http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Aug 27, 1883: Krakatau explodes
The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Krakatau (also called Krakatoa), a small, uninhabited volcanic island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia, on this day in 1883. Heard 3,000 miles away, the explosions threw five cubic miles of earth 50 miles into the air, created 120-foot tsunamis and killed 36,000 people.
Krakatau exhibited its first stirrings in more than 200 years on May 20, 1883. A German warship passing by reported a seven-mile high cloud of ash and dust over Krakatau. For the next two months, similar explosions would be witnessed by commercial liners and natives on nearby Java and Sumatra. With little to no idea of the impending catastrophe, the local inhabitants greeted the volcanic activity with festive excitement.
On August 26 and August 27, excitement turned to horror as Krakatau literally blew itself apart, setting off a chain of natural disasters that would be felt around the world for years to come. An enormous blast on the afternoon of August 26 destroyed the northern two-thirds of the island; as it plunged into the Sunda Strait, between the Java Sea and Indian Ocean, the gushing mountain generated a series of pyroclastic flows (fast-moving fluid bodies of molten gas, ash and rock) and monstrous tsunamis that swept over nearby coastlines. Four more eruptions beginning at 5:30 a.m. the following day proved cataclysmic. The explosions could be heard as far as 3,000 miles away, and ash was propelled to a height of 50 miles. Fine dust from the explosion drifted around the earth, causing spectacular sunsets and forming an atmospheric veil that lowered temperatures worldwide by several degrees.
Of the estimated 36,000 deaths resulting from the eruption, at least 31,000 were caused by the tsunamis created when much of the island fell into the water. The greatest of these waves measured 120 feet high, and washed over nearby islands, stripping away vegetation and carrying people out to sea. Another 4,500 people were scorched to death from the pyroclastic flows that rolled over the sea, stretching as far as 40 miles, according to some sources.
In addition to Krakatau, which is still active, Indonesia has another 130 active volcanoes, the most of any country in the world.
Today
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius
are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan commander of the Greek army in the Battle
of Plataea. Along the with the Greek victory on the same day in the Battle of
Mycale, the Persian invasion of Greece is halted.
663 - Remnants of the Korean Baekje Kingdom and their Yamato
Japanese allies engage the combined naval forces of the Tang Chinese and Silla
Koreans on the Geum River in Korea; the outcome is a significant Tang-Silla
victory, while the Japanese would not attempt another invasion of Korea until
the Japanese invasions of Korea of the late 16th century.
1232 - The Formulary of Adjudications is promulgated by
Regent Hōjō Yasutoki. (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 1232)
1549 - Battle of Dussindale: John Dudley destroys Robert
Kett's army
1569 - Pope Pius names Cosimo I de Medici, grand duke of
Toscane
1585 - Duke van Parma's troops occupy Antwerp
1601 - Olivier van Noort completes 1st Dutch exploration of
new world
1610 - Polish King Wladyslaw crowned king of Russia
1619 - Monarch Frederik van Palts chosen king of Bohemia
1626 - Battle at Lutter: Catholic League beats Danish king
Christian IV
1628 - Java sultan Agung van Mataram attacks Batavia
1634 - Battle of Nordingen-Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, loses
Duchy of Francomia
1665 - "Ye Bare & Ye Cubb" is 1st play,
performed in North America (Acomac, Va)
1667 - Earliest recorded hurricane in US (Jamestown
Virginia)
1689 - The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the
Qing empire.
1776 - British defeat Americans in Battle of Long Island
1783 - 1st hydrogen balloon flight (unmanned); reaches 900 m
altitude
1788 - Jacques Neeker names French minister of Finance
1789 - French National Assembly issues "Declaration of
Rights of Man & Citizen"
1798 - Battle at Castelbar, Ireland: French army hunts The
English
1799 - English invasion army lands in North-Holland
1813 - Battle of Dresden-Napoleon defeats Austrians
1816 - Lord Exmouth bombs Algiers, a refuge for Barbary
pirates
1828 - Uruguay gains independence during Brazil-Argentina
peace talks
1828 - The Russians defeat the Turks at the Battle of
Akhalzic.
