What Happened on June 27?
1991 – Yugoslav troops invade Slovenia
The attack, which marked the beginning of the Ten-Day War, followed Slovenia's declaration of independence. It was the first of the Yugoslav Wars, a number of ethnic conflicts leading to the break-up of Yugoslavia and resulting in at least 140,000 deaths.
1986 – The 1980s U.S. intervention in Nicaragua is declared illegal
The International Court of Justice condemned the U.S. paramilitary campaign to overthrow the left-wing Nicaraguan government. The social democratic Sandinistas had begun to redistribute the country's wealth and improve education.
1972 – Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney found Atari, Inc.
The pioneering video game and home computer company produced arcade classics like the two-dimensional tennis simulator Pong. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s, its products had a large impact on the electronic entertainment industry.
1956 – The film Moby Dick is premiered
John Huston's adaptation of Herman Melville's homonymous novel, while not having been a great box office success, is today considered an outstanding work, especially for its use of light and color.
1954 – The world's first nuclear power plant is activated
The reactor at Obninsk in present-day Russia remained in operation for 48 years. Today, there are some 400 atomic power plants worldwide. The technology remains controversial, especially due to the unsolved long-term storage of the highly dangerous nuclear waste.
Births on June 27
1985 – Svetlana Kuznetsova
Russian tennis player
1969 – Viktor Petrenko
Ukrainian figure skater
1886 – Charlie Macartney
Australian cricketer
1869 – Emma Goldman
Lithuanian/American activist, writer
1846 – Charles Stewart Parnell
Irish politician, founder of the Irish Parliamentary Party
Deaths on June 27
2001 – Jack Lemmon
American actor, singer, director
1999 – Georgios Papadopoulos
Greek colonel, politician, 169th Prime Minister of Greece
1844 – Joseph Smith
American religious leader, founder, leader of the Latter Day Saint movement
1839 – Ranjit Singh
Indian founder of the Sikh Empire
1831 – Sophie Germain
French mathematician, physicist, philosopher