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On This Day in History — January 27
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Highlights of January 27
- 2019 — MBC Newsdesk reported on a nightclub assault in Seoul, South Korea, leading to the Burning Sun scandal, which involved several Korean idols and police officials. Read more
- 2011 — Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution began as more than 16,000 protesters demonstrated in Sanaa to demand governmental changes. Read more
- 2011 — Astronomers documented H1504+65, a white dwarf in Ursa Minor (chart pictured) with the hottest surface temperature known at the time, at 200,000 kelvins (360,000 °F). Read more
- 2010 — Porfirio Lobo Sosa became the new president of Honduras, ending a constitutional crisis that had begun in 2009 when Manuel Zelaya was forcibly removed from office. Read more
- 2003 — The first selections for the United States National Recording Registry were announced by the Library of Congress. Read more
- 1996 — Mahamane Ousmane, the first democratically elected president of Niger, was deposed by Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara in a military coup d'état. Read more
- 1980 — Six American diplomats who had evaded capture in the Iran hostage crisis escaped with the help of Canadian government officials to Zürich, Switzerland. Read more
- 1967 — A fire during a launch simulation for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Kennedy killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. Read more
- 1965 — South Vietnamese prime minister Trần Văn Hương was removed by the military junta of Nguyễn Khánh. Read more
- 1945 — The Soviet Red Army liberated about 7,000 prisoners left behind by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp. Read more
- 1927 — A contaminated diphtheria vaccine was used in an Australian immunisation program, leading to the deaths of twelve children and the suspension of immunisation programs in several countries. Read more
- 1869 — Former members of the overthrown Tokugawa shogunate proclaimed Japan's second-largest island, Hokkaido, to be the independent Republic of Ezo. Read more
- 1825 — On the advice of John C. Calhoun, President James Monroe asked Congress to organize Indian Territory (map pictured) west of the Mississippi River, laying the groundwork for Indian removal in the United States. Read more
- 1799 — French Revolutionary Wars: In the Macau Incident, French and Spanish warships encountered a British Royal Navy escort squadron in the Wanshan Archipelago; subsequent events, including which side retreated, were disputed by the commanders present. Read more
- 1785 — The University of Georgia, the oldest state-chartered public university in the United States, was founded. Read more
- 1726 — J. S. Bach led the first performance of Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, BWV 72, concluding his third Christmas season in Leipzig on the Third Sunday after Epiphany. Read more
- 1343 — Clement VI issued the papal bull Unigenitus, justifying the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Read more
- 945 — The brothers Stephen and Constantine Lekapenos, having deposed their father as Byzantine emperor a few weeks earlier, were themselves overthrown by Constantine VII, their co-emperor. Read more
- 98 — Trajan succeeded his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; the Roman Empire reached its maximum extent under his rule. Read more
Events
- 2023 — Protests and public outrage spark across the U.S. after the release of multiple videos by the Memphis Police Department showing officers punching, kicking, and pepper spraying Tyre Nichols as a result of running away from a traffic stop, which resulted him dying in the hospital three days later after the incident. Read more
- 2023 — A shooting at a synagogue in Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem, kills seven people and injures three others. Read more
- 2023 — An attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Pasdaran, Tehran, kills one person and injures three others. Read more
- 2017 — A naming ceremony for the chemical element tennessine takes place in the United States. Read more
- 2014 — Rojava conflict: The Kobanî Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic. Read more
- 2013 — Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. Read more
- 2011 — Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sanaa. Read more
- 2011 — Within Ursa Minor, H1504+65, a white dwarf with the hottest known surface temperature in the universe at 200,000 K, was documented. Read more
- 2010 — The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras. Read more
- 2010 — Apple announces the iPad. Read more
- 2003 — The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress. Read more
- 2002 — An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others. Read more
- 1996 — In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane. Read more
- 1996 — Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Read more
- 1983 — The 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. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 1973 — The Paris Peace Accords officially ends the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict's last recorded American combat casualty. Read more
- 1967 — Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Read more
- 1967 — Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting the usage of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes. Read more
- 1965 — South Vietnamese Prime Minister Trần Văn Hương is removed by the military junta of Nguyễn Khánh. Read more
- 1961 — The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat. Read more
- 1951 — Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger. Read more
- 1945 — World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Read more
- 1944 — World War II: The 872-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted. Read more
- 1943 — World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany. Read more
- 1939 — First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Read more
- 1928 — Bundaberg tragedy: a diphtheria vaccine is contaminated with Staph. aureus bacterium, resulting in the deaths of twelve children in the Australian town of Bundaberg. Read more
- 1927 — Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd. Read more
- 1924 — Six days after his death, Vladimir Lenin's body is carried into a specially erected mausoleum. Read more
- 1918 — Beginning of the Finnish Civil War. Read more
- 1916 — World War I: The British government passes the Military Service Act that introduces conscription in the United Kingdom. Read more
- 1880 — Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp. Read more
- 1874 — Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov premieres in Mariinsky Theatre in St.Petersburg. Read more
- 1869 — Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō. Read more
- 1868 — Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi begins, between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions; it will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration. Read more
- 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". Read more
- 1820 — A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast. Read more
- 1785 — The University of Georgia is founded, the first state-chartered public university in the United States. Read more
- 1776 — American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox's "noble train of artillery" arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Read more
- 1759 — Spanish forces clash with indigenous Huilliches of southern Chile in the battle of Río Bueno. Read more
- 1726 — J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, BWV 72, concluding his third Christmas season in Leipzig on the Third Sunday after Epiphany. Read more
- 1695 — Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703. Read more
