Today in history August 27

1776: The battle of Brooklyn
During the American Revolution, British forces under General William Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard Viscount Howe, defeat Patriot forces under General George Washington at the Battle of Brooklyn in New York, also known as the Battle of Long Island.



1813: Napoleon defeats Austrians in the battle of Dresden
French forces under Napoleon score a modest victory against the Allied army led by Field Marshal Schwarzenberg. The battle took place on the outskirts of Dresden, then capital of the Kingdom of Saxony in what is today Germany.

1859: First commercial oil well
Edwin Drake drills the first successful U.S. oil well near Titusville, Pennsylvania. He struck oil after drilling 69 ft. into the ground, launching the petroleum age and making Titusville ground zero for the Pennsylvania oil rush.

1883: Krakatau explodes
The eruption of Krakatoa is one of the most deadly volcanic eruptions of modern history. It is estimated that more than 36,000 people died.
1892: Metropolitan opera house damaged by fire

A fire destroys much of the interior of New York's original Opera House, forcing it to close.
1916: Romanian soldiers march to war
Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, formally entering World War I. Romanian troops cross the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into the much-contested province of Transylvania.

1928: Kellogg-Briand pact signed in Paris
The Kellogg-Briand Pact is signed in Paris, an international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve 'disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them'.

1939: Worlds first jet plane
The first turbojet-powered aircraft, the Heinkel He 178, goes on its first full-fledged test flight over Germany. It was flown by German test pilot Erich Warsitz.

1955: The Guinness book of records debuts
The first edition of 'The Guinness Book of Records' is published in Great Britain. The book has sold more than 130 million copies, translated into more than two dozen languages and is the top-selling copyrighted title in history.

1979: Assassination of Lord Louis Mountbatten
Lord Louis Mountbatten is killed when Irish Republican Army terrorists detonate a 50-pound bomb hidden on his fishing vessel Shadow V. Mountbatten. Three others were killed in the attack, including Mountbatten’s 14-year-old grandson, Nicholas.

2003: Mars is closest to the earth since 57,617 BC
Mars makes its closest approach to earth in 60,000 years. The next time the two planets will be this close will be in 2287.

2008: Obama nominated for Democratic presidential candidate

Barack Obama, a freshman senator from the state of Illinois, is nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Denver. With that, he became the first African-American to have been nominated from a major party for president.