Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Today in History: February 27

  • 272 Roman emperor Constantine I born; First Christian Roman emperor; Byzantium renamed Constantinople after his death.
  • 1881 Dutch mathematician L.E.J. Brouwer born; founded modern topology; Brouwer Fixed Point Theorem.
  • 1910 American engineer Kelly Johnson born; created Lockheed's "Skunk Works", designing 40+ planes: P-38 Lightning fighter, F-80 Shooting Star, U-2, F-104 Starfighter, F-117A Nighthawk, SR-71 Black Bird.
  • 1932 English physicist James Chadwick discovers the neutron; 1935 Nobel.
  • 1933 Hitler uses Reichstag (parliament building) Fire as an excuse to arrest or murder opposition party leaders before 6 March elections.
  • 1951 The Twenty-second Amendment is ratified, limiting Presidents to two terms.
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