July 27Birthdays & History

On this day: July 27 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 1054Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland, somewhere north of the Firth of Forth. This is known as the Battle of Dunsinane.Europe
2. 1189Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade.Europe
3. 1202Georgian–Seljuk wars: At the Battle of Basian the Kingdom of Georgia defeats the Sultanate of Rum.Middle East
4. 1214Battle of Bouvines: Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England's Angevin Empire.Europe
5. 1299According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, usually considered to be the founding day of the Ottoman state.Middle East
6. 1302Battle of Bapheus: Decisive Ottoman victory over the Byzantines opening up Bithynia for Turkish conquest.Middle East
7. 1549The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier's ship reaches Japan.Asia
8. 1663The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland would be included in the Act.EuropeNorth America
9. 1689Glorious Revolution: The Battle of Killiecrankie is a victory for the Jacobites.Europe
10. 1694A Royal charter is granted to the Bank of England.Europe
11. 1714The Great Northern War: The first significant victory of the Russian Navy in the naval battle of Gangut against the Swedish Navy near the Hanko Peninsula.Europe
12. 1775Founding of the U.S. Army Medical Department: The Second Continental Congress passes legislation establishing "an hospital for an army consisting of 20,000 men."North America
13. 1778American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant: British and French fleets fight to a standoff.North AmericaEurope
14. 1789The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State).North America
15. 1794French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre is arrested after encouraging the execution of more than 17,000 "enemies of the Revolution".Europe
16. 1816Seminole Wars: The Battle of Negro Fort ends when a hot shot cannonball fired by US Navy Gunboat No. 154 explodes the fort's Powder Magazine, killing approximately 275. It is considered the deadliest single cannon shot in US history.North America
17. 1857Indian Rebellion: Sixty-eight men hold out for eight days against a force of 2,500 to 3,000 mutinying sepoys and 8,000 irregular forces.Asia
18. 1865Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina.EuropeLatin America
19. 1866The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart's Content, Newfoundland.EuropeNorth America
20. 1880Second Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Maiwand: Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan defeat the British Army in battle near Maiwand, Afghanistan.AsiaEurope
21. 1890Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.Europe
22. 1900Kaiser Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to Huns; for years afterwards, "Hun" would be a disparaging name for Germans.Europe
23. 1917World War I: The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.Europe
24. 1919The Chicago Race Riot erupts after a racial incident occurred on a South Side beach, leading to 38 fatalities and 537 injuries over a five-day period.North America
25. 1921Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.North America
26. 1929The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.Europe
27. 1940The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.North America
28. 1942World War II: Allied forces successfully halt the final Axis advance into Egypt.Middle East
29. 1947In Vatican City, Rome, canonization of Catherine Labouré, the saint whose apparitions of the Virgin Mary originated the worldwide distribution of the Miraculous Medal.Europe
30. 1949Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.Europe
31. 1953Korean War: Cessation of hostilities is achieved when the United States, China, and North Korea sign an armistice agreement. Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, refuses to sign but pledges to observe the armistice.AsiaNorth America
32. 1955El Al Flight 402 is shot down by two fighter jets after straying into Bulgarian air space. All 58 people on board are killed.Europe
33. 1955The Austrian State Treaty restores Austrian sovereignty.Europe
34. 1959The Continental League is announced as baseball's "third major league" in the United States.North America
35. 1963The Puijo observation tower is opened to the general public at Puijo Hill in Kuopio, Finland.Europe
36. 1964Vietnam War: Five thousand more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.AsiaNorth America
37. 1974Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.North America
38. 1975Mayor of Jaffna and former MP Alfred Duraiappah is shot dead.Asia
39. 1981While landing at Chihuahua International Airport, Aeromexico Flight 230 overshoots the runway. Thirty-two of the 66 passengers and crew on board the DC-9 are killed.Latin America
40. 1983Black July: Eighteen Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by Sinhalese prisoners, the second such massacre in two days.Asia
41. 1989While attempting to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, Korean Air Flight 803 crashes just short of the runway. Seventy-five of the 199 passengers and crew and four people on the ground are killed, in the second accident involving a DC-10 in less than two weeks, the first being United Airlines Flight 232.AfricaAsia
42. 1990The Jamaat al Muslimeen attempt a coup d'état in Trinidad and Tobago.Latin America
43. 1995The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.AsiaNorth America
44. 1996In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.North America
45. 1997About 50 people are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria.Africa
46. 2002Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 77 and injuring more than 500 others, making it the deadliest air show disaster in history.Europe
47. 2015Seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "July 27" / CC BY-SA 4.0