Friday, 27th March 2026 in Kyiv

27th March in the Stars – Star Sign Aries

Today, the zodiac sign Aries celebrates its birthday.

Personality Profile

Personality People born on March 27 blend classic Aries courage with Jupiterian wisdom. They are lively, direct, and pioneering, yet show more foresight than typical Aries. Their creativity expresses itself through spontaneous ideas and generous gestures.

Strengths & Weaknesses Their strength lies in courage, optimism, and the ability to inspire others. Weakness: they can be impatient and prone to impulsive decisions. Overconfidence in their abilities can lead to careless mistakes.

Love These natives love passionately and honestly. They seek partners who match their energy and stimulate them intellectually. Long-term, they need space for personal growth and shared adventures.

Caree & Finance Career means independence and impact to them. They thrive in positions with responsibility, especially entrepreneurship or leadership. Financially optimistic, yet they should rein in impulsive spending.

Health Their energy is admirable, but rest is essential. Intense movement and mental challenges keep them vital. Nervous tension from constant activity requires targeted stress relief.

That night, the moon was in its last quarter phase.

Chinese year of the Horse (Fire).

Fun Facts About 27th March

Name Days in Your Language: Acher, Archibald, Archie, Monte, Montgomery, Monty

Someone born on this day would be just 86 days old today — roughly 2,080 hours, 124,830 minutes, or 7,489,849 seconds spent on Earth so far.

It's the 86. day of the year. In 2026, 27th March falls on a Friday.

There are 279 days still to come.

We’re currently in Week 13 — the year marches on.

Famous Birthdays on 27th March

On this day, 283 notable people were born on 27th March — spanning from 1401 to 2002. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

27/03/2002

Daria Snigur, Ukrainian tennis player

Daria Serhiivna Snigur is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 93, achieved on 30 March 2026. Snigur has won 12 singles titles at tournaments of the ITF Women's Circuit.

27/03/2001

Natanael Cano, Mexican rapper and singer

Natanael Rubén Cano Monge is a Mexican rapper and singer. 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".

27/03/2000

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.

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. She also portrays Rose Landry in the Canadian sports romance series Heated Rivalry (2025-present).

27/03/1999

Jesser, American YouTuber

Jesse Riedel, better known as Jesser, formerly known as JesserTheLazer, is an American YouTuber. He makes videos based primarily around basketball, being the largest basketball content creator on the platform. His videos usually include challenges or meeting professional athletes.

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.

27/03/1998

Giannis Bouzoukis, Greek footballer

Giannis Bouzoukis is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League club Volos.

27/03/1997

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.

27/03/1995

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 and the New Zealand national team.

27/03/1993

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.

27/03/1992

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.

27/03/1991

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.

27/03/1990

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.

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 and Australia at international test level.

Nicolas Nkoulou, Cameroonian footballer

Nicolas Julio Nkoulou Ndoubena is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Luca Zuffi, Swiss footballer

Luca Zuffi is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as midfielder for Winterthur.

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.

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.

27/03/1989

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.

Camilla Lees, New Zealand netball player

Camilla Lees is a New Zealand netball player.

27/03/1988

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.

Atsuto Uchida, Japanese footballer

Atsuto Uchida is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

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).

Mauro Goicoechea, Uruguayan footballer

Mauro Daniel Goicoechea Furia is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Uruguayan Primera División team Danubio.

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.

27/03/1987

Jefferson Bernárdez, Honduran footballer

Jefferson Jair Bernárdez Bennett is a Honduran football forward who currently plays for Parrillas One.

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1986

Manuel Neuer, German footballer

Manuel Peter Neuer is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, which he captains, and the Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest 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.

27/03/1985

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.

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.

27/03/1984

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.

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.

Brett Holman, Australian footballer

Brett Trevor Holman is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder.

27/03/1983

Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter

Yuliya Alekseyevna Golubchikova is a Russian pole vaulter.

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).

Román Martínez, Argentinian footballer

Román Fernando Martínez Scharner is an Argentine former footballer who played as a midfielder.

27/03/1982

Shawn Beveney, Guyanese footballer

Shawn Beveney is a Guyanese footballer who plays for Haringey Borough F.C.

27/03/1981

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1980

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.

Michaela Paštiková, Czech tennis player

Michaela Paštiková is a retired tennis player from the Czech Republic.

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.

27/03/1979

Tom Palmer, English rugby union player

Tom Palmer is a former English rugby union player. His position is a lock

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1978

Gabriel Paraschiv, Romanian footballer

Gabriel Ioan Paraschiv is a Romanian former football player, currently the manager of Liga III side Flacăra Moreni.

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.

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.

27/03/1977

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.

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.

27/03/1976

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.

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.

Adrian Anca, Romanian footballer

Adrian Gheorghe Anca is a former Romanian football striker and manager.

27/03/1975

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.

Kim Felton, Australian golfer

Kim Felton is an Australian professional golfer.

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.

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.

27/03/1974

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.

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.

Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer

Gaizka Mendieta Zabala is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

27/03/1973

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.

27/03/1972

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.

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".

27/03/1971

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.

Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor

Nathan 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.

27/03/1970

Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (died 2001)

Leila Pahlavi was a princess of Iran. She was the youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Shah the last Shah of Iran, and his third wife, Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

27/03/1969

Gianluigi Lentini, Italian footballer and manager

Gianluigi Lentini is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a winger.

Pauley Perrette, American actress

Pauley Perrette is a retired American actress and singer. She played Abby Sciuto in the television series NCIS from 2003 to 2018.

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.

27/03/1968

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.

27/03/1967

Kenta Kobashi, Japanese professional wrestler

Kenta Kobashi is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired wrestler. Broadly referred to by the nickname "Tetsujin" , he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He is best known for his two runs in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah, of which he captured AJPW's Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship thrice, and Noah's GHC Heavyweight Championship once. He is the winner of numerous Match of the Year and Wrestler of the Year awards, including from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) and Tokyo Sports.

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.

27/03/1966

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.

27/03/1965

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.

27/03/1963

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.

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.

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.

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.

Gary Stevens, English-Australian footballer and physiotherapist

Michael Gary Stevens is an English physiotherapist and retired footballer who played as a right-back.

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 accolades, including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards. His films have grossed more than $1.9 billion worldwide.

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.

27/03/1962

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1961

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.

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.

27/03/1960

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.

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.

27/03/1959

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.

Ivan Savvidis, Russian-Greek oligarch and politician

Ivan Ignatyevich Savvidi, also known as Ivan Savvidis, is a Russian-Greek businessman. 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.

27/03/1958

Didier de Radiguès, Belgian race car driver and motorcycle racer

Didier Marie Jean François Colette Ghislain de Radiguès de Chennevière 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.

27/03/1957

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.

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.

27/03/1956

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.

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.

27/03/1955

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1954

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.

27/03/1953

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.

27/03/1952

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.

Maria Schneider, French actress (died 2011)

Maria-Hélène Schneider, known professionally as Maria Schneider, was a French actress.

