Historical Events on October 27

  • 1810: The former Spanish colony that would become West Florida is annexed by the U.S.
  • 1838: Missouri Executive Order 44 – also known as the Extermination Order – is issued by Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs. This order calls for all Mormons to either flee the state or be exterminated.
  • 1904: New York’s first underground subway line opens up on this day.
  • 1914: During World War I, the British dreadnought battleship, the HMS Audacious, is sunk off of Tory Island when it runs into a minefield that was laid by the Germans.
  • 1944: Banská Bystrica is captured by German forces during World War II.
  • 1961: The 1st Saturn I rocket is tested by NASA.
  • 1962: Major Rudolf Anderson of the USAF is shot down over Cuba by SA-2 surface-to-air missiles that were supplied to Cuba by the Soviet Union.
  • 1988: The construction of a new United States Embassy in Moscow is suspended by Ronald Reagan due to listening devices found in the structure of the building.
  • 1991: Turkmenistan become independent from the Soviet Union.
  • 1994: The 1st Substellar Mass Object to be unquestionably identified – Gliese 229 B – is discovered on this day.

Famous Birthdays on October 27

  • British explorer James Cook is born in 1728.
  • English painter Mary Moser is born in 1744.
  • American colonel, judge and politician, Juan Seguin is born in 1806.
  • American lawyer and politician John Davis Long is born in 1838.
  • American colonel and 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt is born in 1858.
  • English painter Charles Spencelayh is born in 1865.
  • American author Emily Post is born in 1872.
  • American poet, novelist and short story writer, Sylvia Plath is born in 1932.
  • Japanese author Ryō Hanmura is born in 1933.
  • English comedian, actor and screenwriter, John Cleese is born in 1939.
  • American mob boss John Gotti is born in 1940.
  • American author Fran Lebowitz is born in 1950.
  • English author and journalist A.N. Wilson is born in 1950.
  • American author and political scientist, Francis Fukuyama is born in 1952.
  • English actor Peter Firth is born in 1953.