September 27
Activity of the day
Today is . . .
- World Tourism Day
- Feast Day of St Vincent de Paul, patron saint of charitable societies
On this day . . .
- The first passenger rail service opens in England (1826)
- The first great disaster involving an ocean liner in the Atlantic (1854)
- The Queen Elizabeth liner is launched by the Queen Mother (1938)
- Glenn Miller and his Orchestra perform together for the last time (1942)
- First ‘travelator’ in Europe opens at Bank underground station (1960)
- The Warren Commission issues a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy (1964)
- The stage musical Hair opens in London (1968)
- BBC’s discussion programme Question Time is broadcast for first time (1979)
- Google is founded (1998)
Births
- Samuel Adams, American revolutionary leader (1722)
- William Conrad, American radio, film and television actor (1920)
- Alvin Stardust, rock singer (1942)
- Meat Loaf, American singer/actor (1951)
- Irvine Welsh, Scottish writer (1961)
- Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress (1972)
- Avril Lavigne, Canadian singer-songwriter (1984)
Deaths
- Edgar Degas, French painter (1917)
- Engelbert Humperdinck, German composer (1921)
- Aristide Maillol, French painter and sculptor (1944)
- Gracie Fields, English singer and comedian (1979)
- James Doolittle, American aviation pioneer (1993)