- 1606 — Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31. Read more
- 1343 — Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus, laying out the scriptural justification for indulgences, identifying only the Pope and episcopate as capable of accessing the treasury of merit, and establishing a jubilee year every half century. Read more
- 1302 — Dante Alighieri is condemned in absentia and exiled from Florence. Read more
- 1186 — Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily. Read more
- 945 — The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to become monks by Constantine VII, who becomes sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Read more
- 532 — Nika riots in Constantinople fail. Read more
- 417 — Pope Innocent I declares Pelagius and his follower Caelestius excommunicated unless they return to orthodoxy. Read more
- 98 — Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor. Read more
Born on January 27
- 2003 — Park Seong-hoon, South Korean footballer Read more
- 2000 — Morgan Gibbs-White, English footballer Read more
- 2000 — Aurélien Tchouaméni, French footballer Read more
- 1998 — Devin Druid, American actor Read more
- 1996 — Braeden Lemasters, American actor, musician, and singer Read more
- 1995 — Harrison Reed, English footballer Read more
- 1994 — Desiree Becker, German politician Read more
- 1994 — Jack Stephens, English footballer Read more
- 1992 — Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer Read more
- 1991 — Christian Bickel, German footballer Read more
- 1991 — Julio Teherán, Colombian baseball player Read more
- 1990 — Tim Beckham, American baseball player Read more
- 1989 — Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer Read more
- 1988 — Kerlon, Brazilian footballer Read more
- 1987 — Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer Read more
- 1987 — Anton Shunin, Russian footballer Read more
- 1986 — Johan Petro, French basketball player Read more
- 1985 — Ruben Amorim, Portuguese footballer and manager Read more
- 1983 — Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1983 — Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1983 — Gavin Floyd, American baseball player Read more
- 1983 — Lee Grant, English footballer Read more
- 1982 — Eva Asderaki, Greek tennis umpire Read more
- 1981 — Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player and sportscaster Read more
- 1981 — Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player Read more
- 1980 — Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player and coach Read more
- 1980 — Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician Read more
- 1980 — Jiří Welsch, Czech basketball player Read more
- 1979 — Lonny Baxter, American basketball player Read more
- 1979 — Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer and coach Read more
- 1977 — Tomi Kallio, Finnish ice hockey player Read more
- 1976 — Clint Ford, American screenwriter and voice actor Read more
- 1976 — Danielle George, American professor Read more
- 1976 — Ahn Jung-hwan, South Korean footballer Read more
- 1976 — Fred Taylor, American football player Read more
- 1974 — Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian skier and biathlete Read more
- 1974 — Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player and coach Read more
- 1974 — Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach Read more
- 1973 — Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (died 2014) Read more
- 1972 — Bibi Gaytán, Mexican singer and actress Read more
Died on January 27
- 2022 — Andy Devine, British TV actor (born 1942) Read more
- 2021 — Cloris Leachman, American actress and comedian (born 1926) Read more
- 2021 — Nunuk Nuraini, Indonesian food scientist (born 1961) Read more
- 2020 — Lina Ben Mhenni, Tunisian Internet activist and blogger (born 1983) Read more
- 2019 — Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, German socialite (born 1958) Read more
- 2018 — Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA (born 1926) Read more
- 2018 — Mort Walker, American cartoonist (born 1923) Read more
- 2017 — Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (born 1927) Read more
- 2017 — Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist (born 1926) Read more
- 2016 — Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (born 1930) Read more
- 2015 — Rocky Bridges, American baseball player and coach (born 1927) Read more
- 2015 — David Landau, English-Israeli journalist (born 1947) Read more
- 2015 — Joseph Rotman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (born 1935) Read more
- 2015 — Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915) Read more
- 2015 — Larry Winters, American wrestler and trainer (born 1956) Read more
- 2014 — Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist (born 1919) Read more
- 2014 — Epimaco Velasco, Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite (born 1935) Read more
- 2014 — Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot (born 1920) Read more
- 2013 — Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician (born 1918) Read more
- 2013 — Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (born 1925) Read more
- 2012 — Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (born 1946) Read more
- 2012 — Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter (born 1928) Read more
- 2012 — Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician (born 1933) Read more
- 2012 — Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston (born 1929) Read more
- 2011 — Charlie Callas, American comedian and musician (born 1927) Read more
- 2010 — Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (born 1933) Read more
- 2010 — J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (born 1919) Read more
- 2010 — Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (born 1922) Read more
- 2009 — John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (born 1932) Read more
- 2009 — R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th President of India (born 1910) Read more
- 2008 — Suharto, Indonesian general and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (born 1921) Read more
- 2008 — Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1910) Read more
- 2008 — Louie Welch, American businessman and politician, 54th Mayor of Houston (born 1918) Read more
- 2007 — Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete, long jumper, and hurdler (born 1933) Read more
- 2006 — Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1948) Read more
- 2006 — Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th President of Germany (born 1931) Read more
- 2004 — Salvador Laurel, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines (born 1928) Read more
- 2004 — Jack Paar, American talk show host and author (born 1918) Read more
- 2003 — Henryk Jabłoński, Polish historian and politician, President of Poland (born 1909) Read more
- 2000 — Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (born 1930) Read more
Holidays & observances
Christian feast day:
Angela Merici; Christian feast day:
Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini; Christian feast day:
Devota (Monaco); Christian feast day:
Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló; Christian feast day:
John Chrysostom (translation of relics) (Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox); Christian feast day:
Sava (Serbia); Christian feast day:
January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia); Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
Holocaust Memorial Day (UK); Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
International Holocaust Remembrance Day; Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
Memorial Day (Italy); Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
Other Holocaust Memorial Days observances
Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “January 27”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.