March 27th
1512
Spanish explorer Juan de Leon sighted Florida.
1625
Charles I ascended the English throne upon the death of James I.
1794
President Washington and Congress authorized creation of the U.S. Navy.
1836
The first Mormon temple was dedicated, in Kirtland, Ohio.
1917
The Seattle Metropolitans became the first American team to win the Stanley Cup as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens.
1945
During World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower told reporters in Paris that German defenses on the Western Front had been broken.
1958
Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet premier in addition to first secretary of the Communist Party.
1964
Alaska was rocked by a powerful earthquake that killed 114 people.
1968
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit earth, died in a plane crash.
1977
582 people were killed when a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
1998
The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra, made by Pfizer, saying it helped about two-thirds of impotent men improve their sexual function.