August 27

Pre-1600

• 410 – The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days.
• 1172 – Henry the Young King and Margaret of France are crowned junior king and queen of England.
• 1232 – Shikken Hojo Yasutoki of the Kamakura shogunate promulgates the Goseibai Shikimoku, the first Japanese legal code governing the samurai class.^[1]
• 1557 – The Battle of St. Quentin results in Emmanuel Philibert becoming Duke of Savoy.
• 1593 – Pierre Barrière failed an attempt to assassinate Henry IV of France.
• 1597 – Jeongyu War: Battle of Chilcheollyang: A Japanese fleet of 500 ships destroys Joseon commander Won Gyun's fleet of 200 ships at Chilcheollyang.^[2]
• 1600 – Ishida Mitsunari's Western Army commences the Siege of Fushimi Castle, which is lightly defended by a much smaller Tokugawa garrison led by Torii Mototada.^[3]

1601–1900

• 1689 – The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing Empire (Julian calendar).
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Members of the 1st Maryland Regiment repeatedly charged a numerically superior British force during the Battle of Long Island, allowing General Washington and the rest of the American troops to escape.^[4]
• 1791 – French Revolution: Frederick William II of Prussia and Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, issue the Declaration of Pillnitz, declaring the joint support of the Holy Roman Empire and Prussia for the French monarchy, agitating the French revolutionaries and contributing to the outbreak of the War of the First Coalition.^[5]
• 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: The city of Toulon revolts against the French Republic and admits the British and Spanish fleets to seize its port, leading to the Siege of Toulon by French Revolutionary forces.
• 1798 – Wolfe Tone's United Irish and French forces clash with the British Army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in the creation of the French puppet Republic of Connacht.
• 1810 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France.
• 1813 – French Emperor Napoleon I defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.
• 1828 – Brazil and Argentina recognize the sovereignty of Uruguay in the Treaty of Montevideo
• 1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.
• 1859 – Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania, leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.
• 1881 – The Georgia hurricane makes landfall near Savannah, Georgia, resulting in an estimated 700 deaths.
• 1883 – Eruption of Krakatoa: Four enormous explosions almost completely destroy the island of Krakatoa and cause years of climate change.
• 1893 – The Sea Islands hurricane strikes the United States near Savannah, Georgia, killing between 1,000 and 2,000 people.
• 1895 – Japanese invasion of Taiwan: Battle of Baguashan: The Empire of Japan decisively defeats a smaller Formosan army at Changhua, crippling the short-lived Republic of Formosa and leading to its surrender two months later.^[6]
• 1896 – Anglo-Zanzibar War: The shortest war in world history (09:02 to 09:40), between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.

1901–present

• 1908 – The Qing dynasty promulgates the Qinding Xianfa Dagang, the first constitutional document in the history of China, transforming the Qing empire into a constitutional monarchy.^[7]
• 1914 – World War I: Battle of Étreux: A British rearguard action by the Royal Munster Fusiliers during the Great Retreat.
• 1914 – World War I: Siege of Tsingtao: A Japanese fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Sadakichi Kato imposes a blockade along the whole coastline of German Tsingtao, initiating the Siege of Tsingtao.^[8]
• 1915 – Attempted assassination of Bishop Patrick Heffron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona, by Rev. Louis M. Lesches.
• 1916 – World War I: The Kingdom of Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering the war as one of the Allied nations.
• 1918 – Mexican Revolution: Battle of Ambos Nogales: U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas in the only battle of World War I fought on American soil.
• 1922 – Greco-Turkish War: The Turkish army takes the Aegean city of Afyonkarahisar from the Kingdom of Greece.
• 1927 – Five Canadian women file a petition to the Supreme Court of Canada, asking: "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?"
• 1928 – The Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by fifteen nations. Ultimately sixty-one nations will sign it.
• 1933 – The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein.
• 1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.
• 1942 – First day of the Sarny Massacre, perpetrated by Germans and Ukrainians.
• 1943 – World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.
• 1943 – World War II: Aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe razes to the ground the village of Vorizia in Crete.
• 1955 – The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published in Great Britain.^[9]
• 1956 – The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the world's first commercial nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale.
• 1962 – The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.
• 1963 – An explosion at the Cane Creek potash mine near Moab, Utah kills 18 miners.^[10][11]
• 1964 – South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh enters into a triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals Trần Thiện Khiêm and Dương Văn Minh, who had both been involved in plots to unseat Khánh.
• 1971 – An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations.
• 1975 – The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.
• 1979 – The Troubles: Eighteen British soldiers are killed in an ambush by the Provisional Irish Republican Army near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, in the deadliest attack on British forces during Operation Banner. An IRA bomb also kills British royal family member Lord Mountbatten and three others on his boat at Mullaghmore, Republic of Ireland.
• 1980 – South Korean presidential election: After successfully staging the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth, General Chun Doo-hwan, running unopposed, has the National Conference for Unification elect him President of the Fourth Republic of Korea.^[12]
• 1982 – Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa. Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim to be avenging the massacre of 1+1⁄2 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian genocide.
• 1985 – Major General Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Major General Ibrahim Babangida.
• 1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
• 1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR.
• 1992 – Aeroflot Flight 2808 crashes on approach to Ivanovo Yuzhny Airport, killing all 84 aboard.^[13]
• 2003 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.
• 2003 – The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
• 2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, bound for Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. Of the passengers and crew, 49 of 50 are confirmed dead in the hours following the crash.
• 2009 – Internal conflict in Myanmar: The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region.
• 2011 – Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.^[14]

Pre-1600

• 865 – Rhazes, Persian polymath (d. 925)
• 1407 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1425)
• 1471 – George, Duke of Saxony (d. 1539)
• 1487 – Anna of Brandenburg (d. 1514)
• 1512 – Friedrich Staphylus, German theologian (d. 1564)
• 1542 – John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania and Protestant Bishop of Cammin (d. 1600)
• 1545 – Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1592)

1601–1900

• 1624 – Koxinga, Chinese-Japanese Ming loyalist (d. 1662)
• 1637 – Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, English politician, 2nd Proprietor of Maryland (d. 1715)
• 1665 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (d. 1751)
• 1669 – Anne Marie d'Orléans, queen of Sardinia (d. 1728)
• 1677 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian general (d. 1748)
• 1724 – John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-American pastor, planter, and politician (d. 1781)
• 1730 – Johann Georg Hamann, German philosopher and author (d. 1788)
• 1770 – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher and academic (d. 1831)
• 1785 – Agustín Gamarra, Peruvian general and politician, 10th and 14th President of Peru (d. 1841)^[15]
• 1795 – Giorgio Mitrovich, Maltese politician (d. 1885)^[16]
• 1803 – Edward Beecher, American minister and theologian (d. 1895)
• 1809 – Hannibal Hamlin, American publisher and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (d. 1891)
• 1812 – Bertalan Szemere, Hungarian poet and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1869)
• 1822 – William Hayden English, American politician, U.S. Representative from Indiana and Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee (d. 1896)^[17]
• 1827 – Charles Lilley, English-Australian politician, 4th Premier of Queensland (d. 1897)
• 1845 – Ödön Lechner, Hungarian architect, designed the Museum of Applied Arts and the Church of St Elisabeth (d. 1914)
• 1845 – Friedrich Martens, Estonian-Russian historian, lawyer, and diplomat (d. 1909)
• 1856 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian author and poet (d. 1916)
• 1858 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1932)
• 1864 – Hermann Weingärtner, German gymnast (d. 1919)
• 1865 – James Henry Breasted, American archaeologist and historian (d. 1935)
• 1865 – Charles G. Dawes, American general and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)
• 1868 – Hong Beom-do, Korean general and activist (d. 1943)
• 1870 – Amado Nervo, Mexican journalist, poet, and diplomat (d. 1919)
• 1871 – Theodore Dreiser, American novelist and journalist (d. 1945)
• 1874 – Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)
• 1875 – Katharine McCormick, American biologist, philanthropist, and activist (d. 1967)
• 1877 – Charles Rolls, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1910)
• 1877 – Ernst Wetter, Swiss lawyer and politician, 48th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1963)
• 1878 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (d. 1928)
• 1884 – Vincent Auriol, French lawyer and politician, President of the French Republic (d. 1966)^[18]
• 1884 – Denis G. Lillie, British biologist, member of the 1910–1913 Terra Nova Expedition (d. 1963)
• 1886 – Rebecca Clarke, English viola player and composer (d. 1979)^[19]
• 1890 – Man Ray, American-French photographer and painter (d. 1976)
• 1895 – Andreas Alföldi, Hungarian archaeologist and historian (d. 1981)
• 1896 – Kenji Miyazawa, Japanese author and poet (d. 1933)
• 1898 – Gaspard Fauteux, Canadian businessman and politician, 19th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1963)
• 1899 – C. S. Forester, English novelist (d. 1966)

