was a German lawyer and a politician of the SPD. He was a member of the Bundestag from 1949 to 1951 representing Kassel, the 2nd Minister-President of Hesse from 1950 to 1969 and served as the 5th and 16th President of the Bundesrat in 1953/54 and 1964/65. Read more
• 27 Mar 1975: Arthur Bliss, English conductor and composer (born 1891) Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss was British composer and conductor. Read more
• 27 Mar 1974: Eduardo Santos, Colombian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of Colombia (born 1888) Eduardo Santos Montejo was a Colombian publisher and politician who was President of Colombia from 1938 to 1942. Read more
• 27 Mar 1973: Mikhail Kalatozov, Georgian-Russian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (born 1903) Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozov, born Mikheil Kalatozishvili, was a Soviet film director of Georgian origin who contributed to both Georgian and Russian cinema. He is known for his films The Cranes Are Flying and I Am Cuba, winning the Palme d’Or for the former at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. Kalatozov received the State Stalin Prize in 1951. In 1969, he was named a People’s Artist of the USSR. Read more
• 27 Mar 1972: Lorenzo Wright, American athlete (born 1926) Lorenzo Christopher Wright was an American athlete. A Detroit native, he started at Miller High School and Wayne State University; Wright is renowned for his noteworthy track and field accomplishments. Read more
• 27 Mar 1968: Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (born 1934) Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful crewed spaceflight, became the first person to journey into outer space. Travelling on Vostok 1, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961, with his flight taking 108 minutes. By achieving this major milestone for the Soviet Union amidst the Space Race, he became an international celebrity and was awarded many medals and titles, including his country’s highest distinction: Hero of the Soviet Union. Read more
• 27 Mar 1968: Vladimir Seryogin, Russian soldier and pilot (born 1922) Vladimir Sergeyevich Seryogin was a Soviet test pilot. Read more
• 27 Mar 1967: Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1890) Jaroslav Heyrovský was a Czech chemist and inventor who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1959 for his invention of polarography. Read more
• 27 Mar 1960: Gregorio Marañón, Spanish physician, philosopher, and author (born 1887) Gregorio Marañón y Posadillo, OWL was a Spanish physician, scientist, historian, writer and philosopher. He married Dolores Moya in 1911, and they had four children. Read more
• 27 Mar 1958: Leon C. Phillips, American lawyer and politician, 11th Governor of Oklahoma (born 1890) Leon Chase “Red” Phillips was an American attorney, a state legislator and the 11th governor of Oklahoma from 1939 to 1943. As Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Phillips made a name for himself as an obstructionist of the proposals of governors William H. Murray and E.W. Marland, including components of the New Deal. As governor, Phillips pushed for deep cuts, but was unable to avoid an unbalanced budget. Read more
• 27 Mar 1956: Évariste Lévi-Provençal, French orientalist and historian (born 1894) Évariste Lévi-Provençal was a French medievalist, orientalist, Arabist, and historian of Islam. Read more
• 27 Mar 1952: Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (born 1894) Kiichiro Toyoda was a Japanese engineer and businessman, and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. His decision to change Toyoda’s focus from automatic loom manufacture into automobile manufacturing created what later became Toyota. Read more
• 27 Mar 1949: Elisheva Bikhovski, Israeli-Russian poet (born 1888) Elisheva Bikhovski was a Russian and Israeli poet, writer, literary critic and translator, often known simply by her adopted Biblical Hebrew name “Elishéva”. Her Russian Orthodox father, Ivan Zhirkov, was a village teacher who later became a bookseller and textbook publisher; her mother was descended from Irish Catholics who had settled in Russia after the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). Elisheva wrote most of her works in Hebrew, and also translated English and Hebrew poetry into Russian. Read more
• 27 Mar 1946: Karl Groos, German psychologist and philosopher (born 1861) Karl Groos was a German philosopher and psychologist who proposed an evolutionary instrumentalist theory of play. His 1898 book on The Play of Animals suggested that play is a preparation for later life. Read more
• 27 Mar 1945: Vincent Hugo Bendix, American engineer and businessman, founded Bendix Corporation (born 1881) Vincent Hugo Bendix was an American inventor and industrialist. Vincent Bendix was a pioneer and leader in both the automotive and aviation industries during the 1920s and 1930s. Read more
• 27 Mar 1945: Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (born 1866) Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil was a Turkish author, poet, and playwright. A part of the Edebiyat-ı Cedide movement of the late Ottoman Empire, he was the founder of and contributor to many literary movements and institutions, including his flagship Servet-i Fünun journal. He was a strong critic of the Sultan Abdul Hamid II, which led to the censorship of much of his work by the Ottoman government. His many novels, plays, short stories, and essays include his 1899 romance novel Aşk-ı Memnu, which has been adapted into an internationally successful television series of the same name. Read more
• 27 Mar 1943: George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, English politician, 5th Governor-General of New Zealand (born 1882) George Vere Arundell Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, was a British politician. He served as the fifth Governor-General of New Zealand from 1935 to 1941. Read more
