Oct 27 in History

312 — The night before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge between Roman emperors Constantine and Maxentius, Constantine sees a vision of Christ that orders him to ornament the shields of his soldiers with the Greek letters chi and rho, the monogram for Christ. Constantine wins the battle, becomes emperor of the West and an advocate of Christianity. 1275 — Floris V, Count of Holland, grants inhabitants of “Amestelledamme” (Amsterdam) the right not to pay toll fees on goods moved throughout the country he rules. It is the first documented naming of the fishing village developed around a dam in the Amstel River and follows after Floris’s soldiers had wreaked havoc on the village. The citizens become privileged merchants, their village a major commercial centre. 1922 — In a referendum in Southern Rhodesia, 59% of the citizens vote in favour of Responsible Government over joining the Union of South Africa. 1930 — The Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament (the London Naval Treaty) comes into effect. Signed by the UK, Japan, France, Italy and the US on April 22, it regulates submarine warfare and limits naval shipbuilding.

1936 — Wallis Simpson obtains her divorce, enabling her to marry King Edward VIII. Edward abdicates on December 11 and marries Wallis on June 3 1937.

1938 — Du Pont names its new synthetic yarn: nylon — the “first man-made organic textile fibre” derived from “coal, water and air” which promises to be “as strong as steel, as fine as the spider’s web”.

1962 — Major Rudolf Anderson, 35, of the US Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis when his U-2 reconnaissance plane is shot down over Cuba by a Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile — in violation of direct orders from Moscow.

1969 — St Vincent is granted associate statehood under the British, giving it complete control over its internal affairs. Following a referendum, St Vincent and the Grenadines is the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence on October 27 1979, but opts to remain within the British Commonwealth. 1971 — The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire by Mobutu Sese Seko. Laurent Kabila becomes president on May 17 1997 and renames the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo

1999 — Five gunmen burst into the Armenian parliament and open fire with AK-47s, killing Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, 40, and seven other senior politicians. They injure another 30, take dozens of hostages and declare a coup. They surrender on the 28th and are later sentenced to eight life terms each.