On This Day — 27 July

2015

Seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.

2015 Gurdaspur attack

2002

Ukraine 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.

Sknyliv air show disaster

1997

About 50 people are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria.

Si Zerrouk massacre

1996

In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Atlanta

1995

The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

Korean War Veterans Memorial

1990

The Jamaat al Muslimeen attempt a coup d'état in Trinidad and Tobago.

Jamaat al Muslimeen

1989

While 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.

Tripoli International Airport

1983

Black 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.

Black July

1981

While 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.

Chihuahua International Airport

1975

Mayor of Jaffna and former MP Alfred Duraiappah is shot dead.

List of mayors of Jaffna

1964

Vietnam 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.

Vietnam War

1963

The Puijo observation tower is opened to the general public at Puijo Hill in Kuopio, Finland.

Puijo tower

1959

The Continental League is announced as baseball's "third major league" in the United States.

Continental League

1955

The Austrian State Treaty restores Austrian sovereignty.

Austrian State Treaty

1955

El Al Flight 402 is shot down by two fighter jets after straying into Bulgarian air space. All 58 people on board are killed.

El Al Flight 402

1949

Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.

De Havilland Comet

1947

In Vatican City, Rome, canonization of Catherine Labouré, the saint whose apparitions of the Virgin Mary originated the worldwide distribution of the Miraculous Medal.

Canonization

1942

World War II: Allied forces successfully halt the final Axis advance into Egypt.

World War II

1940

The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.

A Wild Hare

1929

The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.

Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War

1921

Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.

University of Toronto

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.

Chicago race riot of 1919

1917

World War I: The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.

World War I

1900

Kaiser Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to Huns; for years afterwards, "Hun" would be a disparaging name for Germans.

Wilhelm II

1890

Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.

Vincent van Gogh

1880

Second Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Maiwand: Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan defeat the British Army in battle near Maiwand, Afghanistan.

Second Anglo-Afghan War

1866

The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart's Content, Newfoundland.

Transatlantic telegraph cable

1865

Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina.

Y Wladfa

1857

Indian 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.

Siege of Arrah

1816

Seminole 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.

Negro Fort

1794

French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre is arrested after encouraging the execution of more than 17,000 "enemies of the Revolution".

French Revolution

1789

The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State).

Federal government of the United States

1778

American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant: British and French fleets fight to a standoff.

American Revolution

1775

Founding of the U.S. Army Medical Department: The Second Continental Congress passes legislation establishing "an hospital for an army consisting of 20,000 men."

Army Medical Department (United States)

1714

The 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.

Great Northern War

1694

A Royal charter is granted to the Bank of England.

Royal charter

1689

Glorious Revolution: The Battle of Killiecrankie is a victory for the Jacobites.

Glorious Revolution

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. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland would be included in the Act.

Parliament of England

1549

The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier's ship reaches Japan.

Jesuits

1302

Battle of Bapheus: Decisive Ottoman victory over the Byzantines opening up Bithynia for Turkish conquest.

Battle of Bapheus

1299

According 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.

Edward Gibbon

1214

Battle of Bouvines: Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England's Angevin Empire.

Battle of Bouvines

1202

Georgian–Seljuk wars: At the Battle of Basian the Kingdom of Georgia defeats the Sultanate of Rum.

Georgian–Seljuk wars

1189

Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade.

Frederick Barbarossa

1054

Siward, 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.

Siward, Earl of Northumbria