January 27 facts for kids

January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 338 days remain until the end of the year (339 in leap years).

January 27th is a day filled with many important events throughout history, from ancient times to the modern era. It's a day when empires changed leaders, big discoveries were made, and new technologies emerged. Many famous people, like the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the author Lewis Carroll, were also born on this day. It's also a day to remember important historical moments, like the end of the Siege of Leningrad and the liberation of Auschwitz.

Historical Events

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 98 – Trajan became the new Roman emperor. Under his rule, the Roman Empire grew to its largest size ever!
• 945 – In the Byzantine Empire, co-emperors Stephen and Constantine were removed from power by Constantine VII, who then became the sole emperor.
• 1302 – The famous writer Dante Alighieri was forced to leave his home city of Florence.
• 1343 – Pope Clement VI issued an important document called a papal bull named Unigenitus. This document explained the power of the pope and the use of indulgences.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1606 – The trial for the Gunpowder Plot began. This was a plan to blow up the English Parliament, and Guy Fawkes was one of the main people involved.
• 1776 – During the American Revolutionary War, a special group of cannons, known as Henry Knox's "noble train of artillery", arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was a big help for the American forces.
• 1785 – The University of Georgia was founded. It was the first public university in the United States to be created by a state government.
• 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovered the continent of Antarctica!
• 1825 – The U.S. Congress approved the creation of Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. This decision led to the forced movement of many Native American tribes, a sad event known as the "Trail of Tears".
• 1868 – The Boshin War began in Japan with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. This battle was a key moment in the Meiji Restoration, which brought the Emperor back to power and ended the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate.
• 1880 – Thomas Edison received a patent for his incandescent lamp, a major step in bringing electric light to the world.

The 20th and 21st Centuries

• 1916 – During World War I, the British government passed a law called the Military Service Act. This law introduced conscription in the United Kingdom, meaning that men could be required to join the military.
• 1918 – The Finnish Civil War began.
• 1924 – Six days after his death, the body of Vladimir Lenin, a key leader in Russia, was placed in a special building called a mausoleum.
• 1928 – In the Australian town of Bundaberg, a diphtheria vaccine was accidentally contaminated, leading to a tragic event affecting children.
• 1944 – During World War II, the long and difficult Siege of Leningrad finally ended after 900 days.
• 1945 – Also during World War II, the Soviet army freed the people who were still held at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp.
• 1951 – Nuclear testing began at the Nevada Test Site in the United States with something called Operation Ranger.
• 1967 – A terrible fire occurred during a test of the Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee sadly lost their lives.
• 1967 – The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom signed the Outer Space Treaty. This important agreement banned putting nuclear weapons in space and said that the Moon and other celestial bodies should only be used for peaceful purposes.
• 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords were signed, officially bringing an end to the Vietnam War.
• 1980 – Six American diplomats secretly escaped from Iran during the Iran hostage crisis with help from the U.S. and Canadian governments. This event is known as the Canadian Caper.
• 1983 – The pilot tunnel for the Seikan Tunnel was completed. This tunnel, between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, is the world's longest underwater tunnel.
• 1996 – In Niger, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara took power in a military coup, removing the country's first democratically elected president.
• 2002 – A large explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, caused many deaths and forced thousands of people to leave their homes.
• 2010 – Apple announced the iPad, a new kind of tablet computer.
• 2011 – The Yemeni Revolution began with thousands of protestors demonstrating in Sana'a.
• 2013 – A fire at a nightclub in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul resulted in many deaths.
• 2017 – A special ceremony was held to officially name the chemical element tennessine.

Famous Births

Born Before the 1600s

• 1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony
• 1546 – Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg
• 1571 – Abbas I of Persia, a powerful ruler.
• 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, a Dutch painter.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

• 1621 – Thomas Willis, an English doctor and anatomist.
• 1662 – Richard Bentley, an English scholar and theologian.
• 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, a German engineer and architect who designed famous buildings like the Würzburg Residence.
• 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a super famous Austrian pianist and composer.
• 1795 – Eli Whitney Blake, an American engineer who invented the Mortise lock.
• 1805 – Samuel Palmer, an English painter.
• 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, a French architect who designed the Lausanne Cathedral.
• 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, a Russian journalist and author.
• 1832 – Lewis Carroll, the English novelist, poet, and mathematician who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
• 1848 – Tōgō Heihachirō, a Japanese admiral.
• 1850 – Samuel Gompers, an important English-American labor leader.
• 1850 – Edward Smith, the captain of the Titanic.
• 1859 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia.
• 1885 – Jerome Kern, an American composer and songwriter.
• 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, a Chinese politician who became the Honorary President of the People's Republic of China.
• 1900 – Hyman G. Rickover, an American admiral.

