This Day in History on 27 January

The historical events hold a lot of value for aspirants who are sitting for UPSC competitive exams including the IAS Exam.

On this page, we will list all historical events that occurred on 27 January. The students can refer to them while preparing for all competitive exams and banking exams.

Important Days

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Important Events

1825: The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears”.

1880: Thomas Alva Edison patented an electric lamp.

1888: National Geographic Society convened in Washington.

1926: John Logie beard made his first television appearance.

1931: Mahatma Gandhi was released from jail, ending eight months of imprisonment for his campaign of civil disobedience against British rule. To avoid demonstrations, Gandhi was released late in the evening from the Yerovda jail and put on a night train to Bombay. There was hope in British circles that the release of Gandhi would end the strife and lead to discussions of dominion status. Gandhi made clear, however, that he would persist in his civil disobedience campaign.

1944: World War II: 872 days of the siege of Leningrad by German troops was lifted.

1948: Gandhiji visits Mehrauli Muslim Fair.

1967: Gus Grisham, Edward White, and Roger Schaefer, astronauts, died in a fire during the Apollo 1 test flight at the Kennedy Space Center.

1967: Maharashtra State Text book manufacturing and carriculum modification Corporation established at Pune.

1967: Delimitation Agreement for Warfare in space was signed by 60 nations in United Nation.

1973: An agreement reached in Paris ended the 31-year-old Vietnam War. A powerful nation like America had to retreat in front of Vietnam.

1974: President V. V. Giri dedicated the Nehru Memorial Museum at Tin Murti in New Delhi to the nation.

1983: The world’s largest underwater tunnel (53,900 km) opened in the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido.

1984: First unit of Atomic Energy Production Centre started at Kalpakkam.

1987: P. T. Usha nominated the Asian Athlete of 1986 by the US Sports Academy (USA).

1988: The first ever helicopter mail service was inaugurated at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The first flight was from Port Blair to Havelock Island and its inaugurated by the Governer of Andaman and Nicobar Island.

1994: Union Cabinet approves inclusion of the land reforms laws in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.

1995: Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal open at Kochi port.

1996: ‘Prithvi’, surface-to-surface missile, test-fired successfully.

2000: K.R. Narayanan, President, opposes any tinkering with the Constitution.

Birth/Birth Anniversary

1850: Edward John Smith, a British naval officer. He was the captain of the RMS Titanic and perished when the ship sank on its maiden voyage. 

1859: Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor, and King of Prussia.

1861: Tajuddin Baba, an Indian Sufi Master whose followers considered the last Mujaddid and Qutb. 

1888: Jinvijayji Muni, famous Shwetambar Jain Yati, was born.

1901: Tarkatirtha Laxmanshastri Joshi, the great thinker, master of Sanskrit and editor of Marathi Vishwakosh, was born.

1904: R. P. Kanitkar, veteran writer, nationalist, journalist and editor, was born.

1909: Savita Bhimrao Ambedkar, an Indian social activist, doctor, and the second wife of Babasaheb Ambedkar.

1922: Ajit Khan, was an Indian actor active in Hindi films.

1924: Sabu [Dastagir], actor (Elephant Boy, Drum), was born in India.

1926: Arunkumar Vaidya, former General of Indian Army, was born.

1927: Michael Craig, actor (Escape 2000, Vault of Horror), was born in Pune.

1946: Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan, a Tamil folk singer and composer and a renowned exponent of Tamil folk art.

Michael Craig, Indian-English actor
Michael Craig, Indian-English actor

1957: Frank Miller, an American comic book writer, penciler and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer.

1969: Bobby Deol, an Indian film actor who works in Hindi films.

1969: Vikram Bhatt, an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.

1886: Radhabinod Pal, Indian academic and jurist (d. 1967)

1928: Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter

Death/ Death Anniversary

1556: Humayun, the second emperor of the Mughal Empire.

1574: Raja Bharmal, a Rajput ruler of Amer.

1947: Paul Percy Harris, a Chicago, Illinois, attorney. He founded the club that became the humanitarian organization Rotary International in 1905.

1970: Probir Sen, cricketer, 20 catches & 11 stumpings and 14 Tests for India, passed away.

1972: V. S. Sarvate (Tatya Saheb), great revolutionary writer, passed away.

1986: Pandit Nikhil Ranjan Banerjee, an Indian classical sitarist of the Maihar Gharana.

R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician
R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician

1992: Bharat Bhushan, an Indian actor.

1999: P. Krishnamurthy, former Indian wicketkeeper, died in Hyderabad following a cardiac arrest.

2007: Kamleshwar, a prominent 20th-century Hindi writer, and scriptwriter for Hindi cinema and television.

2009: R. Venkataraman, an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist, and politician who served as a Union Minister and as the 8th President of India.

Further Reading

Month-wise This Day in History