What Happened On This Day – February 27
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2010A massive earthquake strikes Chile
The tremor measured 8.8 on the Richter scale and left more than 500 people dead and thousands injured.
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2002A Muslim mob set fire to a train carrying Hindu pilgrims
The attack killed 59 people, including many women and children.
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1943Non-violent protests in Berlin prevent the deportation of 2000 jews
The “Rosenstrasse protest” was carried out by the “Aryan” wives and relatives of detained Jewish men.
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1933Germany's parliament building is set on fire
The Nazis used the Reichstag fire to justify harsh repression against political opponents. The event is considered pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany.
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1932The neutron is discovered
English physicist James Chadwick was later awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery.
Births On This Day,
February 27
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1994Hou Yifan
Chinese chess player
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1934Ralph Nader
American lawyer, author, activist
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1932Elizabeth Taylor
English/American actress
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1902John Steinbeck
American author, Nobel Prize laureate
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1807Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
American poet
Deaths On This Day,
February 27
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2011Frank Buckles
American soldier
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2008William F. Buckley, Jr.
American publisher, author, founded the National Review
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2002Spike Milligan
Indian/Irish actor, singer, screenwriter, author
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1989Konrad Lorenz
Austrian zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate
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1936Ivan Pavlov
Russian physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate