Summary of the Day ✨ 27 February (27/02)
On this day, Pakistani forces shot down an Indian pilot during aerial combat over Kashmir, while Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was assassinated in Moscow and a factory shooting in Switzerland left five dead. A devastating 8.8 earthquake struck central Chile, killing over 500 people and triggering a tsunami that reached Hawaii, as a Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist escaped from a Singapore detention center and fled to Malaysia.
Historical Events 📜
- 2019: Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder downs Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman’s Mig-21 in an aerial dogfight and captures him after conducting airstrikes in Jammu and Kashmir.
- 2015: Russian politician Boris Nemtsov is assassinated in Moscow while out walking with his girlfriend.
- 2013: A shooting takes place at a factory in Menznau, Switzerland, in which five people (including the perpetrator) are killed and five others injured.
- 2010: An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale strikes central parts of Chile leaving over 500 victims, and thousands injured. The quake triggers a tsunami which strikes Hawaii shortly after.
- 2008: Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari escapes from a detention center in Singapore, hiding in Johor, Malaysia until he was recaptured over a year later.
- 2007: Chinese stock bubble of 2007: The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest daily fall in ten years, following speculation about a crackdown on illegal share offerings and trading, and fears about accelerating inflation.
- 2004: A bombing of a SuperFerry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines’ worst terrorist attack kills more than 100 passengers.
- 2004: Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, is sentenced to death for masterminding the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.
- 2002: Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport causing minor injuries.
- 2002: Godhra train burning: A Muslim mob torches a train returning from Ayodhya, killing 59 Hindu pilgrims.
- 2001: Loganair Flight 670A crashes while attempting to make a water landing in the Firth of Forth in Scotland.
- 1991: Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated”.
- 1988: Sumgait pogrom: The Armenian community in Sumgait, Azerbaijan is targeted in a violent pogrom.
- 1976: The former Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
- 1973: The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee in protest of the federal government.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Johnny Davis, American basketball player
- 1998: Todd Cantwell, English footballer
- 1996: Chris Godwin, American football player
- 1996: Ten, Thai singer and dancer
- 1995: Laura Gulbe, Latvian tennis player
- 1995: Sergej Milinković-Savić, Serbian footballer
- 1995: Tomáš Souček, Czech footballer
- 1994: Mike Matheson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1993: Alphonse Areola, French footballer
- 1992: Meyers Leonard, American basketball player
- 1992: Ioannis Potouridis, Greek footballer
- 1992: Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
- 1992: Callum Wilson, English footballer
- 1991: Azeem Rafiq, Pakistani cricketer
- 1990: Chandler Jones, American football player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Boris Spassky, Russian chess grandmaster (born 1937)
- 2023: Gérard Latortue, Haitian prime minister (born 1934)
- 2021: Ng Man-tat, Hong Kong actor (born 1952)
- 2019: France-Albert René, Seychellois politician, 2nd President of Seychelles (born 1935)
- 2018: Steve Folkes, Australian rugby league player and coach (born 1959)
- 2016: Yi Cheol-seung, South Korean lawyer and politician (born 1922)
- 2016: James Z. Davis, American lawyer and judge (born 1943)
- 2015: Boris Nemtsov, Russian academic and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (born 1959)
- 2015: Leonard Nimoy, American actor (born 1931)
- 2015: Julio César Strassera, Argentinian lawyer and jurist (born 1933)
- 2014: Aaron Allston, American game designer and author (born 1960)
- 2014: Terry Rand, American basketball player (born 1934)
- 2013: Van Cliburn, American pianist (born 1934)
- 2013: Ramon Dekkers, Dutch mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (born 1969)
- 2013: Dale Robertson, American actor (born 1923)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Anne Line - Christian feast day:
Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows - Christian feast day:
George Herbert (Anglicanism) - Christian feast day:
Gregory of Narek - Christian feast day:
Honorina - Christian feast day:
Leander - Christian feast day:
February 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Doctors’ Day (Vietnam)
- Independence Day (Dominican Republic), celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.
- Majuba Day (some Afrikaners in South Africa)
- Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India)
- World NGO Day