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.
Births On This Day – March 27
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 Röntgen
German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
Deaths On This Day – March 27
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