1901–present

• 1904 – Alar Kotli, Estonian architect (d. 1963)
• 1904 – Norah Lofts, English author (d. 1983)
• 1904 – John Hay Whitney, American businessman, publisher, and diplomat, founded J.H. Whitney & Company (d. 1982)
• 1905 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek soldier (d. 1945)
• 1906 – Ed Gein, American murderer and body snatcher, The Butcher of Plainfield (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Don Bradman, Australian cricketer and manager (d. 2001)
• 1908 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American commander and politician, 36th President of the United States (d. 1973)^[20]
• 1909 – Sylvère Maes, Belgian cyclist (d. 1966)
• 1909 – Charles Pozzi, French race car driver (d. 2001)
• 1909 – Lester Young, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1959)
• 1911 – Kay Walsh, English actress and dancer (d. 2005)
• 1912 – Gloria Guinness, Mexican journalist (d. 1980)
• 1915 – Norman Foster Ramsey Jr., American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
• 1916 – Gordon Bashford, English engineer, co-designed the Range Rover (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Tony Harris, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 1993)
• 1916 – Martha Raye, American actress and comedian (d. 1994)
• 1917 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1986)
• 1918 – Jelle Zijlstra, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2001)
• 1919 – Pee Wee Butts, American baseball player and coach (d. 1972)
• 1919 – Murray Grand, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Baptiste Manzini, American football player (d. 2008)
• 1920 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (d. 2015)
• 1921 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Leo Penn, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
• 1922 – Roelof Kruisinga, Dutch physician and politician, Minister of Defence for The Netherlands (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Jimmy Greenhalgh, English footballer and manager (d. 2013)
• 1924 – David Rowbotham, Australian journalist and poet (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Rosalie E. Wahl, American lawyer and jurist (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, Italian cardinal (d. 2017)
• 1925 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (d. 2011)
• 1925 – Saiichi Maruya, Japanese author and critic (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Bill Neilson, Australian politician, 34th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1989)
• 1925 – Jaswant Singh Neki, Indian poet and academic (d. 2015)
• 1925 – Carter Stanley, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
• 1926 – George Brecht, American-German chemist and composer (d. 2008)
• 1926 – Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian computer scientist and academic (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Péter Boross, Hungarian lawyer and politician, 54th Prime Minister of Hungary
• 1928 – Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician, Chief Minister of KwaZulu (d. 2023)
• 1928 – Joan Kroc, American philanthropist (d. 2003)
• 1929 – Ira Levin, American novelist, playwright, and songwriter (d. 2007)
• 1929 – George Scott, Canadian-American wrestler and promoter (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Aase Foss Abrahamsen, Norwegian writer (d. 2023)^[21]
• 1930 – Gholamreza Takhti, Iranian wrestler and politician (d. 1968)
• 1931 – Sri Chinmoy, Indian-American guru and poet (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Joe Cunningham, American baseball player and coach (d. 2021)
• 1932 – Cor Brom, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Antonia Fraser, English historian and author
• 1935 – Ernie Broglio, American baseball player (d. 2019)
• 1935 – Michael Holroyd, English author
• 1935 – Frank Yablans, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2014)
• 1936 – Joel Kovel, American scholar and author (d. 2018)
• 1936 – Lien Chan, Taiwanese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China
• 1937 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (d. 2007)
• 1937 – Tommy Sands, American pop singer and actor^[22]
• 1939 – William Least Heat-Moon, American travel writer and historian^[20]
• 1939 – Edward Patten, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005)
• 1939 – Nikola Pilić, Yugoslav tennis player and coach
• 1940 – Fernest Arceneaux, American singer and accordion player (d. 2008)
• 1940 – Sonny Sharrock, American guitarist (d. 1994)
• 1941 – Cesária Évora, Cape Verdean singer (d. 2011)
• 1941 – János Konrád, Hungarian water polo player and swimmer (d. 2014)
• 1941 – Harrison Page, American actor
• 1942 – Daryl Dragon, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2019)
• 1942 – Brian Peckford, Canadian educator and politician, 3rd Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
• 1943 – Chuck Girard, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1943 – Bob Kerrey, American lieutenant and politician, Medal of Honor recipient, 35th Governor of Nebraska
• 1943 – Tuesday Weld, American model and actress^[22]
• 1944 – G. W. Bailey, American actor^[22]
• 1944 – Tim Bogert, American singer and bass player (d. 2021)
• 1945 – Douglas R. Campbell, Canadian lawyer and judge
• 1945 – Marianne Sägebrecht, German actress^[22]
• 1946 – Tony Howard, Barbadian cricketer and manager
• 1947 – Barbara Bach, American actress and model^[20]
• 1947 – Halil Berktay, Turkish historian and academic
• 1947 – Kirk Francis, American engineer and producer
• 1947 – Peter Krieg, German director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1947 – John Morrison, New Zealand cricketer and politician
• 1947 – Gavin Pfuhl, South African cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
• 1948 – John Mehler, American drummer
• 1948 – Sgt. Slaughter, American wrestler^[23]
• 1948 – Deborah Swallow, English historian and curator
• 1948 – Philippe Vallois, French director and screenwriter
• 1949 – Jeff Cook, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2022) ^[24]
• 1949 – Leah Jamieson, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic
• 1949 – Ann Murray, Irish soprano
• 1950 – Charles Fleischer, American comedian and actor
• 1950 – Neil Murray, Scottish bass player and songwriter
• 1950 – Edmund Weiner, English lexicographer and author
• 1951 – Buddy Bell, American baseball player and manager
• 1951 – Mack Brown, American football player and coach
• 1951 – Randall Garrison, American-Canadian criminologist and politician
• 1952 – Paul Reubens, American actor and comedian (d. 2023)^[25]
• 1953 – Tom Berryhill, American businessman and politician (d. 2020)
• 1953 – Alex Lifeson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer^[22]
• 1953 – Joan Smith, English journalist and author
• 1953 – Peter Stormare, Swedish actor, director, and playwright^[22]
• 1954 – John Lloyd, English tennis player and sportscaster
• 1954 – Rajesh Thakker, English physician and academic
• 1954 – Derek Warwick, English race car driver
• 1955 – Robert Richardson, American cinematographer
• 1955 – Diana Scarwid, American actress^[22]
• 1956 – Glen Matlock, English singer-songwriter and bass player^[22]
• 1957 – Jeff Grubb, American game designer and author
• 1957 – Bernhard Langer, German golfer^[20]
• 1958 – Sergei Krikalev, Russian engineer and astronaut
• 1958 – Tom Lanoye, Belgian author, poet, and playwright
• 1958 – Hugh Orde, British police officer^[26]
• 1959 – Daniela Romo, Mexican singer, actress and TV hostess
• 1959 – Gerhard Berger, Austrian race car driver
• 1959 – Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian painter and sculptor
• 1959 – Denice Denton, American engineer and academic (d. 2006)
• 1959 – Frode Fjellheim, Norwegian pianist and composer
• 1959 – András Petőcz, Hungarian author and poet
• 1959 – Jeanette Winterson, English journalist and novelist
• 1961 – Yolanda Adams, American singer, producer, and actress^[22]
• 1961 – Mark Curry, English television host and actor
• 1961 – Tom Ford, American fashion designer and film director^[20]
• 1961 – Steve McDowall, New Zealand rugby player
• 1961 – Helmut Winklhofer, German footballer
• 1962 – Adam Oates, Canadian ice hockey player^[27]
• 1964 – Stephan Elliott, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1964 – Paul Bernardo, Canadian serial rapist and murderer
• 1965 – Scott Dibble, American lawyer and politician
• 1965 – Wayne James, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
• 1965 – Ange Postecoglou, Greek-Australian footballer and coach
• 1966 – Jeroen Duyster, Dutch rower
• 1966 – René Higuita, Colombian footballer
• 1966 – Juhan Parts, Estonian lawyer and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Estonia
• 1967 – Ogie Alcasid, Filipino singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1967 – Rob Burnett, American football player and sportscaster
• 1968 – Eric "Bobo" Correa, American musician^[22]
• 1968 – Daphne Koller, Israeli-American computer scientist and academic
