93 years ago today
The Reichstag Fire Changes Germany Forever
On the night of February 27, 1933, the German Reichstag parliament building in Berlin was set ablaze in a fire that destroyed the debating chamber. A young Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, was found at the scene and claimed sole responsibility, though debate about whether the Nazis orchestrated the fire as a pretext has continued for nearly a century. Adolf Hitler, who had only been Chancellor for four weeks, immediately used the fire to declare a national emergency. President Hindenburg signed the Reichstag Fire Decree the following morning, suspending civil liberties and allowing the detention of political opponents without trial. Within months, the Enabling Act dissolved German democracy entirely. The fire thus served as the pivotal turning point transforming the Weimar Republic into the Nazi totalitarian state.
On the record: Adolf Hitler
This day, across time
- 272 CEBornConstantine the Great
- 380 CEEventEdict of Thessalonica Makes Christianity the Roman State Religion
- 1776EventBattle of Moore's Creek Bridge
- 1807BornHenry Wadsworth Longfellow
- 1812EventLord Byron Defends the Luddites in Parliament
- 1844EventDominican Republic Gains Independence
- 1887DiedAlexander Borodin
- 1897BornMarian Anderson
- 1900EventBritish Labour Party Founded
- 1902BornJohn Steinbeck
- 1932BornElizabeth Taylor
- 1933FeaturedThe Reichstag Fire Changes Germany Forever
- 1934BornRalph Nader
- 1936DiedIvan Pavlov
- 1951EventTwenty-Second Amendment Limits Presidents to Two Terms
- 1973EventAmerican Indian Movement Occupies Wounded Knee
- 1980BornChelsea Clinton
- 1993DiedLillian Gish
- 2003DiedFred Rogers
- 2010EventCatastrophic 8.8 Earthquake Strikes Chile
- 2015EventBoris Nemtsov Assassinated in Moscow
Alive in 1933
OverlapSame years; not influence
- Adolf Hitlerturned 44 this year
Abraham Heschelturned 26 this year
Albert Einsteinturned 54 this year
Carl Gustav Jungturned 58 this year
Deng Xiaopingturned 29 this year
Eleanor Rooseveltturned 49 this year
Emmanuel Levinasturned 27 this year
Ernest Hemingwayturned 34 this year
Frida Kahloturned 26 this year
George Orwellturned 30 this year
19 more figures were alive that year
On This Day in History
10 EventsEdict of Thessalonica Makes Christianity the Roman State Religion
Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica, declaring Nicene Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and making all other forms of Roman religion subject to punishment — a decree that shaped the religious character of Europe for over a millennium.
Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
Patriot militia crushed a Loyalist force at Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina, effectively ending British hopes of using Loyalist support as the basis for a southern campaign early in the American Revolutionary War.
Lord Byron Defends the Luddites in Parliament
In his maiden speech to the House of Lords, the poet Lord Byron passionately argued against harsh penalties for Luddite textile workers destroying machinery in Nottingham, defending the poor against the consequences of industrial change.
Dominican Republic Gains Independence
The Dominican Republic declared independence from Haiti, establishing itself as a separate nation on the island of Hispaniola — a date still celebrated as Dominican Independence Day.
British Labour Party Founded
At a conference in London, the British Labour Representation Committee was founded — the organisation that would become the Labour Party, establishing parliamentary representation for the working class and reshaping British politics for the next century.
Reichstag Fire Enables Nazi Dictatorship
The burning of the German parliament building gave Hitler the pretext to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending civil liberties and enabling the mass arrest of political opponents that smoothed the path to Nazi dictatorship.
Twenty-Second Amendment Limits Presidents to Two Terms
The Twenty-Second Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, formally capping presidential terms at two following Franklin D. Roosevelt's unprecedented four electoral victories.
American Indian Movement Occupies Wounded Knee
Members of the American Indian Movement occupied the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota — site of the 1890 massacre — in a 71-day standoff with federal marshals to protest treaty violations and reservation conditions.
Catastrophic 8.8 Earthquake Strikes Chile
One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the coast of Chile, killing over 500 people, generating a tsunami that reached Hawaii, and shifting the Earth's axis enough to shorten the day by 1.26 microseconds.
Boris Nemtsov Assassinated in Moscow
Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on a bridge within sight of the Kremlin, just hours before he was to lead a major anti-government demonstration. His murder sent a chill through Russian civil society.
Born on This Day
John Steinbeck
Author & Nobel Laureate
John Steinbeck was one of America's most celebrated novelists, author of The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and East of Eden — works that chronicled the struggles of ordinary Americans during the Great Depression and beyond. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962.
Constantine the Great
Roman Emperor
Constantine I was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and issued the Edict of Milan granting religious tolerance throughout the Empire. He founded Constantinople as his new capital and shaped the trajectory of both European and Christian history.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Poet
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the most widely read American poet of the 19th century, whose works including The Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere's Ride, and Evangeline brought American history and legend to a mass audience on both sides of the Atlantic.
Marian Anderson
Contralto Singer
Marian Anderson was one of the most celebrated vocalists of the 20th century. When the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow her to perform at Constitution Hall because of her race, Eleanor Roosevelt arranged her legendary 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial for 75,000 people.
Elizabeth Taylor
Actress
Elizabeth Taylor was one of Hollywood's greatest stars, winning Academy Awards for Butterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Her violet eyes, turbulent personal life, and later HIV/AIDS activism made her a cultural icon for six decades.
Ralph Nader
Consumer Rights Advocate & Activist
Ralph Nader's 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed exposed dangerous design flaws in American automobiles and launched the modern consumer safety movement, leading to the creation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and seatbelt legislation.
Chelsea Clinton
Author & Public Health Advocate
Chelsea Clinton, daughter of President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has built a career in global health policy and authored a series of children's books championing history's pioneering women and scientists.
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Alexander Borodin
Composer & Chemist
Alexander Borodin was a member of the Russian nationalist group "The Five" and composed the sweeping In the Steppes of Central Asia and the opera Prince Igor. He was also a distinguished organic chemist, one of the few in history to achieve excellence in both science and art.
Ivan Pavlov
Physiologist & Nobel Laureate
Ivan Pavlov won the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his research on digestion but became world-famous for his later experiments on conditioned reflexes in dogs — foundational work in the science of learning and behaviour.
Fred Rogers
Television Host & Minister
Fred Rogers hosted Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for PBS from 1968 to 2001, creating a gentle, nurturing space for generations of American children and delivering a consistent message of self-worth, kindness, and emotional literacy.
Lillian Gish
Actress
Lillian Gish was the "First Lady of American Cinema," starring in groundbreaking silent films directed by D.W. Griffith including The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. Her career spanned an astonishing 75 years from 1912 to 1987.
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