March 27
1794 - The U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the U.S. Navy.
1802 - The Treaty of Amiens was signed ending the French Revolutionary War.
1836 - In Goliad, TX, about 350 Texan prisoners, including their commander James Fannin, were executed under orders from Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna. An estimated 30 Texans escaped execution.
1836 - The first Mormon temple was dedicated in Kirtland, OH.
1841 - The first steam fire engine was tested in New York City.
1860 - The corkscrew was patented by M.L. Byrn.
1866 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the civil rights bill, which later became the 14th amendment.
1884 - The first long-distance telephone call was made from Boston to New York.
1899 - The first international radio transmission between England and France was achieved by the Italian inventor G. Marconi.
1900 - The London Parliament passed the War Loan Act that gave 35 million pounds to the Boer War cause in South Africa.
1900 - The Russian army mobilized 250,000 troops for active duty.
1901 - Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by the U.S.
1904 - Mary Jarris "Mother" Jones was ordered by Colorado state authorities to leave the state. She was accused of stirring up striking coal miners.
1907 - French troops occupied Oudja, Morocco, as a punitive action for the murder of French Dr. Muchamp.
1912 - The first cherry blossom trees were planted in Washington, DC. The trees were a gift from Japan.
1917 - The Seattle Metropolitans, of the Pacific Coast League of Canada, defeated the Montreal Canadiens and became the first U.S. hockey team to win the Stanley Cup.
1931 - Actor Charlie Chaplin received France’s Legion of Honor decoration.
1933 - About 55,000 people staged a protest against Hitler in New York City.
1933 - In the U.S., the Farm Credit Administration was authorized.
1941 - Tokeo Yoshikawa arrived in Oahu, HI, and began spying for Japan on the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor.
1942 - The British raided the Nazi submarine base at St. Nazaire, France.
1946 - Four-month long strikes at both General Electric and General Motors ended with a wage increase.
1952 - The U.S. Eighth Army reached the 38th parallel in Korea, the original dividing line between the two Koreas.
1955 - Steve McQueen made his network TV debut on "Goodyear Playhouse."
1958 - Nikita Khrushchev became the chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers in addition to First Secretary of the Communist Party.
1958 - The U.S. announced a plan to explore space near the moon.
1976 - Washington, DC, opened its subway system.
1985 - Billy Dee Williams received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1988 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
1989 - The U.S. anti-missile satellite failed the first test in space.
1993 - In China, Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin was appointed President.
1997 - Russian workers, nearly 2 million, held a nationwide strike to protest unpaid wages.
1997 - In Australia, Governor-General William Deane signed a bill to overturn a 1996 Northern Territory act to legalize assisted suicides. The 1996 act was the first in the world to permit assisted suicides.
1998 - In the U.S., the FDA approved the prescription drug Viagra. It was the first pill for male impotence.
1998 - Top civilian aircraft makers in France, Spain, Germany and Britain agreed to create single European aerospace and defense company.
2004 - NASA successfully launched an unpiloted X-43A jet that hit Mach 7 (about 5,000 mph).
2007 - NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating tool.
