What Happened On
Captain Midnight Jams HBO
April 27, 1986
A video pirate overrides an HBO movie broadcast with a message protesting the cost of the HBO service.
John R. MacDougall, using the pseudonym Captain Midnight, overrode HBO's satellite signal during a showing of The Falcon and the Snowman, interrupting the broadcast with his own message for four and a half minutes. The message read:
GOODEVENING HBO
FROM CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT
$12.95/MONTH ?
NO WAY !
[SHOWTIME/MOVIE CHANNEL BEWARE!]
MacDougall had operated a TV satellite dish store whose business had severely dropped off after HBO and other cable services recently began scrambling their signals. Prior to that, anyone with a dish could receive their broadcasts for free. Now no longer able to get these broadcasts without buying expensive descramblers and paying a monthly fee, people quit buying satellite dishes.
He was caught after someone overheard him bragging about the incident on a pay phone. He pleaded guilty and received a $5,000 fine, one year unsupervised probation, and his amateur radio license was suspended for a year. His actions led Congress to pass the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, making satellite hijacking a felony.
Lavender Scare
April 27, 1953
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order banning homosexuals from serving in the federal government. Over 5,000 federal employees were fired under suspicions of being homosexual. It was in response to the belief that homosexuals posed a security risk due to their susceptibility to blackmail.
This was part of what became known as "The Lavender Scare" in which homosexuals were targeted for discrimination by the U.S. federal government.
The order's language restricting national security access based on sexual orientation was repealed in 1995 by U.S. President Bill Clinton. The order was explicitly repealed in 2017 by U.S. President Barack Obama.
Grant's Tomb
April 27, 1897
Grant's Tomb, the final resting place of General Ulysses S. Grant, is dedicated. It was dedicated on the 75th-anniversary of Grant's birth on April 27, 1822 and is the largest mausoleum in North America.
His wife Julia Dent Grant died five years later and was placed in a matching sarcophagus beside him.
So, the answer to the age-old question "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?" is "no one". Grant and his wife are entombed there, but since their bodies are above ground they are not technically buried there.
Sultana with her deck full of released Union Prisoners
Sultana with her deck full of released Union Prisoners
Worst Maritime Disaster in U.S. History
April 27, 1865
The boilers explode on the steamboat Sultana near Memphis, killing 1,547 people. The Sultana was designed for a max capacity of 376 passengers, but was carrying 2,155 when three of her four boilers exploded. She burned to the water line and sank. The Sultana was carrying almost 2,000 former Union Civil War prisoners. The U.S. government was paying $5 per enlisted man and $10 per officer for their transport. The ship's captain had offered a bribe in order to secure the government contract and was maximizing his profits by overloading his ship.
Beethoven's Für Elise
April 27, 1810
Ludwig van Beethoven composes Für Elise. While now one of Beethoven's most popular pieces, it was lost and not rediscovered until 40 years after Beethoven's death.
"Für Elise" is German for "For Elise". The identity of Elise has never been fully determined. Some speculate it may refer to Beethoven's 18-year-old student Therese Malfatti, whom Beethoven supposedly proposed to in 1810. Others think it may have been Beethoven's 17-year-old friend the German soprano singer Elisabeth Röckel.
Civil Rights
April 27, 1994
South Africa holds its first democratic general election in which black citizens could vote.
First Woman Speaker of House
April 27, 1992
First Woman Speaker of House for the British House of Commons is elected, Betty Boothroyd.
Leo Frank Lynching
April 27, 1913
14-year-old Mary Phagan is found murdered in an Atlanta pencil factory. Leo Frank was convicted of her murder based on the testimony of Jim Conley and sentenced to death. The governor reviewed the evidence and commuted his sentence to life in prison. Angered by the change in sentencing, a mob kidnapped Frank from prison and lynched him. The lynch mob was said to include prominent citizens, including former Georgia Governor Joseph Mackey Brown. Nobody was ever charged in the lynching.
His conviction was based largely on the testimony of Jim Conley, but was overturned in 1986 after evidence surfaced implicating Conley.
First U.S. Appendectomy
April 27, 1887
George Thomas Morton removes the appendix of a 26-year-old patient.
Great Fire of Charleston
April 27, 1838
The South Carolina fire destroyed about 1/4th of the center of the city.
Birthdays
Walter Lantz
Born April 27, 1899 d. 1994
American cartoonist. Creator of Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, and Chilly Willy. Although originally voiced by Mel Blanc (1940-1941, 1948-1955) and others, Lance's wife Grace Lantz provided the voice for Woody Woodpecker from 1950 to 1972.
Invented Nylon
Wallace Carothers (Wallace Hume Carothers)
Born April 27, 1896 d. 1937
American chemist. He invented nylon (1934) while working for the du Pont Company. Nylon's first commercial use was in 1938 for toothbrush bristles. Nylon stockings went on sale in 1939.
Carothers also developed neoprene, the first successful synthetic rubber (1931).
Carothers had a history of depression since his youth, and even though he was under treatment, committed suicide by drinking potassium cyanide.
Ulysses S. Grant (Hiram Ulysses Grant)
Born April 27, 1822 d. 1885
American politician. 18th U.S. President (1869-77). He was commanding general (1864-69) for the Union Army during the Civil War. When entering West Point, his name was mistakenly written down as "Ulysses S. Grant", which he began using as his name. He insisted that the "S" didn't stand for anything.
Grant also served as president of the National Rifle Association (1883-84).
Survival of the Fittest
Herbert Spencer
Born April 27, 1820 d. 1903
English sociologist, philosopher. As an early evolutionist, he developed his theories independently of Charles Darwin. He coined the term "survival of the fittest" (1852), seven years before Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859).
Samuel F.B. Morse (Samuel Finley Breese Morse)
Born April 27, 1791 d. 1872
American inventor of the telegraph and Morse code.
Sheena Easton (Sheena Shirley Orr)
Born April 27, 1959
Grammy-winning singer. Music: Morning Train (1981, #1) and For Your Eyes Only (1981).
Ace Frehley (Paul Daniel Frehley)
Born April 27, 1951
American rock musician. Original lead guitarist, founding member of the rock band Kiss, known as The Spaceman. Music: Rock And Roll All Nite (1975).
Carne (center) on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Carne (center) on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
"Sock It To Me" Girl
Judy Carne (Joyce Botterill)
Born April 27, 1939 d. 2015
English actress. TV: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967-71, the "Sock it to me" girl). She was briefly married to Burt Reynolds (1963-65).
Earl Anthony
Born April 27, 1938 d. 2001
American Hall of Fame bowler. PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) champion (1973, 74, 75) and was the first $1,000,000 winner of the PBA (1982). He had 25 career 300 games. He and Dick Weber are widely credited for having increased bowling's popularity in the United States.
Casey Kasem (Kamal Amin Kasem)
Born April 27, 1932 d. 2014
American music historian, radio host, voiceover actor. Radio: The countdown program American Top 40. TV: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (voice of Shaggy). Famous sign off: "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."
Anouk Aimee (Francoise Sorya Dreyfus)
Born April 27, 1932
French actress. Film: A Man and a Woman (1966, Oscar nomination).
Coretta Scott King
Born April 27, 1927 d. 2006
American civil rights activist, wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jack Klugman
Born April 27, 1922 d. 2012
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: The Odd Couple (1970-75, Oscar Madison) and Quincy M.E. (1976-83). Film: 12 Angry Men (1957).
The first ascent of the Matterhorn by Gustave Doré
The first ascent of the Matterhorn by Gustave Doré
Edward Whymper
Born April 27, 1840 d. 1911
British explorer. First person to climb the Matterhorn (1865). Four of his seven-member team died during the descent.
Deaths
Edward R. Murrow (Egbert Roscoe Murrow)
Died April 27, 1965 b. 1908
American Emmy-winning journalist. He gained prominence during World War II with live broadcasts from Europe by him and his "Murrow Boys", ending his broadcasts with "Good night, and good luck." He flew with 25 combat missions in Europe during the war.
His reports on his television show See It Now helped bring about the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy.
He won four Peabody awards, the Medal of Freedom (1964), and was knighted an honorary commander of the Order of the British Empire (1965).
David Birney
Died April 27, 2022 b. 1939
American actor. TV: Bridget Loves Bernie (1972-73, Bernie), Serpico (1976-77, title role), and St. Elsewhere (1982-83, Dr. Ben Samuels).
He married his co-star Meredith Baxter from Bridget Loves Bernie in 1974, divorcing in 1989.
Paul Junger Witt
Died April 27, 2018 b. 1941
American Emmy-winning film producer. He, with his partners Susan Harris (his wife) and Tony Thomas, produced a number of hit TV shows including The Partridge Family, The Golden Girls, Soap, and Empty Nest. Witt also produced the films Dead Poets Society and the TV movie Brian's Song.
Suzanne Crough
Died April 27, 2015 b. 1963
American actress. TV: The Partridge Family (1970-74, Tracy).
How to Live 120 Years - Or Die Trying
Dr. Roy Walford
Died April 27, 2004 b. 1924
American physician. He pioneered the calorie-restricted diet for increasing lifespan. He discovered that when mice were fed a nutrient-rich calorie-restricted diet, they doubled their lifespan. He believed that if this were applied to humans they could live to be 120 years old. He also lived in Biosphere 2 (1991-93), where he served as the crew's physician. He died of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) at age 79. Ironically, mice studies show that calorie-restricted diets may speed up the progression of ALS, and this may have hastened his death. Writings: The 120 Year Diet: How to Double Your Vital Years.
While he was a medical student, he and a mathematics graduate student went to Reno, Nevada and observed the roulette wheels to determine which were unbalanced and therefore biased. They then bet heavily on the biased wheels. They amassed large winnings before the casinos caught on and banned them. They used their winnings to buy a yacht and sail the Caribbean for over a year.
Al Hirt (Alois Maxwell Hirt)
Died April 27, 1999 b. 1922
American Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter. Music: Java (1964, Grammy) and performed the theme song to The Green Hornet (1966).
Olivier Messiaen
Died April 27, 1992 b. 1908
French composer.
Alan Bunce
Died April 27, 1965 b. 1900
American actor. TV: Ethel and Albert (1953-56, Albert - and also on radio 1944-50).
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Died April 27, 1882 b. 1803
American poet, philosopher.
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
Died April 27, 1813 b. 1779
American general. For whom Pikes Peak is named. He was killed while leading the attack on York (now Toronto), Canada.
Leo XI
Died April 27, 1605 b. 1535
Italian religious leader, 232nd Pope (April 1605). His papacy lasted only a month.
Ferdinand Magellan
Died April 27, 1521 b. circa 1480
explorer, first to undertake a circumnavigation of the globe. He died of wounds received in battle with natives of the Philippine Islands before the voyage was completed.