the day in the history

27 May
1964: Light goes out in India as Nehru dies

Jawaharlal Nehru, the founder of modern India and its current prime minister, dies suddenly at the age of 74.

1963: Kenyatta to be Kenya's first premier
Jomo Kenyatta is certain to become prime minister after his party, Kenya African Nation Union, won the country's first general election.

1994: Dissident writer Solzhenitsyn returns
Alexander Solzhenitsyn flies back to his native Russia after 20 years living in exile.

1980: Peach death was 'misadventure'
The jury at the inquest of Blair Peach, the London teacher who died in a demonstration last year, returns a verdict of misadventure.

2000: GM blunder leaves farmers in uproar
Scottish farmers who accidentally planted genetically modified seeds say they will fight for compensation.

today
1998: World fury at Pakistan's nuclear tests

Pakistan explodes five underground nuclear devices in response to India's recent nuclear tests.

1974: Strikes topple NI power-sharing body
Northern Ireland's first power-sharing assembly collapses after its leader Brian Faulkner steps down faced with rising opposition.

1959: Monkeys survive space mission
Two monkeys become the first living creatures to survive a space flight.

1967: Sir Francis Chichester sails home
Sir Francis Chichester arrives in Plymouth tonight in his yacht, Gipsy Moth IV, after completing his voyage around the world.

1951: Glasgow powers up for the Festival
Princess Elizabeth opens the Exhibition of Industrial Power in Glasgow - the latest show in the Festival of Britain.

1953: Hillary and Tenzing conquer Everest

New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

1972: Japanese kill 26 at Tel Aviv airport
Three Japanese gunmen open fire at Lod International Airport in Israel, killing 26 people and injuring dozens more.

1985: Fans die in Heysel rioting
Thirty nine Juventus fans have died during rioting at the European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus in Brussels.

1984: Miners and police clash at Orgreave
Police use riot gear for the first time since the miners' strike began as they face the biggest picket to date.

If anyone has information about that topic, he can naturally post it.

1972: Official IRA declares ceasefire

The Official IRA announces a ceasefire, but the Provisional IRA says it will continue fighting until the British leave Northern Ireland.

1990: France bans British beef imports
The French Government bans imports of British beef and live cattle because of fears over BSE or "mad cow" disease.

2001: French ex-minister jailed for corruption
Former French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas is sentenced to six months in prison over the country's biggest political scandal in recent history.

1967: Egypt and Jordan sign surprise pact
The King of Jordan and President Abdel Nasser of Egypt sign a joint defence agreement in case of a conflict with Israel.

1973: US Senate votes to stop Cambodia bombing

The US Senate votes by a huge majority to cut off funds for the bombing of Cambodia despite pleas from Dr Henry Kissinger.

1985: English teams banned after Heysel
The Football Association, supported by Margaret Thatcher, bans English clubs from playing in Europe following the Heysel stadium tragedy.

1966: Vietnam Buddhist burns to death
Nguyen Thi Can becomes the fifth Buddhist in three days to set fire to herself in protest against South Vietnam's regime.

1998: Ginger leaves the Spice Girls
Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice, leaves the phenomenally successful Spice Girls band.

1993: Serb attack on football match kills 11

Serb forces shell a football match in Bosnia killing 11 people, including four children.

1979: End of white rule in Rhodesia
Rhodesia formally ends nearly 90 years of white minority rule and declares it will now be known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia

1958: De Gaulle returns to tackle Algeria
France's General Charles de Gaulle is invited back to the helm as the crisis in Algeria threatens to bring civil war to France itself.

1985: Hippies clash with police
Over 300 people are arrested as police intercept a convoy of hippies going to Stonehenge.

1953: Millions cheer as Queen is crowned

Queen Elizabeth II is crowned at a coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in London.

1994: MI5 officers killed in helicopter crash
Twenty of Britain's top intelligence experts are killed when a RAF helicopter crashes on the Mull of Kintyre.

1985: Uefa bans English clubs from Europe
English clubs are banned from playing in Europe indefinitely, after the riot at Brussels' Heysel stadium in which 39 people died.

1976: Piggott celebrates 7th Derby victory
Jockey Lester Piggott wins the Epsom Derby for a record seventh time, riding the French-trained Emperie.

455: The vandals plundered Rome.

1924: The US grants full citizenship to American Indians.

1991: IRA men shot dead by British army

Three members of the IRA are ambushed and killed by soldiers in Northern Ireland acting on intelligence information.

1962: 130 die in Paris air crash
An Air France Boeing 707 crashes on take-off at Orly Airport killing all but two of those on board - two stewardesses survive.

1982: Israeli ambassador shot in London
Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to Britain, is critically ill in hospital after being shot on a London street.

1972: Protestant march ends in battle
Soldiers disperse crowds as a Protestant march against "no-go" areas in Londonderry turns violent at Craigavon Bridge.

1974: Yitzhak Rabin becomes Israeli Prime Minister.

1924: Novelist Franz Kafka dies in Vienna at the age of 40.