1832 - Black Hawk, leader of Sauk-indians, gives himself up
1859 - 1st successful oil well drilled, near Titusville,
Penn by Edwin Drake
1861 - Battle of Cape Hatteras SC-Union troops take Ft Clark
1862 - Battle of Cub Run, VA
1881 - Hurricane hits Florida & Carolinas; about 700 die
1883 - Krakatoa, west of Java, explodes with a force of
1,300 megatons and kills approximately 40,000 people
1892 - NYC Metropolitan Opera House catches fire
1894 - Congress passes Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which
includes a graduated income tax later struck down by the Supreme Court
1895 - 15th US Mens Tennis: Fred H Hovey beats Robert D
Wrenn (63 62 64)
1896 - Britain defeated Zanzibar in a 38-minute war (9:02
AM-9:40 AM)
1897 - Roger Bresnahan debuts as Wash Senator pitcher (later
HOF catcher)
1900 - Battle of Bergendal: Gen Buller beats Boer general
Botha
1903 - 23rd US Mens Tennis: Hugh L Doherty beats William A
Larned (60 63 108)
1908 - Calgary City Rugby Foot-ball Club re-organizes as the
Tigers
1909 - Jack Chesbro's final Yankee game
1910 - Using twenty 137,000 candlepower arc lights, 2
amateur baseball teams play a night game at White Sox Park
1910 - Wash Red Killefer sacrifices record 4 times against
Detroit
1911 - Chicago White Sox Ed Walsh no-hits Boston, 5-0
1912 - Edgar Rice Burroughs publishes "Tarzan of the
Apes"
1913 - Lt Peter Nestrov, of Imperial Russian Air Service,
performs a loop in a monoplane at Kiev (1st aerobatic maneuver in an airplane)
1914 - Second day of battle at Tannenberg: German bombs
Usdau
1914 - US war reporter Richard H Davis visits Leuven
1916 - Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary
1917 - Indians set club record by stealing eight bases in a
game
1918 - Christy Mathewson resigns as Reds manager to accept a
commission as a captain in chemical warfare branch of Army
1918 - Dr Joseph L Johnson named minister to Liberia
1921 - J E Clair of Acme Packing Co of Green Bay granted an
NFL franchise
1922 - Paavo Nurmi runs world record 3000m (8:28.6)
1927 - Parks College, America's oldest aviation school,
opens
1928 - 16 die in a NYC subway's 2nd worst accident
1928 - 42nd US Womens Tennis: Helen W Moody beats Helen Hull
Jacobs (62 61)
US Secretary of State Frank KelloggUS Secretary of State
Frank Kellogg 1928 - Kellogg-Briand Pact, where 60 nations agree to outlaw war
1932 - 200,000 English textile workers strike
1932 - Intl anti-war congress opens in Amsterdam
1933 - Earl Averill becomes 2nd Cleveland ballplayer to hit
for cycle Moody defaults in 3rd set, trailing 3-0
1934 - Arlen, Ira Gershwin & Harburgs musical premieres
in NYC
1937 - Brooklyn Dodger Fred Frankhouse no-hits Cin, 5-0 in 7
2/3 inn game
1937 - George E T Eyston sets world auto speed record at
345.49 MPH
1938 - Two NYC subway trains collide at 116th Street killing
2 and injuring 51
1938 - Yanks Monte Pearson no-hits Indians 13-0, DiMaggio
hits 3 triples
1939 - Erich Warsitz makes first jet-propelled flight (in a
Heinkel He-178)
1939 - Heinkel He-178 makes first manned flight with
rocket/jet propulsion
1939 - Nazi Germany demands Danzig & Polish corridor
1939 - Queen Wilhelmina receives German ambassador Grave
Zech
1940 - Caproni-Campini CC-2, experimental jet plane, maiden
flight (Milan)
1941 - Shah of Iran abdicates throne to his son Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi
Last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza PahlaviLast Shah of Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi 1942 - Cuba declares war on Germany, Japan & Italy
1944 - 200 Halifax bombers attack oil installations in
Hamburg
1945 - US troops land in Japan after Japanese surrender
1948 - 102°F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland
in August
1950 - 1st transmission of a TV program from continental
Europe shown on BBC
1950 - General Foods blacklists Jean Muir of Aldrich Family
as a communist
1952 - Emil Zatopek wins 12th olympics marathon (2:23:03.2)
1955 - "Guinness Book of World Records" 1st
published
1955 - Sandy Koufax fans 14 Reds, both teams combine for
record 23 strikeouts
1956 - Curt Robert of Columbus (Intl League) hits 4 HRs in 7
inning game
1957 - Hickory Smoke wins Hambletonian Stakes
1957 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1957 - The Constitution of Malaysia comes into force.
