July 27
There are 150 days til Christmas.
1663 – The 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.
1694 – A
Royal charter is granted to the
Bank of England.
1866 – The first permanent
transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart's Content, Newfoundland.
1890 –
Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.
1900 – Kaiser
Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to
Huns; for years afterwards, "Hun" would be a disparaging name for Germans.
1919 – The
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.
1940 – The animated short
A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of
Bugs Bunny.
1949 – Initial flight of the
de Havilland Comet (on the de Havilland Aircraft Company's founder's birthday), the first big ol' jet airliner, giving
Steve Miller something to sing about 28 years later.
1953 – Fighting in the
Korean War ends 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.
1955 – The
Allied occupation of Austria, stemming from World War II, ends.
1958 - Fans of rock & roll music were warned that tuning into music on the car radio could cost you more money. Researchers from the
Esso gas company said the rhythm of rock & roll could cause the driver to be foot heavy on the pedal, making them waste fuel.
1974 –
Watergate 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.
1976 -
Tina Turner filed for divorce from her husband
Ike, ending their violent 16-year marriage and successful musical partnership.
1981 –
Adam Walsh, 6-year-old son of
John Walsh, is kidnapped in Hollywood, Florida and is found murdered two weeks later.
1986 -
Queen became the first western act since
Louis Armstrong in 1964 to perform in Easton Europe when they played at Budapest's
Nepstadion, Hungary, the gig was filmed and released as '
Queen Magic in Budapest'.
1987 –
RMS Titanic Inc. begins the first expedited salvage of the wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
1995 – The
Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
1996 – In Atlanta, United States, a
pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the
1996 Summer Olympics.
2005 – After an incident during
STS-114, NASA grounds the Space Shuttle, pending an investigation of the continuing problem with the shedding of foam insulation from
the external fuel tank.
2007 – News helicopters from Phoenix, Arizona television stations KNXV and KTVK
collide over Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix while covering a police chase.
Births
1667 – Johann Bernoulli (
Bernoulli's Principle); 1824 – Alexandre Dumas, fils; 1882 – Geoffrey de Havilland (founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company); 1905 – Leo Durocher; 1916 – Keenan Wynn; 1922 – Norman Lear; 1927 – John Seigenthaler; 1928 – Joseph Kittinger; 1929 – Jack Higgins; 1931 – Jerry Van Dyke; 1937 – Don Galloway (
Ironside); 1938 – Gary Gygax (co-creator Dungeons & Dragons); 1942 – John Pleshette (
Knot's Landing); 1944 – Bobbie Gentry♪ ♫; 1948 – Peggy Fleming; 1948 – Betty Thomas (
Hill Street Blues);
1949 – Maury Chaykin; 1952 – Roxanne Hart; 1953 – Yahoo Serious (
Young Einstein); 1957 – Bill Engvall; 1964 – Rex Brown
(Pantera); 1969 – Triple H; 1972 – Maya Rudolph; 1975 – Alex Rodriguez; 1977 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers; 1993 – Jordan Spieth
Deaths
1946 – Gertrude Stein; 1958 – Claire Lee Chennault; 1980 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (former Shah of Iran); 1981 – William Wyler; 1984 – James Mason; 1988 – Frank Zamboni (yeah,
that one); 1998 – Binnie Barnes; 2000 – Gordon Solie (sportscaster); 2001 – Leon Wilkeson
(Lynyrd Skynyrd); 2003 – Bob Hope;
2010 – Maury Chaykin; 2012 – R. G. Armstrong