October 27

2024 Calendar

October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 65 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

97 – Roman Emperor Nerva adopts the then–44–year–old Trajan.
710 – Saracen invasion of Sardinia.
939 – Edmund I of England becomes king.
1275 – Traditional founding of Amsterdam.
1524 – Italian Wars: French troops lay siege to Pavia.
1553 – Condemned as a heretic, Michael Servetus is burned at the stake just outside Geneva.
1644 – The Second Battle of Newbury takes place in the English Civil War.
1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France.
1682 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is founded.
1795 – The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, establishing boundaries between the US and the Spanish colonies.
1806 – The French Army enters Berlin.
1810 – The US annexes the former Spanish colony of West Florida.
1827 – Vincenzo Bellini's third opera, Il pirata, has its first performance at La Scala, Milan.
1838 – Governor of Missouri Lilburn Boggs issues an extermination order to Mormons in the state, which would force them either to leave or be killed.
1870 – Franco–Prussian War: Marshal Francois Achille Bazaine surrenders to Prussian forces at the conclusion to the Siege of Metz.
1892 – British passenger steamer Roumania crashes into rocks off Peniche, Portugal.

1901 – 2000

1904 – New York City's first underground Subway opens.
1907 – Cernova massacre: 15 people are killed in the Hungarian half of Austria–Hungary when a gunman opens fire on a crowd gathered at a church for its consecration.
1914 – World War I: British super dreadnought battleship HMS Audacious is sunk off Tory Island, northwest of Ireland, by a minefield laid by German merchant cruiser Berlin.
1916 – Battle of Segale in Ethiopia.
1922 – Italian fascists, led by Benito Mussolini, begin their March on Rome.
1922 – A referendum in Rhodesia rejects the country's annexation (being taken control of) to the Union of South Africa.
1924 – Soviet Union: The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic is founded.
1936 – Wallis Simpson files for divorce. She later marries Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, after he abdicates the throne.
1944 – World War II: German troops end the Slovak National Uprising in Banska Bystrica.
1953 – British nuclear test Totem 2 is carried out at Emu Field, South Australia.
1954 – Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African American to join the United States Air Force.
1958 – Iskandar Mirza is deposed as President of Pakistan.
1961 – Mauritania and Mongolia join the UN.
1961 – NASA tests the first Saturn I rocket in Mission–Saturn Apollo 1.
1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis: A nuclear war is narrowly avoided.
1962 – Rudolf Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1962 – A plane carrying Enrico Mattei, a post–war Italian administrator, crashes in mysterious circumstances.
1962 – Australian Dawn Fraser swims the 100 meter–backstroke in less than a minute, as the first woman to do so.
1964 – Ronald Reagan delivers "A Time for Choosing" speech at a Barry Goldwater campaign.
1966 – The UN removes South Africa's mandate over Namibia.
1968 – The 1968 Summer Olympics end in Mexico City.
1971 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire.
1979 – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines become independent.
1981 – Soviet submarine U 137 runs aground on the east coast of Sweden.
1991 – Turkmenistan achieves independence from the Soviet Union.
1994 – Gliese 229B is the first substellar mass object to be unquestionably identified.
1995 – Latvia applies for EU membership.
1995 – Former Prime Minister of Italy Bettino Craxi is convicted in–absentia (without attending) for corruption.
1997 – Global stock markets crash because of financial meltdown fears.
1999 – Gunmen open fire on the Armenian Parliament.

From 2001

2002 – The volcano Mount Etna on Sicily erupts.
2002 – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is elected to succeed Fernando Henrique Cardoso as President of Brazil.
2003 – In Malaga, where Pablo Picasso was born, the Museo Picasso (Picasso Museum) is opened.
2003 – Bomb attacks in Baghdad kill over 40 people.
2005 – Riots begin in France after the accidental deaths of two Muslim teenagers.
2006 – Opening of Arsenal F.C.'s Emirates Stadium.
2010 – Former President of Argentina Néstor Kirchner dies aged 60. He had been expected to run for president again in 2011.
2011 – Michael D. Higgins is elected President of Ireland.
2013 – Sebastian Vettel becomes the fourth driver to win four Formula One world titles in a row, and the youngest driver, at age 26, to do so.
2013 – Storms begin to affect parts of western and central Europe, causing destruction and disruption the next day.
2017 – The Parliament of Catalonia declares the region's independence from Spain; The central government in Madrid decides to impose direct rule on Catalonia.
2018 – Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: A gunman shoots and kills 11 people worshipping at a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
2018 – 2018 Leicester City F.C. helicopter crash: A helicopter crash near Leicester City F.C.'s King Power Stadium in Leicester, England, kills 5 people, including the club's Thai owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
2019 – Sophie Wilmès becomes the first female Prime Minister of Belgium, succeeding Charles Michel, who had been chosen to succeed Donald Tusk as President of the European Council.
2019 – Alberto Fernández wins Argentina's Presidential election against the incumbent Mauricio Macri.

Births

Up to 1900

921 – Chai Rong, Chinese Emperor (d. 959)
1156 – Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse (d. 1222)
1401 – Catherine of Valois, Queen Consort of England (d. 1437)
1466 (assumed) – Erasmus of Rotterdam, Dutch writer and philosopher (d. 1536)
1703 – Johann Gottfried Graun, German violinist and composer (d. 1771)
1728 – James Cook, British naval captain and explorer (d. 1779)
1736 – James Macpherson, Scottish writer, poet and politician (d. 1796)
1744 – Mary Moser, English painter and one of only two female founder members of the Royal Academy (d. 1819)
1760 – August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (d. 1831)
1761 – Geir Vídalín, Bishop of Iceland (d. 1823)
1763 – William Maclure, Scottish geologist (d. 1840)
1782 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1840)
1811 – Isaac Singer, inventor of the sewing machine (d. 1875)
1811 – Stevens Thomson Mason, first Governor of Michigan (d. 1843).
1828 – Jacob Dolson Cox, 28th Governor of Ohio (d. 1900)
1838 – John Davis Long, 32nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
1842 – Giovanni Giolitti, Italian statesman (d. 1928)
1844 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish writer and pacifist (d. 1916)
1854 – William Alexander Smith, Scottish founder of the Boys' Brigade (d. 1914)
1857 – Ernst Trygger, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1943)
1858 – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (d. 1919)
1858 – Saito Makoto, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1936)
1868 – William Gillies, Australian politician, 21st Premier of Queensland (d. 1928)
1869 – Viola Allen, American actress (d. 1948)
1873 – James J. Davis, Welsh–born American politician (d. 1947)
1877 – Walt Kuhn, American painter and cartoonist (d. 1949)
1877 – George Thompson, English cricketer (d. 1943)
1885 – Sigrid Hjertén, Swedish painter (d. 1948)
1889 – Enid Bagnold, English author and playwright (d. 1981)
1889 – Fanny Durack, Australian swimmer (d. 1956)
1894 – Oliver Leese, English general (d. 1978)
1896 – Edith Brown, RMS Titanic survivor (d. 1997)

1901 – 1950

1902 – Emil Jónsson, Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1986)
1904 – Erno Schwarz, Hungarian footballer (d. 1974)
1906 – Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (d. 2010)
1908 – Lee Krasner, American painter (d. 1984)
1910 – Jack Carson, Canadian actor (d. 1963)
1911 – Leif Erickson, American actor (d. 1986)
1913 – Joe Medicine Crow, American tribal historian, anthropologist and author (d. 2016)
1914 – Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet (d. 1953)
1915 – Harry Saltzman, Canadian theatre and film producer (d. 1994)
1916 – Kazimierz Brandys, Polish writer (d. 2000)
1917 – Oliver Tambo, South African activist (d. 1993)
1917 – Arne Andersson, Swedish athlete (d. 2009)
1918 – Edgar Herschler, 28th Governor of Wyoming (d. 1990)
1918 – Teresa Wright, American actress (d. 2005)
1919 – Tim M. Babcock, 16th Governor of Montana (d. 2015)
1920 – Nanette Fabray, American actress (d. 2018)
1920 – K. R. Narayanan, President of India (d. 2005)
1921 – Warren Allen Smith, American activist (d. 2017)
1922 – Ruby Dee, American actress (d. 2014)
1922 – Ralph Kiner, American baseball player (d. 2014)
1922 – Michel Galabru, French actor (d. 2016)
1922 – Carlos Andrés Pérez, President of Venezuela (d. 2010)
1922 – George Young, Scottish footballer (d. 1997)
1923 – Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist (d. 1997)
1923 – Ned Wertimer, American actor (d. 2013)
1924 – Bonnie Lou, American singer (d. 2015)
1925 – Warren Christopher, former United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
1925 – Gianni Bonagura, Italian actor (d. 2017)
1930 – Leo Baxendale, English cartoonist (d. 2017)
1931 – Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian writer
1932 – Sylvia Plath, American poet (d. 1963)
1932 – Jean–Pierre Cassel, French actor (d. 2007)
1933 – Floyd Cramer, American musician (d. 1997)
1934 – Elías Querejeta, Spanish film producer and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1937 – Peter Lustig, German television presenter (d. 2016)
1938 – Maurice Hinchey, American politician (d. 2017)
1939 – John Cleese, British actor, writer, and Monty Python member
1939 – Marino Perani, Italian footballer (d. 2017)
1939 – Albert Wendt, Samoan writer
1940 – John Gotti, New York mafia boss (d. 2002)
1941 – Dick Trickle, American racing driver (d. 2013)
1943 – Sherman Kelly, American singer–songwriter (Boffalongo)
1944 – Nikolai Karachentsov, Russian actor (d. 2018)
1945 – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 35th President of Brazil
1945 – Arild Andersen, Norwegian composer and bassist
1946 – Steven R. Nagel, American astronaut, pilot and engineer (d. 2014)
1946 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress (d. 2004)
1946 – Ivan Reitman, Czech–Canadian actor, producer and director
1949 – Garry Talent, American musician (E Street Band)
1950 – Fran Lebowitz, American writer
1950 – Sue Lloyd–Roberts, English journalist (d. 2015)

1951 – 1975

1951 – K. K. Downing, English musician (Judas Priest)
1951 – Carlos Frenk, Mexican–English physicist, cosmologist and academic
1952 – Roberto Benigni, Italian actor and director
1952 – Francis Fukuyama, American political scientist, economist and author
1952 – Atsuyoshi Furuta, Japanese footballer
1953 – Peter Firth, English actor
1954 – Frank Gray, Scottish footballer
1954 – Mike Kelley, American artist (d. 2012)
1956 – Michèle Chardonnet, French athlete
1956 – Christiane Wartenberg, German athlete
1957 – Jeff East, American actor
1957 – Glenn Hoddle, English footballer and manager
1958 – Simon Le Bon, English musician (Duran Duran)
1958 – Manu Katché, French musician
1959 – Rick Carlisle, American basketball player and coach
1961 – Margaret Mazzantini, Italian actress
1962 – Stewart McKimmie, Scottish footballer
1963 – Marla Maples, American actress and model
1963 – Farin Urlaub, German musician and songwriter
1964 – Mary T. Meagher, American swimmer
1967 – Scott Weiland, American musician Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver (d. 2015)
1967 – Simone Moro, Italian mountaineer
1970 – Adrian Erlandsson, musician (Cradle of Filth)
1971 – Elissa, Lebanese singer
1971 – Theodoros Zagorakis, Greek footballer
1972 – Maria Mutola, Mozambican athlete
1972 – Evan Coyne Maloney, documentary movie maker
1972 – Brad Radke, American baseball player
1975 – Zadie Smith, English novelist
1975 – Aron Ralston, American mountaineer and engineer

From 1976

1976 – Ariel Ibagaza, Argentine footballer
1977 – Jiří Jarosík, Czech footballer
1977 – Sheeri Rappaport, American actress
1978 – Toby Petersen, American ice hockey player
1978 – Vanessa–Mae, Singapore–born British musician
1980 – Tanel Padar, Estonian singer–songwriter and guitarist
1980 – Václav Noid Bárta, Czech singer and actor
1981 – Volkan Demirel, Turkish footballer
1982 – Takashi Tsukamoto, Japanese actor and singer
1984 – Kelly Osbourne, daughter of Ozzy Osbourne
1984 – Kostas Kapetanos, Greek footballer
1984 – Emilie Ullerup, Danish actress
1986 – David Warner, Australian cricketer
1987 – Yi Jianlian, Chinese basketball player
1987 – Viktor Genev, Bulgarian footballer
1988 – Evan Turner, American basketball player
1992 – Stephan El Shaarawy, Italian footballer
1992 – Emily Hagins, American director, producer and screenwriter
1994 – Eddie Alderson, American actor
1997 – Eden Taylor–Draper, English actress
1999 – Haruka Kudo, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
2007 – Dev Singh, SuperIndian