• 27 Mar 1942: Julio González, Catalan sculptor and painter (born 1876) Julio González i Pellicer, born in Barcelona, was a Spanish sculptor and painter who developed the expressive use of iron as a medium for modern sculpture. Known as “the father of all iron sculpture of this century”, he was associated with the Spanish circle of artists of Montmartre. He came from a lineage of metalsmith workers and artists. Read more
• 27 Mar 1940: Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (born 1872) Michael Joseph Savage was an Australian-born New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940. Read more
• 27 Mar 1940: Dan Kolov, Bulgarian professional wrestler (born 1892) Doncho Kolev Danev, better known by the ring name Dan Kolov, was a Bulgarian professional wrestler born in Sennik, Bulgaria who was the first European freestyle wrestling champion from Bulgaria. He is also famously known for rejecting the offer to become a bodyguard for one of the most powerful mobsters in history Al Capone. Read more
• 27 Mar 1938: William Stern, German-American psychologist and philosopher (born 1871) Louis William Stern was a German American psychologist and philosopher who originated personalistic psychology, which placed emphasis on the individual by examining measurable personality traits as well as the interaction of those traits within each person to create the self. Read more
• 27 Mar 1934: Francis William Reitz, South African lawyer and politician, 5th State President of the Orange Free State (born 1844) Francis William Reitz Jr. was a South African lawyer, politician, statesman, publicist, and poet who was a member of parliament of the Cape Colony, Chief Justice and fifth State President of the Orange Free State, State Secretary of the South African Republic at the time of the Second Boer War, and the first president of the Senate of the Union of South Africa. Read more
• 27 Mar 1931: Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (born 1867) Enoch Arnold Bennett was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays, and a daily journal totalling more than a million words. He wrote articles and stories for more than 100 newspapers and periodicals, worked in and briefly ran the Ministry of Information during the First World War, and wrote for the cinema in the 1920s. Sales of his books were substantial, and he was the most financially successful British author of his day. Read more
• 27 Mar 1928: Leslie Stuart, English organist and composer (born 1863) Leslie Stuart born Thomas Augustine Barrett was an English composer of Edwardian musical comedy, best known for the hit show Florodora (1899) and many popular songs. Read more
• 27 Mar 1927: Joe Start, American baseball player and manager (born 1842) Joseph Start, nicknamed “Old Reliable”, was one of the most durable regulars of baseball’s earliest era, and one of the top first basemen of his time. He began his playing career in 1859, before the formation of organized leagues and before ballplayers received payment for their services. He continued to play regularly until 1886, when he was 43. Start’s career spanned countless innovations that transformed the game in fundamental ways, but he adjusted and continued to play at a high level for almost three decades. Baseball historian Bill Ryczek said that Start “was the last of the pre–Civil War players to hang up his cleats.” Read more
• 27 Mar 1927: Klaus Berntsen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (born 1844) Klaus Berntsen was a Danish politician, representing the Liberal party, Venstre. He was Council President of Denmark from 1910 to 1913. He served as minister of defence from 1910 to 1913 and again from 1920 to 1922. He was also minister of the interior from 1908 to 1909. Read more
• 27 Mar 1926: Kick Kelly, American baseball player, manager, and umpire (born 1856) John O. “Kick” Kelly, also nicknamed “Honest John” and “Diamond John”, was an American catcher, manager and umpire in Major League Baseball who went on to become a boxing referee and to run gambling houses in his native New York City. He made a notable impact on the development of umpiring, helping to pioneer the use of multiple umpires in games in the 1880s. By the time he initially retired in 1888, he held the record for most games umpired in the major leagues (587); he returned to work the last two months of the 1897 season. Read more
• 27 Mar 1926: Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1887) Joseph Georges Gonzague Vézina was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. A goaltender, he played seven seasons in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and nine in the National Hockey League (NHL), all with the Montreal Canadiens. After being signed by the Canadiens in 1910, Vézina played in 327 consecutive regular season games and a further 39 playoff games, before leaving early during a game in 1925 due to illness. Vézina was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and died on March 27, 1926. Read more
• 27 Mar 1925: Carl Neumann, German mathematician and academic (born 1832) Carl Gottfried Neumann was a German mathematical physicist and professor at several German universities. His work focused on applications of potential theory to physics and mathematics. He contributed to the mathematical formalization of electrodynamics and analytical mechanics. Neumann boundary conditions and the Neumann series are named after him. Read more
• 27 Mar 1923: James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist (born 1842) Sir James Dewar was a Scottish chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction for his research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied atomic and molecular spectroscopy, working in these fields for more than 25 years. Dewar was nominated for the Nobel Prize 8 times — 5 times in Physics and 3 times in Chemistry — but he was never so honoured. Read more
