October 27

Events
Up to 1900
97 - Roman Emperor Nerva adopts the then-44-year-old Trajan.
710 - Saracen invasion of Sardinia.
939 - Edmund I of England becomes king.
1275 - Traditional founding of Amsterdam.
1524 - Italian Wars: French troops lay siege to Pavia.
1553 - Condemned as a heretic, Michael Servetus is burned at the stake just outside Geneva.
1644 - The Second Battle of Newbury takes place in the English Civil War.
1662 - Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France.
1682 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is founded.
1795 - The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, establishing boundaries between the US and the Spanish colonies.
1806 - The French Army enters Berlin.
1810 - The US annexes the former Spanish colony of West Florida.
1827 - Vincenzo Bellini's third opera, Il pirata, has its first performance at La Scala, Milan.
1838 - Governor of Missouri Lilburn Boggs issues an extermination order to Mormons in the state, which would force them either to leave or be killed.
1870 - Franco-Prussian War: Marshal Francois Achille Bazaine surrenders to Prussian forces at the conclusion to the Siege of Metz.
1892 - British passenger steamer Roumania crashes into rocks off Peniche, Portugal.
1901 2000
1904 - New York City's first underground Subway opens.
1907 - Cernova massacre: 15 people are killed in the Hungarian half of Austria-Hungary when a gunman opens fire on a crowd gathered at a church for its consecration.
1914 - World War I: British super dreadnought battleship HMS Audacious is sunk off Tory Island, northwest of Ireland, by a minefield laid by German merchant cruiser Berlin.
1916 - Battle of Segale in Ethiopia.
1922 - Italian fascists, led by Benito Mussolini, begin their March on Rome.
1922 - A referendum in Rhodesia rejects the country's annexation (being taken control of) to the Union of South Africa.
1924 - Soviet Union: The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic is founded.
1936 - Wallis Simpson files for divorce. She later marries Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, after he abdicates the throne.
1944 - World War II: German troops end the Slovak National Uprising in Banska Bystrica.
1953 - British nuclear test Totem 2 is carried out at Emu Field, South Australia.
1954 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African American to join the United States Air Force.
1958 - Iskandar Mirza is deposed as President of Pakistan.
1961 - Mauritania and Mongolia join the UN.
1961 - NASA tests the first Saturn I rocket in Mission-Saturn Apollo 1.
1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis: A nuclear war is narrowly avoided.
1962 - Rudolf Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1962 - A plane carrying Enrico Mattei, a post-war Italian administrator, crashes in mysterious circumstances.
1962 - Australian Dawn Fraser swims the 100 meter-backstroke in less than a minute, as the first woman to do so.
1964 - Ronald Reagan delivers "A Time for Choosing" speech at a Barry Goldwater campaign.
1966 - The UN removes South Africa's mandate over Namibia.
1968 - The 1968 Summer Olympics end in Mexico City.
1971 - The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire.
1979 - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines become independent.
1981 - Soviet submarine U 137 runs aground on the east coast of Sweden.
1991 - Turkmenistan achieves independence from the Soviet Union.
1994 - Gliese 229B is the first substellar mass object to be unquestionably identified.
1995 - Latvia applies for EU membership.
1995 - Former Prime Minister of Italy Bettino Craxi is convicted in-absentia (without attending) for corruption.
1997 - Global stock markets crash because of financial meltdown fears.
1999 - Gunmen open fire on the Armenian Parliament.
From 2001
2002 - The volcano Mount Etna on Sicily erupts.
2002 - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is elected to succeed Fernando Henrique Cardoso as President of Brazil.
2003 - In Malaga, where Pablo Picasso was born, the Museo Picasso (Picasso Museum) is opened.
2003 - Bomb attacks in Baghdad kill over 40 people.
2005 - Riots begin in France after the accidental deaths of two Muslim teenagers.
2006 - Opening of Arsenal F.C.'s Emirates Stadium.
2010 - Former President of Argentina Nestor Kirchner dies aged 60. He had been expected to run for president again in 2011.
2011 - Michael D. Higgins is elected President of Ireland.
2013 - Sebastian Vettel becomes the fourth driver to win four Formula One world titles in a row, and the youngest driver, at age 26, to do so.
2013 - Storms begin to affect parts of western and central Europe, causing destruction and disruption the next day.
