November 27th in History

On This Day in History

  • Alfred Nobel signs his last will and testament, which establishes the Nobel Prize with money from his estate. (1895)
  • The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is held. (1924)
  • Alger Hiss completes his 44 month prison sentence for perjury. (1954)
  • A descent module from the Soviet Mars 2 orbiter becomes the first man-made object to reach the surface of Mars. (1971)
  • Openly gay San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White. (1978)
From the 1927 Macy’s Parade, the first featuring giant balloons

Birthdays

  • Anders Celsius, temperature scale developer (1701)
  • Robert Lowth, bishop, grammarian who first argued that a preposition is a word you should never end a sentence with (1710)
  • Fanny Kemble, actress (1809)
  • Elizabeth Stride, victim of Jack the Ripper (1843)
  • חיים עזריאל ויצמן (Chaim Weizmann), first President of Israel (1874)
  • 松下 幸之助 (Konosuke Matsushita), founder of Panasonic (1894)
  • Vito Genovese, Mafia capo di tutti capi (1897)
  • L. Sprague de Camp, science fiction writer (1907)
  • James Agee, screenwriter (1909)
  • David Merrick, theatre producer (1911)
  • Chick Hearn, sportscaster who invented the phrases “slam dunk” and “no harm, no foul” (1916)
  • Buffalo Bob Smith, host of Howdy Doody (1917)
  • Ernie Wise, English comedian, half of Morecambe and Wise (1925)
  • Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., assassinated Filipino leader (1932)
  • Gail Sheehy, author (1937)
  • Bruce Lee, martial artist (1940)
  • Eddie Rabbitt, singer-songwriter (1941)
  • Jimi Hendrix, singer-songwriter and guitarist (1942)
  • Bill Nye, science guy (1955)
  • Caroline Kennedy, author and attorney, daughter of JFK (1957)
  • Michael Stackpole, science fiction writer (1957)
  • Tim Pawlenty, politician (1960)
  • Samantha Bond, actress (1961)
  • Steve Oedekerk, actor and director (1961)
  • Fisher Stevens, actor (1963)
  • Robin Givens, actress, former spouse of Mike Tyson (1964)
  • Samantha Harris, television host (1973)
  • Jaleel White, actor (1976)

Deaths

  • Horace, poet (8 BCE)
  • Ada Lovelace, mathematician (1852)
  • Clement Studebaker, car manufacturer (1901)
  • Baby Face Nelson, criminal (1934)
  • Eugene O’Neill, playwright (1953)
  • Ross McWhiter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (1975)
  • Lotte Lenya, singer and actress (1981)
  • John Carradine, actor (1988)
  • Buck Leonard, baseball player (1997)
  • Bill Willis, football player (2007)
  • Irvin Kershner, director (2010)

Holidays

November 27 is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years), with 34 days remaining until year’s end.