History of Today in India – 27 April

Explore the history of today 27 April in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 27 April 2026, 04:23 AM

📜 Important Events on 27 April in World History

• 27 Apr 2018: The Panmunjom Declaration is signed between North and South Korea, officially declaring their intentions to end the Korean conflict. Read more
• 27 Apr 2012: At least four explosions hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk with at least 27 people injured. Read more
• 27 Apr 2011: The 2011 Super Outbreak devastates parts of the Southeastern United States, especially the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. Two hundred five tornadoes touched down on April 27 alone, killing more than 300 and injuring hundreds more. Read more
• 27 Apr 2007: Estonian authorities remove the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet Red Army war memorial in Tallinn, amid political controversy with Russia. Read more
• 27 Apr 2007: Israeli archaeologists discover the tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem. Read more
• 27 Apr 2006: Construction begins on the Freedom Tower (later renamed One World Trade Center) in New York City. Read more
• 27 Apr 2005: Airbus A380 aircraft has its maiden test flight. Read more
• 27 Apr 1994: South African general election: The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote. The Interim Constitution comes into force. Read more
• 27 Apr 1993: Most of the Zambia national football team lose their lives in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon en route to Dakar, Senegal to play a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Senegal. Read more
• 27 Apr 1992: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed. Read more
• 27 Apr 1992: Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history. Read more
• 27 Apr 1992: The Russian Federation and 12 other former Soviet republics become members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Read more
• 27 Apr 1989: The April 27 demonstrations, student-led protests responding to the April 26 Editorial, during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Read more
• 27 Apr 1987: The U.S. Department of Justice bars Austrian President Kurt Waldheim (and his wife, Elisabeth, who had also been a Nazi) from entering the US, charging that he had aided in the deportations and executions of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II. Read more
• 27 Apr 1986: The city of Pripyat and surrounding areas are evacuated due to the Chernobyl disaster. Read more
• 27 Apr 1978: John Ehrlichman, a former aide to U.S. President Richard Nixon, is released from the Federal Correctional Institution, Safford, Arizona, after serving 18 months for Watergate-related crimes. Read more
• 27 Apr 1978: The Saur Revolution begins in Afghanistan, ending the following morning with the murder of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Read more
• 27 Apr 1978: Willow Island disaster: In the deadliest construction accident in United States history, 51 construction workers are killed when a cooling tower under construction collapses at the Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia. Read more
• 27 Apr 1976: Thirty-seven people are killed when American Airlines Flight 625 crashes at Cyril E. King Airport in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Read more
• 27 Apr 1974: 109 people are killed in a plane crash near Pulkovo Airport. Read more
• 27 Apr 1967: Expo 67 officially opens in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with a large opening ceremony broadcast around the world. It opens to the public the next day. Read more
• 27 Apr 1953: Operation Moolah offers $50,000 to any pilot who defects with a fully mission-capable Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 to South Korea. The first pilot was to receive $100,000. Read more
• 27 Apr 1945: World War II: The last German formations withdraw from Finland to Norway. The Lapland War and thus, World War II in Finland, comes to an end and the Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn photograph is taken. Read more
• 27 Apr 1945: World War II: Benito Mussolini is arrested by Italian partisans in Dongo, while attempting escape disguised as a German soldier. Read more
• 27 Apr 1941: World War II: German troops enter Athens. Read more
• 27 Apr 1936: The United Auto Workers (UAW) gains autonomy from the American Federation of Labor. Read more
• 27 Apr 1927: Carabineros de Chile (Chilean national police force and gendarmerie) are created. Read more
• 27 Apr 1911: The Second Canton Uprising takes place in Guangzhou, Qing China, but is suppressed. Read more
• 27 Apr 1909: Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V. Read more
• 27 Apr 1906: The State Duma of the Russian Empire meets for the first time. Read more
• 27 Apr 1861: American President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus. Read more
• 27 Apr 1813: War of 1812: American troops capture York, the capital of Upper Canada, in the Battle of York. Read more
• 27 Apr 1805: First Barbary War: United States Marines and Berbers attack the Tripolitan city of Derna (The "shores of Tripoli" in the Marines' Hymn). Read more

🎂 Important Births on 27 April in World History

• 27 Apr 2005: Mathys Tel, French footballer Mathys Henri Tel is a French professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder or forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Read more
• 27 Apr 2004: Arch Manning, American football player Archibald Charles Manning is an American college football quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. He is a member of the Manning family of football players. Read more
• 27 Apr 2003: Xavier Worthy, American football player Xavier Worthy is an American professional football wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, earning three All-Big 12 honors. Worthy holds the 40-yard dash record at the NFL Combine and was selected by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. Read more
• 27 Apr 2002: Anthony Elanga, Swedish footballer Anthony David Junior Elanga is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Sweden national team. Read more
• 27 Apr 1999: Peter Hola, Australian rugby league player Peter Hola is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL) and the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup. Read more
• 27 Apr 1998: Cristian Romero, Argentine footballer Cristian Gabriel Romero is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, which he captains, and the Argentina national team. Read more
• 27 Apr 1997: Jesse Ramien, Australian rugby league player Jesse Ramien is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL). Read more
• 27 Apr 1995: Nick Kyrgios, Australian tennis player Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios, nicknamed "Kygs", is an Australian professional tennis player. Kyrgios currently ranks 741 in the ATP and has been ranked as high as world No. 13 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won seven ATP Tour singles titles, including the 2019 and 2022 Washington Open, and reached eleven finals, most notably a major final at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. In doubles, Kyrgios has a career-high ranking of world No. 11, achieved on 7 November 2022, winning a major doubles title at the 2022 Australian Open while partnering with Thanasi Kokkinakis. Read more
• 27 Apr 1994: Corey Seager, American baseball player Corey Drew Seager is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is often regarded as one of the best shortstops of his generation. Read more
• 27 Apr 1992: Keenan Allen, American football player Keenan Alexander Allen is an American professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the California Golden Bears before leaving after his junior year. He was selected by the then San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. Allen has also played for the Chicago Bears. Read more
• 27 Apr 1991: Lara Gut, Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer who competes in all disciplines and specializes in the speed events of downhill and Super-G. She won the gold medal in the super-G event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. With 48 World Cup victories to her name across 3 disciplines, she is one of the all-time greats in Alpine skiing history. She is the first woman with at least ten World Cup victories in three different disciplines. With six Super-G globes, which is an overall record, 24 World Cup victories and both an olympic and world championships gold medal, she can be considered the most successful alpine skier in Super-G of all time. Read more
• 27 Apr 1990: Austin Dillon, American race car driver Austin Reed Dillon is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. He is the grandson of RCR team owner Richard Childress, the older brother of Ty Dillon, who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, and the son of Mike Dillon, a former racing driver who currently works as RCR's general manager. Read more
• 27 Apr 1989: Lars Bender, German footballer Lars Bender is a German professional football coach and former player who played as a right-back or defensive midfielder. He is currently the manager of Regionalliga Bayern club Wacker Burghausen. He is the twin brother of fellow coach and former player Sven Bender. Read more
• 27 Apr 1989: Sven Bender, German footballer Sven Bender is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. He is currently the manager of Regionalliga club SpVgg Unterhaching. He is the twin brother of fellow coach and former player Lars Bender. Read more
• 27 Apr 1988: Lizzo, American singer and rapper Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas, with her family at the age of 10. After college, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she began her recording career in hip-hop. Lizzo released two studio albums, Lizzobangers (2013) and Big Grrrl Small World (2015), before signing with Nice Life Recording Company and Atlantic Records. Her first major-label extended play (EP), Coconut Oil, was released in 2016. Read more
• 27 Apr 1988: Semyon Varlamov, Russian ice hockey player Semyon Aleksandrovich Varlamov is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more
• 27 Apr 1987: Taylor Chorney, American ice hockey player Taylor Chorney is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey player. A defenceman, he played parts of eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Columbus Blue Jackets. Read more
• 27 Apr 1987: William Moseley, English actor William Peter Moseley is an English actor. He is known for his portrayal of Peter Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia (2005–2010) trilogy, which won him a Kids' Choice Award, in addition to nominations for a Saturn Award and a Young Artist Award. He also played Prince Liam in the E! series The Royals (2015–2018). Read more
• 27 Apr 1987: Wang Feifei, Chinese singer and actress Wang Feifei, known professionally as Fei, is a Chinese singer and actress. She was a member of the South Korean girl group miss A from the group's debut in 2010 until its disbandment in 2017. She debuted as a solo artist in 2016 in Korea with the mini album "Fantasy". After departing Korea in 2018, Fei has been pursuing her solo career in mainland China. In 2021, Fei released Chinese mini album "Fearless", an independent production by Wang Feifei Studio. She had also ventured into acting in China with roles in My Marvelous Fable and One and Only. Read more
• 27 Apr 1986: Jenna Coleman, English actress Jenna-Louise Coleman is a British actress who is best known as Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale (2005–2009), Clara Oswald in Doctor Who and Queen Victoria in Victoria (2016–2019). She has received various accolades, including nominations for an International Emmy Award, as well as for the BAFTA Cymru and BAFTA Scotland Awards. Read more
• 27 Apr 1986: Dinara Safina, Russian tennis player Dinara Mubinovna Safina is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 26 weeks, and world No. 8 in doubles. Safina won twelve WTA Tour-level singles titles and nine in doubles, including the women's doubles title at the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She was the runner-up at three major singles tournaments: the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and 2009 French Open, and won an Olympic silver medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Read more
• 27 Apr 1985: Meselech Melkamu, Ethiopian runner Meselech Melkamu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2008 African Athletics Championships, but she is better known for her 29:53.80 run over 10,000 metres in 2009, which until August 2016 ranked her second on the all-time list behind world record holder Wang Junxia. She is one of seven women in history to break the 30-minute barrier and one of four Ethiopians to accomplish the feat. Read more
• 27 Apr 1984: Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player Pierre-Marc Bouchard is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Bouchard played his junior hockey with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and is the older brother of François Bouchard. Bouchard was selected eighth overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild and also played with the New York Islanders. He is the cousin of P. A. Parenteau. Read more
• 27 Apr 1984: Daniel Holdsworth, Australian rugby league player Daniel Holdsworth is an Australian former professional rugby league five-eighth who played in the 2000s and 2010s. Read more
• 27 Apr 1984: Patrick Stump, American musician, singer, and songwriter Patrick Martin Stumph, known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Fall Out Boy, originally from Glenview, Illinois. Read more
• 27 Apr 1983: Ari Graynor, American actress and producer Ariel Geltman Graynor is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series The Sopranos (2001), Fringe (2009–2010), Bad Teacher (2014), I'm Dying Up Here (2017), and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (2024). In film, she has starred in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008), The Sitter (2011), For a Good Time, Call… (2012), and The Disaster Artist (2017). Read more
• 27 Apr 1980: Sybille Bammer, Austrian tennis player Sybille Bammer is a former professional tennis player from Austria. Her career-high ranking is No. 19, which she achieved on 17 December 2007. Read more
• 27 Apr 1980: Christian Lara, Ecuadorian footballer Christian Rolando Lara Anangonó, nicknamed Diablito, is an Ecuadorian former footballer who played as a left winger. His last club was Sociedad Atlética Sancor, a team competing in Ecuador’s Segunda Categoría, the third tier of the national football league system. He was an international player for the Ecuador national football team and was part of the squad that participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Read more
• 27 Apr 1979: Vladimir Kozlov, Ukrainian actor and wrestler Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius better known by his ring name Vladimir Kozlov, is a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he won the WWE Tag Team Championship once with Santino Marella. He is trained in freestyle wrestling, rugby, football, sambo, kickboxing, judo, jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts. Read more
• 27 Apr 1976: Isobel Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter and cellist Isobel Campbell is a Scottish singer, songwriter and cellist. She rose to prominence at age nineteen as a member of the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, but left the group to pursue a solo career, first as the Gentle Waves, and later under her own name. She later collaborated with singer Mark Lanegan on three albums. Her latest studio album, Bow To Love, was released in 2024. Read more
• 27 Apr 1976: Sally Hawkins, English actress Sally Cecilia Hawkins is an English actress of stage and screen. She began her career on stage and then moved into film, for which she has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. Read more
• 27 Apr 1976: Walter Pandiani, Uruguayan footballer Walter Gerardo Pandiani Urquiza is a Uruguayan football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Tercera Federación club Palencia. Read more
• 27 Apr 1975: Chris Carpenter, American baseball player Christopher John Carpenter is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals from 1997 to 2012. A Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion, he was also a three-time All-Star selection. Additionally, he was twice named the Sporting News National League Pitcher of the Year, and received votes for a number of Comeback Player of the Year awards after surmounting various injuries. Read more
• 27 Apr 1975: Pedro Feliz, Dominican baseball player Pedro Julio Feliz, is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and St. Louis Cardinals. Read more
• 27 Apr 1975: Kazuyoshi Funaki, Japanese ski jumper Kazuyoshi Funaki is a Japanese former ski jumper. He ranked among the most successful sportsmen of its discipline, particularly in the 1990s. Funaki is known for his special variant of the V-style, in which the body lies flatter between the skis than usual. Read more
• 27 Apr 1974: Frank Catalanotto, American baseball player Frank John Catalanotto is an American baseball coach and former infielder and left fielder, who is the current head baseball coach of the Hofstra Pride. Catalanotto played professional baseball for the Detroit Tigers (1997–1999), the Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays (2003–2006), the Milwaukee Brewers (2009) and the New York Mets (2010). In his career, Catalanotto played all infield and outfield positions except shortstop and center field. He then went on to be the head baseball coach of the NYIT Bears (2019–2020) and Hofstra Pride (2022–present), leading the latter program to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2022. Read more
• 27 Apr 1973: Sharlee D'Angelo, Swedish bass player and songwriter Sharlee D'Angelo is a Swedish musician. He is the bassist for the melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, as well as the classic rock/AOR band the Night Flight Orchestra and the stoner metal band Spiritual Beggars. Read more
• 27 Apr 1973: Sébastien Lareau, Canadian tennis player Sébastien Lareau is a former professional tennis player. He became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam title by winning the 1999 US Open men's doubles with his American partner Alex O'Brien. He also won his nation's first Olympic tennis medal by claiming gold in men's doubles at the 2000 Sydney Games with Daniel Nestor. Read more
• 27 Apr 1972: Nigel Barker, English photographer and author Nigel Barker is an English reality TV show personality, fashion photographer, author, spokesperson, filmmaker, and former model. He is best known for his participation as a judge and photographer on the reality show America's Next Top Model, and was the host of reality show The Face for the American series. Read more
• 27 Apr 1969: Cory Booker, African-American lawyer and politician Cory Anthony Booker is an American politician and lawyer serving as a United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. senator from New Jersey. He was the 38th mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, and served on the Municipal Council of Newark for the Central Ward from 1998 to 2002. Read more
• 27 Apr 1969: Darcey Bussell, English ballerina Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell is a retired English ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest Strictly Come Dancing. Read more
• 27 Apr 1968: Dana Milbank, American journalist and author Dana Timothy Milbank is an American author and columnist for The Washington Post. He has written books about Al Gore, George W. Bush, Glenn Beck, American politics, and the Republican Party. He has appeared as a pundit on various shows. Read more
• 27 Apr 1967: Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander is the current King of the Netherlands, having reigned since 30 April 2013. Read more
• 27 Apr 1967: Tommy Smith, Scottish saxophonist, composer, and educator Thomas William Ellis Smith is a Scottish jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator. Read more
• 27 Apr 1967: Erik Thomson, Scottish-New Zealand actor Erik Thomson is a New Zealand-Australian actor. He played Hades in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena Warrior Princess and Young Hercules, Dr. Mitch Stevens in All Saints and Dave Rafter in Packed to the Rafters. Read more
• 27 Apr 1967: Jason Whitlock, American football player and journalist Jason Lee Whitlock is an American former sports columnist who currently hosts a program for the conservative media company Blaze Media titled Fearless with Jason Whitlock. Whitlock was a sports columnist at The Kansas City Star, AOL Sports, Foxsports.com, and ESPN. He was a radio personality for WHB and KCSP sports stations in the Kansas City area. Whitlock played Division I college football at Ball State as an offensive lineman. Read more
• 27 Apr 1966: Siobhan Finneran, English actress Siobhan Margaret Finneran is a British actress. She made her screen debut in the independent film Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987) and subsequently worked consistently in television drama including roles in Coronation Street (1989–1990), Clocking Off (2000–2002) and The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006). In 2005, Finneran originated the lead female role in the stage play On the Shore of the Wide World and was awarded the Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Also a comedy performer, she appeared as Janice Garvey, a leading character in the first seven series of the ITV sitcom Benidorm (2007–2015). Read more
• 27 Apr 1966: Peter McIntyre, Australian cricketer Peter Edward McIntyre is a former Australian cricketer who played in two Test matches in the 1990s. Read more
• 27 Apr 1966: Yoshihiro Togashi, Japanese illustrator Yoshihiro Togashi is a Japanese manga artist. He began drawing manga at an early age and was recognized for his talent by the publishing company Shueisha while attending college. Togashi has authored several different manga series in different genres since the 1980s. He is best known for writing and illustrating YuYu Hakusho (1990–1994) and Hunter × Hunter (1998–present), which are two of the best-selling manga series of all time. Togashi is married to Naoko Takeuchi, the author of Sailor Moon. Read more
• 27 Apr 1965: Anna Chancellor, English actress Anna Theodora Chancellor is an English actress who has appeared widely on TV, film and in the theatre. She received a nomination for BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lix Storm in The Hour (2011–2012) and has twice been nominated for Olivier Awards, in 1997 for her performances in Stanley at the National Theatre and again in 2014 for Private Lives at the Gielgud Theatre. She was also nominated for an award at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in 2007 and for one at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards in 2013. Read more
• 27 Apr 1963: Russell T Davies, Welsh screenwriter and producer Stephen Russell Davies, known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, from 2005 to 2010 and again since 2023. His other notable works include creating the series Queer as Folk (1999–2000), Bob & Rose (2001), The Second Coming (2003), Casanova (2005), Doctor Who spin-offs Torchwood (2006–2011), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), and The War Between the Land and the Sea (2025), Cucumber (2015), A Very English Scandal (2018), Years and Years (2019), It's a Sin (2021) and Nolly (2023). Read more
• 27 Apr 1962: Ángel Comizzo, Argentinian footballer and manager Ángel David Comizzo Leiva is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
• 27 Apr 1962: Seppo Räty, Finnish javelin thrower and coach Seppo Henrik Räty is a retired Finnish track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He was a World Champion, having won gold in 1987. He was also an Olympic medalist. He was nicknamed Tohmajärven karhu and Tohmajärven tykki. Read more
• 27 Apr 1962: Im Sang-soo, South Korean director and screenwriter Im Sang-soo is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He has twice been invited to compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival: first for The Housemaid in 2010, and then The Taste of Money in 2012. Read more
• 27 Apr 1962: Andrew Selous, English soldier and politician Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Bedfordshire from 2001 until 2024, when the constituency was abolished. Selous stood for the new Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency however the seat was won by the Labour candidate Alex Mayer. Selous lives in Studham in the constituency of Luton South. Read more
• 27 Apr 1961: Andrew Schlafly, American lawyer and activist, founded Conservapedia Andrew Layton Schlafly is an American lawyer and Christian conservative activist. He is the founder and owner of the wiki encyclopedia project Conservapedia. He is the son of the conservative activist and lawyer Phyllis Schlafly. Read more
• 27 Apr 1960: Mike Krushelnyski, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Michael "Kruzer" Krushelnyski is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre/left winger who played 14 years in the National Hockey League (NHL). While playing in the NHL, he won three Stanley Cups as a player with the Edmonton Oilers and one as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. In a career of 897 games, Krushelnyski recorded 241 goals and 328 assists for 569 career points. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in LaSalle, Quebec. Read more
• 27 Apr 1959: Sheena Easton, Scottish-American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer Sheena Shirley Easton is a Scottish singer, songwriter and actress who rose to prominence in the reality television series The Big Time: Pop Singer (1980). Her record sales worldwide are estimated at 20 million copies, and she became the first artist in Billboard history to have a top-five hit on each of the Billboard primary singles charts. Her commercial prominence in the 1980s led to collaborations with Prince, Kenny Rogers, Babyface, L.A. Reid and Nile Rogers. Read more
• 27 Apr 1959: Marco Pirroni, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the late 1970s to the present day. Read more
• 27 Apr 1957: Dietmar Keck, Austrian politician Dietmar Keck is an Austrian politician and member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he has represented Greater Linz since December 2002. Read more
• 27 Apr 1957: Willie Upshaw, American baseball player and manager Willie Clay Upshaw is an American former Major League Baseball player who played first base for the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians (1988), both of the American League. Read more
• 27 Apr 1956: Bryan Harvey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2006) Bryan Taber Harvey was an American musician noted for his fronting role in House of Freaks. Read more
• 27 Apr 1955: Eric Schmidt, American engineer and businessman Eric Emerson Schmidt is an American businessman and former computer engineer who was the chief executive officer of Google from 2001 to 2011 and the company's executive chairman from 2011 to 2015. He also was the executive chairman of parent company Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 2017, and technical advisor at Alphabet from 2017 to 2020. Since 2025, he has been the CEO of Relativity Space, an aerospace manufacturing company. As of 2025, he is one of the wealthiest people in the world according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index with an estimated net worth of US$54.5 billion. Read more
• 27 Apr 1954: Frank Bainimarama, Fijian commander and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Fiji Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his career as an officer in the Fijian navy and commander of the Fijian military.
