Sat · 17 OctMoon 38%Field Kp 2.7 · quiet Quote · Will Durant, on Aristotle Riddle of the day Sky tonightHow today feels →

This day in history

This day in history: 27 August

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

Share

← Previous day26 Aug

Events57

Born on this day · Died on this day271 · 96

Next day →28 Aug

Key facts

424 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 27 August.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2011: Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: August 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Baculus of Sorrento

Christian feast day: Caesarius of Arles

Christian feast day: David Lewis

Christian feast day: Decuman

Christian feast day: Euthalia

Christian feast day: Gebhard of Constance

Christian feast day: John of Pavia

Christian feast day: Lycerius (or: Glycerius, Lizier)

Christian feast day: Máel Ruba (or Rufus) (Scotland)

Christian feast day: Margaret the Barefooted

Christian feast day: Monica of Hippo, mother of Augustine of Hippo

Events

2011Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.

2009Internal conflict in Myanmar: The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region.

2006Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, bound for Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. Of the passengers and crew, 49 of 50 are confirmed dead in the hours following the

2003Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.

2003The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.

1992Aeroflot Flight 2808 crashes in Lebyazhy Lug during approach to Ivanovo Yuzhny Airport, killing all 84 aboard.

1991Moldova declares independence from the USSR.

1991The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

1985Major General Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Major General Ibrahim Babangida.

1985Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-51-I to deploy three communication satellites and repair a fourth malfunctioning one.

1982Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa. Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim to be avenging the massacre of 1+1⁄2 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian genocide.

1980South Korean presidential election: After successfully staging the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth, General Chun Doo-hwan, running unopposed, has the National Conference for Unification elect him President of the Fourth Republic of Korea.

1979The Troubles: Eighteen British soldiers are killed at the Warrenpoint ambush by the Provisional Irish Republican Army near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, in the deadliest attack on British forces during Operation Banner. An IRA bomb also ki

1975The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.

1971An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations.

1964South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh enters into a triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals Trần Thiện Khiêm and Dương Văn Minh, who had both been involved in plots to unseat Khánh.

1963An explosion at the Cane Creek potash mine near Moab, Utah kills 18 miners.

1962The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.

1956The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the world's first commercial nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale.

1955The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published in Great Britain.

1943World War II: Aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe razes to the ground the village of Vorizia in Crete.

1943World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.

1942The Holocaust: first day of the Sarny Massacre, perpetrated by German military forces.

1939First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.

1933The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein.

1928The Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by fifteen nations. Ultimately sixty-one nations will sign it.

1927Five Canadian women file a petition to the Supreme Court of Canada, asking: "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?"

1922Greco-Turkish War: The Turkish army takes the Aegean city of Afyonkarahisar from the Kingdom of Greece.

1918Mexican Revolution: Battle of Ambos Nogales: U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas as part of the Mexican Border War.

1916World War I: The Kingdom of Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering the war as one of the Allied nations.

1915Attempted assassination of Bishop Patrick Heffron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona, by Rev. Louis M. Lesches.

1914World War I: Battle of Étreux: A British rearguard action by the Royal Munster Fusiliers during the Great Retreat.

1914World War I: Siege of Tsingtao: A Japanese fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Sadakichi Kato imposes a blockade along the whole coastline of German Tsingtao, initiating the Siege of Tsingtao.

1908The Qing dynasty promulgates the Qinding Xianfa Dagang, the first constitutional document in the history of China, transforming the Qing empire into a constitutional monarchy.

1896Anglo-Zanzibar War: The shortest war in world history (09:02 to 09:40) occurs, between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.

1895Japanese invasion of Taiwan: Battle of Baguashan: The Empire of Japan decisively defeats a smaller Formosan army at Changhua, crippling the short-lived Republic of Formosa and leading to its surrender two months later.

1893The Sea Islands hurricane strikes the United States near Savannah, Georgia, killing between 1,000 and 2,000 people.

1883Eruption of Krakatoa: Four enormous explosions almost completely destroy the island of Krakatoa, with a combination of tsunamis and pyroclastic flows killing more than 36,000. Climate effects are observed worldwide.

