August 27 in History

2011 15 years ago

Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.

Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named stor…

Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.

2009

Internal conflict in Myanmar: The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the…

Myanmar has been in armed conflict since 1948, when the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with…

Internal conflict in Myanmar: The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the…

2006 20 years ago

Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, bound for Hartsfield–Jackson…

Comair Flight 5191 was a scheduled United States domestic passenger flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. On the morning of August 27, 2006, at around 06:07 EDT, t…

Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, bound for Hartsfield–Jackson…

2003

Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", for its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous atmosphere that is p…

Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.

2003

The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to…

The six-party talks were a series of multilateral discussions between 2003 and 2007, held between six states and hosted in Beijing, aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the s…

The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to…

1992

Aeroflot Flight 2808 crashes on approach to Ivanovo Yuzhny Airport, killing all 84 aboard.

Aeroflot Flight 2808 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Mineralnye Vody to Ivanovo, both in Russia, with a stopover in Donetsk, Ukraine on 27 August 1992. While attemp…

Aeroflot Flight 2808 crashes on approach to Ivanovo Yuzhny Airport, killing all 84 aboard.

1991 35 years ago

The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subs…

The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

1991 35 years ago

Moldova declares independence from the USSR.

Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of 33,843 km2 (13,067 sq mi) and a population of 2.38 million. Moldova is bord…

Moldova declares independence from the USSR.

1985

Major General Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria, is ousted from power in a coup…

Muhammadu Buhari was a Nigerian general and politician who ruled as military dictator of Nigeria from 1983 to 1985, and later served as the democratically elected civilian preside…

Major General Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria, is ousted from power in a coup…

1985

Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-51-I to deploy three communication satellites and repair a fourth…

Space Shuttle Discovery is a retired American Space Shuttle orbiter. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operation…

Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-51-I to deploy three communication satellites and repair a fourth…

1982

Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa. Justice Commandos of the Armenian…

A military attaché or defence attaché (DA), sometimes known as a "military diplomat", is an official responsible for military matters within a diplomatic mission, typically an emb…

Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa. Justice Commandos of the Armenian…

1980

South Korean presidential election: After successfully staging the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth, General Chun…

Indirect presidential elections were held in South Korea on 27 August 1980 to fill the vacancy caused by President Choi Kyu-hah's resignation.

South Korean presidential election: After successfully staging the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth, General Chun…

1979

The Troubles: Eighteen British soldiers are killed at the Warrenpoint ambush by the Provisional Irish Republican Army…

The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland …

The Troubles: Eighteen British soldiers are killed at the Warrenpoint ambush by the Provisional Irish Republican Army…

1975

The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel…

Portuguese Timor was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day Timor-Leste from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the…

The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel…

1971 55 years ago

An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role…

A coup d'état, or simply a coup, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent person or leadership. A sel…

An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role…

1964

South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh enters into a triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals…

The Army of the Republic of Vietnam composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor …

South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh enters into a triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals…

1963

An explosion at the Cane Creek potash mine near Moab, Utah kills 18 miners.

Intrepid Potash, Inc., based in Denver, Colorado, is a fertilizer manufacturer. The company is the largest producer of potassium chloride, also known as muriate of potash, in the …

An explosion at the Cane Creek potash mine near Moab, Utah kills 18 miners.

1962

The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.

Mariner 2, an American space probe to Venus, was the first robotic space probe to report successfully from a planetary encounter. The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Marin…

The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.

1956 70 years ago

The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the…

Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station is a former Magnox nuclear power station on the Sellafield site in Cumbria in North West England. Calder Hall was the first full-scale nuclear po…

The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the…

1955

The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published in Great Britain.

Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, i…

The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published in Great Britain.