What Happened On This Day ? March 27
-
1998
Viagra is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Pfizer's pill was the first drug against male impotence to be approved in the United States. In 2012, the company made 2 billion U.S. Dollars from Viagra alone.
-
1994
Silvio Berlusconi rises to power in Italy
In his 20 years in Italian politics, Berlusconi arguably made more headlines for his numerous affairs and scandals than for his policies. In 2013, he was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for tax fraud.
-
1980
The oil rig Alexander L. Kjelland collapses in high winds in the North Sea
Only 89 of 212 crew survived the Norwegian platform's capsizing, which was caused by a fatigue crack in one of the legs.
-
1977
The worst air crash in history occurs in Tenerife, Spain
583 people died when 2 Boeing 747 aircraft collided on the runway.
-
1871
England and Scotland compete in the first international rugby match
Like association football, rugby is a British invention. Today, it is a popular sport mainly in large parts of the British Commonwealth.
-
1971
David Coulthard
Scottish race car driver
-
1970
Mariah Carey
American singer-songwriter, producer, actress
-
1963
Quentin Tarantino
American director, screenwriter, producer
-
1924
Sarah Vaughan
American singer
-
1845
Wilhelm Rontgen
German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
-
2006
Rudolf Vrba
Czech/Canadian holocaust survivor, educator
-
2002
Billy Wilder
Austrian/American director
-
1972
M. C. Escher
Dutch illustrator
-
1968
Yuri Gagarin
Russian pilot, astronaut
-
1898
Syed Ahmad Khan
Indian educator, politician