What happened on February 27 ?

272 - Constantine I, Roman emperor (d. 337)

1691 - Edward Cave, English editor and publisher (d. 1754)

1711 - Constantine Mavrocordatos, Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia (d. 1769)

1807 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (d. 1882)

1861 - Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher (d. 1925)

1886 - Hugo Black, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1971)

1888 - Lotte Lehmann, German singer (d. 1976)

1888 - Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist (d. 1974)

1890 - Freddie Keppard, American jazz musician (d. 1933)

1891 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born broadcasting pioneer (d. 1971)

1892 - William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)

1897 - Marian Anderson, American contralto (d. 1993)

1899 - Charles Best, American medical scientist (d. 1978)

1902 - Gene Sarazen, American golfer (d. 1999)

1902 - John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)

1903 - Grethe Weiser, German actress (d. 1970)

1904 - James T. Farrell, American writer (d. 1979)

1904 - Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist (d. 1996)

1905 - Franchot Tone, American actor (d. 1968)

1907 - Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)

1910 - Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)

1910 - Peter De Vries, American writer (d. 1993)

1910 - Kelly Johnson, American aircraft engineer (d. 1990)

1912 - Lawrence Durrell, British writer (d. 1990)

1913 - Irwin Shaw, American writer (d. 1984)

1917 - John Connally, Governor of Texas (d. 1993)

1922 - Hans Rookmaaker, Dutch professor and art historian (d. 1977)

1923 - Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1990)

1925 - Samuel Dash, American Congressional counsel (d. 2004)

1926 - David H. Hubel, Canadian neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1927 - Lynn Cartwright, American actress (d. 2004)

1927 - Guy Mitchell, American singer (d. 1999)

1929 - Djalma Santos, Brazilian football player

1930 - Peter Stone, American writer (d. 2003)

1930 - Joanne Woodward, American actress

1932 - Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress

1933 - Raymond Berry, American football player

1934 - Vincent Fourcade, French American interior designer and socialite (d. 1992)

1934 - N. Scott Momaday, American writer

1934 - Ralph Nader, American consumer activist

1934 - Van Williams, American actor

1935 - Mirella Freni, Italian soprano

1937 - Barbara Babcock, American actress

1940 - Howard Hesseman, American actor

1941 - Paddy Ashdown, British politician

1942 - Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate

1942 - Charlayne Hunter-Gault, American journalist

1943 - Mary Frann, American actress (d. 1998)

1943 - Morten Lauridsen, American composer

1945 - Carl Anderson, American singer and actor (d. 2004)

1947 - Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist

1954 - Neal Schon, American musician (Journey)

1956 - Marjorie Russo, American poet

1957 - Viktor Markin, Russian athlete

1957 - Adrian Smith, English musician (Iron Maiden)

1962 - Adam Baldwin, American actor

1962 - Grant Show, American actor

1965 - Noah Emmerich, American actor

1965 - Frank Peter Zimmermann, German violinist

1966 - Donal Logue, Canadian actor

1969 - Brad Vander Ark, American musician

1970 - Michael A. Burstein, American writer

1971 - Derren Brown, British psychological illusionist

1971 - Rozonda Thomas, American singer (TLC)

1978 - James Beattie, English footballer

1980 - Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former U.S. President Bill Clinton

1981 - Josh Groban, American singer

1984 - Juliana Imai, Brazilian model

1985 - Fefe Dobson, Canadian singer

1985 - Abe Asami. Japanese singer and actress.

1988 - JD Natasha, American musician