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March 27

March 27 is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 279 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1329 - Pope John XXII issues his 'In Agro Dominico' condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.
• 1513 (not 1512 as often cited) - Explorer Juan Ponce de León sights North America (specifically Florida) for the first time, mistaking it for another island.
• 1613 - The first English child born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy.
• 1625 - Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France.
• 1642 - The sixth Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Joseph takes office.
• 1782 - Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1794 - The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
• 1794 - Denmark and Sweden form a neutrality compact.
• 1814 - War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
• 1834 - Andrew Jackson is censured by the U.S. Senate for his actions regarding the U.S. National Bank.
• 1836 - Texas Revolution: Goliad massacre - Antonio López de Santa Anna orders the Mexican army to kill about 400 Texans at Goliad, Texas.
• 1836 - Kirtland Temple in Ohio is dedicated in an 8 hour long service led by Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon.
• 1846 - Mexican-American War: Siege of Fort Texas.
• 1851 - First reported case of Europeans seeing Yosemite Valley.
• 1854 - Crimean War: The United Kingdom declares war on Russia.
• 1868 - The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company is organized in Oswego, New York.
• 1871 - The first international rugby football match, England v. Scotland, is played in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.
• 1881 - Rioting takes place in Basingstoke in protest against the daily vociferous promotion of rigid Temperence by the Salvation Army.
• 1890 - A tornado strikes Louisville, Kentucky, killing 76 and injuring 200.
• 1906 - Founding of the Alpine Club of Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba
• 1910 - Fire during a barn-dance in Ököritófülpös, Hungary, killed 312
• 1918 - Moldova and Bessarabia join Romania.
• 1938 - The Battle of Taierzhuang takes place.
• 1941 - World War II: Yugoslavian Air Force officers topple the pro-axis government in a bloodless coup.
• 1942 - World War II: United Kingdom forces raid the U-boat base at St. Nazaire, France.
• 1943 - World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands - In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
• 1945 - World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan's ports and waterways begins.
• 1948 - The Second Congress of the Workers Party of North Korea is convened.
• 1958 - Nikita Khrushchev becomes Premier of the Soviet Union.
• 1963 - Beeching axe: Dr. Richard Beeching issues a report calling for huge cuts to the United Kingdom's rail network.
• 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.
• 1968 - Yuri Gagarin, Soviet Cosmonaut, first human in space dies in aircraft training accident.
• 1969 - Mariner 7 is launched.
• 1970 - The Concorde makes its first supersonic flight.
• 1976 - The first 4.6 miles of the Washington Metro subway system opens.
• 1977 - Tenerife disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 247 on KLM and 335 on PAN AM) and 61 survived on a PAN AM flight.
• 1980 - The Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
• 1986 - A car bomb explodes at Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, killing 1 police officer and injuring 21 people.
• 1990 - The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba in an effort to bridge the information blackout imposed by the Castro regime.
• 1993 - Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People's Republic of China.
• 1994 - One of the biggest tornado outbreaks in recent memory hits the Southeastern United States. One tornado slams into a church in Piedmont, Alabama during Palm Sunday services killing 20 and injuring 90.
• 1994 - The Eurofighter takes its first flight in Manching, Germany.
• 1998 - The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.
• 2000 - Phillips explosion of 2000 kills 1 and injures 71 in Pasadena, Texas.
• 2002 - Passover Massacre: A suicide bomber kills 29 people in Netanya, Israel.
• 2004 - HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.
• 2006 - The United Nations Commission on Human Rights holds its final meeting.

