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February

By: HISTORY.com Editors

1827

New Orleanians take to the streets for Mardi Gras

HISTORY.com Editors

Bettmann / Contributor/Getty Images

Published: November 24, 2009

Last Updated: May 28, 2025

On February 27, 1827, a group of masked and costumed students dance through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, marking the beginning of the city’s famous Mardi Gras celebrations.

This Day In History: 02/27/1827 - New Orleans Mardi Gras

A recap of the historical events occurring on February 27th is given to us by Russell Mitchell in this video clip from "This Day in History". The return of President Nixon from his trip to China and Tiger Wood's first tournament are just two events. Along with those, in 1827 the French people of Louisiana were able to celebrate Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, for the first time after it became a state.

The celebration of Carnival—or the weeks between Twelfth Night on January 6 and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian period of Lent—spread from Rome across Europe and later to the Americas. Nowhere in the United States is Carnival celebrated as grandly as in New Orleans, famous for its over-the-top parades and parties for Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday), the last day of the Carnival season.

Early French settlers brought the tradition of Mardi Gras to the U.S. Gulf Coast at the end of the 17th century. In fact, Mobile, Alabama celebrated its first carnival in 1703. However, Spanish governors later banned the celebrations. After Louisiana Territory became part of the United States in 1803, New Orleanians managed to convince the city council to lift the ban on wearing masks and partying in the streets. The city’s new Mardi Gras tradition began in 1827 when the group of students, inspired by their experiences studying in Paris, donned masks and jester costumes and staged their own Fat Tuesday festivities.

The parties grew more and more popular, and in 1833 a rich plantation owner named Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville raised money to fund an official Mardi Gras celebration. After rowdy revelers began to get violent during the 1850s, a secret society called the Mistick Krewe of Comus staged the first large-scale, well-organized Mardi Gras parade in 1857.

Over time, hundreds of krewes formed, building elaborate and colorful floats for parades held over the two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. Riders on the floats are usually local citizens who toss “throws” at passersby, including metal coins, stuffed toys or those now-infamous strands of beads. Though many tourists mistakenly believe Bourbon Street and the historic French Quarter are the heart of Mardi Gras festivities, none of the major parades have been allowed to enter the area since 1979 because of its narrow streets.

In February 2006, New Orleans held its Mardi Gras celebrations despite the fact that Hurricane Katrina had devastated much of the city with massive flooding the previous August. Attendance was at only 60-70 percent of the 300,000-400,000 visitors who usually attend Mardi Gras, but the celebration marked an important step in the recovery of the city, which counts on hospitality and tourism as its single largest industry.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on February 27th

1844

Dominican Republic declares independence as a sovereign state

On February 27, 1844, revolutionary fervor boils over on the eastern side of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Finally coming into the open after years of covert planning, a group known as La Trinitaria seizes the fortress of Puerta del Conde in the city of Santo Domingo, beginning the Dominican War of Independence. Much of […]

2:24m read

1860

Mathew Brady photographs presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln

On February 27, 1860, President Abraham Lincoln poses for the first of several portraits by noted Civil War-era photographer Mathew Brady. Days later, the photograph is published on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar with the caption, “Hon. Abram [sic] Lincoln, of Illinois, Republican Candidate for President.” A relatively new art form, the photograph (or daguerreotype) […]

1922

Supreme Court defends women’s voting rights

In deciding the case Leser v. Garnett, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the 19th Amendment—which, when ratified two years earlier, provided American women with the right to vote. The justices were unanimous in their decision to dismiss the challenge. In the case, a prominent Baltimore lawyer named Oscar Leser sued to strike […]

1:10m read

1935

6-year-old Shirley Temple receives special miniature Oscar

At the seventh Academy Awards ceremony, on February 27, 1935, 6-year-old ascendant Hollywood star Shirley Temple receives the first-ever kid-sized, “juvenile” Oscar. The trophy measured roughly half the height of a full-sized Oscar. Temple’s Hollywood career had shot into the stratosphere in 1934, when the tot appeared in no fewer than six films, including Stand […]

3:36m read

1942

U.S. aircraft carrier Langley is sunk

The U.S. Navy’s first aircraft carrier, the Langley, is sunk by Japanese warplanes (with a little help from U.S. destroyers), and all of its 32 aircraft are lost. The Langley was launched in 1912 as the naval collier (coal transport ship) Jupiter. After World War I, the Jupiter was converted into the Navy’s first aircraft carrier […]

1:52m read

1960

U.S. Olympic hockey team beats Soviet Union

Two decades before the famed “Miracle on Ice,” another underdog U.S. Olympic hockey team defeats the Soviet Union team in the semifinals at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California on February 27, 1960. The next day, the U.S. beats Czechoslovakia to win its first-ever Olympic gold medal in hockey. The 1960 U.S. team was led […]

1964

Italian government seeks aid for fixing Leaning Tower of Pisa

On February 27, 1964, the Italian government announces that it is accepting suggestions on how to save the renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa from collapse. The top of the 180-foot tower was hanging 17 feet south of the base, and studies showed that the tilt was increasing by a fraction every year. Experts warned that […]

4:16m read

1973

AIM occupation of Wounded Knee begins

On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, some 200 members of the Oglala Lakota tribe, led by members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), occupy Wounded Knee, the site of the infamous 1890 massacre of 300 Sioux by the U.S. Seventh Cavalry. The AIM members, some of them armed, took 11 residents of the […]

3:00m read

View of several members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) as they stand next to a sweat lodge erected on a hill below the Sacred Heart Church during the occupation of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, 1973. AIM occupied the town, exchanging gunfire with local and federal troops, from February 27 through May 8, 1973, following internal reservation disputes as well as disatisfaction with the US government's treatment of Native American peoples in general. (Photo by Peter Davis/Getty Images)

1980

Buddy Holly’s glasses, lost since his death in 1959, are found in Mason City, Iowa

On February 27, 1980, the long-lost glasses of rocker Buddy Holly, who died in the deadly plane crash in 1959, were found—filed away in an envelope in a court clerk’s office. When the Beechcraft Bonanza carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed outside Clear Lake, Iowa, in the early morning hours of […]

2:30m read

1980

“I Will Survive” wins the first—and last—Grammy ever awarded for Best Disco Recording

On February 27, 1980, the first—and final—Grammy for Best Disco Recording is awarded to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” After watching disco music utterly dominate the musical landscape of the late 1970s, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences had finally decided to give it their stamp of approval, with the category Best Disco […]

1:22m read

2006

Effa Manley becomes first woman elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

On February 27, 2006, baseball pioneer Effa Manley becomes the first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Manley, who died in 1981, was co-owner of the Newark (New Jersey) Eagles, a Negro League powerhouse, and a huge advocate for Black ballplayers and civil rights causes.  “She’s deserving; she did a lot for the […]

1:32m read

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About the author

HISTORY.com Editors

HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Matt Mullen, Christian Zapata and Cristiana Lombardo.

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Citation Information

Article title
New Orleanians take to the streets for Mardi Gras
Author
HISTORY.com Editors
Website Name
History
URL
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/february-27/new-orleanians-take-to-the-streets-for-mardi-gras
Date Accessed
June 23, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
May 28, 2025
Original Published Date
November 24, 2009

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