January 27

January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 338 days remaining until the end of the year (339 in leap years).

Events

• 98 – Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.
• 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate ends with death of Ali.
• 1142 – Execution, believed wrongful, of noted Song Dynasty General Yue Fei.
• 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
• 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the Bull Unigenitus.
• 1593 – Vatican opens seven year trial of scholar Giordano Bruno.
• 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
• 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
• 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
• 1825 – The U.S. 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 women's fraternity, Kappa Alpha Theta, is formed at DePauw University.
• 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C..
• 1909 – The Young Left is founded in Norway.
• 1918 – The first hostilities occur in the Finnish Civil War.
• 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
• 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
• 1945 – World War II: The Red Army liberates the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
• 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat.
• 1967 – Apollo program: Apollo 1 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of the spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center.
• 1967 – More than sixty nations sign the Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
• 1973 – Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict's last recorded American combat casualty.
• 1974 – The Brisbane River floods causing the largest flood to affect Brisbane City in the 20th Century
• 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian caper.
• 1983 – Pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
• 1996 – Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane, in a military coup.
• 1996 – Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
• 2006 – Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services.

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)
• 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician (d. 1675)
• 1662 – Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (d. 1742)
• 1687 – Balthasar Neumann, German architect (d. 1753)
• 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian (d. 1790)
• 1708 – Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
• 1720 – Samuel Foote, English dramatist (d. 1777)
• 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh diarist (d. 1821)
• 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1791)
• 1774 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German philosopher (d. 1854)
• 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English artist (d. 1881)
• 1805 – Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1872)
• 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, Queen consort of Saxony (d. 1877)
• 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (d. 1826)
• 1807 – David Strauss, German theologian and writer (d. 1874)
• 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect (d. 1879)
• 1821 – John Chivington, American officer, (d. 1892)
• 1823 – Edouard Lalo, French composer (d. 1892)
• 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian writer (d. 1889)
• 1826 – Richard Taylor, American confederate general (d. 1879)
• 1827 – Nakahama Manjirō, Japanese translator (d. 1898)
• 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English author (d. 1898)
• 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (d. 1895)
• 1841 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Russian painter (d. 1910)
• 1848 – Togo Heihachiro, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
• 1850 – John Collier, British writer and painter (d. 1934)
• 1850 – Samuel Gompers, American labor leader (d. 1924)
• 1850 – Edward J. Smith, English captain of the RMS Titanic (d. 1912)
• 1859 – Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany (d. 1941)
• 1875 – Elizabeth Israel, World's oldest person
• 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer (d. 1945)
• 1885 – Eduard Künneke, German composer (d. 1953)
• 1885 – Maeda Seison, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
• 1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian jurist (d. 1967)
• 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer (d. 1967)
• 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese wife of Sun Yat-sen (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish conductor (d. 1985)
• 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer (d. 1974)
• 1900 – Hyman Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
• 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
• 1901 – Art Rooney, Pittsburgh Steelers founder and owner (d. 1988)
• 1903 – John Carew Eccles, Australian neuropsychologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
• 1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American military figure (d. 1979)
• 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
• 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American newspaper magnate (d. 1993)
• 1908 – Oran Page, American musician (d. 1954)
• 1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Yugoslav Communist politician (d. 1979)
• 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American aeronautical engineer (d. 2009)
• 1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-born artist (d. 1985)
• 1918 – Skitch Henderson, English bandleader (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Elmore James, American blues musician (d. 1963)
• 1918 – William Seawell, United States Army Brigadier General (d. 2005)
• 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, American musician (d. 1972)
• 1920 – John Box, British film production designer and art director (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
• 1924 – Sabu Dastagir, Indian actor (d. 1963)
• 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Turkish political figure
• 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian journalist (d. 2003)
• 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
• 1928 – Michael Craig, British actor
• 1928 – Hans Modrow, German politician, premier of East Germany
• 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian novelist (d. 1984)
• 1930 – Bobby Blue Bland, American singer
• 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (d. 2001)
• 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Soviet gymnast
• 1933 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian billionaire businessman
• 1934 – George Follmer, American racecar driver
• 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1937 – John Ogdon, English pianist (d. 1989)
• 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
• 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, second President of Moldova
• 1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
• 1942 – Stewart Raffill, American film director
• 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor
• 1942 – Kate Wolf, American folk singer and songwriter (d. 1986)
• 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian religious leader
• 1944 – Mairéad Corrigan, Irish activist, Nobel laureate
• 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer (Pink Floyd)
• 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Cree political leader (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer (Ronettes)
• 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer (d. 1999)
• 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek politician
• 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-born dancer
• 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
• 1949 – Ethan Mordden, American author
• 1950 – Derek Acorah, English spirit medium
• 1950 – Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born physician
• 1951 – Brian Downey, Irish musician (Thin Lizzy)
• 1952 – "White Shoes" Johnson, American football player
• 1954 – Ed Schultz, American radio talk show host
• 1954 – Peter Laird, American comic book artist
• 1954 – Jōkō Ninomiya, Japanese martial artist
• 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1955 – John G. Roberts, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
• 1955 – Alexander Stuart, British author
• 1955 – Koji Ushikubo, Japanese racing driver
• 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
• 1957 – Janick Gers, British guitarist (Iron Maiden)
• 1957 – Frank Miller, American comic book author and film director
• 1957 – Frank Skinner, English writer and comedian
• 1958 – James Grippando, American novelist
• 1958 – Kadri Mälk, Estonian artist and jewelry designer
• 1958 – Susanna Thompson, American actress
• 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American news presenter
• 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish politician
• 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player
• 1961 – Dina Bonnevie, Filipino actress
• 1961 – Gillian Gilbert, British musician (New Order)
• 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
• 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer (Cowboy Junkies)
• 1961 – Karen Velez, American model
• 1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
• 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
• 1964 – Jack Haley, American basketball player
• 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish actor
• 1965 – Mike Newell, English football manager
• 1967 – Bobby Deol, Indian actor
• 1967 – Byron Mann, Hong Kong actor
• 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1968 – Patrick Blondeau, French footballer
• 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer (Faith No More)
• 1968 – Tricky, English rapper
• 1969 – Cornelius, Japanese musician and producer (Flipper's Guitar)
• 1969 – Marc Forster, German-Swiss filmmaker
• 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer (James)
• 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American actor and writer
• 1970 – Emmanuel Pahud, Swiss-born flautist
• 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1971 – Lil Jon, American rapper and producer
• 1971 – Fann Wong, Singapore actor
• 1972 – Guillermo, Mexican-born TV personality
• 1972 – Janine Ilitch, Australian netballer
• 1972 – Mark Owen, English pop singer
• 1972 – Josh Randall, American actor
• 1972 – Keith Wood, Irish rugby player
• 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Nordic biathlete
• 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player
• 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1976 – Ahn Jung-Hwan, Korean football player
• 1976 – Clint Ford, American voice actor
• 1976 – Ruby Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer
• 1976 – Todd MacCulloch, American basketball player
• 1976 – Zoriah Miller, American photojournalist
• 1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
• 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian baseball player
• 1979 – Mario Fatafehi, American-born Canadian Football League player
• 1979 – Rosamund Pike, British actress
• 1979 – Liesbet Van Breedam, Belgian beach volleyball player
• 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer
• 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player
• 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
• 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
• 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby union player
• 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
• 1983 – Mike Zagurski, American baseball player
• 1984 – Davetta Sherwood, American actress
• 1987 – Lily Donaldson, British model
• 1987 – Katy Rose, American pop singer
• 1987 – Zuleidy Spanish porn star
• 1988 – Kerlon Moura Souza, Brazilian footballer
• 1997 – Shaheen Jafargholi, Britain’s Got Talent Finalist

