Oct 27
1871
A newspaper brings down Boss Tweed
The arrest of Tammany Hall leader William Magear “Boss” Tweed on this day in 1871 marked a turning point in one of the biggest, boldest, and most egregious political scandals in U.S. history. Even by 21st-century standards, the power wielded by New York City kingmaker Tweed, the scale of his corruption, and the fear he instilled in those around him were staggering. A disgruntled Tweed henchman eventually sent evidence to The New York Times. What happened next?
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Featured Event
Jimmy Carter Library/NARA
On this day in 1978, Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for negotiations that resulted first in the Camp David Accords, then in a peace treaty between their countries.
Featured Biography
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Theodore Roosevelt, born this day in 1858, became a writer, a soldier, and the 26th U.S. president (1901–09), in which role he expanded the powers of the presidency and federal government and received the Nobel Peace Prize.
More on October 27
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2017
Catalonia’s parliament voted to declare the region independent from Spain, resulting in the central government’s dismissing that legislative body and calling for new elections, in which the majority of seats were claimed by the pro-independence movement. [Take our quiz about Europe.]
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2014
Taylor Swift released 1989, which she described as her first “official pop album.” It was a blockbuster hit and won the Grammy Award for album of the year. On the same date in 2023 she released 1989 (Taylor’s Version), a rerecording of the original. [How much do you know about Taylor Swift?]
© Christopher Penler/Shutterstock.com
2004
The Boston Red Sox ended the “Curse of the Bambino”—an alleged hex that began in 1920 when the team’s owner sent Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in exchange for $125,000 and a personal loan—by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series title. It was the Red Sox’s first MLB championship in 86 years. [Test your knowledge of baseball.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
2000
At a concert near Tel Aviv, the music of German composer Richard Wagner, which many associate with the Nazi regime, was played for the first time in public in Israel. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about music composers.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1979
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an island country lying within the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea, achieved its independence. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about islands.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1968
Physicist Lise Meitner, whose research (along with that of Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann) led to the discovery of nuclear fission, died in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. [Take our physics quiz.]
MSFC/NASA
1961
The first Saturn rocket was successfully launched, and years later the Saturn V was the launch vehicle used in the Apollo Moon-landing flights. [Test your knowledge of space exploration.]
CSU Archive/Everett Collection/age fotostock
1932
American poet and novelist Sylvia Plath—whose best-known works are preoccupied with alienation, death, and self-destruction—was born. [Take our authors and poets quiz.]
© chimpy—iStock/Getty Images
1795
Pinckney’s Treaty, an agreement between the United States and Spain, was signed, giving the United States navigation rights on the Mississippi River. [Test your knowledge of the United States.]
© De Agostini/Getty Images
1492
Christopher Columbus sailed to Cuba and claimed the island for Spain. [How much do you know about exploration and discovery?]
Courtesy of the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; photograph, The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London
939
Athelstan, the first king to rule over all of England, died. [Take our quiz about the kings of England.]