27/03/1951

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.

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.

27/03/1950

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.

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1948

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.

27/03/1947

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.

Brian Jones, English balloonist and pilot

Brian George Jones is an English balloonist.

Walt Mossberg, American journalist

Walter S. Mossberg is an American retired technology journalist and moderator.

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.

27/03/1946

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.

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 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.

27/03/1944

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.

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.

27/03/1943

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.

27/03/1942

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.

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.

Michael York, English actor

Michael York, OBE is a British 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.

27/03/1941

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.

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.

27/03/1940

Sandro Munari, Italian race car driver (died 2026)

Alessandro Munari, also nicknamed Il Drago, was an Italian motor racing and rally driver.

Austin Pendleton, American actor, director, and playwright

Austin Campbell Pendleton is an American actor, playwright, and theatre director.

27/03/1939

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.

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.

27/03/1937

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.

27/03/1936

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.

27/03/1935

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.

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.

27/03/1934

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.

Ioannis Palaiokrassas, Greek politician (died 2021)

Ioannis Palaiokrassas was a Greek politician.

27/03/1933

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.

27/03/1932

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.

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.

27/03/1931

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.

27/03/1930

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.

27/03/1929

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.

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.

27/03/1928

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.

27/03/1927

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.

Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (died 2007)

Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was a Soviet and 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.

27/03/1926

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.

27/03/1924

Sarah Vaughan, American singer (died 1990)

Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy", "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".

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.

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.

27/03/1923

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.

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.

27/03/1922

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.

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.

Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, and sculptor (died 2007)

Jevel Demikovski, known professionally as Jules Olitski, was an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor.

27/03/1921

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.

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.

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).

27/03/1920

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.

27/03/1917

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.

Mary Watt, New Zealand landscape architect and gardener (died 2005)

Muriel Mary Watt was a New Zealand landscape architect and gardener.

27/03/1915

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.

27/03/1914

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.

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.

27/03/1913

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.

27/03/1912

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.

27/03/1911

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.

27/03/1910

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.

27/03/1909

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.

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.

Valery Marakou, Belarusian poet and translator (died 1937)

Valery Marakou was a Belarusian poet and translator.

27/03/1906

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.

27/03/1905

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1903

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.

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.

27/03/1902

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.

Charles Lang, American cinematographer (died 1998)

Charles Bryant Lang Jr., A.S.C. was an American cinematographer, active from the silent era through the early 1970's. He won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on A Farewell to Arms (1932), with an additional 17 nominations between 1931 and 1973.

27/03/1901

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

27/03/1899

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.

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.

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 also earned her a Golden Globe Award.

27/03/1897

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.

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.

27/03/1895

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.

27/03/1894

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.

27/03/1893

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1892

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.

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.

27/03/1891

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.

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.

27/03/1890

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.

Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Scottish admiral (died 1974)

Sir Frederick Hew George Dalrymple-Hamilton 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.

27/03/1889

Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Egyptian-Turkish journalist, author, and politician (died 1974)

Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu was a Turkish novelist, journalist, diplomat, and member of parliament.

Leonard Mociulschi, Romanian general (died 1979)

Leonard Mociulschi was a Romanian Major General of Polish origin during World War II.

27/03/1888

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.

27/03/1887

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.

27/03/1886

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1885

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.

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.

27/03/1884

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.

27/03/1883

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.

27/03/1882

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.

27/03/1881

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.

27/03/1879

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1878

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 Hepworth and Henry Moore, has led to a lack of recognition for her artistic achievements.

27/03/1877

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.

27/03/1875

Albert Marquet, French painter (died 1947)

Albert Marquet was a French painter. He initially was one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more impressionist style, primarily landscapes, but also several portraits and, between 1910 and 1914, several female nude paintings.

27/03/1871

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1869

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.

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.

27/03/1868

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).

27/03/1866

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.

27/03/1863

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.

27/03/1862

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.

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.

27/03/1860

Frank Frost Abbott, American-Swiss scholar and academic (died 1924)

Frank Frost Abbott was an American classical scholar.

27/03/1859

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.

27/03/1857

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.

27/03/1855

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.

27/03/1854

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.

27/03/1852

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.

27/03/1851

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.

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.

27/03/1847

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.

27/03/1845

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.

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".

27/03/1844

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.

27/03/1843

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.

27/03/1839

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.

27/03/1824

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.

27/03/1822

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.

27/03/1820

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.

27/03/1814

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.

27/03/1812

William Robinson (Canadian architect), Canadian architect and land surveyor (died 1894)

William Robinson was an Irish-born Canadian architect and land surveyor. Born in New Ross, County Wexford, Robinson emigrated to Upper Canada with his family in 1836. While the family settled in Burford, Robinson spent several years travelling the region working as a labourer before informally apprenticing to Thomas Young in Toronto. He remained in the city for more than a decade, under a series of employers that included Henry Bowyer Lane, and was certified as a land surveyor in 1846.

27/03/1811

Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (died 1880)

Edward William Cooke was an English landscape and marine painter, and gardener.

27/03/1809

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.

27/03/1802

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.

27/03/1801

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.

27/03/1797

Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet, and playwright (died 1863)

Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny was a French poet and an early French Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare.

27/03/1785

Louis XVII of France (died 1795)

Louis XVII was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a month before the start of the French Revolution. At his brother's death he became the new Dauphin, a title he held until 1791, when the new constitution accorded the heir apparent the title of Prince Royal.

27/03/1784

Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Hungarian philologist, orientalist, and author (died 1842)

Sándor Csoma de Kőrös was a Hungarian philologist and Orientalist, author of the first Tibetan–English dictionary and grammar book. He was called Phyi-glin-gi-grwa-pa in Tibetan, meaning "the foreign pupil", and was declared a bosatsu or bodhisattva by the Japanese in 1933. He was born in Kőrös, Grand Principality of Transylvania. His birth date is often given as 4 April, although this is actually his baptism day and the year of his birth is debated by some authors who put it at 1787 or 1788 rather than 1784. The Magyar ethnic group, the Székelys, to which he belonged believed that they were derived from a branch of Attila's Huns who had settled in Transylvania in the fifth century. Hoping to study the claim and to find the place of origin of the Székelys and the Magyars by studying language kinship, he set off to Asia in 1820 and spent his lifetime studying the Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy. Csoma de Kőrös is considered as the founder of Tibetology. He was said to have been able to read in seventeen languages. He died in Darjeeling while attempting to make a trip to Lhasa in 1842 and a memorial was erected in his honour by the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

27/03/1781

Alexander Vostokov, Estonian-Russian philologist and academic (died 1864)

Alexander Khristoforovich Vostokov was a Russian philologist and poet. He was among the first significant scholars of Russian verse and versification, as well as one of the founders of comparative Slavic linguistics in Russia.

27/03/1765

Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (died 1841)

Benedict Franz von Baader, born Benedikt Franz Xaver Baader, was a Catholic theologian, philosopher, and mining engineer from Germany. Resisting the empiricism of his day, he denounced most Western philosophy since Descartes as trending into atheism and has been considered a revival of the Scholastic school. He was an important theorist of androgyny.