  Despite being suspended from Parliament, he served as the opposition leader from 24 December 2022 until 8 March 2023, when he resigned and was replaced by Inia Seruiratu. Read more
• 27 Apr 1954: Herman Edwards, American football player, coach, and sportscaster Herman Montmartre Edwards is an American football coach and former player. He played cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Edwards was also a head coach in the NFL from 2001 to 2008 with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. Following the conclusion of his NFL coaching career, Edwards was a football analyst at ESPN from 2009 to 2017. He later served as the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils from 2018 to 2022. Read more
• 27 Apr 1954: Mark Holden, Australian singer, actor, and lawyer Mark Ronald Holden is an Australian singer, actor, TV personality, record producer, songwriter, and barrister. He was a pop star in the 1970s and had four top 20 hit singles, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "I Wanna Make You My Lady" (September), "Last Romance" (November) and "Reach Out for the One Who Loves You". Holden regularly appeared on national pop music show, Countdown. Holden is remembered for his clean-cut image, his white dinner suit and his penchant for handing out carnations to girls on the set of the popular television show Countdown – he was nicknamed "The Carnation Kid". In the 1980s he worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles providing material recorded by Meat Loaf, Joe Cocker, Gladys Knight, Bob Welch and Steve Jones. He was one of three original judges on the television series Australian Idol (2003–07) and the first season (2005) of The X Factor. Read more
• 27 Apr 1953: Arielle Dombasle, French-American actress and model Arielle Dombasle is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough roles were in Éric Rohmer's Pauline at the Beach (1983) and Alain Robbe-Grillet's The Blue Villa (1995). She has worked with a wide variety of filmmakers, including Werner Schroeter on Two (2002), Philippe de Broca on Amazon (2000), Roman Polanski on Tess (1979), Jean-Pierre Mocky on Crédit pour tous (2011) and Raoul Ruiz on Savage Souls (2001). She also starred in the 1984 ABC miniseries Lace and its 1985 sequel Lace II and appeared as a guest on Miami Vice. Dombasle has released thirty-four singles and eleven albums and has directed six movies. Read more
• 27 Apr 1952: Larry Elder, American lawyer and talk show host Laurence Allen Elder is an American conservative political commentator and talk radio host. He hosts The Larry Elder Show, based in California. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio station KABC in 1994 and ran until 2008, followed by a second run on KABC from 2010 to 2014. The show was nationally syndicated, first through ABC Radio Networks from 2002 to 2007 and then Salem Media Group from 2015 to 2022. He maintains ties to The Epoch Times, a newspaper published by the new religious movement Falun Gong. While Elder is primarily known as a conservative, he also self-identifies as a "small l libertarian", summarizing his political ideology as "I believe that a government that governs less governs best." Read more
• 27 Apr 1952: George Gervin, American basketball player George Gervin, nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls. Gervin averaged at least 14 points per game in all 14 of his ABA and NBA seasons, and finished with an NBA career average of 26.2 points per game. Widely regarded as a top ten shooting guard in NBA history, in 1996 Gervin was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and in 2021, Gervin was named as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history. Read more
• 27 Apr 1952: Ari Vatanen, Finnish race car driver and politician Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen is a Finnish former rally driver and politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally four times. In addition, he won the 1997 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. Read more
• 27 Apr 1951: Ace Frehley, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2025) Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley was an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional vocalist, and a founding member of the rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of the Spaceman and originally played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982, before later rejoining in 1996 until his final departure in 2002. Read more
• 27 Apr 1950: Jaime Fresnedi, Filipino politician Jaime dela Rosa Fresnedi, also known as Jimmy Fresnedi, is a Filipino politician, lawyer, and businessman currently serving as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the lone district of Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, since 2022. He previously served as the mayor of Muntinlupa from 1998 to 2007 and from 2013 to 2022 and as vice mayor of Muntinlupa from 1987 to 1998. Read more
• 27 Apr 1950: David W. Duclon, American television writer and producer (died 2025) Warren David Duclon was an American television writer and producer, known for his work on Silver Spoons, Family Matters, Punky Brewster and the legacy sequel of the same name. Duclon was born in Rockford, Illinois, on April 27, 1950. He died in Franklin, Tennessee, on January 15, 2025, at the age of 74. Read more
• 27 Apr 1948: Frank Abagnale Jr., American security consultant and criminal Frank William Abagnale Jr. is an American-French security consultant, author, and convicted felon whose documented crimes consist primarily of check fraud and petty theft targeting individuals and small businesses. Beginning in the late 1970s, Abagnale claimed a far more dramatic criminal past involving long-term impersonations of a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia hospital physician, and a Louisiana assistant attorney general, among other roles. These claims formed the basis of his 1980 autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, co-written with Stan Redding. The book inspired the film of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg in 2002, in which Abagnale was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Read more
• 27 Apr 1948: Josef Hickersberger, Austrian footballer, coach, and manager Josef Hickersberger is a former professional football player and former coach of the Austria national football team and Austrian club side Rapid Wien. Read more
• 27 Apr 1948: Kate Pierson, American singer-songwriter and bass player Catherine Elizabeth Pierson is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52s. She plays guitar, bass, and various keyboard instruments. In the early years, as well as being a vocalist, Pierson was the main keyboard player and performed on a keyboard bass during live shows and on many of the band's recordings, taking on a role usually filled by a bass guitar player, which differentiated the band from their contemporaries. This, along with Pierson's distinctive, wide-ranging singing voice, remains a trademark of the B-52s' unique sound. Pierson has also collaborated with many other artists, including the Ramones, Iggy Pop, and R.E.M.. Read more
• 27 Apr 1947: G. K. Butterfield, African-American soldier, lawyer, and politician George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2004 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in a special election after the resignation of Frank Ballance. Read more
• 27 Apr 1947: Nick Greiner, Hungarian-Australian politician, 37th Premier of New South Wales Nicholas Frank Hugo Greiner is an Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. Greiner was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988. Greiner served as the Federal President of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2017 to 2020. He served as the Consul-General in the United States of America, New York from 2021 to 2023. Read more
• 27 Apr 1947: Pete Ham, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1975) Peter William Ham was a Welsh musician and songwriter who was the lead vocalist and composer of the rock band Badfinger from 1961 until his death in 1975. He also co-wrote the ballad "Without You", a worldwide number one hit for Harry Nilsson that has become a standard covered by hundreds of artists. Ham was granted two Ivor Novello Awards related to the song in 1973. Read more
• 27 Apr 1947: Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2003) Keith Arlen Magnuson was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman from Wadena, Saskatchewan who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1969 and 1979. Read more
• 27 Apr 1947: Ann Peebles, American soul singer-songwriter Ann Lee Peebles is a retired American singer and songwriter who gained popularity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s while signed to Hi Records. Her most successful singles include "I Can't Stand the Rain," which she wrote with her husband Don Bryant and radio broadcaster Bernie Miller, and "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down." In 2014, she was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Read more
• 27 Apr 1946: Franz Roth, German footballer Franz "Bulle" Roth is a former German footballer. He earned four caps for the Germany national football team and was nicknamed "the Bull" due to his physical playing style. Read more
• 27 Apr 1945: Martin Chivers, English footballer and manager (died 2026) Martin Harcourt Chivers was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. He began his career with his hometown club Southampton where he had a successful six years and in 1968 was bought by Tottenham Hotspur for a club and league record sum of £125,000. With Spurs he went on to win the Football League Cup twice and the UEFA Cup in the 1971–72 season. Read more
• 27 Apr 1945: Terry Willesee, Australian journalist and television host Terence Joseph Willesee is an Australian retired journalist and television and radio presenter. Read more
• 27 Apr 1945: August Wilson, American author and playwright (died 2005) August Wilson was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of 10 plays, collectively called The Pittsburgh Cycle , which chronicle the experiences and heritage of the African-American community in the 20th century. Plays in the series include Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990), each of which won Wilson the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1988). In 2006, Wilson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Read more
• 27 Apr 1944: Michael Fish, English meteorologist and journalist Michael Fish is a British weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather. Read more
• 27 Apr 1944: Cuba Gooding Sr., American singer (died 2017) Cuba Mark Gooding Sr. was an American singer. He was the most successful lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, replacing former lead singer Donald McPherson who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1971. According to Billboard, as the lead vocalist he scored five top 10 hits, most notably, "Everybody Plays the Fool" (1972), peaking at No. 2 for three weeks, and peaking at No. 3 on Billboard′s all-genre Hot-100 list. "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" (1974), "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" and "Rolling Down a Mountainside" were also top 10 hits on Billboard charts. He also recorded as a solo artist with hits of his own. Read more
• 27 Apr 1944: Herb Pedersen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Herbert Joseph Pedersen is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, and singer-songwriter who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including country, bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, folk, folk rock, country rock, and has worked with numerous musicians in many different bands. Read more
