March 27
1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida.
1625 - Charles I ascended the English throne upon the death of James I.
1794 - Congress authorizes the construction of six frigates, including the Constitution (Old Ironsides), for the U.S. Navy.
1836 - The first Mormon temple was dedicated, in Kirtland, Ohio.
1866 - President Andrew Johnson vetoed a civil rights bill which later became the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
1884 - The first long-distance telephone call was made between Boston and New York.
1945 - During World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower told reporters in Paris that German defenses on the Western Front had been broken.
1958 - Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet premier and first secretary of the Communist Party.
1964 - A 9.2-magnitude earthquake hit 80 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska, killing 117 people and producing a 50-foot-high tsunami that traveled over 8,000 miles.
1968 - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit the Earth in 1961, died when his MiG-15 jet crashed during a routine training flight near Moscow; he was 34.
1973 - “The Godfather” won the Academy Award for best picture of 1972, but its star, Marlon Brando, refused to accept his Oscar for best actor. Liza Minnelli won best actress for “Cabaret.”
1975 - Construction began on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which was completed two years later.
1977 - Pan American and KLM Boeing 747s collided on a runway in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. The 542 people killed is the highest ever for an aviation disaster.
1980 - 123 workers died when a North Sea floating oil field platform, the Alexander Kielland, capsized during a storm.
1995 - “Forrest Gump” won six Academy Awards, including best picture and a second consecutive best actor Oscar for Tom Hanks.
1996 - An Israeli court convicted Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's confessed assassin of murder, then sentenced former law student Yigal Amir to life in prison.
1998 - The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra, made by Pfizer, to fight male impotence.
2001 - A federal judge ruled that the University of Michigan's affirmative action policy was invalid, a ruling that later would be reversed in an appeal.
2009 - President Barack Obama launched a fresh effort to defeat al-Qaida terrorists in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, ordering in 4,000 more troops.
2015 - Italy’s highest court overturned the murder conviction of Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend in the 2007 slaying of Knox’s roommate, bringing to a definitive end the high-profile case that had captivated trial-watchers on both sides of the Atlantic.
2019 - A Wisconsin man, Jake Patterson, pleaded guilty to kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents; the plea spared the girl from the possible trauma of having to testify at his trial. (Patterson was sentenced to life in prison.)
2020 - The House approved a $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package; it was immediately signed by President Donald Trump. The president issued an order seeking to force GM to produce ventilators for coronavirus patients under the Defense Production Act. New outbreaks surged in cities including Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans; where crews rushed to build a makeshift hospital in the city’s convention center. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Birthdays
21 - Halle Bailey (actress/singer)
26 - Taylor Atelian (actress)
27 - Kirsten Collins (Singer)
30 - Fernanda Ramirez (actress)
31 - Kimbra (singer)
33 - Brenda Song (actress)
33 - Jessie J (singer)
34 - Buster Posey (baseball player)
37 - Emily Ann Lloyd (actress)
46 - Fergie (singer)
50 - Nathan Fillion (actor)
51 - Elizabeth Mitchell (actress)
51 - Mariah Carey (singer)
52 - Pauly Perrette (actress)
53 - Ben Koldyke (actor)
54 - Talisa Soto (actress)
58 - Quentin Tarantino (director)
59 - Vicki Gunvalson (reality star)
79 - Michael York (actor)
81 - Austin Pendleton (actor)
82 - Cale Yarborough (race car driver)
85 - Jerry Lacy (actor)
86 - Julian Glover (actor)
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Today in Sports History - March 27
1939 - Oregon won the inaugural NCAA men's basketball tournament with a 46-33 win over Ohio State in Evanston, Illinois.
1945 - Oklahoma State defeats NYU 49-44 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1951 - Kentucky defeats Kansas 68-58 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1971 - UCLA defeats Villanova 68-62 to win a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
1978 - Kentucky defeats Duke 94-88 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1988 - WrestleMania IV is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was headlined by a tournament to crown a new WWF World Champion, where "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeated "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase in the finals.
1989 - Sports Illustrated exposed Pete Rose's gambling activities. The magazine article alleged Rose bet on baseball from the Riverfront dugout using hand gestures with an associate.
1994 - Magic Johnson became head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He coached the final 16 games of the 1993-4 season.
2007 - NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating tool.
1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida.
1625 - Charles I ascended the English throne upon the death of James I.
1794 - Congress authorizes the construction of six frigates, including the Constitution (Old Ironsides), for the U.S. Navy.
1836 - The first Mormon temple was dedicated, in Kirtland, Ohio.
1866 - President Andrew Johnson vetoed a civil rights bill which later became the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
1884 - The first long-distance telephone call was made between Boston and New York.
1945 - During World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower told reporters in Paris that German defenses on the Western Front had been broken.
1958 - Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet premier and first secretary of the Communist Party.
1964 - A 9.2-magnitude earthquake hit 80 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska, killing 117 people and producing a 50-foot-high tsunami that traveled over 8,000 miles.
1968 - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit the Earth in 1961, died when his MiG-15 jet crashed during a routine training flight near Moscow; he was 34.
1973 - “The Godfather” won the Academy Award for best picture of 1972, but its star, Marlon Brando, refused to accept his Oscar for best actor. Liza Minnelli won best actress for “Cabaret.”
1975 - Construction began on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which was completed two years later.
1977 - Pan American and KLM Boeing 747s collided on a runway in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. The 542 people killed is the highest ever for an aviation disaster.
1980 - 123 workers died when a North Sea floating oil field platform, the Alexander Kielland, capsized during a storm.
1995 - “Forrest Gump” won six Academy Awards, including best picture and a second consecutive best actor Oscar for Tom Hanks.
1996 - An Israeli court convicted Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's confessed assassin of murder, then sentenced former law student Yigal Amir to life in prison.
1998 - The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra, made by Pfizer, to fight male impotence.
2001 - A federal judge ruled that the University of Michigan's affirmative action policy was invalid, a ruling that later would be reversed in an appeal.
2009 - President Barack Obama launched a fresh effort to defeat al-Qaida terrorists in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, ordering in 4,000 more troops.
2015 - Italy’s highest court overturned the murder conviction of Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend in the 2007 slaying of Knox’s roommate, bringing to a definitive end the high-profile case that had captivated trial-watchers on both sides of the Atlantic.
2019 - A Wisconsin man, Jake Patterson, pleaded guilty to kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents; the plea spared the girl from the possible trauma of having to testify at his trial. (Patterson was sentenced to life in prison.)
2020 - The House approved a $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package; it was immediately signed by President Donald Trump. The president issued an order seeking to force GM to produce ventilators for coronavirus patients under the Defense Production Act. New outbreaks surged in cities including Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans; where crews rushed to build a makeshift hospital in the city’s convention center. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Birthdays
21 - Halle Bailey (actress/singer)
26 - Taylor Atelian (actress)
27 - Kirsten Collins (Singer)
30 - Fernanda Ramirez (actress)
31 - Kimbra (singer)
33 - Brenda Song (actress)
33 - Jessie J (singer)
34 - Buster Posey (baseball player)
37 - Emily Ann Lloyd (actress)
46 - Fergie (singer)
50 - Nathan Fillion (actor)
51 - Elizabeth Mitchell (actress)
51 - Mariah Carey (singer)
52 - Pauly Perrette (actress)
53 - Ben Koldyke (actor)
54 - Talisa Soto (actress)
58 - Quentin Tarantino (director)
59 - Vicki Gunvalson (reality star)
79 - Michael York (actor)
81 - Austin Pendleton (actor)
82 - Cale Yarborough (race car driver)
85 - Jerry Lacy (actor)
86 - Julian Glover (actor)
==============================================
Today in Sports History - March 27
1939 - Oregon won the inaugural NCAA men's basketball tournament with a 46-33 win over Ohio State in Evanston, Illinois.
1945 - Oklahoma State defeats NYU 49-44 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1951 - Kentucky defeats Kansas 68-58 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1971 - UCLA defeats Villanova 68-62 to win a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
1978 - Kentucky defeats Duke 94-88 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1988 - WrestleMania IV is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was headlined by a tournament to crown a new WWF World Champion, where "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeated "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase in the finals.
1989 - Sports Illustrated exposed Pete Rose's gambling activities. The magazine article alleged Rose bet on baseball from the Riverfront dugout using hand gestures with an associate.
1994 - Magic Johnson became head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He coached the final 16 games of the 1993-4 season.
2007 - NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating tool.