August 27

Today in History
• 1556 - Holy Roman Emperor Charles V abdicates in favor of his brother Ferdinand I
• 1776 - British defeat Americans in Battle of Long Island
• 1783 - First hydrogen balloon flight (unmanned); reaches an altitude of 900m
• 1828 - Uruguay gains independence during Brazil-Argentina peace talks
• 1832 - Black Hawk, leader of Sauk-indians, gives himself up
• 1859 - 1st successful oil well drilled, near Titusville, Pennsylvania, by Edwin Drake
• 1883 - Krakatoa volcano, erupts with a force of 1,300 megatons and kills approx. 40,000 people
• 1881 - Hurricane hits Florida and Carolinas; about 700 die


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Crab Soup Day
• International Lottery Day
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Day
• Moldova Independence Day
• National Petroleum Day
• Notting Hill Carnival
• Social Justice Sunday
• Burning Man Festival

Birthdays
• 1487 - Anna of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark
• 1666 - Ivan V, co-tsar of Russia (1682-89)
• 1669 - Anne Marie of Orléans, Queen of Italy
• 1698 - Baal Shem Tov, Jewish mystical rabbi (founder of the Hasidic Judaism)
• 1809 - Hannibal Hamlin, American attorney and 15th Vice President of U.S. (1861-65)
• 1877 - Charles Rolls, British aviator and auto manufacturer who co-founded Rolls Royce
• 1884 - Vincent Auriol, President of France (1947-53)
• 1908 - Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th US President (Democrat: 1963-69)