September 27: Day of the year

September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 95 days remaining until the end of the year.

Up to 1900

• 1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme River, beginning the Norman Conquest of England.
• 1422 – After the brief Gollub War, the Teutonic Knights sign the Treaty of Melno with the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
• 1529 – The Siege of Vienna begins, as Suleiman I attacks the city.
• 1540 – The Society of Jesus receives its charter from Pope Paul III.
• 1590 – The death of Pope Urban VII ends the shortest papacy in history, lasting just 13 days.
• 1605 – The armies of Sweden are defeated by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Battle of Kirchholm.
• 1777 – Lancaster, Pennsylvania is the capital city of the United States for a day.
• 1821 – Mexico gains independence from Spain.
• 1822 – Jean-François Champollion announces that he has deciphered the Rosetta Stone.
• 1825 – The Stockton and Darlington Railway opens in northern England, having the first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains.
• 1854 – Steamship SS Arctic sinks with 300 people on board in the Atlantic Ocean.
• 1865 – Chile declares war on Spain.

1901 – 2000

• 1903 – The "Wreck of the Old 97" train crash occurs near Danville, Virginia, killing 11 people (including one who later died on October 6), and injuring 7. The crash later becomes well known through songs and musical pieces.
• 1905 – The formula E=mc squared is introduced, devised by Albert Einstein.
• 1908 – The first production of the Ford Model T automobile is built at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1916 – Iyasu V is officially deposed in a palace coup in Ethiopia, in favor of his aunt, Zauditu.
• 1922 – Constantine I of Greece abdicates the throne. His eldest son succeeds him as George II of Greece.
• 1928 – The Republic of China is recognised by the United States.
• 1930 – Bobby Jones wins the US Amateur Championship to complete the Grand Slam of winning all the major golf tournaments of the year.
• 1937 – The Balinese Tiger is declared extinct.
• 1938 – The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth is launched in Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1940 – World War II: Germany, Japan and Italy sign the "Tripartite Pact".
• 1942 – World War II: Last day of the September Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps troops barely escapes after being surrounded by Japanese forces near the Matanikau River.
• 1949 – The design of the Flag of the People's Republic of China (which is founded on October 1) is accepted by the National People's Congress.
• 1957 – In the Azores, the Capelinho volcano erupts on the island of Faial. 300 homes are destroyed and 2,000 people are evacuated.
• 1959 – Almost 5,000 people are killed when a typhoon strikes the island of Honshu, Japan.
• 1961 – Sierra Leone joins the UN.
• 1968 – The stage musical Hair opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London.
• 1973 – The Soviet Union launches the Soyuz 12 spacecraft.
• 1979 – The United States Department of Education receives final approval from the United States Congress to become the 13th US cabinet agency.
• 1983 – Richard Stallman announces the GNU Project.
• 1987 – In Cairo, Egypt, the first Metro line in Africa is opened.
• 1988 – Canadian athlete Ben Johnson is stripped of his Olympic gold medal, after failing a drug test.
• 1993 – The Sokhumi massacre takes place in Abkhazia.
• 1996 – Afghan forces are routed as the Taleban seizes control of Kabul.
• 1997 – The Julie N tanker ship crashes into the Million Dollar Bridge in Portland, Maine, spilling hundreds of gallons of oil.
• 1997 – Communication is lost with the Mars Pathfinder Probe.
• 1998 – Google is founded.
• 1998 – Gerhard Schröder is elected Chancellor of Germany, succeeding Helmut Kohl.

From 2001

• 2001 – In Zug, Switzerland, Friedrich Leibacher shoots 18 people, of which 14 are killed. He then kills himself.
• 2002 – East Timor joins the UN.
• 2003 – The Smart 1 satellite is launched.
• 2005 – Tom and Jerry airs its 162nd, and last, episode.
• 2007 – NASA launches the Dawn probe.
• 2008 – Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese astronaut to perform a space walk.
• 2009 – German Parliamentary Election: Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel of the CDU is allowed to serve a second term in office, after defeating SPD candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier. She enters into a coalition with the Free Democrats under Guido Westerwelle.
• 2014 – The Mount Ontake volcano in Japan erupts.

Up to 1900

• 823 – Ermentrude of Orléans, Frankish Queen (d. 869)
• 1271 – Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, and Poland (d. 1305)
• 1275 – John II of Brabant (d. 1312)
• 1389 – Cosimo de' Medici, Italian art patron and ruler of Florence (d. 1464)
• 1533 – Stephen Bathory, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (d. 1586)
• 1544 – Takenaka Shigeharu, Japanese samurai (d. 1579)
• 1601 – King Louis XIII of France (d. 1643)
• 1643 – Solomon Stoddard, American Puritan clergyman (d. 1729)
• 1657 – Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia, regent of Russia (d. 1704)
• 1677 – Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari, Italian musical composer (d. 1754)
• 1696 – Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (d. 1787)
• 1722 – Samuel Adams, American patriot, revolutionary, writer and statesman (d. 1803)
• 1729 – Michael Denis, Austrian writer, priest and scientist (d. 1800)
• 1765 – Antoine Philippe de la Tremouille, French counter-revolutionary (d. 1794)
• 1772 – Martha Jefferson Randolph, daughter of Thomas Jefferson (d. 1836)
• 1781 – William I of Württemberg (d. 1864)
• 1783 – Agustín de Iturbide, Emperor of Mexico (d. 1824)
• 1792 – George Cruikshank, British artist (d. 1878)
• 1818 – Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, German chemist (d. 1884)
• 1821 – Henri-Frédéric Amiel, Swiss philosopher, poet and critic (d. 1881)
• 1824 – William "Bull" Nelson, American Civil War general (d. 1862)
• 1826 – Armand David, French monk and naturalist (d. 1900)
• 1830 – William Babcock Hazen, American Civil War general (d. 1887)
• 1838 – Lawrence Sullivan Ross, American Confederate general and 19th Governor of Texas (d. 1898)
• 1840 – Thomas Nast, German-American political cartoonist (d. 1902)
• 1840 – Alfred Thayer Mahan, American admiral (d. 1914)
• 1842 – Alphonse François Renard, Belgian geologist (d. 1903)
• 1861 – Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, sister of Theodore Roosevelt (d. 1933)
• 1862 – Louis Botha, South African politician (d. 1919)
• 1864 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovakian politician and priest (d. 1938)
• 1866 – Eurosia Fabris, Italian saint (d. 1932)
• 1867 – Giovanni Bonzano, Italian cardinal (d. 1927)
• 1871 – Grazia Deledda, Italian writer (d. 1936)
• 1871 – Martin H. Glynn, 40th Governor of New York (d. 1924)
• 1880 – Jacques Thibaud, French violinist (d. 1953)
• 1894 – Lothar von Richthofen, German pilot (d. 1922)
• 1898 – Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (d. 1946)

1901 – 1950

• 1907 – Bhagat Singh, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1931)
• 1907 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and theorist (d. 2003)
• 1907 – Bernard Miles, English actor, director, producer and producer (d. 1991)
• 1916 – S. Yizhar, Israeli writer (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Martin Ryle, English radio astronomer (d. 1984)
• 1919 – James Wilkinson, British mathematician (d. 1986)
• 1919 – Johnny Pesky, American baseball player (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Jayne Meadows, American actress (d. 2015)
• 1920 – William Conrad, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1921 – John Malcolm Patterson, former Governor of Alabama (d. 2021)
• 1921 – Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian movie director (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Milton Subotsky, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1991)
• 1922 – Arthur Penn, American screenwriter (d. 2010)
• 1922 – Heinrich Boere, German Nazi war criminal (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Bud Powell, American jazz pianist (d. 1966)
• 1924 – Josef Skvorecky, Czech writer and publisher (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Robert G. Edwards, British biologist and Nobel Prize winner (d. 2013)
• 1927 – Chrysostomos I, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus (d. 2007)
• 1927 – Adhemar da Silva, Brazilian triple jumper (d. 2001)
• 1929 – Barbara Murray, English actress (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Txillardegi, Basque linguist, writer and politician (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Freddy Quinn, Austrian singer
• 1932 – Yash Chopra, Indian director (d. 2012)
• 1932 – Oliver E. Williamson, American economist
• 1933 – Greg Morris, American actor
• 1933 – Will Sampson, American actor and artist (d. 1987)
• 1934 – Wilford Brimley, American actor (d. 2020)
• 1936 – Don Cornelius, American television host (d. 2012)
• 1936 – Sancho Gracia, Spanish television presenter (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Vasyl Durdynets, 8th Prime Minister of Ukraine
• 1938 – Jean-Loup Dabadie, French journalist, songwriter and screenwriter
• 1940 – Josephine Barstow, English soprano
• 1940 – Fatima Mernissi, Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist (d. 2015)
• 1941 – Peter Bonetti, English footballer and coach
• 1942 – Dith Pran, Cambodian photojournalist (d. 2008)
• 1942 – Alvin Stardust, English singer (d. 2014)
• 1943 – Randy Bachman, Canadian musician
• 1943 – Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, Italian nobleman
• 1943 – Walter Riester, German politician
• 1946 – Nicos Anastasiades, Greek-Cypriot politician, President of Cyprus
• 1946 – Naiyyum Choudhury, Bangladeshi biochemist (d. 2019)
• 1946 – Robin Nedwell, English actor (d. 1999)
• 1947 – Barbara Dickson, Scottish singer
• 1947 – Denis Lawson, Scottish actor
• 1947 – Vic Snyder, American politician
• 1947 – Meat Loaf, American singer (d. 2022)
• 1947 – Dick Advocaat, Dutch football manager
• 1948 – Duncan Fletcher, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
• 1950 – Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, Japanese-American actor and martial artist

1951 – 1975

• 1951 – Jim Shooter, American writer
• 1951 – Anthony Laciura, American operatic tenor
• 1952 – Dumitru Prunariu, Romanian cosmonaut
• 1952 – Didier Dubois, French mathematician
• 1952 – Katie Fforde, English author
• 1953 – Diane Abbott, English politician
• 1953 – Claudio Gentile, Italian footballer
• 1953 – Mata Amritanandamayi, Indian guru and saint
• 1953 – Robbie Shakespeare, Jamaican musician and producer
• 1953 – Dumitru Prunariu, Romanian engineer and astronaut
• 1954 – Dougie MacLean, Scottish singer-songwriter
• 1954 – Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Russian violinist and composer
• 1956 – Milan Smrčka, Czech musician
• 1956 – Steve Archibald, Scottish footballer
• 1957 – John Inverdale, English broadcaster
• 1957 – Peter Sellars, American theatre director
• 1958 – Irvine Welsh, Scottish writer
• 1960 – Jean-Marc Barr, German-born French-American movie actor, director and producer
• 1964 – Stephan Jenkins, American musician and producer
• 1965 – Bernard Lord, Canadian politician, 30th Premier of New Brunswick
• 1965 – Peter MacKay, Canadian politician
• 1966 – Uche Okechukwu, Nigerian footballer
• 1966 – Jovanotti, Italian singer
• 1966 – Debbie Wasserman Schultz, American politician
• 1966 – Stephanie Wilson, American engineer and astronaut
• 1967 – Willie Rennie, Scottish politician
• 1967 – Llewella Gideon, English voice actor
• 1968 – Mari Kiviniemi, former Prime Minister of Finland
• 1968 – Patrick Muldoon, American actor
• 1972 – Lhasa de Sela, Mexican-American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1972 – Clara Hughes, Canadian cyclist
• 1972 – Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress
• 1973 – Vratislav Lokvenc, Czech footballer
• 1974 – Carrie Brownstein, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress

From 1976

• 1976 – Francesco Totti, Italian footballer
• 1976 – Matt Harding, American video game designer and dancer
• 1978 – Mihaela Ursuleasa, Romanian pianist (d. 2012)
• 1978 – Pastora Soler, Spanish singer
• 1979 – Shinji Ono, Japanese footballer
• 1979 – Shep Rose, American television personality and businessman
• 1980 – Olivier Kapo, French footballer
• 1980 – Asashoryu Akinori, Mongolian sumo wrestler
• 1981 – Brendon McCallum, New Zealand cricketer
• 1981 – Mirjam Weichselbraun, Austrian television host and actress
• 1982 – Markus Rosenberg, Swedish footballer
• 1982 – Lil Wayne, American rapper
• 1982 – Darrent Williams, American football player
• 1983 – Jeon Hye-bin, South Korean actress and singer
• 1984 – Davide Capello, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Avril Lavigne, Canadian singer
• 1984 – Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist (d. 2011)
• 1985 – Ibrahim Touré, Ivorian footballer (d. 2014)
• 1987 – Adam Bogdan, Hungarian footballer
• 1991 – Simona Halep, Romanian tennis player
• 1992 – Granit Xhaka, Swiss footballer
• 1993 – Monica Puig, Puerto Rican tennis player
• 1995 – Lina Leandersson, Swedish actress

Up to 1900

• 855 – Lothair I, King of the Romans (b. 795)
• 1162 – Odo II, Duke of Burgundy
• 1249 – Count Raymond VII of Toulouse (b. 1197)
• 1404 – William of Wykeham, English bishop (b. 1320)
• 1547 – Lady Eleanor Brandon (b. 1519)
• 1557 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (b. 1492)
• 1590 – Pope Urban VII (b. 1521)
• 1651 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1573)
• 1660 – Vincent de Paul, French priest and saint (b. 1581)
• 1700 – Pope Innocent XII (b. 1615)
• 1832 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (b. 1781)
• 1833 – Ram Mohan, Indian reformer (b. 1772)
• 1876 – Braxton Bragg, American Confederate general (b. 1817)
• 1886 – Charles Gordon Greene, American journalist (b. 1804)
• 1891 – Ivan Goncharev, Russian writer (b. 1812)

1901 – 2000

• 1917 – Edgar Degas, French painter (b. 1834)
• 1921 – Engelbert Humperdinck, German composer (b. 1854)
• 1940 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher (b. 1892)
• 1940 – Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian doctor, won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1857)
• 1956 – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete (b. 1911)
• 1960 – Sylvia Pankhurst, British Women's Rights activist (b. 1882)
• 1961 – H.D., American writer (b. 1886)
• 1965 – Clara Bow, American actress (b. 1905)
• 1967 – Felix Yusupov, Russian prince, participated in the killing of Grigori Rasputin (b. 1887)
• 1972 – S. R. Ranganathan, Indian mathematician (b. 1892)
• 1974 – Silvio Frondizi, Argentine lawyer (b. 1907)
• 1975 – Jack Lang, 23rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1876)
• 1979 – Gracie Fields, British comedienne (b. 1898)
• 1981 – Bronislaw Malinowski, Polish athlete (b. 1951)
• 1986 – Cliff Burton, American bassist (Metallica) (b. 1962)
• 1991 – Oona O'Neill, English actress (b. 1926)
• 1993 – Jimmy Doolittle, American general (b. 1896)
• 1996 – Mohammad Najibullah, President of Afghanistan (b. 1947)

From 2001

• 2004 – John E. Mack, American psychiatrist (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Ronald Golias, Brazilian comedian and actor (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Kenji Nagai, Japanese photographer and journalist (b. 1957)
• 2008 – Mahendra Kapoor, Indian singer (b. 1934)
• 2009 – William Safire, American columnist (b. 1929)
• 2011 – David Croft, British writer, producer and director (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Imre Makovecz, Hungarian architect (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Herbert Lom, Czech-born British actor (b. 1917)
• 2014 – Eugie Foster, American science fiction writer (b. 1971)
• 2014 – James Traficant, American politician (b. 1941)
• 2014 – Taylor Hardwick, American architect (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Zhang Xianliang, Chinese author and poet (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Abdelmajid Lakhal, Tunisian actor and director (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Jean-Jacques Pauvert, French publisher (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Syed Ahmed, Indian politician (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Pietro Ingrao, Italian politician (b. 1915)
• 2015 – Wilton Felder, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Frank Tyson, English cricketer (b. 1930)
• 2015 – John Guillermin, English movie director and producer (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Denise Lor, American singer and actress (b. 1929)
• 2016 – Sebastian Papaiani, Romanian actor (b. 1936)
• 2017 – Joy Fleming, German singer (b. 1944)
• 2017 – Hiromi Hayakawa, Japanese-Mexican actress and singer (b. 1982)
• 2017 – Hugh Hefner, American adult magazine publisher and businessman (Playboy) (b. 1926)
• 2017 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress (b. 1923)
• 2018 – Marty Balin, American rock singer and musician (b. 1942)
• 2018 – Brian A. Joyce, American politician (b. 1962)
• 2018 – James G. March, American sociologist (b. 1928)
• 2019 – William J. Edwards, American politician (b. 1928)
• 2019 – Rob Garrison, American actor (b. 1960)
• 2019 – John J. Snyder, American Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1925)
• 2019 – Joseph C. Wilson, American writer (b. 1949)

• End of Independence War Day (Mexico)
• Holiday for the French-speaking community, Belgium