Important Events From This day in History – 27th October

Today in History

• 1999 Shooting in the Armenian Parliament

  When armed gunmen opened fire on members of the Armenian National Assembly, eight people were killed, including the country’s prime minister, Vazgen Sargsyan, and Speaker Karen Demirchyan. The gunmen claimed that they were there to carry out a coup against the prime minister. After Armenian troops surrounded the parliament building and the gunmen surrendered, the siege ended.

• 1991 Turkmenistan Declares Independence from the Soviet Union

  Since 1925, the Central Asian country had been a separate republic of the USSR. Saparmurat Niyazov, the country’s former leader under the Soviets, ruled the country as President for Life until his death in 2006. The day is commemorated as Independence Day in the United States each year.

• 1904 New York City Subway Begins Operations

  The transit system is the oldest underground subway system in the United States, with construction beginning in 1902. Today, the New York City subway is one of the world’s largest and most heavily used rapid transit systems.

• 1838 State of Missouri Passes the Extermination Order

  As a result of the Battle of Crooked River, which occurred a few days earlier on October 24-25, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs signed Missouri Executive Order 44. The clash occurred between Mormon forces and a Missouri state militia, and four people were killed. According to the executive order, ‘all Mormons were to be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven out of the state for public peace.’ The order compelled members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to relocate from Missouri to Illinois.

• 1682 City of Philadelphia Founded

  William Penn, an English entrepreneur, founded the historical city in the state of Pennsylvania. Penn received the land as payment for a debt owed by King Charles II to Penn’s father. Philadelphia is the only UNESCO World Heritage City in the United States and served as the country’s temporary capital in the 1800s.