1958 - Clark Griffith says Senators will prob accept offer
to move to Minn
1958 - US performs nuclear test at South Atlantic Ocean
1958 - USSR launches Sputnik 3 with two dogs aboard
1960 - Anita Lonsbrough swims world/olympic record 200m
(2:49.5)
1960 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Grossinger Golf Open
1961 - Francis the Talking Mule is mystery guest on
"What's My Line"
1961 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Spokane Women's Golf Open
1962 - Mariner 2 launched; first probe to fly by Venus
1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1965 - The Beatles spend an evening with Elvis Presley
1965 - WTVI TV channel 42 in Charlotte, NC (PBS) begins
broadcasting
1966 - Francis Chichester begins 1st solo sail around world
1966 - Oakland Pitcher Paul Lindblad begins a 385 cons
errorless streak
1966 - Race riot in Waukegan Illinois
1967 - Naomi Sims is 1st black model on US cover (Fashion of
the Times)
1967 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Amarillo Ladies' Golf Open
1969 - Lindy's Pride win Hambletonian Stakes
1969 - Mike Procter hits six consecutive sixes (across two
overs)
1972 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA National Jewish Hospital Golf
Open
1972 - US bombs Haiphong, North Vietnam
1974 - NY Met Benny Ayala hits a HR in his 1st at bat
1975 - 1st night match at US Tennis Open (Parun defeats
Smith)
1975 - Veronica & Colin Scargill (England) complete
tandem bicycle ride, a record 18,020 miles around the world
1976 - Transsexual Renee Richards barred from competing in
US Tennis Open
1977 - "Chicago" closes at 46th St Theater NYC
after 947 performances
1977 - Army shoots on market vendor women in Conakry,
Guineau
1977 - Toby Harrah & Bump Wills hit back-to-back
inside-the-park-homers off Yankee Ken Clay at Yankee Stadium, Rangers won 8-2
1978 - Gerrie Knetemann becomes world cyclist champion
1978 - Reds Joe Morgan is 1st to hit 200 HRs & have 500
stolen bases
1978 - Shelley Hamlin wins LPGA Patty Berg Golf Classic
1978 - Yankee Catfish Hunter's 6-2 win gives him a perfect
6-0 in Aug 1978
1979 - Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Queen Elizabeth II's
cousin, is killed by an IRA bomb on his boat in Ireland.
1979 - 18 British soldiers die in ambush/bomb attack in
Northern Ireland
1980 - Chon Doo Hwan elected pres of South Korea
1981 - Divers begin to recover a safe found aboard Andrea
Doria
1981 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1982 - Rickey Henderson steals 119th base of season breaks
Lou Brock's mark
1982 - Soyuz T-7 returns to Earth
1983 - Haiti adopts constitution
1983 - US performs nuclear test
1984 - US President Ronald Reagan announces Teacher in Space
project
1984 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
1985 - 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I)-Discovery
6-launched
1985 - Mary Joe Fernandez, 14 years & 8 days old is
youngest to win a US Tennis Open match (beats Sara Gomer in 1st round)
1986 - Emmy News & Documentaries Award presentation
1988 - Dodger Tommy Lasorda wins 1,000th game as manager
tops Phila, 4-2
1989 - 100 march through Bensonhurst protesting racial
killings
1989 - 89th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Chris Patton
1989 - Betsy King wins LPGA Nestle World Golf Championship
1989 - Tina Barrett wins LPGA Mitsubishi Motors Ocean State
Golf Open
1990 - 52 Americans arrive in Turkey from Iraq
1990 - Brewers-Blue Jays game is delayed 35 minutes due to
gnats
1990 - Rosa Mota wins female marathon (2:31:27)
1990 - WWF Summer Slam-Ultimate Warrior beats Rick Rude
1991 - Moldavia declares independence from USSR
1992 - CFL revokes BC Lions franchise
1992 - Mets trade David Cone to Toronto for Jeff Kent &
Ryan Thompson
1993 - Yak-40 crashes in Tadzjikistan, 79 killed/1 lives
1993 - The Rainbow Bridge, connecting Tokyo's Shibaura and
the island of Odaiba, is completed.
1994 - "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" closes at R
Rodgers NYC after 320 perfs
1995 - "Arcadia" closes at Vivian Beaumont Theater
NYC after 204 performances
1995 - 23rd du Maurier Golf Classic: Jenny Lidback
Golfer Tiger WoodsGolfer Tiger Woods 1995 - 95th US Golf
Amateur Championship won by Tiger Woods
1995 - Worst fire in NY in 80 years ends after 4 days
2000 - 540-metre (1,772 ft)-tall Ostankino Tower in Moscow
catches fire, three people are killed.
2003 - Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly
60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.
2006 - Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass
Airport in Lexington, Kentucky bound for Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Of the passengers and crew, 49 of 50 are confirmed
dead in the hours following the crash.
2008 - Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be
nominated by a major political party for President of the United States
2012 - First interplanetary human voice recording is broadcast
from the Mars Rover Curiosity
1660 - The books of John Milton were burned in London due to his attacks on King Charles II. 1789 - The Declaration of the Rights of Man was adopted by the French National Assembly. 1828 - Uruguay was formally proclaimed to be independent during preliminary talks between Brazil and Argentina. 1858 - The first cabled news dispatch was sent and was published by "The New York Sun" newspaper. The story was about the peace demands of England and France being met by China. 1859 - The first oil well was successfully drilled in the U.S. by Colonel Edwin L. Drake near Titusville, PA. 1889 - Charles G. Conn received a patent for the metal clarinet. 1889 - Boxer Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey was defeated for the first time of his career by George LaBlanche. 1892 - The original Metropolitan Opera House in New York was seriously damaged by fire. 1894 - The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act was passed by the U.S. Congress. The provision within for a graduated income tax was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. 1921 - The owner of Acme Packing Company bought a pro football team for Green Bay, WI. J.E. Clair paid tribute to those who worked in his plant by naming the team the Green Bay Packers. (NFL) 1928 - The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed by 15 countries in Paris. Later, 47 other nations would sign the pact. 1938 - Robert Frost, in a fit of jealousy, set fire to some papers to disrupt a poetry recital by another poet, Archibald MacLeish. 1939 - Nazi Germany demanded the Polish corridor and Danzig. 1945 - American troops landed in Japan after the surrender of the Japanese government at the end of World War II. 1962 - Mariner 2 was launched by the United States. In December of the same year the spacecraft flew past Venus. It was the first space probe to reach the vicinity of another planet. 1972 - North Vietnam's major port at Haiphong saw the first bombings from U.S. warplanes. 1981 - Work began on recovering a safe from the Andrea Doria. The Andrea Doria was a luxury liner that had sank in 1956 in the waters off of Massachusetts. 1984 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that the first citizen to go into space would be a teacher. The teacher that was eventually chosen was Christa McAuliffe. She died in the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986. 1984 - Diane Sawyer became the fifth reporter on CBS-TV's "60 Minutes." 1984 - The Menetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village opened. It was the first new off-Broadway theater to be built in 50 years in New York City. 1985 - The Space Shuttle Discovery left for a seven-day mission in which three satellites were launched and another was repaired and redeployed. 1986 - Nolan Ryan (Houston Astros) earned his 250th career win against the Chicago Cubs. 1989 - The first U.S. commercial satellite rocket was launched. A British communications satellite was onboard. 1990 - The U.S. State Department ordered the expulsion of 36 Iraqi diplomats. 1991 - The Soviet republic of Moldavia declared its independence. 1996 - California Governor Pete Wilson signed an order that would halt state benefits to illegal immigrants. 1998 - James Brolin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1999 - The final crew of the Russian space station Mir departed the station to return to Earth. Russia was forced to abandon Mir for financial reasons. 2001 - The U.S. military announced that an Air Force RQ-1B "Predator" aircraft was lost over Iraq. It was reported that the unmanned aircraft "may have crashed or been shot down." 2001 - Work began on the future site of a World War II memorial on the U.S. capital's historic national Mall. The site is between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
1859 Edwin Drake drilled the first successful U.S. oil well near Titusville, Pa. 1883 A massive volcanic eruption on the island of Krakatoa blew up most of the island and resulted in tsunamis that killed over 36,000 people. 1928 The Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war, was signed. 1945 U.S. troops began landing in Japan after Japan's surrender in World War II. 1962 The U.S. launched the Mariner II space probe. 2003 Mars made its closest approach to earth in 60,000 years.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/aug27.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
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