What Happened On This Day – June 27
1991 Yugoslav troops invade Slovenia
The attack, which marked the beginning of the Ten-Day War, followed Slovenia's declaration of independence. It was the first of the Yugoslav Wars, a number of ethnic conflicts leading to the break-up of Yugoslavia and resulting in at least 140,000 deaths.
1986 The 1980s U.S. intervention in Nicaragua is declared illegal
The International Court of Justice condemned the U.S. paramilitary campaign to overthrow the left-wing Nicaraguan government. The social democratic Sandinistas had begun to redistribute the country's wealth and improve education.
1972 Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney found Atari, Inc.
The pioneering video game and home computer company produced arcade classics like the two-dimensional tennis simulator Pong. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s, its products had a large impact on the electronic entertainment industry.
1956 The film Moby Dick is premiered
John Huston's adaptation of Herman Melville's homonymous novel, while not having been a great box office success, is today considered an outstanding work, especially for its use of light and color.
1954 The world's first nuclear power plant is activated
The reactor at Obninsk in present-day Russia remained in operation for 48 years. Today, there are some 400 atomic power plants worldwide. The technology remains controversial, especially due to the unsolved long-term storage of the highly dangerous nuclear waste.
Births On This Day – June 27
1985 Svetlana Kuznetsova
Russian tennis player
1969 Viktor Petrenko
Ukrainian figure skater
1886 Charlie Macartney
Australian cricketer
1869 Emma Goldman
Lithuanian/American activist, writer
1846 Charles Stewart Parnell
Irish politician, founder of the Irish Parliamentary Party
Deaths On This Day – June 27
2001 Jack Lemmon
American actor, singer, director
1999 Georgios Papadopoulos
Greek colonel, politician, 169th Prime Minister of Greece
1844 Joseph Smith
American religious leader, founder, leader of the Latter Day Saint movement
1839 Ranjit Singh
Indian founder of the Sikh Empire
1831 Sophie Germain
French mathematician, physicist, philosopher