1881The Georgia hurricane makes landfall near Savannah, Georgia, resulting in an estimated 700 deaths.

1859Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania, leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.

Born on this day

2007Ariana Greenblatt, American actress

2006Kang Ju-hyeok, South Korean footballer

2001Franz Wagner, German basketball player

1998Brandon Hagel, Canadian ice hockey player

1998Kevin Huerter, American basketball player

1998Matheus Nunes, Portuguese footballer

1998Rod Wave, American rapper, singer, and songwriter

1997Lucas Paquetá, Brazilian footballer

1995Jessie Mei Li, English actress

1995Sergey Sirotkin, Russian race car driver

1994Breanna Stewart, American basketball player

1994Ellar Coltrane, American actor

1993Olivier Le Gac, French cyclist

1993Sarah Hecken, German figure skater

1992Ayame Goriki, Japanese actress and singer

1992Blake Jenner, American actor and singer

1992Kim Petras, German singer-songwriter

1992Stephen Morris, American football player

1991Lee Sung-yeol, South Korean actor and singer

1990Luuk de Jong, Dutch footballer

1990Tori Bowie, American athlete (died 2023)

1989Juliana Cannarozzo, American figure skater and actress

1989Romain Amalfitano, French footballer

1988Alexa PenaVega, American actress and singer

1987Darren McFadden, American football player

1986Lana Bastašić, Serbian-Bosnian author and translator

1986Mario, American singer and actor

1986Sebastian Kurz, Austrian politician, 25th Chancellor of Austria

1985Alexandra Nechita, Romanian-American painter and sculptor

1985Kayla Ewell, American actress

1985Kevan Hurst, English footballer

1985Nikica Jelavić, Croatian footballer

1984Amanda Fuller, American actress

1984David Bentley, English footballer

1984Sulley Muntari, Ghanaian footballer

1983Joanna McGilchrist, English rugby player and physiotherapist

1981Alessandro Gamberini, Italian footballer

1981Chantal Djotodia, Beninese-Central African nurse and politician

1981Karla Mosley, American actress

1981Maxwell Cabelino Andrade, Brazilian footballer

Died on this day

2026Ratko Mladić, Bosnian Serb military officer and war criminal (born 1942)

2024Bob Carr, American politician (born 1943)

2024Charlotte Kretschmann, German supercentenarian (born 1909)

2024Juan Izquierdo, Uruguayan footballer (born 1997)

2024Leonard Riggio, American businessman (born 1941)

2016Cookie, Australian Major Mitchell's cockatoo, oldest recorded parrot (born 1933)

2015Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (born 1957)

2015Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Bangladeshi politician, 8th Prime Minister of Bangladesh (born 1939)

2015Pascal Chaumeil, French director and screenwriter (born 1961)

2014Benno Pludra, German author (born 1925)

2014Jacques Friedel, French physicist and academic (born 1921)

2014Valeri Petrov, Bulgarian poet, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1920)

2013Bill Peach, Australian journalist (born 1935)

2013Chen Liting, Chinese director and playwright (born 1910)

2013Dave Thomas, Welsh golfer and architect (born 1934)

2012Art Heyman, American basketball player (born 1941)

2012Geliy Korzhev, Russian painter (born 1925)

2012Ivica Horvat, Croatian footballer and manager (born 1926)

2012Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (born 1931)

2012Neville Alexander, South African linguist and activist (born 1936)

2012Richard Kingsland, Australian captain and pilot (born 1916)

2010Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist (born 1934)

2010Luna Vachon, Canadian-American wrestler and manager (born 1962)

2009Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian author and poet (born 1913)

2007Emma Penella, Spanish actress (born 1930)

2006Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1922)

2006Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (born 1969)

2005Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek trumpet player and composer (born 1922)

2005Seán Purcell, Irish footballer (born 1929)

2004Willie Crawford, American baseball player (born 1946)

Quote of the day

“Nothing is so certain as that the evils of idleness can be shaken off by hard work.”

Seneca

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

This day in history

Every question has its own page

Journal

What you should know, before others do

Weekly insights. One article. One practice. No noise.