27/03/1746

Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (died 1767)

Michael Bruce was a Scottish poet and hymnist.

Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican-French lawyer and politician (died 1785)

Carlo Maria Buonaparte, also known as Carlo Maria di Buonaparte and Charles-Marie Bonaparte, was a Corsican attorney, nobleman, and official, best known as the father of Napoleon Bonaparte and grandfather of Napoleon III.

27/03/1724

Jane Colden, American botanist and author (died 1766)

Jane Colden was an American botanist, described as the "first botanist of her sex in her country" by Asa Gray in 1843. Although not acknowledged in contemporary botanical publications, she wrote a number of letters resulting in botanist John Ellis writing to Carl Linnaeus of her work applying the Linnaean system of plant identification to American flora, for which botanist Peter Collinson stated "she deserves to be celebrated". Contemporary scholarship maintains that she was the first female botanist working in America, which ignores, among others, Maria Sibylla Merian or Catherine Jérémie. Colden was respected as a botanist by many prominent botanists including John Bartram, Peter Collinson, Alexander Garden, and Carl Linnaeus. Colden is most famous for her untitled manuscript, housed in the British Museum, in which she describes the flora of the Hudson Valley in the Newburgh region of New York state, including ink drawings of 340 different species.

27/03/1714

Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian historian and theologian (died 1795)

Francesco Antonio Zaccaria was an Italian theologian, historian, and prolific writer.

27/03/1712

Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and author (died 1779)

Claude Bourgelat was a French veterinary surgeon. He was a founder of scientifically informed veterinary medicine, and he created the world's first two veterinary schools for professional training.

27/03/1710

Joseph Abaco, Belgian cellist and composer (died 1805)

Joseph Abaco was an Italian violoncellist and composer. He was born and baptised in Brussels, the capital of the Spanish Netherlands, on 27 March 1710, and was musically trained by his father, Evaristo Felice dall'Abaco.

27/03/1702

Johann Ernst Eberlin, German organist and composer (died 1762)

Johann Ernst Eberlin was a German composer and organist whose works bridge the baroque and classical eras. He was a composer of church organ and choral music. Marpurg claims he wrote as much and as rapidly as Alessandro Scarlatti and Georg Philipp Telemann, a claim also repeated by Leopold Mozart - though Eberlin did not live nearly as long as either of those two composers.

27/03/1681

Joaquín Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish-Italian cardinal (died 1760)

Joaquín Fernández de Portocarrero y Mendoza, 4th Marquis of Almenara, 9th Count of Palma del Río was a Grandee of Spain who served Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor as Viceroy of Sicily and interim Viceroy of Naples, before entering the priesthood in his late forties and rising to the rank of cardinal, ending his life as Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina.

27/03/1679

Domenico Lalli, Italian poet and librettist (died 1741)

Sebastiano Biancardi, known by the pseudonym Domenico Lalli, was an Italian poet and librettist. Amongst the many libretti he produced, largely for the opera houses of Venice, were those for Vivaldi's Ottone in villa and Alessandro Scarlatti's Tigrane. A member of the Accademia degli Arcadi, he also wrote under his arcadian name "Ortanio". Lalli was born and raised in Naples as the adopted son of Fulvio Caracciolo but fled the city after being implicated in a bank fraud. After two years wandering about Italy in the company of Emanuele d'Astorga, he settled in Venice in 1710 and worked as the "house poet" of the Grimani family's theatres for the rest of his career. In addition to his stage works, Lalli published several volumes of poetry and a collection of biographies of the kings of Naples. He died in Venice at the age of 62.

27/03/1676

Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (died 1735)

Francis II Rákóczi was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Today he is considered a national hero in Hungary.

27/03/1627

Stephen Fox, English politician (died 1716)

Sir Stephen Fox was an English politician who rose from humble origins to become the "richest commoner in the three kingdoms". He made the foundation of his wealth from his tenure of the newly created office of Paymaster-General of His Majesty's Forces, which he held twice, in 1661–1676 and 1679–1680. He was the principal force of inspiration behind the founding of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, to which he contributed £13,000.

27/03/1546

Johannes Piscator, German theologian (died 1625)

Johannes Piscator was a German Reformed theologian, known as a Bible translator and textbook writer.

27/03/1509

Wolrad II, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg, German nobleman (died 1578)

Count Wolrad II "the Scholar" of Waldeck-Eisenberg, German: Wolrad II. 'der Gelehrte' Graf von Waldeck-Eisenberg, was Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg from 1539.

27/03/1416

Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded Order of the Minims (died 1507)

Francis of Paola, O.M., was a Catholic friar from the town of Paola in Calabria who founded the Order of Minims. He was named after Francis of Assisi and like him Francis of Paola was never ordained a priest.

27/03/1401

Albert III, duke of Bavaria (died 1460)

Albert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich, was Duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1438 to 1460. He was the son of Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti.

Lives Remembered on 27th March

On 27th March, 139 remarkable people passed away — from 710 to 2026. Remember the lives and legacies of those we lost on this day.

27/03/2026

Henry Lee, Chinese-American forensic scientist (born 1938)

Henry Chang-Yu Lee was a Chinese-American forensic scientist and biochemist.

27/03/2025

Christina McKelvie, Scottish politician (born 1968)

Christina McKelvie was a Scottish politician and social worker who served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse from 2011 until her death in 2025. A member of the Scottish National Party, she previously represented the Central Scotland region from 2007 to 2011.

27/03/2024

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."

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.

27/03/2018

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).

27/03/2016

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.

27/03/2015

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.

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.

27/03/2014

Richard N. Frye, American scholar and academic (born 1920)

Richard Nelson Frye was an American intelligence agent and 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.

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.

27/03/2013

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.

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.

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.

27/03/2012

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."

27/03/2011

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.

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.

27/03/2010

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.

27/03/2009

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.

27/03/2008

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).

27/03/2007

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.

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.

27/03/2006

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).

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.

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.

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.

27/03/2005

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.

27/03/2004

Robert Merle, French author (born 1909)

Robert Merle was a French novelist.

27/03/2003

Edwin Carr, New Zealand composer and educator (born 1926)

Edwin James Nairn Carr was a composer of classical music from New Zealand.

27/03/2002

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.

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.

Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1906)

Billy Wilder was an Austrian and American film director and screenwriter. His 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.

27/03/2000

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.

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.

27/03/1999

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.

27/03/1998

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.

27/03/1997

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.

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.

27/03/1995

René Allio, French director and screenwriter (born 1924)

René Allio was a French film and theater director.

27/03/1994

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.

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.

27/03/1993

Kamal Hassan Ali, Egyptian general and politician, Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1921)

General Kamal Hassan Ali was an Egyptian politician and military hero.

Paul László, Hungarian-American architect and interior designer (born 1900)

Paul László was a Hungarian-born architect and interior designer. He was known as a designer in Europe before 1936, and in the United States afterwards. He built his reputation designing interiors for houses, but in the 1960s, largely shifted his focus to the design of retail and commercial interiors.

27/03/1992

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1991

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.

27/03/1990

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.

27/03/1989

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.

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.

27/03/1988

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.

27/03/1987

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.

27/03/1982

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.

27/03/1981

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.

27/03/1980

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.

27/03/1978

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.

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.

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.

27/03/1977

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 second wife of activist W. E. B. Du Bois.

Diana Hyland, American actress (born 1936)

Diana Hyland was an American stage, film, and television actress.

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.

27/03/1976

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.

27/03/1975

Arthur Bliss, English conductor and composer (born 1891)

Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss was British composer and conductor. Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army. In the post-war years he quickly became known as an unconventional and modernist composer, but within the decade he began to display a more traditional and romantic side in his music. In the 1920s and 1930s he composed extensively not only for the concert hall, but also for films and ballet.

27/03/1974

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.

27/03/1973

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.

27/03/1972

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.

27/03/1968

Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (born 1934)

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first person to journey into outer space during the first successful crewed spaceflight. Travelling on Vostok 1, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961. The flight took 108 minutes. By achieving this major milestone for the Soviet Union amidst the Space Race, he became an international celebrity and earned numerous accolades, including his country's highest distinction: Hero of the Soviet Union.

Vladimir Seryogin, Russian soldier and pilot (born 1922)

Vladimir Sergeyevich Seryogin was a Soviet test pilot.

27/03/1967

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.

27/03/1960

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.

27/03/1958

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.

27/03/1956

Évariste Lévi-Provençal, French orientalist and historian (born 1894)

Évariste Lévi-Provençal was a French medievalist, orientalist, Arabist, and historian of Islam.

27/03/1952

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.

27/03/1949

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.

27/03/1946

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.

27/03/1945

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.

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.

27/03/1943

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.

27/03/1942

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.

27/03/1940

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.

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.

27/03/1938

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.

27/03/1934

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.

27/03/1931

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.

27/03/1928

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.

27/03/1927

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."

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.

27/03/1926

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.

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.

27/03/1925

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.

27/03/1923

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.

27/03/1922

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.

27/03/1921

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.

27/03/1918

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.

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.

27/03/1913

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.

27/03/1910

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.

27/03/1900

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 the Campbell Soup Company in 1869 when he partnered with Abraham Anderson.

27/03/1898

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 India.

27/03/1897

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.

27/03/1890

Carl Jacob Löwig, German chemist and academic (born 1803)

Carl Jacob Löwig was a German chemist and discovered bromine independently of Antoine Jérôme Balard.

27/03/1889

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.

27/03/1886

Henry Taylor, English poet and playwright (born 1800)

Sir Henry Taylor was an English dramatist and poet and Colonial Office official.

27/03/1878

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.

27/03/1875

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.

Edgar Quinet, French historian and academic (born 1803)

Edgar Quinet was a French historian and intellectual.

27/03/1869

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.

27/03/1864

Jean-Jacques Ampère, French philologist and academic (born 1800)

Jean-Jacques Ampère was a French philologist and man of letters.

27/03/1850

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.

27/03/1849

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.

27/03/1848

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.

27/03/1770

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (born 1696)

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. He was prolific, and worked not only in Italy, but also in Germany and Spain.

27/03/1757

Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (born 1717)

Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz was a Czech composer and violinist. Stamitz is considered the founding father of the Mannheim school, a composition style that his two surviving sons, Carl and Anton Stamitz, continued. His music is stylistically transitional between the Baroque and Classical periods and he is recognised for many innovations.

27/03/1729

Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (born 1679)

Leopold the Good was Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1690 to his death. Through his son Francis Stephen, he is the direct male ancestor of all rulers of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, including all Emperors of Austria.

27/03/1697

Simon Bradstreet, English businessman and politician, 20th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (born 1603)

Simon Bradstreet was a New England merchant, politician and colonial administrator who served as the last governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Arriving in Massachusetts on the Winthrop Fleet in 1630, Bradstreet was almost constantly involved in the politics of the colony but became its governor only in 1679.

27/03/1679

Abraham Mignon, Dutch painter (born 1640)

Abraham Mignon or Minjon was a Dutch still life painter. He is known for his flower pieces, still lifes with fruit, still lifes in forests or grottoes, still lifes of game and fish as well as his garland paintings. His works are influenced by those of Jan Davidszoon de Heem and Jacob Marrel.

27/03/1676

Bernardino de Rebolledo, Spanish poet, soldier, and diplomat (born 1597)

Bernardino de Rebolledo y Villamizar, Earl of Rebolledo and Graf (Count) of the Holy Roman Empire was a Spanish poet, soldier and diplomat. He was a descendant of the 1st Count of Rebolledo, don Rodrigo, who received his surname and title from the king of Asturias and León don Ramiro I in 815 during the Reconquista.

27/03/1635

Robert Naunton, English politician (born 1563)

Sir Robert Naunton was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1606 and 1626.

27/03/1625

James VI and I of the United Kingdom (born 1566)

James VI and I was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603, until his death in 1625. Though he long attempted to get both countries to adopt a closer political union, the kingdoms of Scotland and England remained sovereign states ruled by James in personal union, with their own parliaments, judiciaries and laws.

27/03/1624

Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (born 1578)

Prince Ulrik John of Denmark, was a son of King Frederick II of Denmark and his consort, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. As the second-born son he bore the merely titular rank of Duke of Holstein and Schleswig, Stormarn and Ditmarsh and had no share in the royal-ducal condominial rule of Holstein and Schleswig, wielded by the heads of the houses of Oldenburg (royal) and its cadet branch Holstein-Gottorp (ducal). Since 1602 he held the religiously defunct position of Bishop of Schleswig, enjoying the revenues of the implied estates and manor. The year after he succeeded his grandfather as Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin, holding both posts until his death.

27/03/1621

Benedetto Giustiniani, Italian cardinal (born 1554)

Benedetto Giustiniani was an Italian clergyman who was made a cardinal in the consistory of 16 November 1586 by Pope Sixtus V.

27/03/1615

Margaret of Valois (born 1553)

Margaret of Valois, popularly known as Queen Margot, was Queen of Navarre from 1572 to 1599 and Queen of France from 1589 to 1599 as the consort of Henry IV of France and III of Navarre.

27/03/1613

Sigismund Báthory (born 1573)

Sigismund Báthory was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as voivode of the absent prince, Stephen Báthory. Sigismund was still a child when the Diet of Transylvania elected him voivode at his dying father's request in 1581. Initially, regency councils administered Transylvania on his behalf, but Stephen Báthory made János Ghyczy the sole regent in 1585. Sigismund adopted the title of prince after Stephen Báthory died.

27/03/1598

Theodor de Bry, Belgian-German engraver, goldsmith, and publisher (born 1528)

Theodor de Bry was a Walloon engraver, goldsmith, editor and publisher, famous for his depictions of early European expeditions to the Americas. The Spanish Inquisition forced de Bry, a Protestant, to flee his native, Spanish-controlled Southern Netherlands. He moved around Europe, starting from his birth on the city of Liège in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, then to Strasbourg, Antwerp, London and Frankfurt, where he settled.

