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Today October 27th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
312 – Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross.
710 – Saracen invasion of Sardinia.
939 – Edmund I succeeds Athelstan as King of England.
1275 – Traditional founding of the city of Amsterdam.
1524 – Italian Wars: The French troops lay siege to Pavia.
1553 – Condemned as a heretic, Michael Servetus is burned at the stake just outside Geneva.
1644 – Second Battle of Newbury in the English Civil War.
1682 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is founded.
1795 – The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, which establishes the boundaries between Spanish colonies and the U.S.
1806 – The French Army enters Berlin.
1810 – United States annexes the former Spanish colony of West Florida.
1838 – Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order, which orders all Mormons to leave the state or be exterminated.
1870 – Marshal François Achille Bazaine surrenders to Prussian forces at Metz along with 140,000 French soldiers in one of the biggest French defeats of the Franco-Prussian War.
1904 – The first underground New York City Subway line opens; the system becomes the biggest in United States, and one of the biggest in world.
1916 – Battle of Segale: Negus Mikael, marching on the Ethiopian capital in support of his son Emperor Iyasus V, is defeated by Fitawrari abte Giyorgis, securing the throne for Empress Zauditu.
1922 – A referendum in Rhodesia rejects the country s annexation to the South African Union.
1924 – The Uzbek SSR is founded in the Soviet Union.
1936 – Mrs Wallis Simpson files for divorce which would eventually allow her to marry King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, thus forcing his abdication from the throne.
1948 – Léopold Sédar Senghor founds the Senegalese Democratic Bloc (BDS).
1953 – British nuclear test Totem 2 is carried out at Emu Field, South Australia.
1954 – Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.
1958 – Iskander Mirza, the first President of Pakistan, is deposed in a bloodless coup d état by General Ayub Khan, who had been appointed the enforcer of martial law by Mirza 20 days earlier.
1961 – NASA launches the first Saturn I rocket in Mission Saturn-Apollo 1.
1962 – Major Rudolph Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis when his U-2 reconnaissance airplane is shot down in Cuba by a Soviet-supplied SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile.
1962 – A plane carrying Enrico Mattei, post-war Italian administrator, crashes in mysterious circumstances.
1964 – Ronald Reagan delivers a speech on behalf of Republican candidate for president, Barry Goldwater. The speech launched his political career and came to be known as A Time for Choosing.
1971 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire.
1973 – The Cañon City meteorite, a 1.4 kg chondrite type meteorite, strikes in Fremont County, Colorado.
1981 – The Soviet submarine U 137 runs aground on the east coast of Sweden.
1986 – The British government suddenly deregulates financial markets, leading to a total restructuring of the way in which they operate in the country, in an event now referred to as Big Bang.
1990 – Supreme Soviet of Kirghiz SSR chooses Askar Akayev as republic s first president.
1991 – Turkmenistan achieves independence from the Soviet Union.
1992 – United States Navy radioman Allen R. Schindler, Jr. is brutally murdered by shipmates for being gay, precipitating first military, then national, debate about gays in the military that resulted in the United States Don t ask, don t tell military policy.
1994 – The U.S. prison population tops 1 million for the first time in American history.
1995 – Latvia applies for membership in the European Union.
1995 – Former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi is convicted in absentia of corruption.
1997 – October 27, 1997 mini-crash: Stock markets around the world crash because of fears of a global economic meltdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 554.26 points to 7,161.15. For the first time, the New York Stock Exchange activates its circuit breakers twice during the day eventually making the controversial move of closing the Exchange early.
1999 – Gunmen open fire in the Armenian Parliament, killing Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Parliament Chairman Karen Demirchyan, and 6 other members.
2005 – Riots begin in Paris after the deaths of two Muslim teenagers.
