TODAY in HISTORY

Today is Monday, March 27, the 86th day of

2017. There are 279 days left in the year. 1625 Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France. 1782 Charles WatsonWentworth, second Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1809 During the Peninsular War, a combined Franco-Polish force defeats the Spanish in the Battle of Ciudad Real.

1814 War of 1812: In central Alabama, US forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

1836 Texas Revolution: On the orders of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the Mexican army massacres 342 Texas POWs at Goliad, Texas.

1866 President Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9.

1899 Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino forces for the only time during the Philippine-American War at the Battle of Marilao River.

1941 During the WWII, Yugoslavian Air Force officers topple the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup. 1958 Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union.

1964 The Good Friday earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in US history at a magnitude of 9.2, strikes Southcentral Alaska, kills 125 people and inflicts massive damage to the city of Anchorage.

1980 The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212. 1993 Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People’s Republic of China.

1999 Kosovo War: Yugoslav SAM downs F-117A, the first and only kill by the stealth aircraft.

2002 Nanterre massacre: In Nanterre, France, a gunman opens fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors.

2004 HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.

2014 Philippines signs a peace accord with the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, ending decades of conflict.

2016 A suicide blast claims over 70 lives in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore.