Ulysses S. Grant would have been 186 today. And if the rumors are true, he is still buried in Grant's Tomb.
It's the last shopping day before Saddam Hussein's birthday! Check to see if Macy's is running their Memorial Tyrant's Day sale.
April 27, 4977 BC -
God creates the universe, according to calculations by mystic and part-time astronomer Johannes Kepler.
April 27, 1509 -
The entire state of Venice is excommunicated by Pope Julius II for an entirely secular reason: the refusal to place parts of Romagna under the Pope's control.
April 27, 1521 -
In an hourlong battle with Philippine islanders, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his men are repeatedly jabbed with sharpened bamboo spears. After Magellan finally succumbs to his wounds, the natives hack him to pieces with their swords, barbequed and consumed him. They were surprised that they were not hungry an hour after eating him as they had been after eating some Asian explorers previously.
April 27, 1861 -
In a blatantly unconstitutional act, President Abraham Lincoln suspends habeas corpus inside a zone between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The government may now detain citizens indefinitely without ever filing charges. A year and a half later, Lincoln expands the scope of his order to the entire nation. I'm greatly relieved that the current resident of the White House doesn't read much.
April 27, 1865 -
At least 1,700 Union soldiers are killed when the boiler aboard the steamship Sultana suddenly explodes.
April 27, 1940 -
Heinrich Himmler gives orders to construct a concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Only 14 months later, Auschwitz is open for business.
April 27,1963 -
Comedian Lenny Bruce is arrested in Miami for illegal possession of hypodermic needles. They were, however, for legally-prescribed prescription drugs.
April 27, 1986 -
During a live TV special, journalist Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's vault beneath the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. He finds nothing inside, apart from a few empty bottles.
Apr 27 1986 -
Someone interrupts the HBO satellite feed during the movie The Falcon and The Snowman. For five minutes, two-thirds of their customer base receives the message: Good evening HBO from Captain Midnight. $12.95 a month? No way! (Showtime-Movie Channel Beware.) Three months later, the FCC arrests Florida satellite dish retailer John R. MacDougall for the crime.
Apr 27 1987 -
After determining that Kurt Waldheim had "assisted or otherwise participated in the persecution of persons" during his Nazi years, the Department of Justice places him on a watch list of undesirable aliens. As such, the sitting President of Austria is disallowed entryinto the U.S. It is the first time that a foreign head of state is legally forbidden from visiting America. I suppose that he suffered from Waldheimer's Disease - it's when you have difficulty recalling that you're a Nazi
And so it goes
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