Today On April 27 In History.
What Happened This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
April 27
| 1296 | Edward I defeats the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar. | |
| 1509 | Pope Julius II excommunicates the Italian state of Venice. | |
| 1565 | The first Spanish settlement in Philippines is established in Cebu City. | |
| 1773 | British Parliament passes the Tea Act. | |
| 1746 | King George II wins the battle of Culloden. | |
| 1813 | American forces capture York (present-day Toronto), the seat of government in Ontario. | |
| 1861 | President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus. | |
| 1861 | West Virginia secedes from Virginia after Virginia secedes from the Union. | |
| 1863 | The Army of the Potomac begins marching on Chancellorsville. | |
| 1865 | The Sultana, a steam-powered riverboat, catches fire and burns after one of its boilers explodes. At least 1,238 of the 2,031 passengers–mostly former Union POWs–are killed. | |
| 1909 | The Sultan of Turkey, Abdul Hamid II, is overthrown. | |
| 1937 | German bombers of the Condor Legion devastate Guernica, Spain. | |
| 1941 | The Greek army capitulates to the invading Germans. | |
| 1950 | South Africa passes the Group Areas Act, formally segregating races. | |
| 1961 | The United Kingdom grants Sierra Leone independence. | |
| 1975 | Saigon is encircled by North Vietnamese troops. | |
| 1978 | The Afghanistan revolution begins. | |
| 1989 | Protesting students take over Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. | |
| Born on April 27 | ||
| 1737 | Edward Gibbon, historian (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire). | |
| 1791 | Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph and the code. | |
| 1822 | Ulysses S. Grant, Union general during the American Civil War, 18th President of the United States (1869-1877). | |
| 1840 | Edward Whymper, the first man to climb the Matterhorn. | |
| 1900 | Walter Lantz, cartoonist, creator of Woody Woodpecker. | |
| 1904 | Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet, father of actor Daniel Day-Lewis. | |
| 1927 | Coretta Scott King, civil rights activist, wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. | |