1940: Dunkirk rescue is over - Churchill defiant

As the last Allied soldier leaves Dunkirk, the British Prime Minister vows his forces "shall never surrender".

1989: Massacre in Tiananmen Square
The Chinese army storms an uprising by students in Tiananmen Square, killing several hundred people.

1977: Greece releases UK plane-spotters
Five British plane-spotters imprisoned in Greece for spying are released after 10 weeks in jail.

1991: UK army spending to be cut
Defence Secretary Tom King has confirms Britain will reduce the amount it spends on the army.

1968: Dover begins bird purge
Dover residents prepare to get rid of "these horrible birds" in the drive to create a cleaner, quieter seaside resort.

1967: Israel launches attack on Arab states

Israeli forces launch a pre-emptive attack on the country's neighbouring Arab states and destroys nearly 400 Egyptian aircraft.

John Profumo 1963: Profumo resigns over sex scandal
Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, resigns admitting he lied to Parliament about his relationship with a call girl.

Allied tanks with Coliseum in background 1944: Celebrations as Rome is liberated
The people of Rome crowd onto the streets to welcome the victorious Allied troops.

Senator Robert Kennedy 1968: Robert Kennedy injured in shooting
Senator Robert Kennedy is shot and seriously wounded shortly after giving a victory speech in a Los Angeles hotel.

Edward, Duke of Windsor 1972: Duke of Windsor laid to rest
World leaders attend the funeral in Windsor of the former King of England who abdicated in 1936.

1989: Election boost for Solidarity
Initial results suggest Poland's Solidarity party will claim a remarkable success in the country's elections.

1992: Huge rise in water disconnections
New figures show the number of people having their water supplies cut off for failing to pay their bills has almost trebled in a year.

British troops on landing craft 1944: D-Day marks start of Europe invasion

Thousands of Allied troops are landing on the beaches of Normandy in northern France at the start of a major offensive against the Germans.

Golden Temple in Amritsar 1984: Hundreds dead as troops storm temple
Nearly 300 people are killed as Indian troops storm the Golden Temple in Amritsar, held by Sikh militants.

James Meredith shot and wounded on the ground 1966: Black civil rights activist shot
James Meredith, the first black man to brave the colour bar at the University of Mississippi, is shot in the back and legs while on a civil rights march.

Former Prime Minister Edward Heath celebrates the result 1975: UK embraces Europe in referendum
British voters back the UK's continued membership of the EEC by a large majority in a nationwide referendum.

Campsfield House, Oxfordshire 1994: Asylum seekers flee detention centre
Six detainees held in an Oxfordshire immigration centre make their escape after a rooftop protest.

68: The Roman emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus Caesar commits suicide.

1844: YMCA is founded in London.

1523: Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden.

1942: Japanese beaten in Battle of Midway

The United States routs the Japanese Navy in a major three-day battle over a remote military base at Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean.

Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin 1981: Israel bombs Baghdad nuclear reactor
Israel shocks the world by destroying the Osirak nuclear plant near the Iraqi capital for fear it would be used to make atom bombs.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh 1977: Queen celebrates Silver Jubilee
More than one million people line the streets of London to watch the Royal Family on their way to St Paul's at the start of the Queen's silver jubilee celebrations.

Cows 1990: Beef export ban lifted
France, West Germany and Italy lift a ban on British beef-on-the-bone after reaching a deal in Brussels

Tony Blair gives his speech to the WI 2000: Blair 'handbagged' by the WI
The UK prime minister is heckled and criticised by Women's Institute members as he gives a speech at their conference.

HMS Sir Galahad 1982: Fifty die in Argentine air attack

Up to 50 British servicemen are killed in an Argentine air attack on two supply ships in the Falklands

Jonathan Aitken arrives at the Old Bailey 1999: Liar Aitken jailed for 18 months
Ex-cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken is jailed for 18 months after admitting he lied during a libel action.

Christine Keeler 1963: Ward charged over 'immoral earnings'
Dr Stephen Ward, a London osteopath and friend of Christine Keeler, is arrested and charged with living on immoral earnings

Naomi James 1978: Woman takes world sailing record
Yacthswoman Naomi James breaks the solo round-the-world sailing record by two days.

632: Abu al-Qasim Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Abd al-Muttalib Ibn Hashim dies in Medina.

Margaret Thatcher celebrates at Downing Street 1983: Thatcher wins landslide victory

Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party wins a landslide second term election victory, taking 397 seats to Labour's 209.

The Houses of Parliament 1975: First live broadcast of Parliament
The first live transmission from the House of Commons is broadcast by BBC Radio and commercial stations.

Artist impression of Andrew Richards 1995: First man jailed for male rape
Andrew Richards is imprisoned for life for the attempted rape of another man in the first case of its kind in Britain.

The Queen making her speech at Gatwick Airport 1958: Queen opens revamped Gatwick
The Queen has opened an extended airport at Gatwick, south of London, modernised at a cost of £7m.