Births

• 972 - King Robert II of France (d. 1031)
• 1416 - Antonio Squarcialupi, Italian composer (d. 1480)
• 1627 - Stephen Fox, English politician (d. 1716)
• 1676 - Francis II Rákóczi, leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburg (d. 1735)
• 1696 - Antoine Court, French Huguenot minister (d. 1760)
• 1702 - Johann Ernst Eberlin, German composer (d. 1762)
• 1712 - Claude Bourgelat, French veterinary surgeon (d. 1779)
• 1714 - Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian theologian and historian (d. 1795)
• 1730 - Thomas Tyrwhitt, English classical scholar (d. 1786)
• 1746 - Michael Bruce, Scottish poet (d. 1767)
• 1765 - Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1841)
• 1785 - King Louis XVII of France (d. 1795)
• 1797 - Alfred de Vigny, French author (d. 1863)
• 1809 - Baron Haussmann, French civic planner (d. 1891)
• 1810 - William Hepworth Thompson, English classical scholar (d. 1886)
• 1813 - Nathaniel Currier, American illustrator (d. 1888)
• 1817 - Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli, Swiss biologist (d. 1891)
• 1845 - Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1923)
• 1847 - Otto Wallach, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
• 1851 - Vincent d'Indy, French composer and teacher (d. 1931)
• 1857 - Karl Pearson, English statistician (d. 1936)
• 1859 - George Giffen, Australian cricketer (d. 1927)
• 1860 - Frank Frost Abbott, American classical scholar (d. 1924)
• 1863 - Sir Henry Royce, English automobile pioneer (d. 1933)
• 1869 - James McNeill, Irish politician (d. 1938)
• 1871 - Heinrich Mann, German writer (d. 1950)
• 1879 - Miller Huggins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1929)
• 1883 - Marie Under, Estonian author and poet (d. 1980)
• 1886 - Sergey Kirov, Russian bolshevik leader (d. 1934)
• 1886 - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German architect (d. 1969)
• 1892 - Ferde Grofé, American composer (d. 1972)
• 1893 - Karl Mannheim, Hungarian sociologist (d. 1947)
• 1899 - Gloria Swanson, American actress (d. 1983)
• 1897 - Douglas Hartree, English mathematical physicist (d. 1958)
• 1901 - Carl Barks, American illustrator (d. 2000)
• 1901 - Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (d. 1963)
• 1901 - Eisaku Sato, Prime Minister of Japan, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1975)
• 1901 - Kenneth Slessor, Australian poet (d. 1971)
• 1902 - Charles Lang, American cinematographer (d. 1998)
• 1905 - Elsie MacGill, Canadian aeronautical engineer (d. 1980)
• 1906 - Pee Wee Russell, American musician (d. 1969)
• 1909 - Golo Mann, German historian (d. 1994)
• 1909 - Ben Webster, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1973)
• 1912 - James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
• 1913 - Theodor Dannecker, SS officer (d. 1945)
• 1914 - Richard Denning, American actor (d. 1998)
• 1914 - Budd Schulberg, American screenwriter and novelist
• 1915 - Robert Lockwood, Jr., American blues guitarist (d. 2006)
• 1917 - Cyrus Vance, American politician (d. 2002)
• 1920 - Robin Jacques, illustrator (d. 1995)
• 1921 - Harold Nicholas, American dancer (d. 2000)
• 1922 - Stefan Wul, French author (d. 2003)
• 1923 - Endo Shusaku, Japanese author (d. 1996)
• 1923 - Louis Simpson, Jamaican-born poet
• 1924 - Sarah Vaughan, American singer (d. 1990)
• 1927 - Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (d. 2007)
• 1931 - David Janssen, American actor (d. 1980)
• 1935 - Abelardo Castillo, Argentine writer
• 1935 - Julian Glover, British actor
