What Happened Whensday: August 27, 2008

This is the 239th day of the year (240th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 126 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events:

479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan commander of the Greek army in the Battle of Plataea. Along the with the Greek victory on the same day in the Battle of Mycale, the Persian invasion of Greece ended.

410 - Visigothic sack of Rome ends after three days.

663 - Remnants of the Korean Baekje Kingdom and their Yamato Japanese allies engage the combined naval forces of the Tang Chinese and Silla Koreans on the Geum River in Korea; the outcome is a significant Tang-Silla victory, while the Japanese would not attempt another invasion of Korea until the Japanese invasions of Korea of the late 16th century.

1232 - The Formulary of Adjudications is promulgated by Regent Hōjō Yasutoki. (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 1232)

1689 - The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing empire.

1776 - Battle of Long Island, in present day Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.

1789 - The French National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, proclaiming that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights."

1793 - French counter-revolution, port of Toulon revolts and admits the British fleet, which lands troops and seizes the port leading to Siege of Toulon.

1798 - United Irishmen and French forces clash with the British army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

1813 - French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.

1828 - The Russians defeat the Turks at the Battle of Akhalzic.

1828 - Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by Britain between Brazil and Argentina during their war.

1859 - Petroleum discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania. World's first successful oil well.

1861 - Civil War: Union (Northern) forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

1896 - Anglo-Zanzibar War: the shortest war in world history (09:00 to 09:45) between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.

1916 - World War I: Romania declares war against Austria-Hungary, entering World War I as one of the Allied nations. It is soon occupied by German and Bulgarian forces.

1921 - The British install the son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali (leader of the Arab Revolt of 1916 against the Ottoman Empire) as King Faisal I of Iraq.

1927 - American aviators Billy Brock and Ed Schlee fly the Pride of Detroit over London on the way to completing the first-ever flight around the world.

1928 - Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war, signed by sixty nations.

1939 - First flight of the Heinkel He 178, the first modern jet aircraft.

1943 - World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.

1952 - Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg; West Germany to pay 3 billion Deutschmark.

1957 - The Constitution of Malaysia came into force.

1962 - Mariner 2 unmanned space mission launched to Venus by America's NASA.

1965 - Music: 1965 - Elvis Presley played host to the Beatles at his home in Bel-Air, CA.

1969 - Israeli commando force penetrates deep into Egyptian territory to stage mortar attack on regional Egyptian Army headquarters in the Nile Valley of Upper Egypt.

1971 - A coup attempt fails in the African nation of Chad. The Chadian government accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations.

1975 - The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.

1979 - An IRA bomb kills British World War II admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten and 3 others while boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Another bomb near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland kills 18 British soldiers.

1982 Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altikat is shot and killed in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide claim responsibility, saying they were avenging the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

1985 - The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Major General Ibrahim Babangida.

1990 - Pro Wrestling: Kerry Von Erich defeated Curt Hennig for the WWE Intercontinental title at WWE Summerslam; At the same event, The Hart Foundation defeated Demolition for the WWE Tag Team title.

1991 - The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

1991 - Moldova declares independence from the USSR.

1993 - The Rainbow Bridge, connecting Tokyo's Shibaura and the island of Odaiba, is completed.

1995 - Pro Wrestling: Bertha Faye defeated Alundra Blaze for the WWE Women's title at WWE Summerslam.

2000 - Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire, three people are killed.
2000 - Pro Wrestling: Chyna defeated Val Venis by pinning Trish Stratus in a tag match for the WWE Intercontinental title at WWE Summerslam; At the same event, Steve Blackman defeated Shane McMahon for the WWE Hardcore title.

2003 - Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing approximately 34,646,416 miles (55,758,006 kilometers) from Earth.

2006 - Comair Flight 5191 crashed en route from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Forty-nine of the 50 people aboard the flight were confirmed dead in the hours following the crash


Notable Births:

1910 - Mother Teresa, Roman Catholic nun, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
1947 - Barbara Bach, American actress
1952 - Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens, American actor
1953 - Alex Lifeson, Canadian guitarist (Rush)
1961 - Yolanda Adams, American gospel singer
1962 - Adam Oates, Canadian ice hockey player
1963 - Downtown Julie Brown, Welsh TV personality and former MTV VJ
1978 - Mase, American rapper


Notable Deaths:

827 - Pope Eugene II
1590 - Pope Sixtus V (b. 1521)
1964 - Gracie Allen, American actress and comedienne (b. 1895)
1967 - Brian Epstein, English manager of The Beatles (b. 1934)
1990 - Stevie Ray Vaughan, American guitarist (b. 1954)
2006 - Maria Capovilla, oldest woman alive from 2004-2006 (b. 1889)