January 27 in Pop Culture History

January 27th History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

January 27th History Highlights

  • 1945 – The Auschwitz concentration camp, with about 6,000 prisoners was liberated by Soviet Forces.
  • 1944 – The Siege of Leningrad, which began on September 4, 1941, ended. More than 1/2 of the city’s population was killed.
  • 1973 – The Vietnam Peace Agreement was signed in Paris (taking effect January 28th). Colonel William Nolde was killed in action, becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
  • If you were born on January 27th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… May 6th (prior year)

January 27th is…

International Holocaust Remembrance Day
National Chocolate Cake Day
National Geographic Day

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The Holocaust is one of the most tragic events in history. Over six million Jewish victims died at the hands of Nazi Germany and millions more were killed for reasons such as their race, sexuality, or disability. The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day to commemorate these lives lost and honor those who survived.

Every year on this day, the UN urges every member state to take action in remembrance of the Holocaust. This can include anything from developing educational programs to spreading awareness about the importance of tolerance and diversity. It’s crucial that we remember the Holocaust not just as a dark chapter in history, but as a warning for future generations about the dangers of hate and bigotry

January 27th Birthday Quotes

When you handle yourself, use your head; when you handle others, use your heart.
– Donna Reed

I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.
– Mikhail Baryshnikov

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, ‘The good outnumber you, and we always will.’
– Patton Oswalt

If you drink much from a bottle marked “poison” it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.
– Lewis Carroll

Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius
– Mozart

The world doesn’t make sense until you force it to.
– Frank Miller

No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business.
– Mikhail Baryshnikov

The fact that the theatre-going public likes my music is no credit to me. There are many other composers who write better music that the public doesn’t like.
– Jerome Kern

Everything’s got a moral if only you can find it.
– Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Every time I write a song I keep a mental picture of a housewife with her hands in soapy weather, listening to the radio. I try to figure out how to get her hands out of the dishwater to turn up the volume, to hear my song.
– Ross Bagdasarian

January 27th Birthdays

1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist, and composer (died in 1791)
1832 – Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson), English novelist, poet, and mathematician (died in 1898)
1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer, and songwriter (died in 1945)
1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (died in 1993)
1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (died in 1972)
1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (died in 1986)
1924 – Sabu, Indian-American actor (died in 1963)
1930 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, American blues singer-songwriter (died in 2013)
1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (died in 2001)
1940 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor (died in 2015)
1942 – James Cromwell, American actor
1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor
1952 – G. E. Smith, American guitarist, and songwriter
1954 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
1955 – John Roberts, American jurist, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
1957 – Frank Miller, American comic book illustrator, and writer
1959 – Keith Olbermann, American journalist, and author
1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor
1969 – Patton Oswalt, American comedian, and actor
1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress

January 27th History

1606 – The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators began for the Gunpowder Plot, ending with their execution on January 31.

1880 – Thomas Edison received a patent (#223,898) for his incandescent lamp.

1888 – The National Geographic Society was established.

1945 – 60th Army First Ukrainian Front soldiers opened the gates of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, liberating the remaining 7,000 prisoners, mostly ill and dying. In 2005 the United Nations declared 27 January as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with Operation Ranger.

1962 – #1 Hit January 27, 1962 – February 16, 1962: Joey Dee and the StarlitersPeppermint Twist – Part 1

1967 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

January 27, 1970 Birthday (fictional) Dwight Schrute, The Office, TV

1970 – James M. Schlatter received a patent (#3492131) for ‘Peptide Sweetening Agents’ later marketed as NutraSweet.

1973 – #1 Hit January 27, 1973 – February 2, 1973: Stevie WonderSuperstition

1976Lavern and Shirley debuted on ABC.

1977Roots mini-series began on ABC.

1984 – Michael Jackson’s hair caught fire while filming a Pepsi commercial.

1984 – The Lonely Guy & Broadway Danny Rose were released in theaters.

2006Big Momma’s House 2 & Nanny McPhee debuted in theaters.

2010 – Steve Jobs unveiled Apple’s latest product, a tablet PC called the iPad, at a press conference in San Francisco.

#1 Hit January 27, 2018 – February 2, 2018: Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug – Havana

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

Spam stands for Shoulder Pork and hAM.

I wonder what the odds are that I’ve never heard my favorite song…

“He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich.” #songlyrics

The biggest film of 1946: Song of the South (Action/Adventure) earned ~ $65,000,000

The Scary Statistic: Tsunami 1-in-500,000

What to do: “Anti Tsunami” T-shirts are not effective. Living on or near a mountain, or even deep under the sea offers reasonable protection.

-40 Celsius and -40 Fahrenheit are the same temperatures. #science

TV Quotes… “God’ll get you for that” (Maude) on “Maude”

A group of Coyotes is called a Band.

Google Deepmind might be able to beat the world’s best Go and Chess players. But the real test is can it figure out why my SO is mad at me.

We can buy stars as little gifts to people, so is there another similar planet to ours far far away in which someone owns our sun?

I love Grape Nuts – except, lots of times, I forget to put milk on them the night before I want to eat them.

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