On This Day January 27

1973
Vietnam War - Last American casualty: Col. William B. Nolde is killed by an artillery shell 11 hours before the truce was to take effect.

1973
Vietnam War - Cease-fire: The U.S., North and South Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front sign peace accords, ending the longest war in U.S. history.

1967
Apollo 1 disaster: An electrical fire erupts during a simulation on the launch pad, killing astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Edward H. White. They were the first U.S. astronauts to die in a spacecraft.

1945
World War II - Auschwitz: Soviet soldiers arrive at the Nazi death camp in Poland to begin freeing the 5,200 survivors, including Anne Frank's father Otto. More than 1,500,000 people had been killed in the camp.

1943
World War II: First U.S. Air Force raid on Germany is carried out by the 8th Air Force over Wilhelmshaven.

1913
Olympics: U.S. athlete Jim Thorpe loses his gold medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon. It was discovered that he had been paid $25 a week to play baseball (1909-10), disqualifying him from the strictly amateur Olympics. His medals were restored in 1982.

1822
Greece: The country declares its independence following its war with Turkey.

1951
Seth Justman, American keyboardist, with J. Geils Band. Music: Must Have Got Lost (1974), Freeze-Frame (1981), and Centerfold (1981, #1).

1945
Nick Mason, English drummer, with Pink Floyd. Music: Dark Side of the Moon (1972, #1), Wish You Were Here (1975, #1), and The Wall (1979, #1).

1924 d. 1963
Sabu (Sabu Dastagir), Indian-born American actor. Film: Elephant Boy (1937) and Jungle Book (1942).

1921 d. 1986
Donna Reed (Donna Mullenger), American Oscar-winning actress. Film: It's A Wonderful Life (1947, Mrs. Bailey) and From Here to Eternity (1953, Oscar, Alma the prostitute). TV: The Donna Reed Show.

1919 d. 1972
Ross Bagdasarianm, American novelty musician. As David Seville, he was the manager of Alvin and the Chipmunks. He co-wrote Come On-a My House, Rosemary Clooney's all-time biggest hit. He bought 220 acres of Thompson seedless grapes near Fresno and named it the Chipmunk Ranch.

1918 d. 2005
Skitch Henderson (Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson), American orchestra leader. TV: The Tonight Show (Johnny Carson's first musical director on the show).

1900 d. 1986
Hyman George Rickover, American navy admiral, "Father of the Nuclear Navy." He directed the development of nuclear powered submarines.

1885 d. 1945
Jerome David Kern, American composer. Music: Show Boat (1927, which included Ol' Man River) and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (1933).

1850 d. 1924
Samuel Gompers, English-born American labor leader, first president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

1832 d. 1898
Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), English mathematician, author. Writings: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1872).

1756 d. 1791
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer. He created over 600 compositions including The Marriage of Figaro (1786) and The Magic Flute (1791). Very little of his work was published during his lifetime.

1994 b. 1918
Claude Akins, American actor. TV: Lobo (The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo) (title role).

1972 b. 1911
Mahalia Jackson, American gospel singer, considered one of the greatest of all time. She sang at Pres. Kennedy's inauguration (1961) and at Martin Luther King's funeral (1968).

1922 b. 1867
Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane), journalist. She is known for her writing on divorce, women, and child labor conditions. She once had herself committed to Blackwell's Island asylum for a story on the treatment of the insane. She also completed a 72-day around-the-world trip for the New York World (1889-90).

1893 b. 1830
James Gillespie Blaine, American statesman, author, known as the Plumed Knight.

1851 b. 1785
John James Audubon, American ornithologist and wildlife artist. He was elected (1900) to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

1731 b. 1655
Bartolommeo Cristofori, Italian harpsichord maker and inventor of the piano.

January 27

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