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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.
• 1142 - Wrongful execution of noted Song Dynasty General Yue Fei.
• 1186 - Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, weds Constance of Sicily.
• 1343 - Pope Clement VI issues the Bull Unigenitus.
• 1593 - Vatican opens 7 year trial against scholar Giordano Bruno.
• 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, and ending in their execution on January 31.
• 1695 - Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his death in 1703.
• 1785 - The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
• 1825 - 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 - In Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Society is founded.
• 1909 - The Young Left is founded in Norway.
• 1918 - The first hostilities occurred in the Finnish Civil War.
• 1939 - First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
• 1944 - World War II: The two-year Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
• 1945 - World War II: The Red Army arrives at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
• 1951 - Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on the Frenchman Flats.
• 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 falls, becoming the conflict's last recorded American combat casualty.
• 1974 - Brisbane river has the largest flood in the 20th Century
• 1983 - Pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest subaqueous 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.

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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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 - Samuel Gompers, American labor leader (d. 1924)
• 1850 - Edward J. Smith, English captain of the Titanic (d. 1912)
• 1859 - Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany (d. 1941)
• 1885 - Jerome Kern, American composer (d. 1945)
• 1885 - Eduard Künneke, German composer (d. 1953)
• 1885 - Maeda Seison, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
• 1891 - Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer (d. 1967)
• 1893 - Soong Ching-ling, Chinese wife of Sun Yat-sen (d. 1981)
• 1895 - Harry Ruby, American composer (d. 1974)
• 1900 - Hyman Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
• 1901 - Art Rooney, American football team owner (d. 1988)
• 1901 - Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
• 1903 - John Carew Eccles, Australian neuropsychologist, Nobel Laureate (d. 1997)
• 1905 - Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
• 1908 - Oran Page, American musician (d. 1954)
• 1908 - William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American newspaper magnate (d. 1993)
• 1912 - Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher
• 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 - Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (d. 2002)
• 1920 - John Box, British film production designer and art director (d. 2005)
• 1921 - Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
• 1924 - Sabu Dastagir, Indian actor (d. 1963)
• 1924 - Rauf Denktaş, founder of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
• 1926 - Fritz Spiegl, Austrian journalist (d. 2003)
• 1926 - Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
• 1928 - Michael Craig, British actor
• 1928 - Hans Modrow, a 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 race car 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
• 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 Prize 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 - Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
• 1949 - Ethan Mordden, American author
• 1950 - Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born physician
• 1950 - Derek Acorah, English spirit medium
• 1951 - Brian Downey, Irish musician (Thin Lizzy)
• 1952 - Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, American football player
• 1954 - Peter Laird, American comic-book artist
• 1954 - Joko 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 artist and writer and film director
• 1958 - James Grippando, American novelist
• 1958 - Kadri Mälk, Estonian artist and jewelry designer
• 1959 - Keith Olbermann, American news presenter
• 1959 - Göran Hägglund, Swedish politician
• 1959 - Cris Collinsworth, American football player
• 1961 - Margo Timmins, Canadian singer (Cowboy Junkies)
• 1961 - Dina Bonnevie, Filipino actress
• 1961 - Gillian Gilbert, British musician (New Order)
• 1961 - Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
• 1964 - Bridget Fonda, American actress
• 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, former French International footballer
• 1968 - Mike Patton, American singer (Faith No More)
• 1968 - Tricky, English rapper
• 1969 - Cornelius, Japanese musician and producer (Flipper's Guitar)
• 1969 - Michael Kulas, Canadian singer (James)
• 1969 - Patton Oswalt, American actor and writer
• 1970 - Jon Douglas Rainey, American TV personality
• 1970 - Emmanuel Pahud, French-Swiss flautist
• 1971 - Fann Wong, Singapore entertainer (Shanghai Knights)
• 1971 - Lil Jon, American rapper and producer
• 1971 - Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 - Guillermo, Mexican-born American TV personality
• 1972 - Keith Wood, Irish rugby player
• 1972 - Mark Owen, English pop singer
• 1972 - Janine Ilitch, Australian netballer
• 1974 - Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1974 - Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player
• 1974 - ZP Theart, South African-born English singer (Dragonforce)
• 1976 - Clint Ford, American voice actor
• 1976 - Ahn Jung-Hwan, Korean football player
• 1976 - Ruby Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer
• 1978 - Pete Laforest, Canadian baseball player
• 1979 - Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer
• 1979 - Rosamund Pike, British actress
• 1979 - Mario Fatafehi, American-born Canadian Football League player
• 1980 - Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
• 1980 - Chanda Gunn, ice hockey player
• 1981 - Alicia Molik, Australian tennis 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

Deaths

• 98 - Nerva, Roman Emperor (b. 35)
• 1490 - Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (b. 1435)
• 1629 - Hieronymus Praetorius, German composer (b. 1560)
• 1638 - Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish novelist
• 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)
• 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)
• 1927 - Georgios Grivas, Cyprus-born general in the Greek Army
• 1927 - Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius (Matulewicz), Lithuanian bishop
• 1940 - Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (b. 1894)
• 1942 - Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian Prime Minister (b. 1888)
• 1956 - Erich Kleiber, Argentine 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)
• 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)
• 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)

Holidays and observances

• UN — International Holocaust Remembrance Day
• United Kingdom — Holocaust Memorial Day.
• Germany — Gedenktag für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (Commemoration Day for the Victims of National Socialism).
• Poland — Dzień Pamięci Ofiar Nazizmu (Memorial Day for the Victims of Nazism).
• Italy — Giorno della Memoria (Memorial Day).
• Catholicism — Catholic Schools Week.
• Serbia — St. Sava Day.
• Denmark — Auschwitzdag (Auschwitz Day; commemoration day for the victims of the Holocaust and other genocide).
• Monaco, day of Saint Devota, patron saint
• January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

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