• 27 Apr 1943: Helmut Marko, Austrian race car driver and manager Helmut Marko is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive who competed in Formula One at 10 Grands Prix from 1971 to 1972. In endurance racing, Marko won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1971 with Martini. He founded RSM Marko in 1984, which later became the Red Bull Junior Team; from 2005 to 2025, he served as an adviser to Red Bull Racing and its related teams in Formula One, winning six World Constructors' Championship titles between 2010 and 2023. Read more
• 27 Apr 1942: Ruth Glick, American author Ruth Glick is an American writer of cookbooks, romance and young adult novels. She has written novels under the pseudonym Rebecca York; until 1997 these were written in collaboration with Eileen Buckholtz. Read more
• 27 Apr 1942: Jim Keltner, American drummer James Lee Keltner is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Read more
• 27 Apr 1941: Fethullah Gülen, Turkish preacher and theologian (died 2024) Muhammed Fethullah Gülen was a Turkish Muslim scholar, preacher, and leader of the Gülen movement, which as of 2010 had 8-10 million of followers globally and had established a network of over 2,000 STEM focused schools in more than 150 countries. Gülen was an influential neo-Ottomanist, Anatolian panethnicist, Islamic poet, writer, social critic, and activist–dissident developing a Nursian theological perspective that embraces democratic modernity. Gülen was a local state imam from 1959 to 1981 and he was a citizen of Turkey until his denaturalization by the Turkish government in 2017. Over the years, Gülen became a centrist political figure in Turkey prior to his being there as a fugitive. From 21 March 1999 until his death on 20 October 2024, Gülen lived in self-exile in the United States near Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Gülen's body was buried inside the Chestnut Retreat Center in Pennsylvania, where he had been residing for the last 25 years. 15,000 attended his funeral in a stadium in New Jersey. Read more
• 27 Apr 1941: Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Indian archaeologist Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti is an Indian archaeologist, Professor Emeritus of South Asian Archaeology at Cambridge University, and a Senior Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge University. He is known for his studies on the early use of iron in India and the archaeology of Eastern India. Read more
• 27 Apr 1941: Lee Roy Jordan, American football player Lee Roy Jordan was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1976. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 1963 NFL draft. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Read more
• 27 Apr 1939: Judy Carne, English actress and comedian (died 2015) Joyce Audrey Botterill, known professionally as Judy Carne, was an English actress. She appeared on American television in the late 1960s in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, where she employed the catch phrase "Sock it to me!". Read more
• 27 Apr 1939: Stanisław Dziwisz, Polish cardinal Stanisław Jan Dziwisz is a Polish Catholic prelate who served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków from 2005 to 2016. He was created a cardinal in 2006. He was a long-time and influential aide to Pope John Paul II, a friend of Pope Benedict XVI, and an ardent supporter of John Paul II's beatification. Read more
• 27 Apr 1938: Earl Anthony, American bowler and sportscaster (died 2001) Earl Roderick Anthony was an American professional bowler who amassed records of 43 titles and six Player of the Year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. For over two decades, his career title count was listed as 41. The count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to retroactively award PBA titles for ABC Masters championships if won by a PBA member at the time. He is widely credited for having increased bowling's popularity in the United States. He was the first bowler to earn over $100,000 in a season (1975), and the first to reach $1,000,000 in lifetime PBA earnings (1982). His ten professional major titles—six PBA National Championships, two Firestone Tournament of Champions titles, and two ABC Masters titles—are the second most all time, tied with Pete Weber and five behind Jason Belmonte. Read more
• 27 Apr 1938: Alain Caron, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1986) Joseph Paul Luc Alain Caron was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in various leagues from 1956 to 1976. Read more
• 27 Apr 1937: Sandy Dennis, American actress (died 1992) Sandra Dale Dennis was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama Splendor in the Grass (1961). For her performance in the comedy-drama film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Read more
• 27 Apr 1937: Robin Eames, Irish Anglican archbishop Robert Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames is an Anglican bishop and life peer, who served as Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006. Read more
• 27 Apr 1937: Richard Perham, English biologist and academic (died 2015) Richard Nelson Perham, FRS, FMedSci, FRSA, was Professor of biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, and Master of St John's College, Cambridge 2004–07. He was also editor-in-chief of FEBS Journal from 1998 to 2013. Read more
• 27 Apr 1936: Geoffrey Shovelton, English singer and illustrator (died 2016) Geoffrey Richard Shovelton was an English singer, actor and illustrator best known for his performances in leading tenor roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1970s. Read more
• 27 Apr 1935: Theodoros Angelopoulos, Greek director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2012) Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely respected filmmakers in the world. He started making films in 1967. In the 1970s he made a series of political films about modern Greece. Read more
• 27 Apr 1935: Ron Morris, American pole vaulter and coach (died 2024) Ronald Hugh Morris was an American track and field athlete who won the national title in pole vault in 1958, 1961 and 1962. He placed fourth at the 1959 Pan American Games and second at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Morris vaulted 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m) in June 1971 for a Masters M35 World Record at the 1971 Los Angeles Senior Olympics. After retiring from competitions, he worked as athletics coach. Morris competed for the USC Trojans track and field team. He died on May 31, 2024, at the age of 89. Read more
• 27 Apr 1933: Peter Imbert, Baron Imbert, English police officer and politician, Lord Lieutenant for Greater London (died 2017) Peter Michael Imbert, Baron Imbert, was Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service from 1987 to 1993, and prior to that appointment Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police from 1979 to 1985. Read more
• 27 Apr 1932: Anouk Aimée, French actress (died 2024) Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus, known professionally as Anouk Aimée or Anouk, was a French film actress who appeared in 70 films from 1947 until 2019. Having begun her film career at age 14, she studied acting and dance in her early years, besides her regular education. Although the majority of her films were French, she also made films in Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany, along with some American productions. Read more
• 27 Apr 1932: Pik Botha, South African lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 8th South African Ambassador to the United States (died 2018) Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha, was a South African politician who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era, the longest-serving in South African history. Known as a liberal within the party, Botha served to present a friendly, conciliatory face on the regime, while criticised internally. He was a leading contender for the leadership of the National Party upon John Vorster's resignation in 1978, but was ultimately not chosen. Staying in the government after the first non-racial general election in 1994, he served under Nelson Mandela as Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs from 1994 to 1996. Read more
• 27 Apr 1932: Casey Kasem, American disc jockey, radio celebrity, and voice actor; co-created American Top 40 (died 2014) Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably American Top 40, as well as the weekly syndicated television series America's Top 10. He was the first actor to voice Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise and Dick Grayson/Robin in Super Friends (1973–1985). Read more
• 27 Apr 1932: Chuck Knox, American football coach (died 2018) Charles Robert Knox was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He served as head coach of three National Football League (NFL) teams, the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills (1978–1982), and Seattle Seahawks (1983–1991). He was a three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year and is a member of the Seahawks Ring of Honor. Read more
• 27 Apr 1932: Derek Minter, English motorcycle racer (died 2015) Derek Minter was an English Grand Prix motorcycle and short-circuit road racer. Born in Ickham, Kent, with education starting in nearby Littlebourne, he was versatile rider who rode a variety of machinery between 1955 and 1967 at increasing levels of expertise and in varying capacities and classes. Read more
• 27 Apr 1932: Gian-Carlo Rota, Italian-American mathematician and philosopher (died 1999) Gian-Carlo Rota was an Italian-American mathematician and philosopher. He spent most of his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked in combinatorics, functional analysis, probability theory, and phenomenology. Read more
• 27 Apr 1931: Igor Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist and educator (died 2021) Igor Davidovich Oistrakh was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by Encyclopædia Britannica as "noted for his lean, modernist interpretations". Read more
• 27 Apr 1929: Nina Ponomaryova, Russian discus thrower and coach (died 2016) Nina Apollonovna Ponomaryova was a Russian discus thrower and the first Soviet Olympic champion. Read more
• 27 Apr 1927: Coretta Scott King, African-American activist and author (died 2006) Coretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968. As an advocate for African-American equality, she was a leader for the civil rights movement in the 1960s. King was also a singer who often incorporated music into her civil rights work. King met her husband while attending graduate school in Boston. They both became increasingly active in the American civil rights movement. Read more
• 27 Apr 1927: Joe Moakley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (died 2001) John Joseph Moakley was an American politician who served as the United States representative for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district from 1973 until his death in 2001. Moakley won the seat from incumbent Louise Day Hicks in a 1972 rematch; the seat had been held two years earlier by the retiring Speaker of the House John William McCormack. Moakley was the last Democratic chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Rules before Republicans took control of the chamber in 1995. He is the namesake of both Joe Moakley Park and the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston. Read more
• 27 Apr 1926: Tim LaHaye, American minister, activist, and author (died 2016) Timothy Francis LaHaye was an American Baptist evangelical Christian minister and political activist who wrote more than 85 books, both non-fiction and fiction, including the Left Behind series of novels depicting apocalypse events after a pre-tribulation rapture. Read more
