This Day in History is DUE’s daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride of all the fascinating things that happened on 27th March!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of history. Now, let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – 27th March”.
47 BCE: Cleopatra reinstated as queen of Egypt
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (“Cleopatra the Father-Loving Goddess”) was a famous historical Egyptian queen. She was famous as the lover of Julius Caeser and later wife of Mark Antony. She was reinstalled as the co-ruler of Egypt on this day in 47 BCE. Aided by Julius Caeser she co-ruled Egypt along with her brother, Ptolemy XIII.
1668: King Charles II gives Bombay to the East India Company
The British monarch King Charles II conceded the city of Bombay to the East India Company on 27th March 1668. The company was to pay £10 as the annual rent and in return, the king also obtained a loan of £50000 at 6% interest from the company.
1962: World Theatre Day
World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI). Since its inauguration in 1962, every year World Theatre Day is celebrated on March 27th by the international theatre community. Every year a public figure of world stature chosen by ITI shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day Message was written by Jean Cocteau in 1962.
1977: Tenerife Airport Disaster
On 27th March 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets- KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport. The crash killed every single passenger on board in KLM and only 61 survivors were left from pan 1736. The subsequent inquiry led to the conclusion that the cause of the incident KLM captain’s mistaken belief that takeoff clearance had been issued.
Read more about the incident here- Tenerife Airport Disaster: How It Happened And What We Learned
1980: Mount St. Helens Erupts
On this day in 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows emerged at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, U.S.A. After this minor eruption on March 27, small eruptions became a daily occurrence. Ultimately on 18th May, there comes a massive eruption killing 57 people. It has often been declared the most disastrous volcanic eruption in the history of the U.S.A.