• 27 Mar 1922: Nikolay Sokolov, Russian composer and educator (born 1859) Nikolay Alexandrovich Sokolov was a Russian composer of classical music and a member of the circle that grew around the publisher Mitrofan Belyayev. Read more
• 27 Mar 1921: Harry Barron, English general and politician, 16th Governor of Western Australia (born 1847) Major-General Sir Harry Barron, was a British Army officer who served as Governor of Tasmania from 1909 to 1913, and Governor of Western Australia from 1913 to 1917. Read more
• 27 Mar 1918: Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (born 1838) Henry Brooks Adams was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Francis Adams, Abraham Lincoln’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. The posting influenced the younger man through the experience of wartime diplomacy and absorption in English culture, especially the works of John Stuart Mill. After the American Civil War, he became a political journalist who entertained America’s foremost intellectuals at his homes in Washington and Boston. Read more
• 27 Mar 1918: Martin Sheridan, Irish-American discus thrower and jumper (born 1881) Martin John Sheridan was an Irish-American athlete and three time Olympic Games gold medallist in discus throw. Read more
• 27 Mar 1913: Richard Montgomery Gano, American minister, physician, and general (born 1830) Richard Montgomery Gano was a physician, Protestant minister, and brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. Read more
• 27 Mar 1910: Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, Swiss-American ichthyologist, zoologist, and engineer (born 1835) Alexander Emmanuel Rodolphe Agassiz, was an American scientist and engineer. He was the son of Louis Agassiz and stepson of Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, Read more
• 27 Mar 1900: Joseph A. Campbell, American businessman, founded the Campbell Soup Company (born 1817) Joseph Albert Campbell was an American businessman who is best known for founding Campbell Soup Company in 1869 when he partnered with Abraham Anderson. Read more
• 27 Mar 1898: Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and activist (born 1817) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, also spelled Sayyid Ahmad Khan, was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British Raj. Read more
• 27 Mar 1897: Andreas Anagnostakis, Greek ophthalmologist, physician, and educator (born 1826) Andreas Anagnostakis was a Greek ophthalmologist, physician, and educator. He is best known for inventing the ophthalmoscope, a handheld tool used in diagnostics and still relevant today. He is credited as the first ophthalmologist in Greece. Read more
• 27 Mar 1890: Carl Jacob Löwig, German chemist and academic (born 1803) Carl Jacob Löwig was a German chemist and discovered bromine independently of Antoine Jérôme Balard. Read more
• 27 Mar 1889: John Bright, English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (born 1811) John Bright was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. Read more
• 27 Mar 1886: Henry Taylor, English poet and playwright (born 1800) Sir Henry Taylor was an English dramatist and poet and Colonial Office official. Read more
• 27 Mar 1878: George Gilbert Scott, English architect, designed the Albert Memorial and St Mary’s Cathedral (born 1811) Sir George Gilbert Scott, largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started his career as a leading designer of workhouses. Over 800 buildings were designed or altered by him. Read more
• 27 Mar 1875: Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, Peruvian soldier and politician, President of Peru (born 1808) Juan Crisóstomo Torrico Vargas served as the 16th President of Peru during a brief period in 1842. At age 34, he was Peru’s youngest President ever. Read more
• 27 Mar 1875: Edgar Quinet, French historian and academic (born 1803) Edgar Quinet was a French historian and intellectual. Read more
• 27 Mar 1869: James Harper, American publisher and politician, 65th Mayor of New York City (born 1795) James Harper was an American publisher and politician. Along with his brother John, Harper formed publishing company J. & J. Harper in 1817. He incorporated his brothers Joseph and Fletcher into the company in 1825, changing its name to Harper & Brothers. Read more
• 27 Mar 1864: Jean-Jacques Ampère, French philologist and academic (born 1800) Jean-Jacques Ampère was a French philologist and man of letters. Read more
• 27 Mar 1850: Wilhelm Beer, Prussian astronomer and banker (born 1797) Wilhelm Wolff Beer was a banker and astronomer from Berlin, Prussia, and the brother of Giacomo Meyerbeer. Read more
• 27 Mar 1849: Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford, Irish-Canadian politician, 35th Governor General of Canada (born 1776) Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford,, styled The Honourable Archibald Acheson from 1790 to 1806 and Lord Acheson from 1806 to 1807, was a British politician who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada and Governor General of British North America in the 19th century. Read more
• 27 Mar 1848: Gabriel Bibron, French zoologist and herpetologist (born 1805) Gabriel Bibron was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d’histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. Under the direction of Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent (1778–1846), he took part in the Morea expedition to Peloponnese. Read more

Why is 27 March Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 27 March, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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What happened on 27 March in World history?

On 27 March, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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