• 1937 - Thomas Aquinas Daly, American painter
• 1939 - Cale Yarborough, American race car driver
• 1940 - Janis Martin, American singer (d. 2007)
• 1940 - Austin Pendleton, American actor
• 1941 - Ivan Gašparovič, President of Slovakia
• 1942 - John E. Sulston, British chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 1942 - Michael York, English actor
• 1942 - Michael Jackson, English writer (d. 2007)
• 1943 - Phil Frank, American cartoonist (d. 2007)
• 1946 - Olaf Malolepski, German musician (Die Flippers)
• 1947 - Brian Jones, British balloonist
• 1947 - Walt Mossberg, the highest-paid journalist at the Wall Street Journal
• 1950 - Tony Banks, English musician (Genesis)
• 1950 - Petros Efthimiou, Greek politician
• 1950 - Lynn McGlothen, American baseball player (d. 1984)
• 1952 - Maria Schneider, French actress
• 1952 - Richard Séguin, Quebec singer and songwriter
• 1956 - Leung Kwok Hung, Hong Kong activist
• 1956 - Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross-country skier
• 1957 - Nick Hawkins, British politician
• 1957 - Billy Mackenzie, Scottish musician (Associates) (d. 1997)
• 1959 - Andrew Farriss, Australian musician (INXS)
• 1960 - Hans Pflügler, German footballer
• 1961 - Tak Matsumoto, Japanese guitarist (B'z)
• 1961 - Tony Rominger, Swiss cyclist
• 1962 - Jann Arden, Canadian musician
• 1963 - Charly Alberti, Argentinian musician
• 1963 - Randall Cunningham American football player
• 1963 - Quentin Tarantino, American director, writer, and producer
• 1963 - Xuxa, Brazilian television personality
• 1964 - Glenn Carter, English actor and singer-songwriter
• 1966 - Paula Trickey, American actress
• 1967 - Paul Adams, American celebrity
• 1967 - Talisa Soto, American actress
• 1968 - Sandra Hess, Swiss-born actress and model
• 1969 - Kevin Corrigan, American actor
• 1969 - Pauley Perrette, American actress, photographer, poet, writer
• 1970 - Mariah Carey, American singer
• 1970 - Brent Fitz, Canadian Musician (Theory of a Deadman)
• 1970 - Brendan Hill, British drummer (Blues Traveler)
• 1970 - Princess Leila of Iran (d. 2001)
• 1970 - Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress
• 1971 - Thom Barron, German porn star
• 1971 - David Coulthard, Scottish Formula One driver
• 1971 - Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
• 1972 - Charlie Haas, professional wrestler
• 1972 - Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Dutch footballer
• 1974 - Russ Haas, wrestler (d. 2001)
• 1974 - Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer
• 1975 - Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, American musician (Black Eyed Peas)
• 1976 - Djamel Belmadi, Algerian footballer
• 1976 - Carl Ng, Hong Kong/British actor and model
• 1977 - Violetta Blue, American porn star
• 1977 - Vitor Meira, Brazilian racing driver
• 1977 - Adrian Anca, Romanian footballer
• 1979 - Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins baseball player
• 1981 - Carey Davis, National Football League fullback
• 1981 - Lin Jun Jie, Chinese Singer
• 1981 - Terry McFlynn, Northern Irish footballer
• 1982 - Kurara Chibana, Japanese beauty queen, first runner-up Miss Universe 2006
• 1985 - Caroline Winberg, Swedish supermodel
• 1985 - Dario Baldauf, Austrian footballer
• 1986 - Valerie "So Cal Val" Wyndham, American professional wrestling valet
• 1987 - Chad Denny, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1988 - Brenda Song, American actress
• 1990 - Scott Selwood, Australian Rules Footballer, West Coast Eagles
• 1995 - Taylor Atelian, American actress