Births
1156 – Count Raymond VI of Toulouse (d. 1222)
1401 – Catherine of Valois, queen of Henry V of England (d. 1437)
1466 – Erasmus, Dutch humanist and theologian (d. 1536)
1728 – James Cook, British naval captain and explorer (d. 1779)
1744 – Mary Moser, English painter (d. 1819)
1760 – August von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (d. 1831)
1782 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1840)
1811 – Isaac Singer, American inventor (d. 1875)
1811 – Stevens Thomson Mason, first Governor of Michigan (d. 1843)
1814 – Daniel H. Wells, Mormon leader and politician (d. 1891)
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, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1916)
1854 – Sir William Smith, Scottish founder of the Boys Brigade (d. 1914)
1858 – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1919)
1865 – Charles Spencelayh, English painter (d. 1958)
1873 – Emily Post, American etiquette author (d. 1960)
1877 – George Thompson, English cricketer (d. 1943)
1885 – Sigrid Hjertén, Swedish modernist painter (d. 1948)
1894 – Oliver Leese, British general (d. 1978)
1896 – Edith Brown, survivor of the Titanic (d. 1997)
1904 – Erno Schwarz, Hungarian American soccer player (d. 1974)
1906 – Earle Cabell, American politician (d. 1975)
1908 – Lee Krasner, American painter (d. 1984)
1910 – Jack Carson, Canadian actor (d. 1963)
1911 – Leif Erickson, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
1914 – Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet (d. 1953)
1915 – Harry Saltzman, American film producer (d. 1994)
1917 – Augustine Harris, British Bishop of Middlesbrough (d. 2007)
1917 – Oliver Tambo, South African freedom fighter (d. 1993)
1918 – Teresa Wright, American actress (d. 2005)
1920 – Nanette Fabray, American actress
1920 – K. R. Narayanan, 10th President of India (d. 2005)
1921 – Warren Allen Smith, American encyclopedist
1922 – Poul Bundgaard, Danish actor and singer (d. 1998)
1922 – Michel Galabru, French actor
1922 – Ralph Kiner, American baseball player
1923 – Roy Lichtenstein, American artist (d. 1997)
1924 – Ruby Dee, American actress
1925 – Albert Medwin, American inventor
1925 – Warren Christopher, US Secretary of State (1993–1997)
1926 – H.R. Haldeman, American political personality (d. 1993)
1928 – Gilles Vigneault, Canadian poet, singer and songwriter
1929 – Maurice Robert Johnston, English Lieutenant-General
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 popular pianist (d. 1997)
1934 – Giorgos Konstadinou, Greek actor and director
1937 – Lara Parker, American actress
1939 – John Cleese, British actor and writer
1940 – John Gotti, American gangster (d. 2002)
1940 – Maxine Hong Kingston, American writer
1941 – Dick Trickle, American auto racer
1942 – Lee Greenwood, American singer
1943 – Carmen Argenziano, American actor
1945 – Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
1945 – John Kane, actor/writer
1946 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress (d. 2004)
1946 – Ivan Reitman, Czechoslovakian-born Canadian film actor, producer and director
1949 – Garry Tallent, American bass player (E Street Band)
1949 – Clifford Antone, American businessman (d. 2006)
1950 – Fran Lebowitz, American writer
1951 – K.K. Downing, English guitarist (Judas Priest)
1951 – Carlos Frenk, Mexican/British cosmologist
1951 – Nancy Jacobs, American politician
1951 – Éric Morena, French singer
1952 – Hameed Haroon, Pakistani publisher
1952 – Roberto Benigni, Italian director and actor
1953 – Peter Firth, British actor
1953 – Robert Picardo, American actor
1954 – Jan Duursema, American comic book artist
1955 – Debra Bowen, American politician
1956 – Jaq D. Hawkins, British author, occultist and lecturer
1956 – Veronica Hart, American porn actress
1957 – Jeff East, American actor
1957 – Glenn Hoddle, English footballer
1958 – Simon Le Bon, English singer (Duran Duran)
1958 – Lee Carter, Alabama Judge of the 25th Judicial Circuit
1960 – Tom Nieto, American baseball player
1963 – Marla Maples, American actress and model
1963 – Farin Urlaub, German singer and guitarrist (Die Ärzte)
1964 – Mark Taylor, Australian test cricket captain (1994-1999)
1966 – Matt Drudge, American blogger
1967 – Simone Moro, Italian mountaineer
1967 – Scott Weiland, American singer (Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver)
1968 – Vinny Samways, English footballer
1970 – Felix Bwalya, Zambian boxer
1970 – Adrian Erlandsson, Swedish drummer (Cradle of Filth)
1971 – Jade Arcade, American comics artist and writer
1971 – Theodoros Zagorakis, Greek footballer
1971 – Jorge Soto, Peruvian footballer
1972 – Lee Clark, English footballer
1972 – Elissa (singer), Lebanese singer
1972 – Evan Coyne Maloney, American filmmaker
1972 – Brad Radke, American baseball player
1972 – Marika Krook, Finnish singer (Edea)
1972 – Maria de Lurdes Mutola, Mozambican athlete
1973 – Jason Johnson, American baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds)
1975 – Zadie Smith, British novelist
1977 – Jirí Jarosík, Czech footballer
1977 – Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lankan cricketer
1978 – Vanessa-Mae, Singapore musician
1978 – Sergei Samsonov, Russian ice hockey player
1980 – Tanel Padar, Estonian singer
1980 – Cassia Riley, American model
1981 – Han Hye-jin, South Korean actress
1981 – Kristi Richards, Canadian freestyle skier
1982 – Patrick Fugit, American actor
1982 – Dennis Moran, American computer hacker
1982 – Takashi Tsukamoto, Japanese actor
1982 – Keri Hilson, American singer, songwriter
1983 – Brent Clevlen, American baseball player
1983 – Martin Prado, Major League baseball player (Atlanta Braves)
1984 – Kelly Osbourne, English television personality
1984 – Brady Quinn, American football player
1984 – Irfan Pathan, Indian cricketer
1984 – Bam Doyne, American Basketball player
1986 – Matty Pattison, English footballer
1987 – Andrew Bynum, American basketball player
1987 – Yi Jianlian, Chinese basketball player (Disputed)
1987 – Victor Genev, Bulgarian Football Player
1989 – Erik Kloeker, American juggler.
