August 27

1626 The Danes are crushed by the Catholic League in Germany, marking the end of Danish intervention in European wars.

1776 The Americans are defeated by the British at the Battle of Long Island, New York.

1793 Maximilien Robespierre is elected to the Committee of Public Safety in Paris, France.

1813 The Allies defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Dresden.

1861 Union troops make an amphibious landing at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

1862 As the Second Battle of Bull Run rages, Confederate soldiers attack Loudoun County, Virginia.

1881 New York state’s Pure Food Law goes into effect to prevent "the adulteration of food or drugs."

1894 The United States congress passes an income tax law as part of a general tariff act, but it is found unconstitutional.

1910 Thomas Edison demonstrates the first "talking" pictures–using a phonograph–in his New Jersey laboratory.

1912 Edgar Rice Burrough’s Tarzan of the Apes first appears in a magazine.

1916 Italy declares war on Germany.

1928 Fifteen nations sign the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact, outlawing war and calling for the settlement of disputes through arbitration. Forty-seven other countries eventually sign the pact.

1941 The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumimaro Konoye, issues an invitation for a meeting with President Roosevelt.

1945 B-29 Superfortress bombers begin to drop supplies into Allied prisoner of war camps in China.

1963 Cambodia severs ties with South Vietnam.

1975 Veronica & Colin Scargill of England complete tandem bicycle ride around the world, a record 18,020 miles (29,000.4 km).

1979 Lord Mountbatten is killed by an Irish terrorist bomb in his sail boat in Sligo, Ireland.

1984 President Ronald Reagan announces NASA Teacher in Space project, intended to inspire students and honor teachers and spur interest in the fields of science, mathematics and space exploration.

1989 Chuck Berry performs his tune Johnny B. Goode for NASA staff in celebration of Voyager II‘s encounter with the planet Neptune.

1991 Moldavia declares independence from USSR.

1993 The Rainbow Bridge, a 1,870-foot suspension bridge over Tokyo Bay, completed.

2003 Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing within 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km).

2008 Democrats nominate Barack Obama for president, first African American nominated by a major political party for the office of President of the United States.

2012 First interplanetary human voice recording is broadcast from the Mars Rover Curiosity.

Born on August 27

1770 George William Hegel, German idealist philosopher.

1871 Theodore Dreiser, novelist (Sister Carrie).

1899 C.S. Forester, novelist and author of the Horatio Hornblower series.

1908 Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States (1963-1969).

1915 Walter Heller, economist; chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors (1961-64); suggested a "War on Poverty" to Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson and tax cuts to stimulate the economy.

1929 Ira Levin, author (Rosemary’s Baby, The Boys from Brazil).

1931 Sri Chinmoy (Chinmoy Kumar Ghose), Indian spiritual leader whose teachings attracted a worldwide following; nominated for Nobel Peace Prize.

1943 Tuesday Weld (Susan Ker Weld), actress; won Golden Globe for Most Promising Female Newcomer, 1960 (Looking for Mr. Goodbar).

1947 Barbara Bach, actress (The Spy Who Loved Me).

1949 Jeff Cook, musician, singer with the band Alabama.

1950 Charles Fleischer, actor, (Laverne and Shirley TV series) comedian, voice-over actor best known as the voice of Roger Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?).

1952 Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens), actor (Pee-Wee’s Playhouse children’s TV series, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure).

1954 Derek Warwick, Formula 1 race car driver.

1975 Jonny (Jonathan) Moseley, Olympic Gold Medal skier; first Puerto Rican on US Ski Team.

1977 Sarah Chalke, actress (Roseanne TV series).

1986 Mario (Mario Dewar Barrett), singer / songwriter ("Let Me Love You"), actor (Freedom Writers), dancer, model; included on Billboard magazine’s Artist of the Decade list for the 2000s.

1988 Alexa Vega, actress, singer (Spy Kids movies, Ruby in Ruby & the Rockits TV series).

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