January 27
January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 338 days remaining (339 in leap years).
Events
- 98 Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.
- 1186 - Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, weds Constance of Sicily.
- 1343 - Pope Clement VI issues the Bull Unigenitus.
- 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, and ending in their execution on January 31.
- 1695 - Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul on the death of Amhed II. Mustafa ruled until 1703.
- 1785 - The University of Georgia is founded.
- 1825 - US Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears."
- 1870 - The first college sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, is formed at DePauw University.
- 1880 - Thomas Edison files a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.
- 1888 - In Washington, DC the National Geographic Society is founded.
- 1900 - Boxer Rebellion: Foreign diplomats in Peking, China demand that the Boxer rebels be disciplined.
- 1909 - The Young Left is founded in Norway.
- 1915 - United States Marines occupy Haiti.
- 1926 - John Logie Baird demonstrates the first television broadcast.
- 1939 - The President of the United-States Franklin D. Roosevelt approves the sale of U.S. war planes to France.
- 1941 - World War II: Fighting at Derna, Libya, begins Following the capture of Tobruk 2 brigades of the 6th Australian Division under Major General Iven Mackay pursued the Italians westwards and encountered an Italian rear guard at Derna.
- 1943 - World War II: 50 bombers mount the first entirely American air raid against Germany, targeting Wilhelmshaven.
- 1944 - World War II: The two year Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
- 1945 - World War II: The Red Army arrives at Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland and find the Nazi concentration camp where 1.1-1.5 million people were murdered.
- 1951 - Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats.
- 1967 - Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of the Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center.
- 1967 - More than 60 nations sign the Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
- 1973 - Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War.
- 1978 - Lt Marilyn R. Koon, 161st Aerial Refueling Squadron, Arizona Air National Guard, becomes first female Air National Guard Pilot.
- 1984 - Carl Lewis beats his own indoor world jumping record by 9-1/4 inches with a 28 feet, 10-1/4 inches jump.
- 1991 - Muhammad Siyad Barre flees his compound in Mogadishu.
- 1991 - Super Bowl XXV: The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills, 20-19.
- 1992 - Mike Tyson goes on trial charged with raping a 1991 Miss Black America contestant.
- 1996 - Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane, in a military coup.
- 1997 - It is revealed that French museums have nearly 2,000 pieces of art that were stolen by Nazis.
- 1998 - American First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton appears on the Today Show calling the attacks against her husband part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."
- 2002 - Several explosions at a military dump in Lagos, Nigeria kill more than 1,000.
Births
- 1443 - Albert, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
- 1546 - Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
- 1585 - Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
- 1603 - Harbottle Grimston, English politician (d. 1685)
- 1662 - Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (d. 1742)
- 1687 - Balthasar Neumann, German architect (d. 1753)
- 1701 - Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian (d. 1790)
- 1720 - Samuel Foote, English dramatist and actor (d. 1777)
- 1741 - Hester Thrale, Welsh diarist (d. 1821)
- 1756 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1791)
- 1805 - Samuel Palmer, English artist (d. 1881)
- 1806 - Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (d. 1826)
- 1814 - Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect (d. 1879)
- 1823 - Edouard Lalo, French composer (d. 1892)
- 1826 - Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian writer (d. 1889)
- 1826 - Richard Taylor, American Confederate general (d. 1879)
- 1832 - Lewis Carroll, English author (d. 1898)
- 1836 - Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (d. 1895)
- 1848 - Togo Heihachiro, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
- 1850 - Samuel Gompers, American labor leader (d. 1924)
- 1850 - Edward J. Smith, English captain of the Titanic (d. 1912)
- 1859 - Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany (d. 1941)
- 1885 - Jerome Kern, American composer (d. 1945)
- 1885 - Eduard Künnecke, German composer (d. 1953)
- 1885 - Harry Ruby, American musician, composer, and writer (d. 1974)
- 1891 - Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer (d. 1967)
- 1900 - Hyman Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
- 1901 - Art Rooney, American football team owner (d. 1988)
- 1903 - John Carew Eccles, Australian neuropsychologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1997)
- 1905 - Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1908 - Oran "Hot Lips" Page, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1954)
- 1918 - Skitch Henderson, English-born bandleader (d. 2005)
- 1919 - Ross Bagdasarian, American musician and actor (d. 1972)
- 1920 - Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (d. 2002)
- 1921 - Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
- 1924 - Sabu, Indian actor (d. 1963)
- 1926 - Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-born journalist (d. 2003)
- 1929 - Gastón Suárez, Bolivian novelist and dramatist (d. 1984)
- 1930 - Bobby Blue Bland, American singer
- 1931 - Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (d. 2001)
- 1936 - Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1936 - Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - John Ogdon, English pianist (d. 1989)
- 1940 - James Cromwell, American actor
- 1944 - Mairéad Corrigan, Irish activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1944 - Nick Mason, English drummer (Pink Floyd)
- 1945 - Harold Cardinal, Cree political leader, writer, and lawyer (d. 2005)
- 1946 - Nedra Talley, American singer (Ronettes)
- 1948 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian dancer
- 1950 - Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born obstetrician and gynecologist
- 1955 - John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States
- 1956 - Mimi Rogers, American actress
- 1957 - Janick Gers, English musician (Iron Maiden)
- 1959 - Keith Olbermann, American journalist and sportscaster
- 1964 - Bridget Fonda, American actress
- 1965 - Alan Cumming, Scottish actor
- 1968 - Mike Patton, American singer
- 1968 - Tricky, English rapper
- 1971 - Fann Wong, Singapore actress, model, and singer (Shanghai Knights)
- 1972 - Keith Wood, Irish rugby player
- 1974 - Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1976 - Clint Ford, American voiceover actor
- 1979 - Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer
- 1980 - Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
Deaths
- 98 - Nerva, Roman Emperor (b. 35)
- 1490 - Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (b. 1435)
- 1629 - Hieronymus Praetorius, German composer (b. 1560)
- 1638 - Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish novelist
- 1731 - Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (b. 1655)
- 1740 - Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon, Prime Minister of France (b. 1692)
- 1814 - Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1761)
- 1816 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (b. 1724)
- 1851 - John James Audubon, French-American naturalist, ornithologist, and painter (b. 1785)
- 1860 - János Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1860)
- 1880 - Edward Middleton Barry, English architect (b. 1830)
- 1901 - Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
- 1910 - Thomas Crapper, English plumber (b. 1836)
- 1919 - Endre Ady, Hungarian poet (b. 1877)
- 1940 - Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (b. 1894)
- 1956 - Erich Kleiber, German conductor (b. 1890)
- 1967 - Crew of Apollo 1:
- Roger Chaffee (b. 1935)
- Virgil "Gus" Grissom (b. 1926)
- Edward White (b. 1930)
- 1970 - Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (b. 1908)
- 1971 - Jacobo Arbenz, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
- 1972 - Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
- 1975 - Bill Walsh, American producer and writer (b. 1913)
- 1986 - Lilli Palmer, German-born actress (b. 1914)
- 1988 - Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian author (b. 1938)
- 1989 - Thomas Sopwith, British aviation pioneer (b. 1888)
- 1992 - Allan Jones, actor and singer (b. 1908)
- 1993 - André the Giant, professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
- 1994 - Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1996 - Ralph Yarborough, American politician (b. 1903)
- 2004 - Jack Paar, American television show host (b. 1918)
Holidays and observances
- United Kingdom — Holocaust Memorial Day.
- Germany — Gedenktag für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (Commemoration Day for the Victims of National Socialism).
- Poland — Dzień Pamięci Ofiar Nazizmu (Memorial Day for the Victims of Nazism).
- Italy — Giorno della Memoria (Memorial Day).
- Catholicism — Catholic Schools Week.
- Serbia — St. Sava Day
External links
January 26 - January 28 - December 27 - February 27 — listing of all days