• 27 Apr 1926: Basil A. Paterson, American lawyer and politician, 59th Secretary of State of New York (died 2014) Basil Alexander Paterson was an American labor lawyer and politician. He served in the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1971 and as the first African-American secretary of state of New York, serving under Governor Hugh Carey from 1979 to 1983. In 1970, Paterson was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Arthur Goldberg ticket. Paterson's son David served as the state's first African-American governor from 2008 to 2011. Read more
• 27 Apr 1926: Alan Reynolds, English painter and educator (died 2014) Alan Munro Reynolds was a British painter. Read more
• 27 Apr 1925: Derek Chinnery, English broadcaster (died 2015)
  Charles Derek Chinnery was the controller of BBC Radio 1 from 1978 to 1985. Read more
• 27 Apr 1924: Vernon B. Romney, American lawyer and politician, 14th Attorney General of Utah (died 2013) Vernon Bradford Romney was an American lawyer who served as the attorney general of Utah from 1969 to 1977, and the Republican candidate for Governor of Utah in 1976. He was a member of the Romney family and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Read more
• 27 Apr 1923: Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, Seminole chief (died 2011) Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, also known as Potackee (Seminole), was the first and so far the only female chairperson of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. A nurse, she co-founded the tribe's first newspaper in 1956, the Seminole News, later replaced by The Seminole Tribune, for which she served as editor, winning a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native American Journalists Association. In 2001 she published her memoir, entitled A Seminole Legend. Read more
• 27 Apr 1922: Jack Klugman, American actor (died 2012) Jack Klugman was an American actor of stage, film and television. Read more
• 27 Apr 1922: Sheila Scott, English nurse and pilot (died 1988) Sheila Christine Scott OBE was an English aviator who broke over 100 aviation records through her long-distance flight endeavours, which included a 34,000-mile (55,000 km) "world and a half" flight in 1971. On this flight, she became the first person to fly over the North Pole in a small aircraft. She was also the first European woman to fly solo around the world. Read more
• 27 Apr 1921: Robert Dhéry, French actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2004) Robert Dhéry was a French comedian, actor, director and screenwriter. Read more
• 27 Apr 1920: Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor (died 1956) Guido Cantelli was an Italian orchestral conductor. Toscanini elected him his "spiritual heir" since the beginnings of his career. He was named music director of La Scala, Milan in November 1956, but his promising career was cut short only one week later by his death at the age of 36 in the 1956 Paris DC-6 crash in France en route to the United States. Read more
• 27 Apr 1920: Mark Krasnosel'skii, Ukrainian mathematician and academic (died 1997) Mark Aleksandrovich Krasnoselsky or Mark Alexsandrovich Krasnoselskii was a Soviet and Russian mathematician renowned for his work on nonlinear functional analysis and its applications. Read more
• 27 Apr 1920: James Robert Mann, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (died 2010) James Robert Mann was a World War II soldier, lawyer and Democratic United States Representative from South Carolina. Read more
• 27 Apr 1920: Edwin Morgan, Scottish poet and translator (died 2010) Edwin George Morgan was a Scottish poet and translator associated with the Scottish Renaissance. He is widely recognised as one of the foremost Scottish poets of the 20th century. In 1999, Morgan was made the first Glasgow Poet Laureate. In 2004, he was named as the first Makar or National Poet for Scotland. Read more
• 27 Apr 1918: Sten Rudholm, Swedish lawyer and jurist (died 2008) Sten John Gustaf Rudholm was a Swedish lawyer, member of the Swedish Academy, former Chancellor of Justice, Chief Justice of Appeal and Marshal of the Realm. Rudholm was prior to his death the only living Swedish non-royal to have been made Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim – the foremost order of Sweden. Read more
• 27 Apr 1917: Roman Matsov, Estonian violinist, pianist, and conductor (died 2001) Roman Voldemarovich Matsov was a Soviet and Estonian violinist, pianist, and conductor. Read more
• 27 Apr 1916: Robert Hugh McWilliams, Jr., American sergeant, lawyer, and judge (died 2013) Robert Hugh McWilliams Jr. was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and a justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. Read more
• 27 Apr 1916: Enos Slaughter, American baseball player and manager (died 2002) Enos Bradsher Slaughter, nicknamed "Country", was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, and Milwaukee Braves from 1938 to 1959. He is best known for scoring the winning run in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series for the Cardinals. A ten-time All-Star, he has been elected to both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. Read more
• 27 Apr 1913: Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (died 2004) Philip Hauge Abelson was an American physicist, scientific editor and science writer. Trained as a nuclear physicist, he co-discovered the element neptunium, worked on isotope separation in the Manhattan Project, and wrote the first study of nuclear marine propulsion for submarines. He later worked on a broad range of scientific topics and related public policy, including organic geochemistry, paleobiology and energy policy. Read more
• 27 Apr 1913: Irving Adler, American mathematician, author, and academic (died 2012) Irving Adler was an American author, mathematician, scientist, political activist, and educator. He was the author of 57 books about mathematics, science, and education, and the co-author of 30 more, for both children and adults. His books have been published in 31 countries in 19 different languages. Since his teenaged years, Adler was involved in social and political activities focused on civil rights, civil liberties, and peace, including his role as a plaintiff in the McCarthy-era case Adler vs. Board of Education that bears his name. Read more
• 27 Apr 1913: Luz Long, German long jumper and soldier (died 1943) Carl Ludwig "Luz" Long was a German Olympic long jumper who won the silver medal in the event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and had a friendship with Jesse Owens, who won the gold medal in that event.
  Luz Long won the German long jump championship six times: in 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939. Read more
• 27 Apr 1912: Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (died 2001) Jacques de Bourbon, Count of Busset was a French novelist, essayist and politician. He was elected to the Académie française on 4 June 1981. He was a senior member of the House of Bourbon-Busset. Read more
• 27 Apr 1912: Zohra Sehgal, Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer (died 2014) Zohra Mumtaz Sehgal was an Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer. Having begun her career as a member of a contemporary dance troupe, she transitioned into acting roles beginning in the 1940s. Sehgal appeared in several British films, television shows, and Bollywood productions in a career that spanned over eight decades. Read more
• 27 Apr 1911: Bruno Beger, German anthropologist and ethnologist (died 2009) Bruno Beger was a German racial anthropologist, ethnologist, and explorer who worked for the Ahnenerbe. In that role he participated in Ernst Schäfer's 1938–1939 expedition to Tibet, helped the SS Race and Settlement Main Office identify Jews, and later helped select human subjects to be killed to create an anatomical study collection of Jewish skulls. Read more
• 27 Apr 1911: Chris Berger, Dutch sprinter and footballer (died 1965) Christiaan David "Chris" Berger was a Dutch athlete, competing in the sprints. Read more
• 27 Apr 1910: Chiang Ching-kuo, Chinese politician, 3rd President of the Republic of China (died 1988) Chiang Ching-kuo was a Chinese and Taiwanese statesman and diplomat who served as the president of the Republic of China from 1978 to 1988. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT), he was the party's chairman from 1975 until his death. His presidency was defined by the end of martial law in Taiwan. Read more
• 27 Apr 1909: Lim Bo Seng, Chinese businessman, resistance fighter of Force 136 and war hero of Singapore (died 1944) Lim Bo Seng was a resistance fighter who played a crucial role in the anti-Japanese fund raising and movement in Singapore and Malaya during World War II. Born in Fujian, China, he moved to Singapore at a young age and was educated at Raffles Institution (RI) before pursuing engineering at the University of Hong Kong. Following his studies, he returned to manage his family's business ventures and emerged as a respected leader within the overseas Chinese community in Southeast Asia. With the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Lim became deeply involved in patriotic and civic efforts, spearheading boycott campaigns against Japanese goods and raising funds in support of China's war resistance. Read more
• 27 Apr 1906: Yiorgos Theotokas, Greek author and playwright (died 1966) Yiorgos Theotokas, formally Georgios Theotokas, was a Greek novelist. Read more
• 27 Apr 1905: John Kuck, American javelin thrower and shot putter (died 1986) John Henry Kuck was an American athlete who won a gold medal in the shot put at the 1928 Summer Olympics setting a new world record at 15.87 m. Earlier that year he set two more world records, but they were not recognized officially. In 1926 he also set a US record in the javelin throw at 65.28 m and won the AAU title. Read more
• 27 Apr 1904: Cecil Day-Lewis, Anglo-Irish poet and author (died 1972) Cecil Day-Lewis, often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake, most of which feature the fictional detective Nigel Strangeways. Read more
• 27 Apr 1904: Nikos Zachariadis, Greek politician (died 1973) Nikos Zachariadis was the leader of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 1931 to 1956. Read more
• 27 Apr 1902: Tiemoko Garan Kouyaté, Malian educator and activist (died 1942) Tiemoko Garan Kouyaté was a Malian teacher, journalist and political activist. He was a pioneer for African nationalism and one of the first Communists in Africa. Read more
• 27 Apr 1900: August Koern, Estonian politician and diplomat, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs in exile (died 1989) August Koern was an Estonian statesman and diplomat. He was Estonian foreign minister in exile from 1 March 1964 to 3 June 1982. Read more
• 27 Apr 1899: Walter Lantz, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and actor (died 1994) Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Read more
• 27 Apr 1898: Ludwig Bemelmans, Italian-American author and illustrator (died 1962) Ludwig Bemelmans was an Austrian-born American writer and illustrator known for his humorous memoirs about working in upscale hotels and restaurants of New York City and illustrations on the walls of Bemelmans Bar, as well as his 1939 picture book Madeline. Read more
• 27 Apr 1896: Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 1963) Rogers Hornsby, nicknamed "the Rajah", was an American baseball player, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants (1927), Boston Braves (1928), Chicago Cubs (1929–1932), and St. Louis Browns (1933–1937). He was named the National League (NL)'s Most Valuable Player (MVP) twice, and was a member of one World Series championship team. Read more
