Once Upon A Time – April 27 – 1956 – Undefeated World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Rocky Marciano, Retires From The Ring

1565 1st Spanish settlement in the Philippines forms at Cebu City

1865 Steamboat “SS Sultana” explodes in the Mississippi River, killing up to 1,800 of the 2,427 passengers in the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Most were paroled Union POWs on their way home.

1904 The Australian Labor Party under Prime Minister Chris Watson becomes the first Labor government in the world

1945 Italian partisans capture Benito Mussolini at Dongo (Lake Como)

2005 The superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France

Historical Events Today Events in 2023

Today in Film & TV

2014 “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” late-night talk and news show fronted by John Oliver premieres on HBO

Today in Music

1810 Ludwig van Beethoven composes his famous piano piece “Für Elise”

Today in Sport

1956 Undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano, retires from the ring

1667 Blind and impoverished, English poet John Milton sells the copyright of “Paradise Lost” for £10

1965 RC Duncan patents “Pampers” disposable diaper

1922 The Sky’s was the limit for Sheila Scott who made three solo flights around the world and was the first pilot, male or female, to fly over the North Pole.

Famous Weddings

1597 Astronomer Johannes Kepler marries widow Barbara Müller

1862 Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute’s church in Saint Petersburg, Russia

1981 Beatle Ringo Starr (40) weds American actress Barbara Bach (33) at Marylebone Town Hall, London, England