Deaths
939 – King Athelstan I of England (b. 895)
1271 – Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, French crusader (b. 1213)
1312 – John II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1275)
1327 – Elizabeth de Burgh, queen of Robert I of Scotland (b. 1289)
1331 – Abu al-Fida, Arab historian and geographer (b. 1273)
1430 – Vytautas the Great, Grand Duke of Lithuania (b. 1350)
1439 – Albert II of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1397)
1449 – Ulugh Beg, Timurid ruler and astronomer (b. 1394)
1505 – Ivan III of Russia (b. 1440)
1553 – Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian and doctor (burned at the stake) (b. 1511)
1561 – Lope de Aguirre, Spanish conquistador (b. 1510)
1573 – Laurentius Petri, first Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden (b. 1499)
1605 – Akbar, Jellaladin Mahommed, Mughal Emperor (b. 1542)
1617 – Ralph Winwood, English politician (b. 1563)
1670 – Vavasor Powell, Welsh non-conformist leader (b. 1617)
1674 – Hallgrímur Pétursson, Icelandic poet (b. 1614)
1675 – Gilles de Roberval, French mathematician (b. 1602)
1789 – John Cook, American farmer and Governor of Delaware (b. 1730)
1917 – Arthur Rhys Davids, English pilot (b. 1897)
1935 – E. A. D. Eldridge, British racing driver (b. 1897)
1942 – Helmuth Hubener, Youth Political Activist against the Hitler regime (b. 1925)
1949 – Marcel Cerdan, French boxer (b. 1916)
1949 – Ginette Neveu, French violinist (b. 1919)
1953 – Thomas Wass, English cricketer (b. 1873)
1962 – Enrico Mattei, Italian politician (b. 1906)
1962 – Rudolf Anderson, United States Air Force pilot and officer (b. 1927)
1968 – Lise Meitner, German physicist (b. 1878)
1975 – Rex Stout, American novelist (b. 1886)
1977 – James M. Cain, American novelist (b. 1892)
1980 – Steve Peregrin Took, English singer and songwriter (b. 1949)
1980 – John Hasbrouck van Vleck, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
1980 – Judy LaMarsh, Canadian politician, author and broadcaster (b. 1924)
1990 – Xavier Cugat, Spanish-born musician (b. 1900)
1990 – Princess Sophie von Hohenberg, daughter of assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (b. 1901)
1990 – Elliott Roosevelt, American war hero, author, and advertising executive (b. 1910)
1990 – Jacques Demy, French film director (b. 1931)
1990 – Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor (b. 1922)
1991- George Barker, English poet (b. 1913)
1992 – David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (b. 1917)
1996 – Morey Amsterdam, American actor (b. 1908)
1996 – Arthur Tremblay, French Canadian politician (b. 1917)
1999 – Robert Mills, American physicist (b. 1927)
1999 – Charlotte Perriand, French architect and designer (b. 1903)
2000 – Walter Berry, Austrian bass-baritone (b. 1929)
2002 – Tom Dowd, American recording engineer (b. 1925)
2003 – Rod Roddy, American television announcer (b. 1937)
2004 – Serginho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1974)
2006 – Joe Niekro, American baseball player (b. 1944)
2006 – Brad Will, American anarchist and independent journalist (b. 1970)
Holidays and observances
Turkmenistan – Independence Day (from USSR, 1991)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Independence Day (from Britain, 1979)
R.C. saints – October 27th is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:
Abban of Magheranoidhe
Abban of New Ross
St. Elesbaan
St. Frumentius, the saint who introduced Christianity into Ethiopia.
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