February 27
1807 - Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine.
1844 - The Dominican Republic gained independence from Haiti.
1922 - The Supreme Court, in Leser v. Garnett, unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote.
1933 - Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, was gutted by fire; Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming the Communists, used the fire to justify suspending civil liberties.
1939 - The Supreme Court, in National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp., effectively outlawed sit-down strikes.
1942 - The Battle of the Java Sea began during World War II; Imperial Japanese naval forces scored a decisive victory over the Allies.
1951 - The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, which limited a president to two terms in office.
1973 - Members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children. (The occupation lasted until the following May.)
1991 - Operation Desert Storm came to a conclusion as President George H.W. Bush declared that “Kuwait is liberated, Iraq’s army is defeated,” and announced that the allies would suspend combat operations at midnight, Eastern time.
1997 - Divorce became legal in Ireland.
1998 - With the approval of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's House of Lords agreed to end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first-born son.
2003 - Fred Rogers, star of the children's series "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," died.
2010 - In Chile, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami killed 524 people, caused $30 billion in damage and left more than 200,000 homeless.
2012 - Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down as president of Yemen after months of protests.
2021 - The U.S. got a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that worked with just one dose instead of two.
2022 - President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert, while Ukraine’s embattled leader agreed to talks with Moscow as Putin’s troops and tanks drove deeper into the country.
Birthdays
33 - Lindsey Morgan (actress)
33 - Jenny Boyd (actress/model)
39 - Jenni "JWoww" Farley (reality star)
41 - Kate Mara (actress)
44 - Josh Groban (singer)
45 - Bobby V (singer)
45 - Brandon Beemer (actor)
45 - Chelsea Clinton (daughter of President Bill Clinton)
47 - Shonna Tucker (singer)
48 - Tony Gonzalez (football player)
54 - Chilli (singer)
60 - Noah Emmerich (actor)
63 - Grant Show (actor)
63 - Adam Baldwin (actor)
64 - James Worthy (basketball player)
65 - Johnny Van Zant (singer)
68 - Timothy Spall (actor)
68 - Adrian Smith (musician)
76 - Debra Monk (actress)
88 - Barbara Babcock (actress)
91 - Ralph Nader (consumer advocate)
95 - Joanne Woodward (actress)
===============================================
Today in Sports History - February 27
1908 - Major league baseball adopted a sacrifice fly rule for the first time. It was repealed, reinstated and then changed several times before being permanently accepted in 1954.
1912 - The New York Yankees announced that they would be wearing the now iconic pinstripes on their uniforms.
1959 - Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics sets an NBA record with 28 assists in a game against the Minneapolis Lakers.
1963 - Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees signs the first MLB contract worth $100,000 per year.
1987 - The NCAA cancelled Southern Methodist University's entire 1987 football schedule for gross violations of NCAA rules on athletic corruption.
1996 - The Chicago Bulls set an NBA record by recording 50 wins on the season in just 56 games.
2003 - Emmitt Smith became a free agent for the first time when the Dallas Cowboys released him.
2006 - Former Newark Eagles co-owner Effa Manley became the first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2007 - The Edmonton Oilers retire Mark Messier's #11.
1807 - Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine.
1844 - The Dominican Republic gained independence from Haiti.
1922 - The Supreme Court, in Leser v. Garnett, unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote.
1933 - Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, was gutted by fire; Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming the Communists, used the fire to justify suspending civil liberties.
1939 - The Supreme Court, in National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp., effectively outlawed sit-down strikes.
1942 - The Battle of the Java Sea began during World War II; Imperial Japanese naval forces scored a decisive victory over the Allies.
1951 - The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, which limited a president to two terms in office.
1973 - Members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children. (The occupation lasted until the following May.)
1991 - Operation Desert Storm came to a conclusion as President George H.W. Bush declared that “Kuwait is liberated, Iraq’s army is defeated,” and announced that the allies would suspend combat operations at midnight, Eastern time.
1997 - Divorce became legal in Ireland.
1998 - With the approval of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's House of Lords agreed to end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first-born son.
2003 - Fred Rogers, star of the children's series "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," died.
2010 - In Chile, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami killed 524 people, caused $30 billion in damage and left more than 200,000 homeless.
2012 - Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down as president of Yemen after months of protests.
2021 - The U.S. got a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that worked with just one dose instead of two.
2022 - President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert, while Ukraine’s embattled leader agreed to talks with Moscow as Putin’s troops and tanks drove deeper into the country.
Birthdays
33 - Lindsey Morgan (actress)
33 - Jenny Boyd (actress/model)
39 - Jenni "JWoww" Farley (reality star)
41 - Kate Mara (actress)
44 - Josh Groban (singer)
45 - Bobby V (singer)
45 - Brandon Beemer (actor)
45 - Chelsea Clinton (daughter of President Bill Clinton)
47 - Shonna Tucker (singer)
48 - Tony Gonzalez (football player)
54 - Chilli (singer)
60 - Noah Emmerich (actor)
63 - Grant Show (actor)
63 - Adam Baldwin (actor)
64 - James Worthy (basketball player)
65 - Johnny Van Zant (singer)
68 - Timothy Spall (actor)
68 - Adrian Smith (musician)
76 - Debra Monk (actress)
88 - Barbara Babcock (actress)
91 - Ralph Nader (consumer advocate)
95 - Joanne Woodward (actress)
===============================================
Today in Sports History - February 27
1908 - Major league baseball adopted a sacrifice fly rule for the first time. It was repealed, reinstated and then changed several times before being permanently accepted in 1954.
1912 - The New York Yankees announced that they would be wearing the now iconic pinstripes on their uniforms.
1959 - Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics sets an NBA record with 28 assists in a game against the Minneapolis Lakers.
1963 - Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees signs the first MLB contract worth $100,000 per year.
1987 - The NCAA cancelled Southern Methodist University's entire 1987 football schedule for gross violations of NCAA rules on athletic corruption.
1996 - The Chicago Bulls set an NBA record by recording 50 wins on the season in just 56 games.
2003 - Emmitt Smith became a free agent for the first time when the Dallas Cowboys released him.
2006 - Former Newark Eagles co-owner Effa Manley became the first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2007 - The Edmonton Oilers retire Mark Messier's #11.