September 27
September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 95 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona, and is defeated again.
- 1331 - The Battle of Płowce between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order is fought.
- 1540 - The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) receives its charter from Pope Paul III.
- 1590 - Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, making his reign the shortest papacy in history.
- 1605 - The armies of Sweden are utterly defeated by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Battle of Kircholm.
- 1777 - Lancaster, Pennsylvania is the capital of the United States, for one day.
- 1821 - Mexico gains its independence from Spain.
- 1822 - Jean-François Champollion announces that he has deciphered the Rosetta stone.
- 1825 - The Stockton and Darlington Railway opens, and begins operation of the world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains.
- 1854 - The steamship SS Arctic sinks with 300 people on board. This marks the first great disaster in the Atlantic Ocean.
- 1903 - Wreck of the Old 97, a train crash made famous by the song of the same name.
- 1905 - The physics journal Annalen der Physik published Albert Einstein's paper "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?", introducing the equation E=mc².
- 1908 - The first production of the Ford Model T automobile was built at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1916 - Iyasu is proclaimed deposed as ruler of Ethiopia in a palace coup in favor of his aunt Zauditu.
- 1922 - King Constantine I of Greece abdicates his throne in favor of his eldest son, King George II.
- 1928 - The Republic of China is recognised by the United States.
- 1930 - Bobby Jones wins the U.S. Amateur Championship to complete the Grand Slam of golf. The old structure of the grand slam was the U.S. Open, British Open, U.S. Amateur, and British Amateur.
- 1937 - Balinese Tiger declared extinct.
- 1938 - Ocean liner Queen Elizabeth launched in Glasgow.
- 1940 - World War II: The Tripartite Pact is signed in Berlin by Germany, Japan and Italy.
- 1941 - The SS Patrick Henry is launched becoming the first of more than 2,700 Liberty ships.
- 1941 - Foundation of EAM (National Liberation Front) in Greece.
- 1942 - Glenn Miller and his Orchestra perform for the last time before Miller enters the US Army.
- 1942 - Last day of the September Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps troops barely escape after being surrounded by Japanese forces near the Matanikau River.
- 1944 - The Kassel Mission results in the largest loss by a USAAF group on any mission in WWII.
- 1949 - The first Plenary Session of the National People's Congress approves the design of the Flag of the People's Republic of China.
- 1954 - The nationwide debut of Tonight! (The Tonight Show) hosted by Steve Allen on NBC.
- 1956 - USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first man to exceed Mach 3 while flying the Bell X-2. Shortly thereafter, the craft goes out of control and Captain Apt is killed.
- 1959 - Nearly 5000 people die on the main Japanese island of Honshū as the result of a typhoon.
- 1964 - The Warren Commission releases its report, concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
- 1968 - The stage musical Hair opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, where it played 1,998 performances until its closure was forced by the roof's collapsing in July 1973.
- 1977 - The 300 metre tall CKVR-TV transmission tower in Barrie, Ontario, Canada is hit by a light aircraft in a fog, causing it to collapse. All aboard the aircraft are killed.
- 1979 - The United States Department of Education receives final approval from the U.S. Congress to become the 13th US Cabinet agency.
- 1980 - Marvin Hagler defeats Alan Minter to claim boxing's world Middleweight championship in London. They have to be escorted away by police after a riot forms.
- 1983 - Richard Stallman announces the GNU project to develop a free Unix-like operating system.
- 1988 - The National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi is founded.
- 1993 - The Sukhumi massacre takes place in Abkhazia.
- 1995 - The Government of the United States unveils the first of its redesigned bank notes with the $100 bill featuring a larger portrait of Benjamin Franklin slightly off-center.
- 1996 - In Afghanistan, the Taliban capture the capital city Kabul after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah.
- 1996 - The Julie N. tanker skip crashes into the Million Dollar Bridge in Portland, Maine spilling thousands of gallons of oil.
- 1997 - Communications are suddenly lost with the Mars Pathfinder space probe.
- 2002 - Timor-Leste (East Timor) joins the United Nations.
- 2003 - Smart 1 satellite is launched.
- 2008 - CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk while flying on Shenzhou 7.