Deaths

• 98 – Nerva, Roman Emperor (b. 35)
• 661 – Ali, the final Sunni Rashidun and first Shia Imam
• 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (b. 1435)
• 1540 – Saint Angela Merici, Italian religious leader and saint (b. 1474)
• 1595 – Sir Francis Drake, European explorer (b. c.1540)
• 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German composer (b. 1560)
• 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish novelist (b. 1585?)
• 1689 – Robert Aske, merchant whose charitable foundation operates Haberdashers' Aske's Boys School and Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls (b. 1619)
• 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian musical instrument maker (b. 1655)
• 1740 – Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon, Prime Minister of France (b. 1692)
• 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1762)
• 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (b. 1724)
• 1837 – Alexandr Pushkin, Russian poet (b. 1799)
• 1851 – John James Audubon, French-born naturalist and ornithologist (b. 1789)
• 1857 – Dorothea Lieven, Russian noblewoman (b. 1785)
• 1860 – János Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1802)
• 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect (b. 1830)
• 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
• 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English inventor (b. 1836)
• 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet (b. 1877)
• 1921 – Maurice Vincent Buckley, Australian soldier (b. 1891)
• 1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and writer (b. 1864)
• 1927 – Georgios Grivas, Cyprus-born general in the Greek Army (b. 1898)
• 1927 – Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius (Matulewicz), Lithuanian bishop (b. 1871)
• 1940 – Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (b. 1894)
• 1942 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian Prime Minister (b. 1888)
• 1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor (b. 1890)
• 1967 – Roger Chaffee – Crew of Apollo 1 (b. 1935)
• 1967 – Virgil "Gus" Grissom – Crew of Apollo 1 (b. 1926)
• 1967 – Edward White – Crew of Apollo 1 (b. 1930)
• 1967 – Alphonse Juin, Marshal of France (b. 1888)
• 1970 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (b. 1908)
• 1971 – Jacobo Arbenz, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
• 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
• 1972 – Richard Courant, German-American mathematician (b. 1888)
• 1973 – William Nolde, last American combat casualty of Vietnam War (b. 1929)
• 1975 – Bill Walsh, American producer and writer (b. 1913)
• 1979 – Qalander Ba Ba Auliya, Sufi master (b. 1898)
• 1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor (b. 1914)
• 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-born actress (b. 1914)
• 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian author (b. 1938)
• 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, British aviation pioneer (b. 1888)
• 1989 – Bayani Casimiro, Filipino dancer and actor (b. 1918)
• 1992 – Clara Solovera, Chilean folk musician (b. 1909)
• 1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
• 1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
• 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American politician (b. 1903)
• 1997 – Gerald Marks, American songwriter (All of Me) (b. 1900)
• 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist (b. 1930)
• 2001 – Stavros Damianides, Greek musician (b. 1941)
• 2003 – Henryk Jabłoński, President of Poland (b. 1909)
• 2003 – Louis Archambault, Quebec sculptor (b. 1915)
• 2004 – Jack Paar, American television show host (b. 1918)
• 2004 – Salvador Laurel, Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
• 2006 – Johannes Rau, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
• 2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer and songwriter (b. 1948).
• 2006 – Jean-Christophe Lafaille, French mountaineer (disappeared) (b. 1965)
• 2007 – Tige Andrews, American actor (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese athlete (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Alberta Davis, American supercentenerian
• 2008 – Gordon B. Hinckley, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1910)
• 2008 – Suharto, President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Louie Welch, mayor of Houston (b. 1918)
• 2009 – John Updike, American Novelist (b. 1932)
• 2009 – R. Venkataraman, 8th President of India (b. 1910)

Holidays and observances

• International Holocaust Remembrance Day
  • UN — International Holocaust Remembrance Day
  • United Kingdom — Holocaust Memorial Day.
  • Denmark — Auschwitzdag (Auschwitz Day; commemoration day for the victims of the Holocaust and other genocide).
• Serbia — St. Sava Day.
• Monaco, day of Saint Devota, patron saint
• January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: January 27

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada