27th April
April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining.
Events
- 1124 - David becomes King of Scotland.
- 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated by Edward I of England.
- 1509 - Pope Julius II places the Italian state of Venice under interdict.
- 1521 - Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines.
- 1565 - Cebu City is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in Philippines.
- 1667 - The blind, impoverished John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10.
- 1773 - The British Parliament passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
- 1805 - United States Marines and Berbers attack the Tripolitan city of Derna (The "shores of Tripoli").
- 1813 - War of 1812: United States troops capture the capital of Ontario, York (present day Toronto, Ontario).
- 1840 - Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, laid by wife of Sir Charles Barry.
- 1861 - President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus.
- 1861 - American Civil War: West Virginia secedes from Virginia.
- 1865 - The steamboat Sultana, carrying 2,300 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1,700, most of whom were Union survivors of the Andersonville Prison.
- 1897 - Grant's Tomb is dedicated.
- 1908 - The 1908 Summer Olympics open in London.
- 1909 - Sultan of Turkey Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Murat V.
- 1941 - World War II: German troops enter Athens.
- 1947 - Babe Ruth Day is celebrated at Yankee Stadium
- 1950 - Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races.
- 1960 - Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship.
- 1961 - Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1967 - Expo '67 opens in Montreal, Quebec.
- 1972 - Constructive Vote of No Confidence against German Chancellor Willy Brandt fails under obscure circumstances.
- 1981 - Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse.
- 1986 - Captain Midnight (John R. MacDougall) hijacks HBO's satellite and transmits his own message to HBO viewers.
- 1997 - Andrew Cunanan murders Jerffrey Trail, beginning a murder spree that will last until July and terminate with the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace.
Births
- 1737 - Edward Gibbon, historian († 1794)
- 1759 - Mary Godwin, feminist, activist, author
- 1791 - Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of Morse code († 1872)
- 1812 - Friedrich von Flowtow, composer († 1883)
- 1820 - Herbert Spencer, philosopher († 1903)
- 1822 - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States († 1885)
- 1878 - Frank Alvin Gotch, American Wrestler († 1917)
- 1888 - Florence La Badie, pioneer actress († 1917)
- 1894 - Nicolas Slonimsky, musicologist and composer (†1995)
- 1896 - Rogers Hornsby, Baseball Hall of Famer († 1963)
- 1900 - Martin Beheim-Schwarzenbach, narrator, lyricist and essayist († 1985)
- 1900 - Walter Lantz, cartoonist
- 1916 - Enos Slaughter, Baseball Hall of Famer († 2002)
- 1920 - Guido Cantelli, conductor († 1956)
- 1922 - Jack Klugman, actor
- 1927 - Coretta King, civil rights activist and widow of the Reverend Martin Luther King
- 1932 - Casey Kasem, American disc jockey
- 1932 - Anouk Aimée, actress
- 1932 - Gian-Carlo Rota, mathematician and philosopher († 1999)
- 1937 - Sandy Dennis, actress († 1992)
- 1945 - August Wilson, playwright
- 1947 - Ace Frehley, musician ("KISS")
- 1959 - Sheena Easton, singer
Deaths
- 1124 - King Alexander I of Scotland
- 1404 - King Philip the Bold
- 1521 - Ferdinand Magellan, explorer (b. 1470)
- 1613 - Robert Abercromby, Jesuit
- 1813 - Zebulon Pike, mountain man, explorer
- 1882 - Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist
- 1915 - Alexander Scriabin, composer
- 1932 - Hart Crane, writer (suicide)
- 1965 - Edward R. Murrow, journalist
- 1970 - Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque entertainer
- 1972 - Kwame Nkrumah, first post-independence leader of Ghana
- 1978 - Sardar Mohammed Daoud, President of Afghanistan
- 1992 - Olivier Messiaen, composer
- 1995 - Willem Frederik Hermans, Dutch writer
- 1999 - Al Hirt, musician
- 2002 - George Alec Effinger, science fiction author
Holidays and observances
See Also:
April 26 - April 28 - March 27 - May 27 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July,
August, September, October, November, December
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