January 27th in History

447 - The Walls of Constantinople are severely damaged by an earthquake, destroying large parts of the wall, including 57 towers.


1186 - Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.

1343 - Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the Pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.

1595 - Sir Francis Drake dies

1606 - Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31st.

1825 - The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears".

1909 - The Young Left is founded in Norway.


1943 - World War II: The VIII Bomber Command dispatched ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-Boat construction yards at Wilhemshafen, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany of the war.

1944 -World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.

1945 - World War II: The Red Army liberates the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp built by the Nazi Germans on the territory of Poland.

1967 - Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.


1973 - The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War.

1974 - The Brisbane River breaches its banks causing the largest flood to affect the city of Brisbane in the 20th century.


1996 - In a military coup Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.

1996 - Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

2002 - An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.

2010 - The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.

Famous Birthdays

1443 - Albert, Duke of Saxony 

1546 - Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg 

1708 - Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia 

1805 - Maria Anna of Bavaria, Queen consort of Saxony 

1805 - Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria

1823 - Edouard Lalo, composer

1850 - Edward J. Smith, captain of the RMS Titanic 

1859 - Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany

1905 - Howard McNear, actor

1921 - Donna Reed, actress

1928 - Michael Craig, actor

1951 - Brian Downey, musician

1954 - Stelios Papafloratos, footballer

1961 - Narciso Rodriguez, fashion designer

1972 - Mark Owen, singer

1981 - Alicia Molik, tennis player

1989 - Daisy Lowe, model

1992 - Stefano Pettinari, footballer