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Headlines from February 27, 1980

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of February 27, 1980, covering February 27, 1980.

  1. 1
    Album cover for The Wall by Pink Floyd

    The Wall

    Pink Floyd

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    12
  2. 2
    Album cover for Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

    Damn The Torpedoes

    Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    17
  3. 3
    Album cover for Off The Wall by Michael Jackson

    Off The Wall

    Michael Jackson

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    27
  4. 4
    Album cover for Phoenix by Dan Fogelberg

    Phoenix

    Dan Fogelberg

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    13
  5. 5
    Album cover for Permanent Waves by Rush

    Permanent Waves

    Rush

    Last week
    8
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    5

Notable Births

Brandon Beemer

1980Brandon Beemer, American actor[†]

Brandon Beemer is an American actor, best known for his role in the soap operas as Shawn-Douglas Brady in the NBC/Peacock soap opera Days of Our Lives and Owen Knight in the CBS daytime series The Bold and the Beautiful (2008–12).

Chelsea Clinton

1980Chelsea Clinton, American journalist and academic[†]

Chelsea Victoria Clinton is an American writer. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator.

Bobby V

1980Bobby V, American singer-songwriter[†]

Robert Marcel Wilson, better known by his stage name Bobby V, is an American R&B singer. Born in Jackson, Mississippi and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he first joined the R&B group Mista in 1994, who became best known for their 1996 single "Blackberry Molasses". The song preceded the release of their eponymous debut studio album that same year, which underperformed commercially. The group disbanded the following year.

Notable Deaths

George Tobias

1980George Tobias, American actor (born 1901)[†]

George Tobias was an American theater, film and television actor. He had character parts and supporting roles in several major films of Hollywood's Golden Age. He is also known for his role as Abner Kravitz on the TV sitcom Bewitched from 1964 to 1971.

Famous People Who Share Your Birthday

Birthday Twins

10 notable people born on February 27, across different years.

Portrait of John Steinbeck, born in 1902

Photo: McFadden Publications, Inc.; no photographer credited; photo likely… · Public domain · Commons

Full image credit

Creator: McFadden Publications, Inc.; no photographer credited; photo likely the work of Sonya Noskowiak, as Steinbeck is wearing the same clothes from her 1935 studio session that produced the work shown here: https://www.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2006.74

Credit: Photoplay , November 1939 (page 22) Photograph is flipped horizontally for magazine publication

View source and license details

Born 1902

John Steinbeck

American writer and novelist (1902–1968)

Weekly No. 1

Box Office

The film reported at No. 1 at the United States box office for February 27, 1980.

Market
United States
Reported period
February 27, 1980
Source
Wikipedia

Reported period gross: $1,229,186

Direct period match: This is the reported box-office period matched to February 27, 1980.

  1. #1

    Cruising

    Historical No. 1 listing.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Source period February 21, 1980–February 27, 1980.

Historical Context for February 27, 1980

In 1980, the world population was approximately 4,447,606,236 people[†]

I was wondering if anything interesting on the news was going on when I was born, and decided to create this website for fun. The purpose is to show people what was going on when they were born. With this website I've found out that it was a pretty slow news day on my birthday, but I bet it would feel cool to know a historical event happened on your birthday.

The data used in this project is provided by the New York Times API. They have by far the best API I was able to find, with articles dating back to the 1950s. There weren't any other major newspapers that had an API with close to as much data. The closest was the Guardian API, but theirs only went back to the 1990s. I decided to only use articles from the New York Times because their API was by far the best. This tool works if you have a birthday after the 1950s or so.

Some important dates in history I'd recommend looking up on this website are:

  • 9/11/2001: The September 11 Attacks happened on this day, the news articles from this date provide great context to the tragedy our nation suffered and the immediate response from the American people. The headlines capture the shock, confusion, and unity that emerged in the aftermath of this devastating event.
  • 7/20/1969: The historic Apollo 11 moon landing, when humans first set foot on another celestial body. The articles from this date showcase humanity's greatest achievement in space exploration and the culmination of the space race.
  • 11/9/1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the beginning of the end of the Cold War. The coverage provides fascinating insights into this pivotal moment in world history and the emotions of people as decades of division came to an end.
  • 1/20/2009: Barack Obama's inauguration as the first African American President of the United States, a watershed moment in American history that represented a major milestone in the ongoing journey toward racial equality.
  • 8/15/1969: The Woodstock Music Festival began, marking a defining moment in American counterculture and music history. The coverage captures the spirit of the era and the unprecedented gathering of young people.

These historical events are just a few examples of the fascinating moments in history you can explore through this tool. Whether you're interested in your own birthday, significant historical dates, or just curious about what was making headlines on any given day, this website offers a unique window into the past through the lens of contemporary news coverage.

You can read more on our blog.