27 July 2024 (MIA)

916 – Saint Clement of Ohrid, Macedonian medieval saint, scholar and writer known as “the enlightener of the Slavs”, dies in Ohrid. He was the most prominent disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius and is often associated with the creation of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic scripts, especially their popularisation among Christianised Slavs. He was the founder of the Ohrid Literary School and is considered as a patron of education and language by most Slavic nations.

1214 – Battle of Bouvines : Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England’s Angevin Empire.

1299 – According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, usually considered to be the founding day of the Ottoman state.

1302 – Battle of Bapheus: decisive Ottoman victory over the Byzantines opening up Bithynia for Turkish conquest.

1549 – The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier’s ship reaches Japan.

1663 – The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports.

1778 – American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant – British and French fleets fight to a standoff.

1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre is arrested after encouraging the execution of more than 17,000 “enemies of the Revolution”.

1914 – Felix Manalo registers the Iglesia ni Cristo with the Philippine government.

1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto led by biochemist Frederick Banting prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.

1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.

1940 – The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.

1955 – The Allied occupation of Austria stemming from World War II, ends.

1964 – Vietnam War: 5,000 more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.

1974 – Watergate scandal: the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.

1976 – Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka is arrested on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and foreign trade laws in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals.

1981 – British television: on Coronation Street, Ken Barlow marries Deirdre Langton, which proves to be a national event scoring massive viewer numbers for the show.

1981 – The new Skopje Railway station opens. The last train departs the historic old Railway station at 11.30h, and the first train arrives at the new Railway station at 12.35h.

1996 – Centennial Olympic Park bombing: in Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics. One woman (Alice Hawthorne) is killed, and a cameraman suffers a heart attack fleeing the scene. 111 are injured.

2012 – Queen Elizabeth II opens the 30th Olympics in London, United Kingdom (with some help from 007).

2014 – Liberia shuts down most of its borders with fears about the spread of Ebola epidemic.

2014 – Obama reaffirms Israel’s “right to defend itself,” but condemns civilian casualties in Gaza.

2020 – US congressman John Lewis becomes the first black lawmaker to lie in state in the Rotunda in Washington D.C.

2020 – Google decides its employees can work from home until July 2021. It is the largest tech company to commit to working from home in response to the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus.

2020 – WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus states that SARS-CoV-2 is “easily the most severe” global health emergency the WHO has faced.