August 27th
Month:
Day:
- 1883
The Krakatoa volcano, located west of Java in Indonesia, erupts with a force of 1,300 megatons and kills approximately 40,000 people View Post →
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- 1783
The first hydrogen balloon flight (unmanned) reaches an altitude of 900 meters
- 1881
A hurricane hits Florida and the Carolinas, resulting in approximately 700 deaths
- 1913
Swedish engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken applies to patent an all-purpose zipper
- 1918
The Spanish flu arrives in Boston, marking the beginning of the second and deadliest wave in the U.S
- 1938
Two NYC subway trains collide at 116th Street, killing 2 and injuring 51
- 1955
The first edition of the Guinness Book of World Records is published
- 1993
The Rainbow Bridge, connecting Tokyo's Shibaura and the island of Odaiba, is completed
- 2000
The 540-meter-tall Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire, resulting in three deaths
- 2003
Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing at a distance of 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km)
- 2019
Race car driver Jessi Combs dies while setting a new record for the fastest women's land speed of 522.783 mph at Alvord Desert, Oregon (posthumously awarded in 2020)
- 2003
The world’s biggest battery is plugged in to provide emergency electricity to the residents of Fairbanks, Alaska, for about 7 minutes
- 1892
The original Metropolitan Opera House in New York is seriously damaged by fire
- 1859
The first successful oil well is drilled near Titusville, Pennsylvania, by Edwin Drake
