March 27
March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in Leap years). There are 279 days remaining.
Events
- 1513 (not 1512 as often cited) - Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sights North America (specifically Florida) for the first time, mistaking it for another island. Later, on April 2, he landed somewhere on the east coast of the newly discovered land.
- 1625 - Charles I becomes King of England and Scotland.
- 1794 - The government of the United States establishes a permanent United States Navy and authorizes the building of six vessels (in 1797 the first three frigates, USS United States, USS Constellation and USS Constitution went into service).
- 1814 - War of 1812: In northern Alabama, United States forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
- 1836 - Texas Revolution: Goliad massacre - Santa Ana orders the Mexican army to kill about 400 Texans at Goliad, Texas.
- 1851 - First reported case of White men seeing Yosemite Valley.
- 1923 - FART construction completed
- 1941 - Attack on Pearl Harbor: Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii and begins to study the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor.
- 1942 - World War II: United Kingdom forces raid the U-boat base at St. Nazaire, France.
- 1952 - Sun Records begins operations.
- 1958 - Nikita Khrushchev becomes Premier of the Soviet Union.
- 1963 - In the United Kingdom, Dr Beeching issues report calling for huge cuts to the UK's rail network. See Beeching axe.
- 1964 - The Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in U.S. history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes South Central Alaska killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.
- 1976 - The first 4.6 miles of the Washington, DC subway system open.
- 1977 - Tenerife disaster: Two jumbo jets collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands killing 583.
- 1990 - Propaganda: The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba.
- 1993 - Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People's Republic of China.
- 1998 - The FDA approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, becoming the first pill to be approved to treat this condition in the United States.
Births
- 1730 - Thomas Tyrwhitt, English classical scholar (d. 1786)
- 1765 - Franz Xaver von Baader - German philosopher and theologian († 1841)
- 1785 - King Louis XVII of France (d. 1795)
- 1797 - Alfred de Vigny, author (d. 1863)
- 1810 - William Hepworth Thompson, English classical scholar (d. 1886)
- 1813 - Nathaniel Currier, illustrator
- 1836 - Sir Henry Royce, automobile pioneer
- 1845 - Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, physicist, winner of the first Nobel Prize in physics 1901 (d. 1923)
- 1847 - Otto Wallach, German chemist and Nobel Prize winner, (d. 1931)
- 1851 - Vincent d'Indy, composer and teacher (d. 1931)
- 1857 - Karl Pearson, statistician (d. 1936)
- 1871 - Heinrich Mann, narrator, dramatist and essayist (d. 1950)
- 1886 - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architect (d. 1969)
- 1897 - Gloria Swanson, actress (d. 1983)
- 1901 - Carl Barks, Donald Duck illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1901 - Erich Ollenhauer, politician (d. 1963)
- 1901 - Sato Eisaku, Prime Minister of Japan, (d. 1975)
- 1901 - Sasaki Naojiro, Japanese author (d. 1943)
- 1909 - Golo Mann, historian and publicist (d. 1994)
- 1910 - John Pierce, electrical engineer
- 1912 - James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1917 - Cyrus Vance, United States politician (d. 2002)
- 1923 - Louis Simpson, poet
- 1924 - Sarah Vaughan, singer (d. 1990)
- 1927 - Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor, musician
- 1930 - David Janssen, actor (d. 1980)
- 1931 - Walter Kieber, Liechetenstein Head of Government (d. 1978)
- 1939 - Cale Yarborough, NASCAR racer
- 1942 - Michael York, actor
- 1950 - Tony Banks, musician of Genesis
- 1954 - Wally Stocker, musician of The Babys
- 1959 - Andrew Farriss, musician of INXS
- 1962 - Jann Arden, Canadian musician
- 1963 - Quentin Tarantino, actor, director, writer, producer
- 1963 - Xuxa, television personality
- 1970 - Mariah Carey, singer
- 1970 - Princess Leila of Iran (d. 2001)
- 1970 - Brendan Hill of Blues Traveler
- 1971 - David Coulthard, Formula One racing driver
- 1986 - Baby M
Deaths
- 1350 - King Alfonso XI of Castile
- 1378 - Pope Gregory XI
- 1878 - Sir George Gilbert Scott, architect
- 1918 - Henry Adams, historian and novelist
- 1923 - Sir James Dewar, chemist
- 1924 - Walter Parratt, composer
- 1927 - Joe Start, baseball player
- 1968 - Yuri Gagarin, the first human to orbit the earth
- 1969 - B. Traven, writer
- 1972 - M. C. Escher, Dutch artist
- 1972 - Sharkey Bonano, musician
- 1991 - Ralph Bates, British actor
- 1995 - Maurizio Gucci
- 1998 - David McClelland, psychological theorist
- 2000 - Ian Dury, 57, English rock musician
- 2002 - Milton Berle, actor, comedian
- 2002 - Dudley Moore, actor, musician
- 2002 - Billy Wilder, director
Holidays and observances
See Also:
March 26 - March 28 - February 27 - April 27 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December