• 27 Apr 1896: William Hudson, New Zealand-Australian engineer (died 1978) Sir William Hudson was a New Zealand-born engineer who headed construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme for hydroelectricity and irrigation in Australia from 1949 to 1967, when he reluctantly retired at 71. The scheme was completed in 1974, under budget and before time. Read more
• 27 Apr 1896: Wallace Carothers, American chemist and inventor of nylon (died 1937) Wallace Hume Carothers was an American chemist, inventor, and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, who was credited with the invention of nylon. Read more
• 27 Apr 1894: George Petty, American painter and illustrator (died 1975) George Brown Petty IV was an American pin-up artist. His pin-up art appeared primarily in Esquire and Fawcett Publications's True but was also in calendars marketed by Esquire, True and Ridgid Tool Company. Petty's Esquire gatefolds originated and popularized the magazine device of centerfold spreads. Reproductions of his work, known as "Petty Girls," were widely rendered by military artists as nose art decorating warplanes during the Second World War, including the Memphis Belle. Read more
• 27 Apr 1894: Nicolas Slonimsky, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1995) Nicolas Slonimsky, born Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy, was a Russian-American musicologist, conductor, pianist, lexicographer, and composer. Best known for his writing and musical reference work, he wrote the Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns and the Lexicon of Musical Invective, and edited Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Read more
• 27 Apr 1893: Draža Mihailović, Serbian general (died 1946) Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović was a Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army (Chetniks), a royalist and nationalist movement and guerrilla force established following the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941. Read more
• 27 Apr 1893: Allen Sothoron, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 1939) Allen Sutton Sothoron was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. As a player, he was a spitball pitcher who spent 11 years in the major leagues playing for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and the St. Louis Cardinals. Born in Bradford, Ohio, Sothoron threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 182 pounds (83 kg). He attended Albright College and Juniata College. Read more
• 27 Apr 1891: Sergei Prokofiev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1953) Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who later worked in the Soviet Union. As the creator of acknowledged masterpieces across numerous music genres, he is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. His works include such widely heard pieces as the March from The Love for Three Oranges, the suite Lieutenant Kijé, the ballet Romeo and Juliet—from which "Dance of the Knights" is taken—and Peter and the Wolf. Of the established forms and genres in which he worked, he created—excluding juvenilia—seven completed operas, seven symphonies, eight ballets, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, a cello concerto, a symphony-concerto for cello and orchestra, and nine completed piano sonatas. Read more
• 27 Apr 1888: Florence La Badie, Canadian actress (died 1917) Florence La Badie was an American-Canadian actress in the early days of the silent film era. She was a major star between 1911 and 1917. Her career was at its height when she died at age 29 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Read more
• 27 Apr 1887: Warren Wood, American golfer (died 1926) Warren Kenneth Wood was an American amateur golfer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 27 Apr 1882: Jessie Redmon Fauset, American author and poet (died 1961) Jessie Redmon Fauset was an editor, poet, essayist, novelist, and educator. Her literary work helped sculpt African-American literature in the 1920s as she focused on portraying a true image of African-American life and history. Her black fictional characters were working professionals which was an inconceivable concept to American society during this time. Her story lines related to themes of racial discrimination, "passing", and feminism. Read more
• 27 Apr 1880: Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (died 1958) Mihkel Lüdig was an Estonian composer, organist and choir conductor. As a composer, he particularly worked on a cappella choral songs. Lüdig is considered one of the major organisers of large-scale musical events in 20th century Estonia. He was born in Vaskrääma, studied at both Moscow and St. Petersburg conservatories, and was a student of Nicolai Soloviev. Read more
• 27 Apr 1875: Frederick Fane, Irish-born, English cricketer (died 1960) Frederick Luther Fane, played cricket for the England cricket team in 14 Test matches. He also played for Essex, Oxford University and London County. Read more
• 27 Apr 1866: Maurice Raoul-Duval, French polo player (died 1916) Maurice Raoul-Duval was a French polo player who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 27 Apr 1861: William Arms Fisher, American composer and music historian (died 1948) William Arms Fisher was an American composer, music historian and writer. Read more
• 27 Apr 1857: Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (died 1914) Theodor Severin Kittelsen was a Norwegian artist. He is one of the most popular artists in Norway. Kittelsen became famous for his nature paintings, as well as for his illustrations of fairy tales and legends, especially of trolls. Read more
• 27 Apr 1853: Jules Lemaître, French playwright and critic (died 1914) François Élie Jules Lemaître was a French critic and dramatist. Read more
• 27 Apr 1850: Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German general and politician (died 1921) Hans Hartwig von Beseler was a German colonel general. Read more
• 27 Apr 1848: Otto, King of Bavaria (died 1916) Otto was King of Bavaria from 1886 until 1913. However, he never actively ruled because of alleged severe mental illness. His uncle, Luitpold, and his cousin, Ludwig, served as regents. Ludwig deposed him in 1913, a day after the legislature passed a law allowing him to do so, and became king in his own right as Ludwig III. Read more
• 27 Apr 1840: Edward Whymper, English-French mountaineer, explorer, author, and illustrator (died 1911) Edward Whymper FRSE was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. Whymper also made important first ascents on the Mont Blanc massif and in the Pennine Alps, Chimborazo in South America, and the Canadian Rockies. His exploration of Greenland contributed an important advance to Arctic exploration. Whymper wrote several books on mountaineering, including Scrambles Amongst the Alps. Read more
• 27 Apr 1822: Ulysses S. Grant, American general and politician, 18th President of the United States (died 1885) Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. He previously led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War in 1865 as commanding general. Read more
• 27 Apr 1820: Herbert Spencer, English biologist, anthropologist, sociologist, and philosopher (died 1903) Herbert Spencer was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species. The term strongly suggests natural selection, yet Spencer saw evolution as extending into realms of sociology and ethics, so he also supported Lamarckism. Read more
• 27 Apr 1812: William W. Snow, American lawyer and politician (died 1886) William W. Snow was an American businessman and politician who served one term as a United States representative from New York from 1851 to 1853. Read more
• 27 Apr 1812: Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (died 1883) Friedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera Martha, which was popular in the 19th century and the early part of the 20th. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 27 April in World History

• 27 Apr 2025: Jiggly Caliente, Filipino-American drag performer, singer and actress (born 1980) Bianca Castro-Arabejo, known professionally as Jiggly Caliente, was a Filipino-American transgender drag performer and entertainer. She rose to prominence competing on the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2012), followed by her debut studio album T.H.O.T. Process (2018), and a recurring role as Veronica Ferocity in the American drama television series Pose (2018–2021). After competing in the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2021), she became a judge on Drag Race Philippines (2022–2024). Read more
• 27 Apr 2024: C. J. Sansom, British author (born 1952) Christopher John Sansom was a British writer of historical crime novels, best known for his Matthew Shardlake series. He also wrote the spy novel Winter in Madrid and the alternative history novel Dominion. He won numerous book awards, including the 2005 Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 2013 and the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2022. Shardlake, a television series based on Sansom's novel Dissolution, started streaming on Disney+ less than a week after his death. Read more
• 27 Apr 2023: Jerry Springer, American politician and actor (born 1944) Gerald Norman Springer was an American broadcaster, journalist, actor, lawyer, and politician. He was best known for hosting the controversial tabloid talk show Jerry Springer from 1991 to 2018. Springer was noted as a pioneer in the emergence of "trash TV"; his eponymous show was a "commercial smash and certifiable cultural phenomenon" in the 1990s. Read more
• 27 Apr 2022: Liao Guoxun, Chinese politician (born 1963) Liao Guoxun was a Chinese politician who served as mayor and deputy party chief of Tianjin. He was of Tujia ethnicity. Read more
• 27 Apr 2021: Manoj Das, Indian writer (born 1934) Manoj Das was an Indian author who wrote in Odia and English. In 2000, Manoj Das was awarded the Saraswati Samman. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2001, the fourth-highest Civilian Award in India, and Padma Bhusan in 2020, the third-highest Civilian Award in India for his contribution to the field of Literature & Education. Read more
• 27 Apr 2017: Vinod Khanna, Indian actor, producer and politician (born 1946) Vinod Khanna was an Indian actor, film producer, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. Recognised as a style and fashion icon, he was often referred to as the "Sexy Sanyasi" in the media, as well a sex symbol. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest stars in Indian cinema history. In 2018, Khanna was posthumously honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest cinematic award, at the 65th National Film Awards. Beyond his film career, Khanna was also a spiritual seeker Read more
• 27 Apr 2017: Sadanoyama Shinmatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1938) Sadanoyama Shinmatsu was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nagasaki Prefecture. He was the sport's 50th yokozuna. After his retirement he was the head coach of Dewanoumi stable and served as head of the Japan Sumo Association. Read more
• 27 Apr 2015: Gene Fullmer, American boxer (born 1931) Lawrence Gene Fullmer was an American professional boxer and World Middleweight champion. He was known as The Utah Cyclone, The Mormon Mauler, and as "Cyclone" Gene Fullmer. Read more
• 27 Apr 2015: Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer (born 1926) Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA), the predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba for many years. He remained in this position until 1991, when the company folded. Read more