Deaths

• 710 - Rupert of Salzburg
• 973 - Herman, Duke of Saxony
• 1191 - Pope Clement III
• 1350 - King Alfonso XI of Castile (b. 1312)
• 1378 - Pope Gregory XI
• 1462 - Vasili II of Russia, Grand Prince of Moscow (b. 1415)
• 1482 - Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold; wife of Maximilian I (b. 1457)
• 1555 - William Hunter, Protestant martyr
• 1572 - Girolamo Maggi, Italian Renaissance man (b. abt. 1523)
• 1625 - King James I of England and Ireland, James VI of Scotland (b. 1566)
• 1635 - Robert Naunton, English politician (b. 1563)
• 1697 - Simon Bradstreet, English colonial magistrate (b. 1603)
• 1757 - Johann Stamitz, Czech-born composer (b. 1717)
• 1770 - Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian artist (b. 1696)
• 1809 - Joseph-Marie Vien, French painter (b. 1716)
• 1827 - François Alexandre Frédéric, French social reformer (b. 1747)
• 1836 - James Fannin, Texas revolutionary (b. 1804)
• 1843 - Karl Salomo Zachariae von Lingenthal, German jurist (b. 1769)
• 1849 - Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford (b. 1776)
• 1850 - Wilhelm Beer, German astronomer (b. 1797)
• 1864 - Jean-Jacques Ampère, French scholar (b. 1800)
• 1865 - Petrus Hoffman Peerlkamp, Dutch scholar (b. 1786)
• 1873 - Amedée Simon Dominique Thierry, French journalist and historian (b. 1797)
• 1875 - Edgar Quinet, French historian (b. 1803)
• 1878 - Sir George Gilbert Scott, English architect (b. 1811)
• 1889 - John Bright, English statesman (b. 1811)
• 1897 - Andreas Anagnostakis, Greek physician (b. 1826)
• 1898 - Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian Muslim intellectual (b. 1817)
• 1910 - Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, American scientist; son of Louis Agassiz (b. 1835)
• 1918 - Henry Adams, American historian (b. 1838)
• 1923 - Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist (b. 1842)
• 1924 - Walter Parratt, English composer (b. 1841)
• 1926 - Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1887)
• 1927 - Joe Start, American baseball player (b. 1842)
• 1931 - Arnold Bennett, British novelist (b. 1867)
• 1934 - Francis William Reitz, 5th State President of the Orange Free State (b. 1844)
• 1940 - Michael Joseph Savage, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1872)
• 1967 - Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
• 1967 - Jim Thompson, American designer (disappeared) (b. 1906)
• 1968 - Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1934)
• 1972 - Sharkey Bonano, American musician (b. 1904)
• 1972 - M. C. Escher, Dutch artist (b. 1898)
• 1977 - A. P. Hamann, American politician
• 1977 - Diana Hyland, American actress (b. 1936)
• 1981 - Mao Dun, Chinese writer (b. 1895)
• 1988 - Renato Salvatori, Italian actor (b. 1934)
• 1989 - May Allison, American actress (b. 1890)
• 1989 - Jack Starrett, American actor and film director (b. 1936)
• 1991 - Ralph Bates, British actor (b. 1940)
• 1991 - Aldo Ray, American actor (b. 1926)
• 1992 - Easley Blackwood, American bridgeplayer (b. 1903)
• 1993 - Clifford Jordan, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1931)
• 1993 - Paul László, Hungarian interior designer and architect (b. 1900)
• 1998 - David McClelland, American psychologist (b. 1917)
• 1998 - Ferry Porsche, Austrian automobile manufacturer (b. 1909)
• 2000 - Ian Dury, English musician (b. 1942)
• 2002 - Milton Berle, American actor and comedian (b. 1908)
• 2002 - Dudley Moore, British actor (b. 1935)
• 2002 - Billy Wilder, American director (b. 1906)
• 2003 - Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor (b. 1927)
• 2003 - Ricardo Munguia, Salvadoran aid worker
• 2003 - Paul Zindel, American writer (b. 1936)
• 2004 - Adán Sánchez, Mexican-American singer (b. 1984)
• 2005 - Wilfred Bigelow, Canadian heart surgeon (b. 1913)
• 2005 - Bob Casey, American baseball announcer (b. 1925)
• 2005 - Grant Johannesen, American concert pianist (b. 1921)
• 2006 - Dan Curtis, American television producer and director (b. 1928)
• 2006 - Ian Hamilton Finlay, Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener (b. 1925)
• 2006 - Stanisław Lem, Polish writer (b. 1921)
• 2006 - Ruari McLean, British typographer (b. 1917)
• 2006 - Lyn Nofziger, American journalist and political advisor to Ronald Reagan (b. 1924)
• 2007 - Paul Lauterbur, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1929)
• 2008 - Jean-Marie Balestre, French president of motor sport's FIA (b. 1921)
• 2008 - George Pruteanu, Romanian literary critic and politician (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances

• Angolan Victory Day
• Osweiler in Luxembourg.

External links

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