Births
- 1275 - John II of Brabant (d. 1312)
- 1384 - Cosimo de Medici, Italian Patron of the Arts
- 1601 - King Louis XIII of France (d. 1643)
- 1627 - Jacques Benigne Bossuet, French bishop (d. 1704)
- 1643 - Solomon Stoddard, American Puritan clergyman
- 1696 - St. Alphonsus Liguori, Italian founder of the Redemptionist order (d. 1787)
- 1719 - Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician (d. 1800)
- 1722 - Samuel Adams, American revolutionary leader (d. 1803)
- 1729 - Michael Denis, Austrian poet (d. 1800)
- 1772 - Martha Jefferson Randolph, daughter of Thomas Jefferson (d. 1836)
- 1803 - Samuel Francis du Pont, American admiral (d. 1865)
- 1805 - George Müller, Prussian orphanage builder (d. 1898)
- 1818 - Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, German chemist (d. 1884)
- 1821 - Henri Frederic Amiel, Swiss writer (d. 1881)
- 1824 - William "Bull" Nelson, American Civil War general (d. 1862)
- 1830 - William Babcock Hazen, American Civil War general (d. 1887)
- 1840 - Thomas Nast, German-born political cartoonist (d. 1902)
- 1842 - Alphonse Francois Renard, Belgian geologist (d. 1903)
- 1843 - Gaston Tarry, French mathematician (d. 1913)
- 1861 - Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, sister of US President Theodore Roosevelt (d. 1933)
- 1864 - Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and Catholic Priest (d. 1938)
- 1866 - Eurosia Fabris, Italian Catholic Blessed (d. 1932)
- 1871 - Grazia Deledda, Italian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1936)
- 1879 - Hans Hahn, Austrian mathematician (d. 1934)
- 1879 - Cyril Scott, English composer (d. 1970)
- 1885 - Harry Blackstone, Sr., American magician (d. 1965)
- 1894 - Olive Tell, American actress (d. 1951)
- 1894 - Lothar von Richthofen German pilot (d. 1922)
- 1895 - Woolf Barnato, British racing driver (d. 1948)
- 1896 - Sam Ervin, American politician (d. 1985)
- 1898 - Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (d. 1946)
- 1906 - William Empson, British poet (d. 1984)
- 1906 - Jim Thompson, American author (d. 1977)
- 1907 - Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher (d. 2003)
- 1911 - John Harvey, stage and film actor (d. 1982)
- 1913 - Albert Ellis, American psychologist (d. 2007)
- 1916 - Frank Handlen, American artist
- 1917 - Louis Auchincloss, American novelist
- 1917 - William T. Orr, American television producer (d. 2002)
- 1918 - Martin Ryle, English radio astronomer, Nobel laureate (d. 1984)
- 1919 - James H. Wilkinson, American mathematician (d. 1986)
- 1919 - Johnny Pesky, American baseball player
- 1919 - Charles Percy. American politician
- 1920 - William Conrad, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1920 - Jayne Meadows, American actress
- 1921 - Milton Subotsky, American TV and film producer (d. 1991)
- 1922 - Carl Ballantine, American actor
- 1922 - Arthur Penn, American director
- 1924 - Bernard Waber, American author
- 1924 - Fred Singer, American scientist
- 1924 - Bud Powell, American jazz pianist (d. 1966)
- 1924 - Josef Škvorecký, Czech writer and exulant publisher
- 1927 - Romano Scarpa, Italian comic book artist
- 1927 - Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman (d. 2006)
- 1931 - Freddy Quinn, Austrian singer
- 1932 - Roger C. Carmel, American actor (d. 1986)
- 1932 - Michael Colvin, Canadian singer
- 1932 - Oliver E. Williamson, American economist
- 1932 - Yash Chopra, Indian director
- 1932 - Geoff Bent, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1933 - Will Sampson, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1933 - Greg Morris, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1933 - Rodney Cotterill, Danish-English physicist (d. 2007)
- 1934 - Wilford Brimley, American actor
- 1934 - Claude Jarman Jr., American actor
- 1934 - Dick Schaap, American sports reporter (d. 2001)
- 1936 - Don Cornelius, American television host
- 1936 - Gordon Honeycombe, British playwright
- 1939 - Kathy Whitworth, American golfer
- 1939 - Carol Lynn Pearson, American poet and writer
- 1940 - Benoni Beheyt, Belgian cyclist
- 1941 - Serge Ménard, Québécois politician
- 1941 - Peter Bonetti, English footballer