• 27 Apr 2015: Alexander Rich, American biologist, biophysicist, and academic (born 1924) Alexander Rich was an American biologist and biophysicist. He was the William Thompson Sedgwick Professor of Biophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. Rich earned an A.B. and an M.D. from Harvard University. He was a post-doc of Linus Pauling. During this time he was a member of the RNA Tie Club, a social and discussion group which attacked the question of how DNA encodes proteins. He has over 600 publications to his name. Read more
• 27 Apr 2014: Yigal Arnon, Israeli lawyer (born 1929) Yigal Arnon was an Israeli lawyer and founder of Yigal Arnon & Co. Read more
• 27 Apr 2014: Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (born 1931) Vujadin Boškov was a Yugoslavian football player and manager. Read more
• 27 Apr 2014: Daniel Colchico, American football player and coach (born 1935) Daniel Mametta Colchico was an American athlete who played defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). Read more
• 27 Apr 2014: Harry Firth, Australian race car driver and manager (born 1918) Henry Leslie Firth, OAM was an Australian racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager with first the Ford works team and then the famed Holden Dealer Team (HDT) well into the 1970s. Firth’s nickname was "the fox", implying his use of cunning ploys as a team manager. Read more
• 27 Apr 2013: Aída Bortnik, Argentinian screenwriter (born 1938) Aída Bortnik was an Argentine screenwriter, nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the film La historia oficial (1985). She has the notable distinction of having written the screenplay for both the first Argentine film nominated for an Academy Award and the first Argentine film to win an Academy Award. Read more
• 27 Apr 2013: Lorraine Copeland, Scottish archaeologist (born 1921) Lorraine Copeland was a British archaeologist specialising in the Palaeolithic period of the Near East. She was a secret agent with the Special Operations Executive during World War II. Read more
• 27 Apr 2013: Antonio Díaz Jurado, Spanish footballer (born 1969) Antonio Díaz Jurado was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
• 27 Apr 2013: Jérôme Louis Heldring, Dutch journalist and author (born 1917) Jérôme Louis Heldring was a Dutch journalist. He was columnist (1953–2012) and editor-in-chief (1968–1972) of the newspapers Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and NRC Handelsblad. Read more
• 27 Apr 2013: Aloysius Jin Luxian, Chinese bishop (born 1916) Aloysius Jin Luxian, SJ was a Chinese Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Shanghai. Read more
• 27 Apr 2013: Mutula Kilonzo, Kenyan lawyer and politician, Kenyan Minister of Justice (born 1948) Mutula Kilonzo was a Kenyan politician and Senior Counsel, who served as Minister of Education after having previously served as Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan and justice and constitutional affairs He belonged to the Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya and was elected to represent Makueni County as Senator in the 2013 general elections. Read more
• 27 Apr 2012: Daniel E. Boatwright, American soldier and politician (born 1930) Daniel Eugene Boatwright was a Democratic politician from the state of California. Boatwright was a longtime state legislator from Concord, California, a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read more
• 27 Apr 2012: Bill Skowron, American baseball player (born 1930) William Joseph Skowron, nicknamed "Moose", was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1954 to 1967 for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, and California Angels. He was an eight-time All-Star and a five-time World Series champion. Read more
• 27 Apr 2011: Marian Mercer, American actress and singer (born 1935) Marian Ethel Mercer was an American actress and singer. Read more
• 27 Apr 2009: Frankie Manning, American dancer and choreographer (born 1914) Frank Manning was an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founders of Lindy Hop, an energetic form of the jazz dance style known as swing. Read more
• 27 Apr 2009: Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean model and actress (born 1983) Woo Seung-yeon was a South Korean model and actress. Read more
• 27 Apr 2009: Feroz Khan (actor), Indian Actor, Film Director & Producer (born 1939) Feroz Khan was an Indian actor, film editor, producer and director best known for his work in Indian cinema. He appeared in over 60 films throughout his career and became one of Bollywood's popular style icons. Feroz Khan rose to prominence with Phani Majumdar's drama film Oonche Log (1965), and starred in successful Hindi films, such as Arzoo (1965), Aag (1967), Safar (1970), Mela (1971), Apradh (1972), Geeta Mera Naam (1974), Khotte Sikkay (1974), Kaala Sona (1975), Dharmatma (1975), Nagin (1976), Shankar Shambhu (1976) and Qurbani (1980). The 2007 superhit Welcome (2007), was his final film. Read more
• 27 Apr 2007: Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (born 1927) Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enlarged the cello repertoire more than any cellist before or since. He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces, forming long-standing friendships and artistic partnerships with composers including Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutosławski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris, Leonard Bernstein, Aram Khachaturian, and Benjamin Britten. Read more
• 27 Apr 2006: Julia Thorne, American author (born 1944) Julia Stimson Thorne was an American writer. She was the first wife of John Kerry, who was a U.S. Senator during their marriage. Read more
• 27 Apr 2005: Red Horner, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1909) George Reginald "Red" Horner was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1928 to 1940. He was the Leafs captain from 1938 until his retirement. He helped the Leafs win their third Stanley Cup in 1932. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965. Read more
• 27 Apr 2002: George Alec Effinger, American author (born 1947) George Alec Effinger was an American science fiction author, born in Cleveland, Ohio. Read more
• 27 Apr 2002: Ruth Handler, American inventor and businesswoman, created the Barbie doll (born 1916) Ruth Marianna Handler was an American business magnate and inventor. She is best known for inventing the Barbie doll in 1959 and being co-founder of toy manufacturer Mattel with her husband Elliot, as well as serving as the company's first president from 1945 to 1975. Read more
• 27 Apr 1999: Al Hirt, American trumpet player and bandleader (born 1922) Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album Honey in the Horn (1963), and for the theme music to The Green Hornet. His nicknames included "Jumbo" and "The Round Mound of Sound". Colin Escott, an author of musician biographies, wrote that RCA Victor, for which Hirt had recorded most of his best-selling recordings and for which he had spent most of his professional recording career, had simply dubbed him "The King." Hirt was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in November 2009. He received eight Grammy nominations during his lifetime, including winning the Grammy award in 1964 for his version of "Java". Read more
• 27 Apr 1999: Dale C. Thomson, Canadian historian, author, and academic (born 1923) Dale Cairns Thomson was a professor and departmental director at the Université de Montréal, professor and Vice-Principal of McGill University and a professor of international relations and Director of the Center of Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. and the author of several important historical works. Read more
• 27 Apr 1999: Cyril Washbrook, English cricketer (born 1914) Cyril Washbrook was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the batting for England with Len Hutton, which he did 51 times, played a total of 592 first-class cricket matches, of which 37 were Tests. Washbrook was named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1947. Read more
• 27 Apr 1998: John W. H. Bassett, Canadian journalist and politician (born 1915) John White Hughes Bassett, was a Canadian media proprietor. Read more
• 27 Apr 1998: Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-American anthropologist and author (born 1925) Carlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-American writer, trained as an anthropologist. Starting in 1968, Castaneda published a series of books that describe alleged training in shamanism that he received under the tutelage of a Yaqui "Man of Knowledge" named Don Juan Matus. While Castaneda's work was accepted as factual by many when the books were first published, the character of Don Juan and the training he described is now generally considered to be fabricated and to have little relation to the actual cultural practices of the Yaqui. Castaneda's early writings featuring Don Juan were bestsellers with the general public, and are considered to be a significant influence on neoshamanism and the New Age movement more broadly. Read more
• 27 Apr 1998: Anne Desclos, French journalist and author (born 1907) Anne Cécile Desclos was a French literary critic, journalist, and novelist who wrote under the pen names Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage. She is best known for her erotic novel Story of O (1954). Read more
• 27 Apr 1998: Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (born 1924) Harris Browning 'Brownie' Ross is often referred to as the father of long-distance running in the United States. Read more
• 27 Apr 1996: William Colby, American diplomat, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (born 1920) William Egan Colby was an American intelligence officer who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from September 1973 to January 1976. During World War II, Colby served with the Office of Strategic Services. After the war, he joined the newly created Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Read more
• 27 Apr 1996: Gilles Grangier, French director and screenwriter (born 1911) Gilles Grangier was a French film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 50 films and several TV series between 1943 and 1985. His film Archimède le clochard was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival, where Jean Gabin won the Silver Bear for Best Actor. He had the most number of successful films at the French box office between 1945 and 2001 with 42 of his films having admissions of 500,000 or more, more than any other. Read more
• 27 Apr 1995: Katherine DeMille, Canadian-American actress (born 1911) Katherine Lester DeMille was an American actress who played 25 credited film roles from the mid-1930s to the late 1940s. Read more
• 27 Apr 1995: Willem Frederik Hermans, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (born 1921) Willem Frederik Hermans was a Dutch author of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, as well as book-length studies, essays, and literary criticism. His most famous works are The House of Refuge, The Darkroom of Damocles, and Beyond Sleep. Read more
• 27 Apr 1992: Olivier Messiaen, French organist and composer (born 1908) Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th century, he was also an outstanding teacher of composition and musical analysis. Read more
• 27 Apr 1992: Gerard K. O'Neill, American physicist and astronomer (born 1927) Gerard Kitchen O'Neill was an American physicist and space activist. As a faculty member of Princeton University, he invented a device called the particle storage ring for high-energy physics experiments. Later, he invented a magnetic launcher called the mass driver. In the 1970s, he developed a plan to build human settlements in outer space, including a space habitat design known as the O'Neill cylinder. He founded the Space Studies Institute, an organization devoted to funding research into space manufacturing and colonization. Read more
