1789: French National Assembly issues the “Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen”
1883: Krakatoa explodes with massive force
You will also like...
One of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history occurs on Krakatoa (also called Krakatau), a small, uninhabited volcanic island east of Sumatra and west of Java, on August 27, 1883. Heard 3,000 miles away—and believed to have produced the loudest sounds in human history—the explosions threw five cubic miles of earth 50 miles into the air, created 120-foot tsunamis and killed 36,000 people.
1896: The start (and end) of the Anglo-Zanzibar War. It was the shortest war in world history and lasted for just 38 minutes.
1967: Beatles manager Brian Epstein dies
On August 27, 1967, Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles, was found dead of an accidental drug overdose. The following day, the headline in the London Daily Mirror read “EPSTEIN (The Beatle-Making Prince of Pop) DIES AT 32.” Brian Epstein was, by all accounts, the man who truly got the Beatles off the ground, and in John Lennon’s estimation, it was difficult to see how they’d manage to go on without the man who had managed every aspect of the Beatles’ business affairs up until his unexpected death.
1962: NASA Launches Mariner 2. Part of NASA’s Mariner program, the unmanned space probe was the first man-made object to flyby another planet – it encountered Venus on December 14, 1962. The space probe made its last contact with scientists on Earth on January 3, 1963.
1976: Transgender athlete Renée Richards barred from U.S. Open
On August 27, 1976, the United States Tennis Association bars transgender athlete Renée Richards from competing in the U.S. Open as a woman, stating she must pass a chromosomal test. Richards fails the test, sues the USTA and wins the right a year later to compete via a New York Supreme Court ruling.
1984: President Ronald Reagan announces NASA Teacher in Space project, intended to inspire students and honor teachers and spur interest in the fields of science, mathematics and space exploration.
1985: Military coup in Nigeria
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida became the 8th military ruler after he took over the government after overthrowing Muhammadu Buhari in a bloodless coup.
1993: The Rainbow Bridge, a 1,870-foot suspension bridge over Tokyo Bay, completed.
2003: Mars approaches closest to the Earth since 57,617 BC
The next time the two planets will be this close will be in 2287.
2008: US Senator Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be nominated by a major political party for President of the United States, by the Democratic Party.
1991: Moldova gains its Independence
The Eastern European country was part of the Soviet Union since August 2, 1940, from parts of Romania and parts of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991, after the dissolution of the USSR, the country gained its independence.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: August 27
Barbara Bach, 77 Years
Barbara Bach, Lady Starkey is an American actress and former model, born on 27 August 1947. She played the Bond girl Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me. She is married to former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.
Charles Stewart Rolls (27 August 1877 – 12 July 1910)
Charles Stewart Rolls was a British motoring and aviation pioneer, born in London on 27 August 2024. With Henry Royce, he co-founded the Rolls-Royce car manufacturing firm. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident with a powered aircraft, when the tail of his Wright Flyer broke off during a flying display in Bournemouth. He was aged 32.
