On this day...

1302 Dante becomes a Florentine political exile
1662 First American lime kiln begins operation, Providence, RI
1736 Abdication of Stanislas, last king of Poland
1785 First US state university chartered, Athens, Georgia
1823 President Monroe appoints first US ambassadors to South America
1864 Civil War skirmish at Kelly's Ford, VA
1870 First sorority (Kappa Alpha Theta) (DePauw University in Greencastle, IN)
1870 Manitoba & Northwest Territories incorporated
1880 Thomas Edison patents electric incandescent lamp
1891 Mine explosion kills 109 at Mount Pleasant, PA
1894 First college basketball game, University of Chicago beats Chicago YMCA 19-11
1894 Midwinter Fair opens in Golden Gate Park
1915 US Marines occupy Haiti
1916 Communist party "Spartacus" formed in Berlin
1926 First public demonstration of television, John L Baird, London
1927 Harlem Globetrotters play their first game
1948 First locomotive to carry 1,000,000 pounds operates
1948 First tape recorder sold
1964 Margaret Chase Smith (Senator-R-Maine) tries for Republican Presidential bid
1965 First ground station-to-aircraft radio communication via satellite
1967 Apollo 1 fire kills astronauts Grissom, White & Chaffee
1967 New Orleans Saints sign their first player (Paige Cothren-kicker)
1967 Treaty banning military use of nuclear weapons in space, signed
1973 Janet Lynn wins her 5th consecutive national figure skating championship
1973 US & Vietnam sign cease-fire
1976 "Laverne & Shirley," spin-off from "Happy Days," premiers on ABC TV
1977 President Carter pardons most Vietnam War draft evaders (10,000)
1984 Los Angeles Kings end Wayne Gretzky's NHL-record 51-game scoring streak
1989 Kevin Johnson (Phoenix) begins NBA free throw streak of 57 games
1990 Dissolution of Polish communist party.
1990 Steffi Graf beats Mary Jo Fernandez to win the Australian Open
1991 Super Bowl XXV-NY Giants beat Buffalo Bills, 20-19
1992 Mike Tyson goes on trial for rape (he is found guilty)

Birthdays which occurred on January 27th:

1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austria, musical prodigy/composer
1832 Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], author (Alice in Wonderland)
1850 Samuel Gompers, first president (American Federation of Labor)
1859 Kaiser Wilhelm II, Potsdam, German emperor (1888-1918)
1885 Jerome Kern, New York NY, Broadway composer (Showboat, Roberta)
1900 Hyman G. Rickover, US Admiral (father of modern nuclear navy)
1901 Art Rooney, NFL team owner (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1908 William Randolph Hearst, Jr., newspaper publisher (Hearst Publishing)
1911 Benay Venuta, actress (Annie Get Your Gun, Call Me Mister)
1918 Elmore James, musician (Dust My Broom)
1918 Skitch Henderson, Birmingham England, orchestra leader (Tonight Show)
1919 David Seville [Ross Bagdasarian], Fresno CA, (Alvin & Chipmunks)
1921 Donna Reed, Denison IA, (From Here to Eternity, Wonderful Life)
1927 Joe Perry, AAFC/NFL fullback (San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Colts)
1927 Michael Craig, India, actor (Escape 2000, Vault of Horror)
1929 Ingrid Thulin, Sweden, actress (Cries & Whispers, Damned)
1930 Bobby "Blue" Bland, blues singer (Call on the Drummer)
1931 Mordecai Richler, author, Montreal (Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz)
1936 Troy Donahue, New York NY, actor (Surfside Six, Cockfighter, Hawaiian Eye)
1937 John Ogdon, Manchester England, pianist
1945 Nick Mason, rock drummer (Pink Floyd)
1948 Mikhail Baryshnikov, Riga Latvia, ballet dancer (That's Dancing)
1951 Brian Downey, rock drummer (Thin Lizzy-Boys are Back in Town)
1951 Scott Lane, New York NY, actor (Gary-McKeever & the Colonel)
1951 Seth Justman, rock vocalist/keyboardist (J. Geils Band-Centerfold)
1952 Brian Gottfried, Baltimore MD, tennis star (Wimbeldon Doubles 1976)
1955 Mimi Rogers, Coral Gables FL, actress (Paper Dolls, The Rousters)
1957 Frank Miller, US, comicbook writer (Batman-The Dark Knight Returns)
1958 Charles Waltz, rocker (Shooting Star)
1959 Patti Cohoon, Whittier CA, actress (Molly-Here Come the Brides)
1964 Cathy Podewell, actress (Dallas)

Deaths which occurred on January 27th:

1851 John James Audubon, conservationist (Audubon Society), dies at 65
1901 Giuseppe Verdi, opera composer, dies in Milano at 87
1967 Edward H. White, II, astronaut, dies in Apollo I fire
1967 Roger B. Chaffee, astronaut, dies at 31 in Apollo I fire
1967 Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom, astronaut, dies at 41 in Apollo I fire
1969 Charles Winninger, actor (Charlie Farrell Show), dies at 82
1970 Ed Ford, comedian (Can You Top This?), dies at 72
1972 Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, dies at 60
1982 Iris Korn, actress (Widder-Palmerstown USA), dies at 60
1983 Louis De Funes, actor, dies at 68 of a heart attack
1983 Robert Christian, actor, dies of cancer at 42