1586: Tobacco arrived in England for the first time. Sir Walter Raleigh was the man to bring it from Virginia. The tales say that one of his servants who was smoking a pipe had water thrown over him as someone feared he was on fire.
1794: Robespierre is overthrown in France. Maximilien Robespierre, the architect of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, is overthrown and arrested by the National Convention. As the leading member of the Committee of Public Safety from 1793, Robespierre encouraged the execution, mostly by guillotine, of more than 17,000 enemies of the Revolution. The day after his arrest, Robespierre and 21 of his followers were guillotined before a cheering mob in the Place de la Revolution in Paris.
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1830: The July Revolution began in France, leading to the abdication of Charles X and bringing Louis-Philippe to the throne.
1890: Vincent Van Gogh shoots himself. The famed painter, shot himself in the chest. He died of his wounds two days later.
1940: On this day in history, July 27, 1940, Bugs Bunny, now an iconic pop culture cartoon character, debuted in the short animated film “A Wild Hare,” released by Warner Brothers.
1953: Armistice ends Korean War hostilities. After three years of a bloody and frustrating war, the United States, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agree to a truce, bringing the fighting of the Korean War to an end. The armistice ended America’s first experiment with the Cold War concept of “limited war.”
1955: The Austrian State Treaty came into force. The treaty re-established Austria as a democratic and sovereign country after World War II. It also ended the Allied occupation of the country.
1974: The House Judiciary Committee recommends that America’s 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, be impeached and removed from office. The impeachment proceedings resulted from a series of political scandals involving the Nixon administration that came to be collectively known as Watergate.
1985: Coup in Uganda. Tito Lutwa Okello, a Ugandan military officer successfully staged a coup against President Milton Obote. He was ousted by the current president Yoweri Museveni 6 months later.
1988: British pole vault record holder Jeff Gutteridge was banned for life by the British Amateur Athletic Board for taking steroids.
2012: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the 2012 Summer Olympics in London
It was the 3rd time London had hosted the multi-event international sports event. To the audience’s surprise, a stand-in for the Queen entered by skydiving from a helicopter with James Bond’s assistance. The ceremony was called Isles of Wonder and was directed by Danny Boyle.
2019: At least 65 mourners were killed in a gun attack at a funeral near Maiduguri, by suspected Boko Haram militants in north-east Nigeria.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: July 27
Joshua Dariye, 67 years
Joshua Chibi Dariye is a Nigerian politician who served as the senator representing the Plateau Central senatorial district from 2011 to 2019. He previously served as the governor of Plateau State from 1999 to 2004; 2004 to 2006; and from April to May 2007. He was slammed with a 14-year jail sentence for diverting N1.162 billion in state ecological funds while serving as governor from 1999 to 2007.
Olufunmilola Iyanda, 53 Years
Olufunmilola Aduke Iyanda, better known as Funmi Iyanda, is a talk show host, broadcaster, Film and TV producer, media executive, philanthropist, journalist, and blogger. She produced and hosted a talk show, New Dawn with Funmi, which aired on the national network for over eight years.
