TODAY in HISTORY
Today is Monday, August 27, the 239th day of 2018. There are 126 days left in the year.
410 The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days. 1172 King Henry II of England crowns his heirs, Henry the Young King and Queen Margaret, but gives them no actual authority.
1557 The Battle of St. Quentin results in Emmanuel Philibert becoming Duke of Savoy.
1689 The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing Empire ( Julian calendar).
1776 Battle of Long Island: In what is now Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeated the Americans under General George Washington. 1810 Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France. 1813 French Emperor Napoleon I defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden. 1828 Brazil and Argentina recognize the sovereignty of Uruguay in the Treaty of Montevideo. 1832 Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to U. S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War. 1883 Eruption of Krakatoa: Four enormous explosions destroy the island of Krakatoa and cause years of climate change. 1896 Anglo- Zanzibar War: The shortest war in world history ( 09: 00 to 09: 45), between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.
1928 The Kellogg– Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by fifteen nations. Ultimately sixty- one nations will sign it.
1933 The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein. 1939 First flight of the turbojetpowered Heinkel He 178, the world’s first jet aircraft. 1962 The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by Nasa. 1975 The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.
1985 The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Major General Ibrahim Babangida.
1991 The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 2003 Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles ( 55,758,005 km) distant. 2009 Internal conflict in Burma: The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region.