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Annual Observances

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HISTORY

Discover what happened on February 27 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

February 27

1700

45 B.C.

1601

Legacy Unpublished

Arab American

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History.com Editors

As the Vietnam War expanded into Cambodia, anti-war rallies flared at home; at Kent State University in Ohio, National Guardsmen killed four unarmed student protesters, shocking the nation. Americans held their breath as NASA scrambled to bring Apollo 13 astronauts home safely after their aborted moon mission. Some 20 million people celebrated the first Earth Day, rock icons Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix both died of drug overdoses at age 27, and the Beatles called it quits.

1970

Discover what happened on September 1 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

September 1

Discover what happened on January 1 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

January 1

Discover what happened on April 22 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

April 22

Officially the first year of the new millennium, 2001 is remembered now for a single day: September 11, when terrorist-hijacked airliners brought down the Twin Towers, slammed into the Pentagon and nosedived into a Pennsylvania field. Congress responded by passing the Patriot Act, giving the government expanded powers to combat terrorism, and authorized the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the plotters’ base. The year also introduced iTunes, the Xbox, Wikipedia and the first Harry Potter movie.

2001

1966

Discover what happened on May 8 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

May 8

1869

Discover what happened on December 28 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 28

Discover what happened on April 1 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

April 1

Discover what happened on November 26 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

November 26

Discover what happened on February 2 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

February 2

Discover what happened on March 17 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

March 17

Discover what happened on December 26 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

Annual Observances ‑ This Day In History

This Day in History Video: What Happened on November 26

This Day in History Video: What Happened on February 27

This Day in History Video: What Happened on April 1

America’s first Labor Day

April Fools’ tradition popularized

First Muslim holiday U.S. postage stamp is issued

This Day in History Video: What Happened on April 22

This Day in History Video: What Happened on February 2

This Day in History Video: What Happened on May 8

The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time on New Year’s Day

First St. Patrick’s Day parade

The first Kwanzaa