Today in History: July 27

Today in History: July 27

1189
Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade.

1214 
1st battle of Bouvines - King Philip II of France vs Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV and King John of England; as a result John lost Normandy and his other possessions in France (hence his nickname John "Lackland")

1298 
Albert (Albrecht) I, son of Rudolf of Habsburg, crowned King of the Germans

1360 
Danish King Waldemar IV destroys Visby, Gotland

1377 
First example of quarantine in Rugusa (now Dubroknik); city council passes law saying newcomers from plague areas must isolation for 30 days (later 40 days, quaranta in Italian). The Black Death was the most fatal pandemic in recorded human history, resulting in the deaths of between 75 and 200 million people.

1549 
1st Christian missionary in Japan, Jesuit priest Francis Xavier reaches Japan but is not permitted to enter any port until 15 August

1586 
Walter Raleigh brings the 1st tobacco to England from Virginia

1643 
Oliver Cromwell defeats Royalists at Battle of Gainsborough

1689 
Battle of Killicrankie: Jacobite Scottish Highlanders under Viscount Dundee defeat royalist force under General MacKay

1789 
US Congress establishes Department of Foreign Affairs now referred to as the State Department

1836 
The ship the "Duke of York" arrives with the first colonists at Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

1857
Indian Rebellion: Sixty-eight men hold out for eight days against a force of 2,500 to 3,000 mutinying sepoys and 8,000 irregular forces.

1866 
Atlantic telegraph cable successfully laid (1,686 miles long)

1880 
Alexander P. Ashbourne patents a process for refining coconut oil

1890 
After years of mental illness and poverty, the Dutch ear-cutting (actually only the lobe) postimpressionist painter shoots himself in the chest.  The bullet was deflected by a rib and passed through his chest, but did little damage to his internal organs. However, the wound became infected and he died on the morning of the 29th. His final words were, "The sadness will last forever."

1909 
British ship SS Waratah is last seen en-route from Durban to Cape Town; 211 on board are missing and no trace of the ship ever found.

1921 
Canadians Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin at the University of Toronto.

1940 
Bugs Bunny appeared opposite Elmer Fudd in “A Wild Hare,” the first of over 175 animated shorts starring the Warner Brothers’ cartoon rabbit.

1953 
North Korea and the United Nations sign armistice to stop fighting. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea at the 38th parallel, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty has been signed.

1965
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill requiring cigarette makers to print health warnings on all cigarette packages about the effects of smoking.

1974 
Watergate scandal: The Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.

1977 
John Lennon is granted a green card for permanent residence in US.

2002 
Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 85, injuring more than 100, largest air show disaster in history