History of 27 January
- 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
- 1943 – World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany.
- 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
- 1945 – World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
- 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.
- 1961 – The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat.
- 1967 – Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
- 1967 – Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
- 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
- 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
- 1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world’s longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
- 1996 – In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
- 1996 – Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
- 2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
- 2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
- 2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
- 2011 – Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana’a.
- 2013 – Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.
Celebrating Birthday’s Today
- 1976 – Michael K. Winder, an American businessman, and politician
- 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian-American baseball player, and manager
- 1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
- 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer, and coach
- 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player, and coach
- 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player, and politician
- 1981 – Yaniv Katan, Israeli footballer
- 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player, and sportscaster
- 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Deon Anderson, American football player
- 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
- 1983 – Dene Halatau, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1987 – Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1987 – Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
- 1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Christian Bickel, German footballer
- 1991 – Sebastine Ikahihifo, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
- 1993 – Joe Landolina, American engineer and businessman, founded Vettel
- 1994 – Jack Stephens, English footballer