Born After 1900

• 1903 – John Eccles, an Australian-Swiss neurophysiologist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., an American journalist and publisher.
• 1912 – Arne Næss, a Norwegian philosopher and environmentalist.
• 1918 – Elmore James, an American blues singer-songwriter.
• 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., the American singer-songwriter who created Alvin and the Chipmunks.
• 1921 – Donna Reed, an American actress.
• 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, the first President of Northern Cyprus.
• 1929 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian-Swiss businessman.
• 1930 – Bobby Bland, an American blues singer-songwriter.
• 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, a Russian-Ukrainian gymnast.
• 1934 – Édith Cresson, a French politician who became Prime Minister of France.
• 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, an American physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1940 – James Cromwell, an American actor.
• 1942 – Tasuku Honjo, a Japanese immunologist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1944 – Mairead Maguire, a Northern Irish activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
• 1944 – Nick Mason, the drummer for the famous band Pink Floyd.
• 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, a Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor.
• 1955 – John Roberts, an American lawyer and the 17th Chief Justice of the United States.
• 1956 – Mimi Rogers, an American actress.
• 1957 – Janick Gers, an English guitarist and songwriter.
• 1957 – Frank Miller, an American illustrator and director.
• 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, an American football player and sportscaster.
• 1961 – Gillian Gilbert, an English musician and singer.
• 1964 – Bridget Fonda, an American actress.
• 1965 – Alan Cumming, a Scottish-American actor.
• 1968 – Mike Patton, an American singer and composer.
• 1969 – Patton Oswalt, an American comedian and actor.
• 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, a famous Norwegian skier and biathlete.
• 1976 – Ahn Jung-hwan, a South Korean footballer.
• 1979 – Daniel Vettori, a New Zealand cricketer.
• 1980 – Marat Safin, a Russian tennis player.
• 1981 – Alicia Molik, an Australian tennis player.
• 1983 – Gavin Floyd, an American baseball player.
• 1996 – Braeden Lemasters, an American actor and musician.
• 1998 – Devin Druid, an American actor.

Notable Deaths

Died Before the 1600s

• 98 – Nerva, a Roman emperor.
• 457 – Marcian, a Byzantine emperor.
• 672 – Pope Vitalian.
• 847 – Pope Sergius II.
• 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, a Japanese shōgun.
• 1540 – Angela Merici, an Italian educator and saint who founded the Company of St. Ursula.
• 1596 – Francis Drake, a famous English captain and explorer.

Died Between 1601 and 1900

• 1651 – Abraham Bloemaert, a Dutch painter.
• 1688 – Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang of China.
• 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, an Italian instrument maker who invented the Piano.
• 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, a German philosopher.
• 1851 – John James Audubon, a French-American ornithologist and painter known for his bird illustrations.
• 1873 – Adam Sedgwick, a British geologist and a mentor to Charles Darwin.
• 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, an English architect.

Died After 1900

• 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, a famous Italian composer.
• 1910 – Thomas Crapper, an English plumber.
• 1922 – Nellie Bly, an American journalist and author, famous for her investigative reporting.
• 1940 – Isaac Babel, a Russian writer.
• 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, a Finnish field marshal and the 6th President of Finland.
• 1967 – The crew of Apollo 1 died in a fire during a test:
  • Roger B. Chaffee, an American pilot and astronaut.
  • Gus Grissom, an American pilot and astronaut.
  • Ed White, an American colonel and astronaut.
• 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, an American gospel singer.
• 1983 – Louis de Funès, a French actor.
• 1993 – André the Giant, a famous French professional wrestler and actor.
• 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, an Austrian pianist and composer.
• 2004 – Jack Paar, an American talk show host.
• 2006 – Johannes Rau, the 8th President of Germany.
• 2008 – Suharto, the 2nd President of Indonesia.
• 2009 – John Updike, an American novelist and writer.
• 2010 – J. D. Salinger, an American author who wrote The Catcher in the Rye.
• 2010 – Howard Zinn, an American historian and activist.
• 2014 – Pete Seeger, an American singer-songwriter and activist.
• 2015 – Charles Hard Townes, an American physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 2018 – Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA.
• 2021 – Cloris Leachman, an American actress and comedian.

Special Days and Celebrations

• Christian feast day: Many Christian traditions celebrate saints like Angela Merici, Paul Joseph Nardini, Devota (especially in Monaco), Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló, John Chrysostom, and Sava (in Serbia).
• Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia): This day remembers when the long siege of Leningrad ended during World War II.
• Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances: This day is important for remembering the Holocaust and its victims. It is observed as:
  • Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
  • International Holocaust Remembrance Day
  • Memorial Day (Italy)
  • Other Holocaust Memorial Days around the world.

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot