Holidays Calendar for October 27, 2026
Independence Day in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines declared its independence from the United Kingdom on October 27, 1979. Since then the nation annually celebrates its Independence Day, that is a national holiday in the country.
Enthronement Anniversary of Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians
Most of the traditional Christian churches are hierarchical, with a single individual on the top, such as the Pope in the Catholic Church, the Ecumenical Patriarch in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ in the Russian Orthodox Church, the Catholicos of All Armenians in the Armenian Apostolic Church, etc. On October 27, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the enthronement anniversary of the Catholicos.
World Occupational Therapy Day is observed annually on October 27. It was launched to raise awareness of occupational therapy, promote its mission and goals, and highlight the global impact of occupational therapists.
In most Western cultures, black cats have historically been associated with witches, sorcery, and bad luck. Although modern people should know better, there is evidence that black cats are less likely to be adopted from shelters. October 27 has been designated as National Black Cat Day in the United Kingdom to challenge common stereotypes surrounding black cats and encourage people to adopt black cats from shelters.
Ukrainian Writing and Language Day is an official holiday in Ukraine celebrated annually on October 27. Originally celebrated on November 9, the holiday was established by President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma in 1997.
Černová Tragedy Day is an official remembrance day in Slovakia. It's observed on October 27 to commemorate the Slovaks who were killed by Hungarian police in 1907.
Memorial Day for the Victims of the Armenian Parliament Shooting
On October 27 every year, Armenians honor the memory of the victims of the Armenian parliament shooting. On this day in 1999, a group of five armed men broke into the National Assembly building in Yerevan and shot dead eight members of Parliament and government ministers.
Indonesia celebrates National Electricity Day (Hari Listrik Nasional) on October 27. It was established to commemorate the nationalization of Indonesian electric and gas companies during the Indonesian National Revolution.
The National American Beer Day is observed on October 27. It honors all American beers produced by more than 7,000 breweries. This is the perfect excuse for all bear drinkers across the nation to indulge themselves with their favorite American beer styles.
Although Navy Day in the United States has not been officially observed since 1949, October 27 is still widely celebrated as the holiday of the United States Navy.
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is annually celebrated on October 27. This holiday was initiated by UNESCO in 2005 in order to raise public awareness of the significance and of preservation risks of recorded audiovisual and sound documents.
This Day in History
- 2019 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the first caliph of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS), killed himself by detonating a suicide belt while the U.S. forces were conducting a raid to capture him.
- 2017 The Parliament of Catalonia symbolically declared its independence from Spain following a controversial independence referendum held on October 1, 2017.
- 2013 Died: Lou Reed, American musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and photographer. He is best known for his work with the band The Velvet Underground.
- 2005 A series of riots began in France after the deaths of two Muslim teenagers. The riots resulted in three deaths of non-rioters and many police injuries.
- 1999 A group of five armed men led by Nairi Hunanyan launched a terrorist attack on the Armenian National Assembly, killing the Prime Minister and Parliament Speaker.
- 1995 Born: Leon Draisaitl, German professional ice hockey center and, as of October 2024, alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League.
- 1992 Allen R. Schindler, Jr., an American Radioman Petty Officer Third Class in the United States Navy, was murdered for being gay in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan.
- 1990 Died: Jacques Demy, French director and screenwriter. His best known films include The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort.
- 1990 Died: Ugo Tognazzi, Italian film, television, and theater actor, director, and screenwriter. One of his best known works as a director is His Women.
- 1986 Born: Inbar Lavi, Israeli actress. She is known for her television roles as Raviva on Underemployed, Vee on Gang Related, Sheba on Prison Break, and Eve on Lucifer.
- 1984 Born: Kelly Osbourne, British singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, and fashion designer. She is the daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
- 1980 Died: John Hasbrouck Van Vleck, American mathematician and physicist who was awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics, sharing it with two other physicists.
- 1978 Born: Vanessa-Mae, British violinist. She also competed under the name Vanessa Vanakorn for Thailand in alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
- 1977 Died: James M. Cain, American novelist and journalist. His best known works include the novels The Postman Always Rings Twice and Mildred Pierce.
- 1975 Died: Rex Stout, American author of detective fiction. He is best known for his books that feature the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin.
- 1971 The Democratic Republic of the Congo was renamed the Republic of Zaire. Zaire was a single-party state and dictatorship run by Mobutu Sese Seko.
- 1970 Born: Jonathan Stroud, British author of fantasy fiction best known for his Bartimaeus and Lockwood & Co series. His novels are typically set in an alternative history London with fantasy elements.
- 1964 Future president of the US Ronald Reagan delivered his famous speech "A Time for Choosing", also known as "The Speech", on behalf of Barry Goldwater.
- 1962 Died: Enrico Mattei, Italian politician and public administrator. He is best known for founding the national fuel trust Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI).
- 1961 The first Saturn I space launch vehicle, SA-1, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States. It was the first mission of the Apollo program.
- 1958 Born: Simon Le Bon, British singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the bands Duran Duran and Arcadia.
- 1953 Born: Robert Picardo, American actor. American actor. He is best known for playing the Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager and Richard Woolsey in the Stargate franchise.
- 1945 Born: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known popularly as Lula, Brazilian politician and statesman who served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2011.
- 1932 Born: Sylvia Plath, American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is best known for her poetry collections The Colossus and Other Poems and Ariel.
- 1923 Born: Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist. During the 1960s, he was a leading figure in the new art movement, along with Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns.
- 1914 The United Kingdom lost its first battleship during the First World War. The King George V-class battleship HMS Audacious was sunk by a German naval mine.
- 1904 The first underground line of the New York City Subway officially opened, almost 35 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City.
- 1896 Born: Edith Haisman, South African-British woman who was one of the last remaining and oldest survivors of the sinking of RMS Titanic. She was the last survivor born in the 19th century.
- 1858 Born: Theodore Roosevelt, American statesman and author who served as the 26th President of the United States. He was awarded the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1844 Born: Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish writer, journalist, and pacifist who won the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society.
- 1782 Born: Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist, violist, and composer, the most outstanding violin virtuoso of his time. One of his best known works is Caprice No. 24.
- 1682 William Penn founded Philadelphia to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. The settlement of Philadelphia was officially incorporated as a city in 1701.
- 1675 Died: Gilles de Roberval (born Gilles Personne), French mathematician. He worked on the quadrature of surfaces and the cubature of solids.
- 1644 The Second Battle of Newbury was fought during the English Civil War in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The result of the battle was indecisive.
- 1553 Died: Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian, physician, and cartographer. He was the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation.
- 1449 Died: Ulugh Beg, Timurid sultan, as well as an astronomer and mathematician. He built the great Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.