- 1941 - Gay Kayler Ashcroft, Australian country music singer
- 1942 - Dith Pran, Cambodian-born photojournalist (d. 2008)
- 1942 - Alvin Stardust, English singer
- 1943 - Randy Bachman, Canadian musician
- 1943 - Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat
- 1945 - Jack Goldstein, Canadian-born artist (d. 2003)
- 1945 - Kay Ryan, American poet
- 1946 - Robin Nedwell, English comedy actor (d. 1999)
- 1946 - T.C. Cannon, Kiowa/Caddo artist (d. 1978)
- 1947 - Barbara Dickson, Scottish singer
- 1947 - Denis Lawson, Scottish actor
- 1947 - Meat Loaf, American singer
- 1947 - Liz Torres, American actress and singer
- 1948 - Michele Dotrice, English actress
- 1948 - A Martinez, American actor
- 1948 - Tom Braidwood, Canadian actor
- 1948 - John K. Reed, American coral biologist
- 1949 - Graham Richardson, Australian politician
- 1949 - Mike Schmidt, American baseball player
- 1949 - Jahn Teigen, Norwegian singer
- 1950 - Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Japanese actor
- 1951 - Jim Shooter, American comic book writer
- 1951 - Paul Craig, British law professor
- 1951 - Michel Rivard, Québécois singer and composer (Beau Dommage)
- 1952 - Didier Dubois, French mathematician
- 1952 - Dumitru Prunariu, Romanian cosmonaut
- 1952 - André Viger, French Canadian marathoner
- 1953 - Diane Julie Abbott, British politician
- 1953 - Mata Amritanandamayi, Indian religious leader
- 1953 - Greg Ham, Australian musician (Men at Work)
- 1953 - Claudio Gentile, Italian footballer
- 1954 - Ray Hadley, Australian radio broadcaster
- 1958 - Shaun Cassidy, American singer
- 1959 - Beth Heiden, American speed skater
- 1960 - Barron Lerner, American physician and historian
- 1960 - Jean-Marc Barr, French-American actor and director
- 1961 - Irvine Welsh, Scottish writer
- 1961 - Andy Lau, Hong Kong actor and singer
- 1964 - Stephan Jenkins, American singer (Third Eye Blind)
- 1965 - Ricky Fuji, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1965 - Steve Kerr, American basketball player
- 1965 - Peter MacKay, Canadian political leader
- 1965 - Alexis Stewart, American radio personality
- 1965 - Bernard Lord, Premier of New Brunswick
- 1966 - Lorenzo Cherubini, Italian singer (Jovanotti)
- 1967 - Uche Okechukwu, Nigerian international football player
- 1970 - Yoshiharu Habu, Japanese professional shogi player
- 1970 - Tamara Taylor, American actress(Bones)
- 1971 - Li Yapeng, Chinese actor
- 1971 - Amanda Detmer, American actress
- 1972 - Sylvia Crawley, American basketball player
- 1972 - Clara Hughes, Canadian cyclist
- 1972 - Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress
- 1972 - Craig L. Rice, American Politician
- 1973 - Chris Demakes, American singer/guitarist (Less Than Jake)
- 1976 - Dean Butterworth, English musician
- 1976 - Matt Harding, American video game developer
- 1976 - Jason Phillips, American baseball player
- 1976 - Francesco Totti, Italian footballer
- 1977 - Andrus Värnik, Estonian javelin thrower
- 1978 - Brad Arnold, American singer (3 Doors Down)
- 1978 - Jon Rauch, American baseball player
- 1979 - Jon Garland, American baseball player
- 1979 - Zita Görög, Hungarian actress and model
- 1979 - Christian Jones, Australian racing driver
- 1979 - Steve Simpson, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1980 - Asashoryu, Mongolian sumo wrestler
- 1981 - Lakshmipathy Balaji, Indian cricketer
- 1981 - Sophie Crumb, American comics artist
- 1981 - Brendon McCullum, New Zealand cricketer
- 1981 - Cytherea, American adult actress
- 1982 - Darrent Williams, American football player (d. 2007)
- 1982 - Lil Wayne, American rapper
- 1983 - Travis MacRae, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1983 - Shermon Tang, Hong Kong actress
- 1983 - Jeon Hye Bin, Korean actress
- 1984 - Paul Bevan, Australian rules footballer
- 1984 - John Lannan, American baseball player
- 1984 - Avril Lavigne, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1986 - Ricardo Risatti, Argentine racing driver
- 1989 - Park Tae-Hwan, South Korean swimmer
- 1990 - Kylee Lin, American beauty pageant winner
- 1991 - Adam Chicksen, English Football Player
- 1992 - Jake Burbage, American actor
- 1993 - Jillian P. Vardy, American Hero!
- 1996 - Iman bint Al Abdullah II, princess of Jordan
- 1996 - Daeg Faerch, Danish-born Canadian actor
Deaths
- 1249 - Count Raymond VII of Toulouse (b. 1197)
- 1304 - John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey, English soldier
- 1404 - William of Wykeham, English bishop (b. 1320)
- 1557 - Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (b. 1497)
- 1590 - Pope Urban VII (b. 1521)
- 1615 - Arbella Stuart, English noblewoman (b. 1575)
- 1651 - Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1573)
- 1660 - Vincent de Paul, French saint (b. 1580)
- 1700 - Pope Innocent XII (b. 1615)
- 1719 - George Smalridge, English Bishop of Bristol (b. 1662)
- 1730 - Laurence Eusden, English poet (b. 1688)
- 1735 - Peter Artedi, Swedish naturalist (b. 1705)
- 1737 - John Sidney, 6th Earl of Leicester, English privy councillor (b. 1680)
- 1742 - Hugh Boulter, Irish Archbishop of Armagh (b. 1672)
- 1783 - Étienne Bézout, French mathematician (b. 1730)
- 1832 - Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (b. 1781)
- 1876 - Braxton Bragg, American Confederate general (b. 1817)
- 1891 - Ivan Goncharov, Russian author (b. 1812)
- 1911 - Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist (b. 1844)
- 1915 - Remy de Gourmont, French poet (b. 1858)
- 1917 - Edgar Degas, French painter (b. 1834)
- 1921 - Engelbert Humperdinck, German composer (b. 1854)
- 1940 - Walter Benjamin, German philosopher (b. 1892)
- 1940 - Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1857)
- 1944 - Aimee Semple McPherson, American evangelist (b. 1890)
- 1956 - Gerald Finzi, English composer (b. 1901)
- 1956 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete (b. 1911)
- 1960 - Sylvia Pankhurst, English suffragette (b. 1882)
- 1965 - Clara Bow, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1972 - S. R. Ranganathan, Indian mathematician (b. 1892)
- 1974 - Silvio Frondizi, Argentine lawyer, assassinated by the Triple A(b. 1907)
- 1975 - Jack Lang, Australian politician (b. 1876)
- 1979 - Dame Gracie Fields, British comedian (b. 1898)
- 1981 - Robert Montgomery, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1985 - Lloyd Nolan, American actor (b. 1902)
- 1986 - Cliff Burton, American bassist (Metallica) (b. 1962)
- 1991 - Oona O'Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill and 4th wife of Charlie Chaplin (b. 1926)
- 1993 - Jimmy Doolittle, American general (b. 1896)
- 1996 - Mohammad Najibullah, President of Afghanistan (b. 1947)
- 1997 - Walter Trampler, American violist (b. 1915)
- 1998 - Narita Bryan, Japanese racehorse (b. 1991)
- 1998 - Doak Walker, American football player (b. 1927)
- 2003 - Donald O'Connor, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2004 - John E. Mack, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Ronald Golias, Brazilian comedian (b. 1929)
- 2007 - Kenji Nagai, Japanese photojournalist (b. 1957)
- 2008 - Mahendra Kapoor, Indian singer (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances
- RC Saints - Saint Vincent de Paul.
- Ethiopian Orthodox Church - Meskel.
- Also see September 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
- Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Mashíyyat (Will) - First day of the eleventh month of the Bahá'í calendar.
- Belgium - French Community Holiday.
- French Republican Calendar - Balsamine (Impatiens) Day, sixth day in the Month of Vendémiaire.
- World Tourism Day.