• 27 Apr 1989: Konosuke Matsushita, Japanese businessman, founded Panasonic (born 1894) Kōnosuke Matsushita was a Japanese industrialist who founded Panasonic, the largest Japanese consumer electronics company. Matsushita is referred to as the "God of Management" in Japan. Read more
• 27 Apr 1988: Fred Bear, American hunter and author (born 1902) Fred Bear was an American bow hunter and manufacturer. Although he did not start bow hunting until he was 29 and did not master the skill for many years, he is widely regarded as a pioneer in the bow hunting community. Bear was a world traveler, film producer, and the founder of Bear Archery. He died in Gainesville, Florida and is inducted in the Bowhunters Hall of Fame. Read more
• 27 Apr 1977: Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (born 1915) Stanley Adams was an American actor and screenwriter. He appeared in several films, including Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and Lilies of the Field (1963). On television, he is probably best known for his guest appearance in the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" and the 1973 Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles" in which he portrayed outer space peddler Cyrano Jones, purveyor of tribbles. Concurrent with his acting career, Adams also maintained a career as a freelance television scriptwriter from the mid-1950s through the early 70s, writing for shows such as It's Always Jan, Mister Ed, Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, The Outsider, The Flying Nun, Mannix, The Name of the Game, and others. Although he did appear in guest roles in many of these series, Adams generally did not appear as an actor in episodes he wrote. Read more
• 27 Apr 1973: Carlos Menditeguy, Argentinian race car driver and polo player (born 1914) Carlos Alberto Menditéguy was a racing driver and polo player from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He entered 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scoring a total of nine championship points. Read more
• 27 Apr 1972: Kwame Nkrumah, Ghanaian politician, 1st President of Ghana (born 1909) Kwame Kofi Nkrumah, baptised Francis, was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained independence from the United Kingdom. He was then the first prime minister and then the president of Ghana, from 1957 until 1966. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962. Read more
• 27 Apr 1970: Arthur Shields, Irish rebel and actor (born 1896) Arthur Shields was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Read more
• 27 Apr 1969: René Barrientos, Bolivian soldier, pilot, and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (born 1919) René Emilio Barrientos Ortuño was a Bolivian military officer and politician who served as the 47th president of Bolivia from 1964 to 1965 and 1966 to 1969. During his first term, he shared power with Alfredo Ovando as co-president of a military junta and was the 30th vice president of Bolivia in 1964. Read more
• 27 Apr 1967: William Douglas Cook, New Zealand farmer, founded the Eastwoodhill Arboretum (born 1884)
  William Douglas Cook was the founder of Eastwoodhill Arboretum, now the national arboretum of New Zealand, and one of the founders of Pukeiti, a rhododendron garden, close to New Plymouth. He was a "plantsman with the soul of a poet and the vision of a philosopher". Read more
• 27 Apr 1965: Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (born 1908) Edward Roscoe Murrow was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. Read more
• 27 Apr 1964: Jack Critchley, Australian politician (born 1892) John Owen Critchley, was an Australian politician who served as a Labor member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1930 to 1933 and then the Australian Senate from 1947 to 1959. Born at Callington in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, and schooled at Sunnybrae and Petersburg, Critchley completed an apprenticeship as a wheelwright. He was then dismissed for forming a branch of his union. He was a founding member and also served twelve years on the executive committee of the Amalgamated Coach Rolling Stock Makers' and Wheelwrights' Society—later the Australian Coachmakers Employees' Federation then the Vehicle Builders Employees' Federation. He briefly served with the South Australia-raised 10th Battalion on the Western Front in France and Belgium during World War I, but was repatriated as medically unfit, suffering from a neck condition. Read more
• 27 Apr 1962: A. K. Fazlul Huq, Bangladeshi-Pakistani lawyer and politician, Pakistani Minister of the Interior (born 1873) Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq, popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer and politician who served as the first and longest-serving prime minister of Bengal during the British Raj. He presented the Lahore Resolution, the foundational document of the Pakistan Movement, for which he is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of Pakistan. Read more
• 27 Apr 1961: Roy Del Ruth, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1893) Roy Del Ruth was an American filmmaker. Read more
• 27 Apr 1952: Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician and statistician (born 1865) Guido Castelnuovo was an Italian mathematician best known for his contributions to the field of algebraic geometry. He is also renowned for his contributions to the study of statistics and probability theory. Read more
• 27 Apr 1949: Benjamin Faunce, American druggist and businessman (born 1873) Benjamin Rice Faunce Jr. (1873–1949) was an American druggist and businessman who created the soft drink Boost! and established the Boost! Company. Read more
• 27 Apr 1938: Edmund Husserl, Czech mathematician and philosopher (born 1859) Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was an Austrian-German philosopher and mathematician who established the school of phenomenology. Read more
• 27 Apr 1937: Antonio Gramsci, Italian sociologist, linguist, and politician (born 1891) Antonio Francesco Gramsci was an Italian Marxist philosopher, linguist and politician. He was a founding member and one-time leader of the Italian Communist Party. A vocal critic of Benito Mussolini and fascism, he was imprisoned in 1926, and remained in prison until shortly before his death in 1937. Read more
• 27 Apr 1936: Karl Pearson, English mathematician and academic (born 1857) Karl Pearson was an English biostatistician and mathematician. He has been credited with establishing the discipline of mathematical statistics. He founded the world's first university statistics department at University College London in 1911, and contributed significantly to the field of biometrics and meteorology. Pearson was also a proponent of Social Darwinism and eugenics, and his thought is an example of what is today described as scientific racism. Pearson was a protégé and biographer of Sir Francis Galton. He edited and completed both William Kingdon Clifford's Common Sense of the Exact Sciences (1885) and Isaac Todhunter's History of the Theory of Elasticity, Vol. 1 (1886–1893) and Vol. 2 (1893), following their deaths. Read more
• 27 Apr 1932: Hart Crane, American poet (born 1899) Harold Hart Crane was an American poet. Inspired by the Romantics and his fellow Modernists, Crane wrote highly stylized poetry, often noted for its complexity. His collection White Buildings (1926), featuring "Chaplinesque", "At Melville's Tomb", "Repose of Rivers" and "Voyages", helped to cement his place in the avant-garde literary scene of the time. The long poem The Bridge (1930) is an epic inspired by the Brooklyn Bridge. Read more
• 27 Apr 1915: John Labatt, Canadian businessman (born 1838) John Labatt was a Canadian businessman and brewer. Labatt took charge of Labatt Brewing Company, formally known as Labatt and Company, after his father's death in 1866. Labatt helped Labatt Brewing Company eventually become the largest brewery in Canada. Read more
• 27 Apr 1915: Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (born 1872) Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist. Before 1903, he was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed in a relatively tonal, late-Romantic idiom. Later, and independently of his influential contemporary Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed a much more dissonant musical language that had transcended usual tonality but was not atonal, which accorded with his personal brand of metaphysics. Scriabin found significant appeal in the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk as well as synesthesia, and associated colours with the various harmonic tones of his scale, while his colour-coded circle of fifths was also inspired by theosophy. Scriabin is often considered the main Russian symbolist composer and a major representative of the Russian Silver Age. Read more
• 27 Apr 1896: Henry Parkes, English-Australian businessman and politician, 7th Premier of New South Wales (born 1815) Sir Henry Parkes, was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has been referred to as the "Father of Federation" due to his early promotion for the federation of the six colonies of Australia, as an early critic of British convict transportation and as a proponent for the expansion of the Australian continental rail network. Read more
• 27 Apr 1893: John Ballance, Irish-born New Zealand journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of New Zealand (born 1839) John Ballance was a New Zealand politician who served as the 14th premier of New Zealand from January 1891 until his death in April 1893. He governed as the leader of New Zealand's first organised political party, the New Zealand Liberal Party, which was formed shortly after the 1890 election. Read more
• 27 Apr 1882: Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (born 1803) Ralph Waldo Emerson, who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking, as well as a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society and conformity. Friedrich Nietzsche thought he was "the most gifted of the Americans", and Walt Whitman called Emerson his "master". Read more
• 27 Apr 1873: William Macready, English actor and manager (born 1793) William Charles Macready was an English stage actor. The son of Irish actor-manager William Macready the Elder he emerged as a leading West End performer during the Regency era. Read more
• 27 Apr 1813: Zebulon Pike, American general and explorer (born 1779) Zebulon Montgomery Pike was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions through the Louisiana Purchase territory, first in 1805–1806 to reconnoiter the upper northern reaches of the Mississippi River, and then in 1806–1807 to explore the southwest to the fringes of the northern Spanish-colonial settlements of New Mexico and Texas. Pike's expeditions coincided with other Jeffersonian expeditions, including the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Red River Expedition in 1806. Read more

Why is 27 April Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 27 April, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

👉 View complete History of Today archive

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on 27 April in World history?

On 27 April, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

Is History of Today important for competitive exams?

Yes, History of Today is frequently asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, and State PSC exams as part of static GK and current awareness sections.