• 1968 – Michael Long, New Zealand golfer
• 1968 – Matthew Ridge, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster
• 1969 – Mark Ealham, English cricketer
• 1969 – Cesar Millan, Mexican-American dog trainer, television personality, and author
• 1969 – Reece Shearsmith, English actor, comedian and writer
• 1969 – Chandra Wilson, American actress and director^[22]
• 1970 – Andy Bichel, Australian cricketer and coach
• 1970 – Mark Ilott, English cricketer
• 1970 – Pokwang, Filipino comedian, actress, television host and singer^[28]
• 1970 – Tony Kanal, British-American bass player. songwriter, and record producer^[22]
• 1970 – Jim Thome, American baseball player and manager
• 1970 – Karl Unterkircher, Italian mountaineer (d. 2008)
• 1971 – Ernest Faber, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1971 – Kyung Lah, South Korean-American journalist
• 1971 – Hisayuki Okawa, Japanese runner
• 1971 – Aygül Özkan, German lawyer and politician
• 1972 – Jaap-Derk Buma, Dutch field hockey player
• 1972 – Denise Lewis, English heptathlete
• 1972 – Jimmy Pop, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1972 – The Great Khali, Indian professional wrestler^[29]
• 1973 – Danny Coyne, Welsh footballer
• 1973 – Dietmar Hamann, German footballer and manager
• 1973 – Burak Kut, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1973 – Johan Norberg, Swedish historian and author
• 1974 – Aaron Downey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach^[30]
• 1974 – Manny Fernandez, Canadian ice hockey player^[31]
• 1974 – Michael Mason, New Zealand cricketer
• 1974 – José Vidro, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• 1974 – Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer
• 1975 – Blake Adams, American golfer
• 1975 – Mase, American rapper, songwriter and pastor^[22]
• 1975 – Jonny Moseley, Puerto Rican-American skier and television host
• 1975 – Marko Rudan, Australian footballer and manager
• 1976 – Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress^[22]
• 1976 – Audrey C. Delsanti, French astronomer and biologist
• 1976 – Milano Collection A.T., Japanese wrestler
• 1976 – Carlos Moyá, Spanish-Swiss tennis player
• 1976 – Mark Webber, Australian race car driver
• 1977 – Deco, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer
• 1977 – Justin Miller, American baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1978 – Demetria McKinney, American actress and singer^[22]
• 1979 – Sarah Neufeld, Canadian violinist
• 1979 – Aaron Paul, American actor and producer^[22]
• 1979 – Karel Rachůnek, Czech ice hockey player (d. 2011)^[32]
• 1979 – Rusty Smith, American speed skater
• 1981 – Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor^[22]
• 1981 – Maxwell Cabelino Andrade, Brazilian footballer
• 1981 – Chantal Djotodia, Beninese-Central African nurse and politician^[33]
• 1981 – Alessandro Gamberini, Italian footballer
• 1981 – Karla Mosley, American actress^[22]
• 1983 – Joanna McGilchrist, English rugby player and physiotherapist
• 1984 – David Bentley, English footballer^[34]
• 1984 – Amanda Fuller, American actress^[22]
• 1984 – Sulley Muntari, Ghanaian footballer
• 1985 – Kayla Ewell, American actress^[20]
• 1985 – Kevan Hurst, English footballer^[35]
• 1985 – Nikica Jelavić, Croatian footballer
• 1985 – Alexandra Nechita, Romanian-American painter and sculptor
• 1986 – Lana Bastašić, Serbian-Bosnian author and translator^[36]
• 1986 – Sebastian Kurz, Austrian politician, 25th Chancellor of Austria
• 1986 – Mario, American singer and actor^[22]
• 1987 – Joel Grant, English-Jamaican footballer
• 1987 – Darren McFadden, American football player
• 1988 – Alexa PenaVega, American actress and singer^[22]
• 1989 – Romain Amalfitano, French footballer^[37]
• 1989 – Juliana Cannarozzo, American figure skater and actress
• 1990 – Tori Bowie, American athlete (d. 2023)^[38]
• 1990 – Luuk de Jong, Dutch footballer
• 1991 – Lee Sung-yeol, South Korean actor and singer
• 1992 – Blake Jenner, American actor and singer^[20]
• 1992 – Stephen Morris, American football player
• 1992 – Kim Petras, German singer-songwriter
• 1992 – Ayame Goriki, Japanese actress and singer
• 1993 – Sarah Hecken, German figure skater
• 1993 – Olivier Le Gac, French cyclist
• 1994 – Ellar Coltrane, American actor^[22]
• 1994 – Breanna Stewart, American basketball player^[39]
• 1995 – Jessie Mei Li, English actress^[20]
• 1995 – Sergey Sirotkin, Russian race car driver
• 1998 – Kevin Huerter, American basketball player^[40]
• 2001 – Franz Wagner, German basketball player^[41]

Pre-1600

• 542 – Caesarius of Arles, French bishop and saint (b. 470)
• 749 – Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i, Persian general
• 827 – Pope Eugene II^[42]
• 923 – Ageltrude, queen of Italy and Holy Roman Empress
• 1146 – King Eric III of Denmark
• 1255 – Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (b. 1247)
• 1312 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1261)
• 1394 – Emperor Chōkei of Japan (b. 1343)
• 1450 – Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr, English politician (b. 1395)
• 1521 – Josquin des Prez, Flemish composer (b. 1450)
• 1545 – Piotr Gamrat, Polish archbishop (b. 1487)
• 1576 – Titian, Italian painter and educator (b. 1488)
• 1590 – Pope Sixtus V (b. 1521)^[43]

1601–1900

• 1611 – Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (b. c. 1548)
• 1635 – Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1562)
• 1664 – Francisco de Zurbarán, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1598)
• 1748 – James Thomson, Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1700)
• 1782 – John Laurens, American Revolutionary and abolitionist (b. 1754)
• 1828 – Eise Eisinga, Dutch astronomer and academic, built the Eisinga Planetarium (b. 1744)
• 1857 – Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, poet, and critic (b. 1815)
• 1865 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian judge and politician (b. 1796)
• 1871 – William Whiting Boardman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1794)
• 1875 – William Chapman Ralston, American businessman and financier, founded the Bank of California (b. 1826)
• 1891 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (b. 1816)

