August 27: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Jessi Combs broke the female fastest land speed record when her jet-powered vehicle reached a speed of 522.783 mph (841.338 kph).

Combs was the first person to break the female land speed record in 40 years. Sadly Combs died while breaking the record due to a wheel failure.

Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years.

The last time it came so close is estimated to have been on September 12, 57,617 BC.

Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Disney’s Mary Poppins was released and premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

Mary Poppins became the highest-grossing film of that year, and it became Disney's most successful movie at the time.

For the first time in history, the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) transmitted a two-hour-long live broadcast from Calais, France, to television screens in the UK.

The world’s first jet-powered aircraft, the Heinkel He 178, completed its first flight.

Two baseball teams played a night match at White Sox Party using three 100-foot towers lit with 12 electric lamps.

In Java, Indonesia, the Krakatoa volcano erupted and destroyed 70% of the island and its surroundings.

The disaster released 40,000 lbs (20 million tons) of sulfur into the atmosphere, and at around noon on this day, hot ash fell from the sky, killing all inhabitants. A total of 36,417 lives were lost.

Hurricane Five struck Florida and caused 700 fatalities.

American driller Edwin Laurentine Drake successfully drilled the first oil well in Pennsylvania, US.

Napoleon won the battle of Dresden against the Austrians.

Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers released the first-ever unmanned hydrogen balloon.

The balloon was launched from where the Eiffel Tower now sits in Paris, reaching an altitude of 900 meters.

The British defeated the Americans in the Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn.

The battle was part of the American Revolutionary War, and it commenced on the west side of Long Island, present-day Brooklyn, New York.

Chinese and Korean forces won the two-day Battle of Baekgangon.

Tang Chinese and Silla Koreans fought against Korean Baekje forces backed by Japan. The battle took place on the Geum River in Korea, and this was the last Japanese invasion of Korea for 900 years.