2017 - The Parliament of Catalonia declares the region's independence from Spain; The central government in Madrid decides to impose direct rule on Catalonia.
2018 - Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: A gunman shoots and kills 11 people worshipping at a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
2018 - 2018 Leicester City F.C. helicopter crash: A helicopter crash near Leicester City F.C.'s King Power Stadium in Leicester, England, kills 5 people, including the club's Thai owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
2019 - Sophie Wilmes becomes the first female Prime Minister of Belgium, succeeding Charles Michel, who had been chosen to succeed Donald Tusk as President of the European Council.
2019 - Alberto Fernandez wins Argentina's Presidential election against the incumbent Mauricio Macri.
Births
Up to 1900
921 - Chai Rong, Chinese Emperor (d. 959)
1156 - Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse (d. 1222)
1401 - Catherine of Valois, Queen Consort of England (d. 1437)
1466 (assumed) - Erasmus of Rotterdam, Dutch writer and philosopher (d. 1536)
1703 - Johann Gottfried Graun, German violinist and composer (d. 1771)
1728 - James Cook, British naval captain and explorer (d. 1779)
1736 - James Macpherson, Scottish writer, poet and politician (d. 1796)
1744 - Mary Moser, English painter and one of only two female founder members of the Royal Academy (d. 1819)
1760 - August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (d. 1831)
1761 - Geir Vidalin, Bishop of Iceland (d. 1823)
1763 - William Maclure, Scottish geologist (d. 1840)
1782 - Niccolo Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1840)
1811 - Isaac Singer, inventor of the sewing machine (d. 1875)
1811 - Stevens Thomson Mason, first Governor of Michigan (d. 1843).
1828 - Jacob Dolson Cox, 28th Governor of Ohio (d. 1900)
1838 - John Davis Long, 32nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
1842 - Giovanni Giolitti, Italian statesman (d. 1928)
1844 - Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish writer and pacifist (d. 1916)
1854 - William Alexander Smith, Scottish founder of the Boys' Brigade (d. 1914)
1857 - Ernst Trygger, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1943)
1858 - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (d. 1919)
1858 - Saito Makoto, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1936)
1868 - William Gillies, Australian politician, 21st Premier of Queensland (d. 1928)
1869 - Viola Allen, American actress (d. 1948)
1873 - James J. Davis, Welsh-born American politician (d. 1947)
1877 - Walt Kuhn, American painter and cartoonist (d. 1949)
1877 - George Thompson, English cricketer (d. 1943)
1885 - Sigrid Hjerten, Swedish painter (d. 1948)
1889 - Enid Bagnold, English author and playwright (d. 1981)
1889 - Fanny Durack, Australian swimmer (d. 1956)
1894 - Oliver Leese, English general (d. 1978)
1896 - Edith Brown, RMS Titanic survivor (d. 1997)
1901 1950
1902 - Emil Jonsson, Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1986)
1904 - Erno Schwarz, Hungarian footballer (d. 1974)
1906 - Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (d. 2010)
1908 - Lee Krasner, American painter (d. 1984)
1910 - Jack Carson, Canadian actor (d. 1963)
1911 - Leif Erickson, American actor (d. 1986)
1913 - Joe Medicine Crow, American tribal historian, anthropologist and author (d. 2016)
1914 - Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet (d. 1953)
1915 - Harry Saltzman, Canadian theatre and film producer (d. 1994)
1916 - Kazimierz Brandys, Polish writer (d. 2000)
1917 - Oliver Tambo, South African activist (d. 1993)
1917 - Arne Andersson, Swedish athlete (d. 2009)
1918 - Edgar Herschler, 28th Governor of Wyoming (d. 1990)
1918 - Teresa Wright, American actress (d. 2005)
1919 - Tim M. Babcock, 16th Governor of Montana (d. 2015)
1920 - Nanette Fabray, American actress (d. 2018)
1920 - K. R. Narayanan, President of India (d. 2005)
1921 - Warren Allen Smith, American activist (d. 2017)
1922 - Ruby Dee, American actress (d. 2014)
1922 - Ralph Kiner, American baseball player (d. 2014)
1922 - Michel Galabru, French actor (d. 2016)
1922 - Carlos Andres Perez, President of Venezuela (d. 2010)
1922 - George Young, Scottish footballer (d. 1997)
1923 - Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist (d. 1997)
1923 - Ned Wertimer, American actor (d. 2013)
1924 - Bonnie Lou, American singer (d. 2015)
1925 - Warren Christopher, former United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
1925 - Gianni Bonagura, Italian actor (d. 2017)
1930 - Leo Baxendale, English cartoonist (d. 2017)
1931 - Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian writer
1932 - Sylvia Plath, American poet (d. 1963)
1932 - Jean-Pierre Cassel, French actor (d. 2007)
1933 - Floyd Cramer, American musician (d. 1997)
1934 - Elias Querejeta, Spanish film producer and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1937 - Peter Lustig, German television presenter (d. 2016)
1938 - Maurice Hinchey, American politician (d. 2017)
1939 - John Cleese, British actor, writer, and Monty Python member
1939 - Marino Perani, Italian footballer (d. 2017)
1939 - Albert Wendt, Samoan writer
1940 - John Gotti, New York mafia boss (d. 2002)
1941 - Dick Trickle, American racing driver (d. 2013)
1943 - Sherman Kelly, American singer-songwriter (Boffalongo)
1944 - Nikolai Karachentsov, Russian actor (d. 2018)
1945 - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 35th President of Brazil
1945 - Arild Andersen, Norwegian composer and bassist
1946 - Steven R. Nagel, American astronaut, pilot and engineer (d. 2014)
1946 - Carrie Snodgress, American actress (d. 2004)
1946 - Ivan Reitman, Czech-Canadian actor, producer and director
1949 - Garry Talent, American musician (E Street Band)
1950 - Fran Lebowitz, American writer
1950 - Sue Lloyd-Roberts, English journalist (d. 2015)
1951 1975
1951 - K. K. Downing, English musician (Judas Priest)
1951 - Carlos Frenk, Mexican-English physicist, cosmologist and academic
1952 - Roberto Benigni, Italian actor and director
1952 - Francis Fukuyama, American political scientist, economist and author
1952 - Atsuyoshi Furuta, Japanese footballer
1953 - Peter Firth, English actor
1954 - Frank Gray, Scottish footballer
1954 - Mike Kelley, American artist (d. 2012)
1956 - Michele Chardonnet, French athlete
1956 - Christiane Wartenberg, German athlete
1957 - Jeff East, American actor
1957 - Glenn Hoddle, English footballer and manager
1958 - Simon Le Bon, English musician (Duran Duran)
1958 - Manu Katche, French musician
1959 - Rick Carlisle, American basketball player and coach
1961 - Margaret Mazzantini, Italian actress
1962 - Stewart McKimmie, Scottish footballer
1963 - Marla Maples, American actress and model
1963 - Farin Urlaub, German musician and songwriter
1964 - Mary T. Meagher, American swimmer
1967 - Scott Weiland, American musician Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver (d. 2015)
1967 - Simone Moro, Italian mountaineer
1970 - Adrian Erlandsson, musician (Cradle of Filth)
1971 - Elissa, Lebanese singer
1971 - Theodoros Zagorakis, Greek footballer
1972 - Maria Mutola, Mozambican athlete
1972 - Evan Coyne Maloney, documentary movie maker
1972 - Brad Radke, American baseball player
1975 - Zadie Smith, English novelist
1975 - Aron Ralston, American mountaineer and engineer
From 1976
1976 - Ariel Ibagaza, Argentine footballer
1977 - Jiri Jarosik, Czech footballer
1977 - Sheeri Rappaport, American actress
1978 - Toby Petersen, American ice hockey player
1978 - Vanessa-Mae, Singapore-born British musician
1980 - Tanel Padar, Estonian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1980 - Vaclav Noid Barta, Czech singer and actor
1981 - Volkan Demirel, Turkish footballer
1982 - Takashi Tsukamoto, Japanese actor and singer
1984 - Kelly Osbourne, daughter of Ozzy Osbourne
1984 - Kostas Kapetanos, Greek footballer
1984 - Emilie Ullerup, Danish actress
1986 - David Warner, Australian cricketer
1987 - Yi Jianlian, Chinese basketball player
1987 - Viktor Genev, Bulgarian footballer
1988 - Evan Turner, American basketball player
1992 - Stephan El Shaarawy, Italian footballer
1992 - Emily Hagins, American director, producer and screenwriter
1994 - Eddie Alderson, American actor
1997 - Eden Taylor-Draper, English actress
1999 - Haruka Kudo, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
2007 - Dev Singh, SuperIndian
Deaths
Up to 1900
673 - Pope Agatho of Alexandria (b. 654)
939 - King Athelstan I of England (b. 895)
1271 - Hugh II, Duke of Burgundy, French crusader (b. 1213)
1303 - Beatrice of Castile (b. 1242)
1312 - John II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1275)
1327 - Elizabeth de Burgh, wife of Robert I of Scotland (b. 1289)
1430 - Vytautas the Great, Grand Duke of Lithuania (b. 1350)
1439 - Albert II of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1392)
1449 - Ulugh Beg, Persian astronomer, mathematician and Sultan (b. 1394)
1485 - Rudolf Agricola, Dutch writer and educator (b. 1444)
1505 - Tsar Ivan III of Russia (b. 1440)
1553 - Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian and doctor (b. 1511)
1561 - Lope de Aguirre, Spanish explorer (b. 1510)
1605 - Akbar the Great, Mughal Emperor (b. 1542)
1674 - Hallgrimur Petursson, Icelandic poet and hymnist (b. 1614)
1675 - Gilles de Roberval, French mathematician (b. 1602)
1789 - John Cook, Governor of Delaware (b. 1730)
1880 - Thrasyvoulos Zaimis, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1827)
1901 2000
1917 - Arthur Rhys-Davids, English pilot (b. 1897)
1926 - Warren Wood, American golfer (b. 1887)
1935 - Ernest Eldridge, English racing driver (b. 1897)
1942 - Helmuth Hubener, German resistance activist (b. 1925)
1954 - Harry Tate, American soccer player (b. 1886)
1962 - Rudolf Anderson, American pilot (b. 1927)
1962 - Enrico Mattei, Italian politician (b. 1906)
1968 - Lise Meitner, German physicist (b. 1878)
1975 - Rex Stout, American novelist (b. 1886)
1980 - Steve Peregrin Took, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1949)
1980 - John Hasbrouck van Vleck, American physicist (b. 1899)
1986 - Sherman Adams, 67th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1899)
1990 - Xavier Cugat, Catalan-born bandleader (b. 1900)
1990 - Jacques Demy, French director (b. 1931)
1990 - Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor (b. 1922)
1999 - Vazgen Sargsyan, Prime Minister of Armenia (b. 1959)
1999 - Karen Demirchyan, Chairman of the Armenian Parliament (b. 1932)
2000 - Walter Berry, Austrian bass baritone (b. 1929)
From 2001
2001 - Pradeep Kumar, Indian actor, director and producer (b. 1925)
2003 - Walter Washington, American politician (b. 1915)
2003 - Stephanie Tyrell, American songwriter and producer (b. 1949)
2006 - Brad Will, American anarchist and independent journalist (b. 1970)
2010 - Nestor Kirchner, President of Argentina (b. 1950)
2012 - Natina Reed, American singer, producer and rapper (b. 1979)
2012 - Hans Peter Henze, German composer (b. 1926)
2013 - Lou Reed, American musician (b. 1942)
2014 - Daniel Boulanger, French actor and writer (b. 1922)
2014 - Starke Taylor, American politician, Mayor of Dallas, Texas (b. 1922)
2014 - Shin Hae-chul, South Korean singer (b. 1968)
2015 - Philip French, British film critic (b. 1933)
2016 - Prince Mikasa, Japanese royal (b. 1915)
2017 - Hans Kraay Sr., Dutch footballer (b. 1936)
2017 - Punathil Kunjabdulla, Indian writer and physician (b. 1942)
2018 - Freddie Hart, American musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
2018 - Madan Lal Khurana, Indian politician (b. 1936)
2018 - Mario Segale, American businessman (b. 1934)
2018 - Ntozake Shange, American poet and playwright (b. 1948)
2018 - Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Thai businessman and owner of Leicester City F.C. (b. 1958)
2019 - Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian-British human rights activist and dissident (b. 1942)
2019 - Stephen P. Cohen, American political scientist and security expert (b. 1936)
2019 - John Conyers, American politician and civil rights activist (b. 1929)
2019 - Ivan Milat, Australian serial killer (b. 1944)
2019 - Anne Phelan, Australian actress (b. 1940s)
2019 - Hans-Peter Uhl, German politician (b. 1944)
Observances
Independence Day (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turkmenistan)
Days of the year