Deaths

Up to 1900

673 – Pope Agatho of Alexandria (b. 654)
939 – King Athelstan I of England (b. 895)
1271 – Hugh II, Duke of Burgundy, French crusader (b. 1213)
1303 – Beatrice of Castile (b. 1242)
1312 – John II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1275)
1327 – Elizabeth de Burgh, wife of Robert I of Scotland (b. 1289)
1430 – Vytautas the Great, Grand Duke of Lithuania (b. 1350)
1439 – Albert II of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1392)
1449 – Ulugh Beg, Persian astronomer, mathematician and Sultan (b. 1394)
1485 – Rudolf Agricola, Dutch writer and educator (b. 1444)
1505 – Tsar Ivan III of Russia (b. 1440)
1553 – Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian and doctor (b. 1511)
1561 – Lope de Aguirre, Spanish explorer (b. 1510)
1605 – Akbar the Great, Mughal Emperor (b. 1542)
1674 – Hallgrímur Pétursson, Icelandic poet and hymnist (b. 1614)
1675 – Gilles de Roberval, French mathematician (b. 1602)
1789 – John Cook, Governor of Delaware (b. 1730)
1880 – Thrasyvoulos Zaimis, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1827)

1901 – 2000

1917 – Arthur Rhys–Davids, English pilot (b. 1897)
1926 – Warren Wood, American golfer (b. 1887)
1935 – Ernest Eldridge, English racing driver (b. 1897)
1942 – Helmuth Hubener, German resistance activist (b. 1925)
1954 – Harry Tate, American soccer player (b. 1886)
1962 – Rudolf Anderson, American pilot (b. 1927)
1962 – Enrico Mattei, Italian politician (b. 1906)
1968 – Lise Meitner, German physicist (b. 1878)
1975 – Rex Stout, American novelist (b. 1886)
1980 – Steve Peregrin Took, English singer–songwriter and guitarist (b. 1949)
1980 – John Hasbrouck van Vleck, American physicist (b. 1899)
1986 – Sherman Adams, 67th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1899)
1990 – Xavier Cugat, Catalan–born bandleader (b. 1900)
1990 – Jacques Demy, French director (b. 1931)
1990 – Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor (b. 1922)
1999 – Vazgen Sargsyan, Prime Minister of Armenia (b. 1959)
1999 – Karen Demirchyan, Chairman of the Armenian Parliament (b. 1932)
2000 – Walter Berry, Austrian bass baritone (b. 1929)

From 2001

2001 – Pradeep Kumar, Indian actor, director and producer (b. 1925)
2003 – Walter Washington, American politician (b. 1915)
2003 – Stephanie Tyrell, American songwriter and producer (b. 1949)
2006 – Brad Will, American anarchist and independent journalist (b. 1970)
2010 – Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina (b. 1950)
2012 – Natina Reed, American singer, producer and rapper (b. 1979)
2012 – Hans Peter Henze, German composer (b. 1926)
2013 – Lou Reed, American musician (b. 1942)
2014 – Daniel Boulanger, French actor and writer (b. 1922)
2014 – Starke Taylor, American politician, Mayor of Dallas, Texas (b. 1922)
2014 – Shin Hae–chul, South Korean singer (b. 1968)
2015 – Philip French, British film critic (b. 1933)
2016 – Prince Mikasa, Japanese royal (b. 1915)
2017 – Hans Kraay Sr., Dutch footballer (b. 1936)
2017 – Punathil Kunjabdulla, Indian writer and physician (b. 1942)
2018 – Freddie Hart, American musician and singer–songwriter (b. 1926)
2018 – Madan Lal Khurana, Indian politician (b. 1936)
2018 – Mario Segale, American businessman (b. 1934)
2018 – Ntozake Shange, American poet and playwright (b. 1948)
2018 – Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Thai businessman and owner of Leicester City F.C. (b. 1958)
2019 – Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian–British human rights activist and dissident (b. 1942)
2019 – Stephen P. Cohen, American political scientist and security expert (b. 1936)
2019 – John Conyers, American politician and civil rights activist (b. 1929)
2019 – Ivan Milat, Australian serial killer (b. 1944)
2019 – Anne Phelan, Australian actress (b. 1940s)
2019 – Hans–Peter Uhl, German politician (b. 1944)

Observances

Independence Day (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turkmenistan)