27/03/1572

Girolamo Maggi, Italian polymath (born c. 1523)

Girolamo Maggi, also known by his Latin name Hieronymus Magius, was an Italian scholar, jurist, poet, military engineer, urban planner, philologist, archaeologist, mathematician, and naturalist who studied at Bologna under Francis Robortello. He authored several works, including a collection of poems on the Flemish wars,, one detailing military fortifications, and several on the subject of philosophy.

27/03/1564

Lütfi Pasha, Turkish historian and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1488)

Lütfi Pasha was an Ottoman-Albanian statesman, general, and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent from 1539 to 1541. He wrote 21 works mainly on religious topics and history, 13 of them written in Arabic and eight in Turkish. Two of his works are the Asafname, a kind of mirror for ministers, and the Tevâriḫ-i Âl-i ‘Os̱mân, dealing with Ottoman history and including his own experiences in the reign of the sultans Bayezid II, Selim I and Suleyman I.

27/03/1482

Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1457)

Mary of Burgundy, nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy, and ruler in her own right over much of the Valois-Burgundian lands, from 1477 to 1482. Her effective rule extended over major part of the Burgundian Netherlands, while she also claimed the rest of the Burgundian inheritance, including domains that were seized by her cousin, the French king Louis XI in 1477, such as the Duchy of Burgundy, the Free County of Burgundy and several other lands, both within the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.

27/03/1472

Janus Pannonius, Hungarian bishop and poet (born 1434)

Janus Pannonius was an influential intellectual in the Kingdom of Hungary, a Latinist, poet, diplomat and Bishop of Pécs. He was the most significant poet of the Renaissance in the Kingdom of Hungary and one of the better-known figures of humanist poetry in Europe.

27/03/1462

Vasily II of Moscow (born 1415)

Vasily II Vasilyevich, nicknamed the Blind or the Dark, was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1425 until his death in 1462.

27/03/1378

Pope Gregory XI (born 1336)

Pope Gregory XI was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death, in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope. In 1377, Gregory XI returned the papal court to Rome, ending nearly 70 years of papal residency in Avignon, in modern-day France. His death was swiftly followed by the Western Schism involving two Avignon-based antipopes.

27/03/1248

Maud Marshal, English countess (born 1192)

Maud Marshal, Countess of Norfolk, Countess of Surrey was an Anglo-Norman noblewoman and a wealthy co-heiress of her father William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and her mother Isabel de Clare suo jure 4th Countess of Pembroke. Maud was their eldest daughter. She had two husbands: Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, and William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey.

27/03/1184

Giorgi III, King of Georgia

George III, of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 8th King (mepe) of Georgia from 1156 to 1184. He became king when his father, Demetrius I, died in 1156, which was preceded by his brother's revolt against their father in 1154. His reign was part of what would be called the Georgian Golden Age – a historical period in the High Middle Ages, during which the Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its military power and development.

27/03/1045

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jarjara'i, Fatimid vizier

Abu’l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Jarjarāʾī was a Fatimid official of Iraqi origin, who served as the Fatimid vizier from 1027 until his death on 27 March 1045.

27/03/0973

Hermann Billung, Frankish lieutenant (born 900)

Hermann Billung was a prominent German noble from Saxony in the East Frankish Kingdom, who was a notable military commander and count, serving as royal governor of the Duchy of Saxony during the reign of king and emperor Otto I (936–973). As such, he was entrusted with the defense of Saxon eastern regions and borders towards the neighboring Polabian Slavs. He became the founder of the House of Billung, that had a prominent role in the medieval history of northern German lands.

27/03/0965

Arnulf I, Count of Flanders (born c. 890)

Arnulf I, called "the Great", was the first Count of Flanders.

27/03/0916

Alduin I, Frankish nobleman

Alduin I was the Count of Angoulême from 886.

27/03/0913

Du Xiao, chancellor of Later Liang

Du Xiao (杜曉), courtesy name Mingyuan (明遠), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Later Liang, serving as a chancellor during Later Liang.

Zhang empress of Later Liang

Empress Zhang was the wife and empress of Zhu Yougui, who reigned briefly as the emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Liang.

27/03/0853

Haymo of Halberstadt, German bishop and author (born 778)

Haymo was a German Benedictine monk who served as bishop of Halberstadt, and was a noted author.

27/03/0710

Rupert of Salzburg, Austrian bishop and saint (born 660)

Rupert of Salzburg was Bishop of Worms as well as the first Bishop of Salzburg and abbot of St. Peter's Abbey in Salzburg. He was a contemporary of the Frankish king Childebert III. Rupert is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Rupert is also patron saint of the Austrian state of Salzburg.

Celebrations & Special Days Worldwide on 27th March

Christian feast day: Easter (Palmarian Church)

Easter, also called Pasch or Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the Bible's New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Christian feast day: Alexander, a Pannonian soldier, martyred in 3rd century.

Pannonia was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Italy, and on the south by Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It included the modern regions of western Hungary, western Slovakia, eastern Austria, northern Croatia, north-western Serbia, northern Slovenia, and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The northern and eastern boundary line of Pannonia was formed by the River Danube.

Christian feast day: Amador of Portugal

Amador of Portugal or of Guarda was a hermit from Portugal. He was venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and his feast day is celebrated on 27 March.

Christian feast day: Augusta of Treviso

Saint Augusta of Treviso, also known as Augusta of Ceneda, Augusta of Tarvisium, or Augusta of Serravalle, is venerated as a virgin martyr.

Christian feast day: Charles Henry Brent (Episcopal Church (USA))

Charles Henry Brent was the Episcopal Church's first Missionary Bishop of the Philippine Islands (1902–1918); Chaplain General of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I (1917–1918); and Bishop of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Western New York (1918–1929). The historian and Episcopal minister Frederick Ward Kates characterised him as a "gallant, daring, and consecrated soldier and servant of Christ" who was "one of modern Christendom's foremost leaders, prophets, and seers."

Christian feast day: Gelasius, Archbishop of Armagh

The Archbishop of Armagh is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ireland. The archbishop of each denomination also holds the title of Primate of All Ireland.

Christian feast day: John of Egypt

Saint John of Egypt,, also known as John the Hermit, John the Anchorite, or John of Lycopolis, was one of the hermits and grazers of the Nitrian Desert. He began as a carpenter but at the age of twenty-five began to live a life of solitude.

Christian feast day: Panacea De' Muzzi

Panacea De' Muzzi (1368–1383) was a young girl martyred at the age of fifteen who was beatified.

Christian feast day: Philetus

Saint Philetus (Φιλητός) (d. 121) is, along with Saints Lydia (Λυδία), Macedo(n) (Μακεδών), Theoprepius (Theoprepides) (Θεοπρέπιος), Amphilochius (Ἀμφιλόχιος) and Cronidas (Cronides) (Κρονίδης), venerated as a Christian martyr. Philetus was supposedly "...a senator who resided in the province of Illyria and was put to death during the persecution under Emperor Hadrian]..."

Christian feast day: Romulus of Nîmes, a Benedictine abbot, martyred c. 730.

Nîmes is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Cévennes mountain range, the estimated population of the commune of Nîmes stood at 148,561 in 2019.

Christian feast day: Rupert of Salzburg

Rupert of Salzburg was Bishop of Worms as well as the first Bishop of Salzburg and abbot of St. Peter's Abbey in Salzburg. He was a contemporary of the Frankish king Childebert III. Rupert is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Rupert is also patron saint of the Austrian state of Salzburg.

Christian feast day: Zanitas and Lazarus of Persia

Zanitas and Lazarus were martyrs of the Christian church in the Sasanid Empire.

Christian feast day: March 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

March 26 – Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar – March 28

Armed Forces Day (Myanmar)

Armed Forces Day, also known as Revolution Day, is the professional holiday of the Tatmadaw, celebrated annually on 27 March. It commemorates the start of Burmese Army's resistance to Japanese occupation in 1945. It was initially named as the Revolution Day and celebrated in each of the individual military units from 1946 to 1953, and the reenactment of the march of the revolutionary forces was started to be paraded in 1954. Since the evening of 27 March 1955, the Revolution Day has been renamed to the Defence Services Day or the Armed Forces Day. The holiday has been referred to as Anti-Fascist-Resistance Day by participants in the 2021 Myanmar protests.

Day of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania (Romania)

The Day of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania is a holiday of Romania celebrated every 27 March to commemorate the union of Bessarabia with Romania on 27 March 1918. Bessarabia is a Romanian historical region that was part of the Principality of Moldavia, which united with Wallachia to form modern Romania. The region was annexed in 1812 by the Russian Empire, but it became independent and united with Romania on 27 March 1918.

World Theatre Day (International)

World Theatre Day (WTD) is an international observance celebrated on 27 March. It was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute.

What Happened on 27th March?

49 significant events took place on Monday, 27th March — stretching from 1309 to 2023. Explore the moments that shaped history on this day.

27/03/2023

Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed in a mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

On March 27, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian Church in America parochial elementary school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, when 28-year-old Aiden Hale killed three nine‑year‑old children and three adults before being shot and killed by two Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers. Hale was a former student of the school who had been planning the attack for years. It is the deadliest school shooting in Tennessee history.

Forty people are killed in a fire at a migrant detention facility in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

On 27 March 2023, a fire occurred at an immigration detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, near the border with the United States. The fire killed 40 people and left 27 others seriously injured. According to Vice interviewees, prison officials demanded bribes from migrants to release them and avoid deportation. The fire was allegedly started by inmates when they set fire to their mattresses to protest their detention conditions and impending deportation. CCTV security footage obtained by the press shows INM personnel fleeing the spreading flames and smoke while leaving the detainees locked in their cell.

27/03/2020

North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of NATO.

North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the north. It constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to a quarter of the country's population of over 1.83 million. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians and a few other minorities.

27/03/2016

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.

On 27 March 2016, on Easter Sunday, at least 75 people were killed, and over 340 were injured, in a suicide bombing that hit the main entrance of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, one of the largest parks in Lahore, Pakistan. The attack targeted Christians who were celebrating Easter. The majority of the victims were women and children. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack led to worldwide condemnation and national mourning throughout Pakistan. Pakistan also launched a widespread counter-terrorism operation in South Punjab, arresting more than 200 people who may have had a possible connection to the attack.

27/03/2015

Al-Shabab militants attack and temporarily occupy a Mogadishu hotel leaving at least 20 people dead.

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, simply known as Al-Shabaab, is a Sunni Islamist political and militant organization based in Somalia. It is involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War and controls territory in south and southwestern Somalia, which is referred to as the Islamic Wilayat of Somalia. The group has regularly invoked takfir to rationalize its terrorist attacks on Somali civilians and civil servants. It is allied to the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda, it is also in a more limited capacity active elsewhere in East Africa, and has forged ties with other insurgent groups like AQIM and AQAP.

27/03/2014

Philippines signs a peace accord with the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, ending decades of conflict.

The Government of the Philippines has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional republic in which the president functions as both the head of state and the head of government of the country within a pluriform multi-party system.

27/03/2009

The dam forming Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails, killing at least 99 people.

Situ Gintung is an artificial lake near to the town of Cirendeu in the city of South Tangerang, Indonesia. It was formed by a dam up to 16 m (52 ft) high which was built by Dutch colonial authorities in 1933. The dam failed on 27 March 2009, draining the lake, with resulting floods killing at least 100 people.

27/03/2004

HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.

HMS Scylla (F71) was the last Leander-class frigate built for the Royal Navy (RN). She was the fifth vessel in the Royal Navy to be named after the Sea Monster who devoured the victims of the whirlpool, Charybdis, and was commonly referred to as "Aberdeen's frigate".

27/03/2002

Passover massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel.

The Passover massacre was a suicide bombing carried out by Hamas at the Park Hotel in Netanya, Israel on 27 March 2002, during a Passover seder. 30 civilians were killed in the attack and 140 were injured. It was the deadliest attack against Israeli civilians during the Second Intifada, and one of the most severe suicide attacks Israel has ever experienced.

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.

The Nanterre massacre was a mass shooting that occurred on 27 March 2002, at the Hôtel de Ville in Nanterre, France. Gunman Richard Durn opened fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councillors and the injury of nineteen others. Durn committed suicide the following day, by leaping from a police station window during questioning.

27/03/2000

A Phillips Petroleum plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas kills one person and injures 71 others.

At approximately 1:22 p.m. CT on March 27, 2000, an explosion and fire responsible for one death and 71 injuries occurred at Phillips Petroleum's Houston Chemical Complex at 1400 Jefferson Road in Pasadena, Texas. The fire produced huge plumes of black smoke that spread over the heavily industrialized Houston Ship Channel and neighboring residential areas.

27/03/1999

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.

The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It was fought between the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), which controlled Kosovo before the war, and the Kosovo Albanian separatist militia known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The conflict ended when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened by beginning air strikes in March 1999 which resulted in Yugoslav forces withdrawing from Kosovo.

27/03/1998

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.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, caffeine products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed, and veterinary products.

27/03/1993

Jiang Zemin is appointed President of China.

Jiang Zemin was a Chinese politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as the chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as the president of China from 1993 to 2003. Jiang was the third paramount leader of China from 1989 to 2002. He was the core leader of the third generation of Chinese leadership, one of four core leaders alongside Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Xi Jinping.

Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo.

Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic political party in Italy. The DC was founded on 15 December 1943 in the Italian Social Republic as the nominal successor of the Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crusader shield. As a Catholic-inspired, centrist, catch-all party comprising both centre-right and centre-left political factions, the DC played a dominant role in the politics of Italy for fifty years, and had been part of the government from soon after its inception until its final demise on 16 January 1994 amid the Tangentopoli scandals. Christian Democrats led the Italian government continuously from 1946 until 1981. The party was nicknamed the "White Whale" due to its huge organisation and official colour. During its time in government, the Italian Communist Party was the largest opposition party.

27/03/1990

The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí.

The Cuban dissident movement, also known as the Cuban democracy movement or simply the Cuban opposition, is a political movement in Cuba whose for aim is to start a democratic transition in Cuba. It differs from the early opposition to Fidel Castro which occurred from 1959 to 1968, and instead consists of the internal opposition movement birthed by the founding of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights in 1976. This opposition later became an active social movement during the Special Period in the 1990s, as various civic organizations began jointly calling for a democratic transition in Cuba, which later escalated into common protests in 2021 and 2024–2026. The movement is made up of various actors, from conservative democrats who favor free market economics to left-leaning social democrats and democratic socialists. All activists typically agree on the need for expanding democratic rights, and some level of legal free enterprise.

27/03/1986

A car bomb explodes outside Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, Australia, killing one police officer and injuring 21 people.

A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.

27/03/1981

The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours.

Solidarity, full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity", is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subsequently, it was the first independent trade union in a Warsaw Pact country to be recognised by the state.

27/03/1980

The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.

Alexander L. Kielland was a Norwegian semi-submersible drilling rig that, on 27 March 1980, capsized in the Ekofisk oil field in the North Sea, killing 123 people. The capsize was the worst disaster in Norwegian waters since the Second World War. The rig, located approximately 320 km east of Dundee, Scotland, was owned by the Stavanger Drilling Company of Norway and was on hire to the U.S. company Phillips Petroleum at the time of the disaster.

27/03/1977

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.

On 27 March 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on a runway at Los Rodeos Airport on the Spanish island of Tenerife, killing 583 people and injuring 61 others in the deadliest accident in aviation history. The incident occurred at 17:06 GMT in dense fog, when KLM Flight 4805 initiated its takeoff run, colliding with the starboard side of Pan Am Flight 1736, which was on the runway. The impact and the resulting fire killed all 248 people on board the KLM plane and 335 of the 396 people on board the Pan Am plane, with all 61 survivors being in the front section of the aircraft.

27/03/1976

The first section of the Washington Metro opens to the public.

The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which also operates the Metrobus service under the Metro name. Opened in 1976, the network now includes six lines, 98 stations, and 130 miles (210 km) of route.

27/03/1975

Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 12 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world's largest pipeline systems. The core pipeline itself, which is commonly called the Alaska pipeline, trans-Alaska pipeline, or Alyeska pipeline,, is an 800-mile (1,287 km) long, 48-inch (1.22 m) diameter pipeline that conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay, on Alaska's North Slope, south to Valdez, on the shores of Prince William Sound in southcentral Alaska. The crude oil pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.

27/03/1964

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.

The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaska earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 139 deaths.

27/03/1958

Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union.

Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. As leader of the Soviet Union, he shocked the world by denouncing his predecessor Joseph Stalin, embarking on a campaign of de-Stalinization, and presiding over the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

27/03/1945

World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan's ports and waterways begins. Argentina declares war on the Axis Powers.

Operation Starvation was a naval mining operation conducted in World War II by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) to disrupt Japanese shipping.

27/03/1943

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.

The Battle of the Komandorski Islands was a naval battle between American and Imperial Japanese forces which took place on 27 March 1943 in the North Pacific, south of the Soviet Komandorski Islands. The Japanese were escorting a three ship convoy, while the Americans were patrolling waters west of the Aleutian Islands. The battle was a daylight surface engagement in which air support played no role and in which the outnumbered American force escaped greater damage after the Japanese chose to withdraw.

27/03/1942

The Holocaust: Nazi Germany and Vichy France begin the deportation of 65,000 Jews from Drancy internment camp to German extermination camps.

The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered around six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, approximately two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. The murders were committed primarily through mass shootings across Eastern Europe and poison gas chambers in extermination camps, chiefly Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, Chełmno and Majdanek death camps in occupied Poland. Concurrent Nazi persecutions killed millions of other non-Jewish civilians and prisoners of war (POWs); the term Holocaust is sometimes used to include the murder and persecution of non-Jewish groups, such as the Romani and Soviet POWs.

27/03/1941

World War II: Yugoslav Air Force officers topple the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

27/03/1938

Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Taierzhuang begins, resulting several weeks later in the war's first major Chinese victory over Japan.

The Second Sino-Japanese War, known in China as the War of Resistance Against Japan, was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan and its puppet states between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is often regarded as the beginning of World War II in Asia, as the wars became heavily intertwined after Japan's entry into World War II. It was the largest Asian war in the 20th century.

27/03/1933

Japanese invasion of Manchuria: Japan leaves the League of Nations after it approves the Lytton Report that ruled in favour of China.

The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded the Manchuria region of China on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden incident, a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext to invade. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. The occupation lasted until mid-August 1945, towards the end of the Second World War, in the face of an onslaught by the Soviet Union and Mongolia during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.

27/03/1918

The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.

Bessarabia is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coastal region and part of the Ukrainian Chernivtsi Oblast covering a small area in the north.

27/03/1915

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.

Mary Mallon, commonly known as Typhoid Mary, was an Irish-born cook who lived in the United States from a young age and is believed to have infected up to fifty-seven people with the bacteria that cause typhoid fever. The infections caused three confirmed deaths. She was the first person in the U.S. to be identified as an asymptomatic carrier of Salmonella Typhi bacteria.

27/03/1912

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.

Helen Louise Taft was First Lady of the United States from 1909 to 1913 as the wife of President William Howard Taft. Born to a politically well-connected Ohio family, she took an early interest in political life, deciding at the age of 17 that she wished to become first lady. Herron married Taft in 1886, and she guided him throughout his political career, encouraging him to take actions that would bring him closer to the presidency. Accompanying her husband to the Philippines in 1900, she became a prominent socialite in Manila, contributing to US-Philippines relations. After her husband was appointed Secretary of War, she played a significant role in convincing him to run for president in the 1908 presidential election and making the necessary connections to ensure his success.

27/03/1901

Philippine–American War: Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of the First Philippine Republic, is captured by the Americans.

The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Filipino–American War, Philippine Insurrection, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged in early 1899 following the United States' annexation of the former Spanish colony of the Philippine Islands under the terms of the December 1898 Treaty of Paris following the Spanish–American War. Philippine nationalists had proclaimed independence in June 1898 and constituted the First Philippine Republic in January 1899. The United States did not recognize either event as legitimate, and tensions escalated until fighting commenced on February 4, 1899, in the Battle of Manila.

27/03/1899

Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino forces for the only time during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Marilao River.

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who was the first president of the Philippines from 1899 to 1901, and the first president of an Asian constitutional republic. He led the Philippine forces first against Spain in the Philippine Revolution (1896–1898), then in the Spanish–American War (1898), and finally against the United States during the Philippine–American War (1899–1901). He is regarded in the Philippines as having been the country's first president during the period of the First Philippine Republic, though he was not recognized as such outside of the revolutionary Philippines.

27/03/1886

Geronimo, Apache warrior, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.

Gerónimo was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands – the Tchihende, the Tsokanende and the Nednhi – to carry out numerous raids, as well as fight against Mexican and U.S. military campaigns in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Sonora and in the southwestern American territories of New Mexico and Arizona.

27/03/1884

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.

Cincinnati is the most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The third-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 309,317 at the 2020 census, Cincinnati serves as the economic and cultural hub of the tri-state Cincinnati metropolitan area, Ohio's most populous metropolitan area and the nation's 30th-largest at over 2.3 million residents.

27/03/1871

The first international rugby football match, when Scotland defeats England in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.

The rugby union match played between Scotland and England on 27 March 1871 was the world's first international rugby match. It is also officially the first international football match in any football code. The match was played at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh in front of 4,000 spectators. Scotland won the match, scoring two tries and a goal to England's single try.

27/03/1866

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.

The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

27/03/1836

Texas Revolution: On the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican Army massacres 342 Texian Army POWs at Goliad, Texas.

The Texas Revolution was a rebellion by Anglo-American immigrants as well as Hispanic Texans against the centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although the uprising was part of a larger revolt that included other provinces opposed to the regime of President Miguel Barragán and General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. The Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag". Only the province of Texas succeeded in breaking with Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas. It was eventually annexed by the United States about a decade later.

27/03/1814

War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

The War of 1812 was a conflict initiated by the United States against the United Kingdom and its allies fought mainly in North America and at sea during the wider Napoleonic Wars. The United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, the war did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by the United States Congress on 17 February 1815.

27/03/1809

Peninsular War: A combined Franco-Polish force defeats the Spanish in the Battle of Ciudad Real.

The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by the Iberian nations Spain and Portugal, along with the United Kingdom, against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence. It overlapped with the War of the Fifth Coalition (1809) and the War of the Sixth Coalition (1812–1814).

27/03/1794

The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the United States.

27/03/1782

The Second Rockingham ministry assumes office in Great Britain and begins negotiations to end the American War of Independence.

This is a list of the principal holders of government office during the second premiership of the Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham for four months in 1782.

27/03/1638

The first of four destructive Calabrian earthquakes strikes southern Italy. Measuring magnitude 6.8 and assigned a Mercalli intensity of XI, it kills 10,000–30,000 people.

A series of mainshocks struck Calabria on March 27–28 and June 9, 1638. The first three earthquakes had moment magnitudes estimated to be Mw 6.6–7.1. On June 9, another mainshock estimated at Mw  6.7 struck the same region, causing further damage and casualties. The four earthquakes resulted in as many as 30,000 fatalities.

27/03/1625

Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France.

Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.

27/03/1513

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León reaches the northern end of The Bahamas on his first voyage to Florida.

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer and conquistador known for leading the first European expeditions to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in 1474. Though little is known about his family, he was of noble birth and served in the Spanish military from a young age. He first came to the Americas as a "gentleman volunteer" with Christopher Columbus's second expedition in 1493.

27/03/1329

Pope John XXII issues his In Agro Dominico condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.

Pope John XXII, born Jacques Duèze, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by the Conclave of Cardinals, which was assembled in Lyon. Like his predecessor, Clement V, Pope John centralized power and income in the Papacy and lived a princely life in Avignon.

27/03/1309

Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.

Pope Clement V was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1305 until his death. He is remembered for suppressing the order of the Knights Templar and allowing the execution of many of its members. A Frenchman by birth, Clement moved the Papacy from Rome to Avignon, ushering in the period known as the Avignon Papacy.

On this day

World Theatre Day

What the Weather Had in Store for Kyjiw on 27th March 2026

27th March in the Stars – Star Sign Aries

Personality Profile

Fun Facts About 27th March

Famous Birthdays on 27th March

Daria Snigur, Ukrainian tennis player

Natanael Cano, Mexican rapper and singer

Halle Bailey, American singer-songwriter and actress

Sophie Nélisse, Canadian actress

Jesser, American YouTuber

Alex O'Connor, English media personality

Giannis Bouzoukis, Greek footballer

Lisa, Thai rapper and dancer

Bill Tuiloma, New Zealand footballer

Brandon Nimmo, American baseball player

Marc Muniesa, Spanish footballer

London on da Track, American record producer

Erdin Demir, Swedish-Turkish footballer

Ben Hunt, Australian rugby league player

Nicolas Nkoulou, Cameroonian footballer

Luca Zuffi, Swiss footballer

Kimbra, New Zealand musician

Brodha V, Indian rapper and music producer

Matt Harvey, American baseball player

Camilla Lees, New Zealand netball player

Jessie J, English singer-songwriter

Atsuto Uchida, Japanese footballer

Brenda Song, American actress

Mauro Goicoechea, Uruguayan footballer

Holliday Grainger, English actress

Jefferson Bernárdez, Honduran footballer

Samuel Francis, Nigerian-Qatari sprinter

Polina Gagarina, Russian singer-songwriter

Buster Posey, American baseball player

Manuel Neuer, German footballer

Dustin Byfuglien, American ice hockey player

Danny Vukovic, Australian footballer

Adam Ashley-Cooper, Australian rugby player

Ben Franks, Australian-born New Zealand rugby player

Brett Holman, Australian footballer

Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter

Vasily Koshechkin, Russian ice hockey player

Román Martínez, Argentinian footballer

Shawn Beveney, Guyanese footballer

Terry McFlynn, Irish footballer

Akhil Kumar, Indian boxer

Jukka Keskisalo, Finnish runner

Hilda Kibet, Kenyan runner

Cacau, Brazilian-German footballer

JJ Lin, Singaporean singer-songwriter

Sean Ryan, American football player

Michaela Paštiková, Czech tennis player

Maksim Shevchenko, Kazakhstani footballer

Tom Palmer, English rugby union player

Mohsen Moeini, Iranian author and director

Imran Tahir, Pakistani-South African cricketer

Jennifer Wilson, Zimbabwean-South African field hockey player

Gabriel Paraschiv, Romanian footballer

Marius Bakken, Norwegian runner

Amélie Cocheteux, French tennis player

Vítor Meira, Brazilian race car driver

Ioannis Melissanidis, Greek artistic gymnast

Roberta Anastase, Romanian politician, 57th President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania

Danny Fortson, American basketball player

Adrian Anca, Romanian footballer

Andrew Blowers, New Zealand rugby player

Kim Felton, Australian golfer

Fergie, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress

Christian Fiedler, German footballer and manager

Marek Citko, Polish footballer and manager

George Koumantarakis, Greek-South African footballer

Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer

Roger Telemachus, South African cricketer

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Surinamese-Dutch footballer, coach, and manager

Charlie Haas, American professional wrestler

David Coulthard, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster

Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor

Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (died 2001)