1901–present

• 1903 – Kusumoto Ine, first Japanese female doctor of Western medicine (b. 1827)^[44]
• 1909 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (b. 1842)
• 1922 – Reşat Çiğiltepe, Turkish colonel (b. 1879)
• 1929 – Herman Potočnik, Croatian-Austrian engineer (b. 1892)
• 1931 – Frank Harris, Irish-American journalist and author (b. 1856)
• 1931 – Willem Hubert Nolens, Dutch priest and politician (b. 1860)
• 1931 – Francis Marion Smith, American miner and businessman (b. 1846)
• 1935 – Childe Hassam, American painter and academic (b. 1859)
• 1944 – Georg von Boeselager, German soldier (b. 1915)
• 1945 – Hubert Pál Álgyay, Hungarian engineer, designed the Petőfi Bridge (b. 1894)
• 1948 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 11th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1862)
• 1950 – Cesare Pavese, Italian author, poet, and critic (b. 1908)
• 1956 – Pelageya Shajn, Russian astronomer and academic (b. 1894)
• 1958 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
• 1963 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (b. 1868)
• 1963 – Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi, Pakistani mathematician and scholar (b. 1888)
• 1964 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (b. 1895)
• 1965 – Le Corbusier, Swiss-French architect and urban planner, designed the Philips Pavilion (b. 1887)
• 1967 – Brian Epstein, English businessman and manager (b. 1934)
• 1968 – Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (b. 1906)
• 1969 – Ivy Compton-Burnett, English author (b. 1884)
• 1969 – Erika Mann, German actress and author (b. 1905)
• 1971 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher, co-founded Random House (b. 1898)
• 1971 – Margaret Bourke-White, American photographer and journalist (b. 1906)
• 1975 – Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1892)
• 1978 – Gordon Matta-Clark, American painter and illustrator (b. 1943)
• 1978 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author and poet (b. 1897)
• 1979 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (b. 1900)
• 1980 – Douglas Kenney, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)
• 1981 – Valeri Kharlamov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1948)
• 1990 – Avdy Andresson, Estonian soldier and diplomat (b. 1899)
• 1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1954)
• 1992 – Bengt Holbek, Danish folklorist (b. 1933)^[45]
• 1994 – Frank Jeske, German footballer (b. 1960)
• 1996 – Greg Morris, American actor (b. 1933)
• 1998 – Essie Summers, New Zealand author (b. 1912)
• 1999 – Hélder Câmara, Brazilian archbishop and theologian (b. 1909)
• 2001 – Michael Dertouzos, Greek-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1936)
• 2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, Palestinian politician (b. 1938)
• 2002 – Edwin Louis Cole, American religious leader and author (b. 1922)
• 2003 – Pierre Poujade, French soldier and politician (b. 1920)
• 2004 – Willie Crawford, American baseball player (b. 1946)
• 2005 – Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek trumpet player and composer (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Seán Purcell, Irish footballer (b. 1929)
• 2006 – Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (b. 1969)
• 2007 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian author and poet (b. 1913)
• 2010 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist (b. 1934)
• 2010 – Luna Vachon, Canadian-American wrestler and manager (b. 1962)
• 2012 – Neville Alexander, South African linguist and activist (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Art Heyman, American basketball player (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Ivica Horvat, Croatian footballer and manager (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Richard Kingsland, Australian captain and pilot (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Geliy Korzhev, Russian painter (b. 1925)^[46]
• 2013 – Chen Liting, Chinese director and playwright (b. 1910)
• 2013 – Bill Peach, Australian journalist (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Dave Thomas, Welsh golfer and architect (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Jacques Friedel, French physicist and academic (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Valeri Petrov, Bulgarian poet, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 2014 – Benno Pludra, German author (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Bangladeshi politician, 8th Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b. 1939)
• 2015 – Pascal Chaumeil, French director and screenwriter (b. 1961)
• 2015 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (b. 1957)
• 2016 – Cookie, Australian Major Mitchell's cockatoo, oldest recorded parrot (b. 1933)^[47][48]

• Christian feast day:
  • Baculus of Sorrento
  • Caesarius of Arles
  • Decuman
  • Gebhard of Constance
  • Euthalia
  • John of Pavia
  • Lycerius (or: Glycerius, Lizier)
  • Máel Ruba (or Rufus) (Scotland)
  • Margaret the Barefooted
  • Monica of Hippo, mother of Augustine of Hippo
  • Narnus
  • Our Lady of La Vang
  • Phanourios of Rhodes
  • Rufus and Carpophorus
  • Syagrius of Autun
  • Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle (Episcopal Church)
  • August 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Independence Day (Republic of Moldova), celebrates the independence of Moldova from the USSR in 1991.
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas, United States)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to August 27.

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on August 27". OnThisDay.com.