September 27

1422 The Gollub War was a two-month war of the Teutonic Knights against the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It ended with the signing the Treaty of Melno, which was signed on September 27, 1422. The treaty established the Prussian–Lithuanian border, which afterwards remained unchanged for about 500 years.

1540 In 1534 Ignatius Loyola formed a fraternity with six fellow Theology students at the University of Paris. They professed vows of poverty, chastity, and later obedience and three years later Pope Paul III gave them a commendation, and permitted the seven to be ordained priests. These initial steps led to the founding of what would be called the Society of Jesus, whose members are known as Jesuits, The Society of Jesus received its charter from Pope Paul III on September 27, 1540. 

Fresco depicting Ignatius of Loyola receiving Regimini militantis Ecclesiae from Pope Paul III

1759 The political writer Thomas Paine married Mary Lambert. on September 27, 1759. She was an 'Orphan of Sandwich', meaning she had no money or relatives to provide for her. Paine's corset shop business in Sandwich collapsed soon after their marriage. Mary became pregnant, and after they moved to Margate, the following year, she went into early labor, in which she and their child died.

1777 During the American Revolution, the Pennsylvania city of Lancaster was the capital of the United States for one day, on September 27, 1777, after the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia, which had been captured by the British. The revolutionary government then moved still farther away to York, Pennsylvania.

1779 On September 27, 1779, the Continental Congress appointed John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay, to negotiate peace and commerce with Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. They were tasked with representing American interests in diplomatic negotiations with the British government. This eventually led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which formally ended the Revolutionary War. 

1825 The Stockton & Darlington Railway, the first public railway to use steam locomotives, was opened on September 27, 1825 in north east England. The railway used George Stephenson's eight ton no. 1 engine, called Locomotion. The first purpose-built passenger car, Experiment, was attached and carried dignitaries on the opening journey racing along at 15 mph. At that time most people believed nobody could survive speeds above 16 mph so there was a lot of alarm.

The No. 1 engine, called Locomotion, for the Stockton & Darlington Railway

1862 The first American army to have African American officers was the confederate Louisiana Native Guards. The Corps d'Afrique at Port Hudson was sworn into service on September 27, 1862.
The regiment was comprised at the time of 1,000 men, mainly African-Americans who had escaped from slavery to gain freedom.

1889 Joshua Pusey, a cigar-smoking lawyer in Pennsylvania, invented the matchbook. He received a patent for his invention (which he called "flexibles") on September 27, 1889. Pusey later sold the invention to the Diamond Match Company for $4000 in 1896.

1889 New York City welcomed its first steel skyscraper, the Tower Building at 50 Broadway

in the Financial District of Manhattan on September 27, 1889. The structure was 128 feet (39 m) in height, and 11 stories high.  It was quickly followed by taller steel-skeleton buildings, including the Columbia Building in 1890. The Tower Building was demolished in 1914.

Tower Building shortly after completion

1908 The first production of the Ford Model T automobile was built at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan on September 27 1908. It had the steering wheel on the left, which every other motor car manufacturer soon copied. The entire engine and transmission were enclosed; the four cylinders were cast in a solid block; the suspension used two semi-elliptic springs.

1930 Bobby Jones won the U.S. Amateur Championship on September 27, 1930 to become the first golfer to complete the Grand Slam of golf in a single calendar year. The structure of the grand slam at the time was the U.S. Open, British Open, U.S. Amateur, and British Amateur.

1939 The Polish capital of Warsaw was taken by Nazi Germany on September 27, 1939. There was a heroic but abortive rising against the German occupation five years later, which resulted in the city being almost completely destroyed and the 500,000 citizens being taken captive. Warsaw was the most devastated city in the world during World War II.

1944 The evangelist Aimee McPherson died on September 27, 1944 from an overdose of insomnia sedatives and a kidney ailment. In her time she was the most publicized Christian evangelist, surpassing Billy Sunday and her other predecessors. McPherson's preaching style, extensive charity work and ecumenical contributions were a major influence to Charismatic Christianity in the 20th century.

1954 NBC's The Tonight Show is the world's longest-running talk show, having debuted as The Steve Allen Show on September 27, 1954. The show underwent some minor title changes until settling on its current title in 1962.

1975 The last use of capital punishment in Spain on September 27, 1975, saw the executions of five members of militant organizations, sparking worldwide protests against the Spanish government and the withdrawal of numerous ambassadors.

1986 The most balloons released simultaneously was 1,429,643 balloons on September 27, 1986, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The event was called "Balloonfest '86" and was organized by the United Way of Greater Cleveland. The goal was to break the Guinness World Record for the most balloons released simultaneously, which was previously held by Disneyland. 

1992 The national flag of Turkmenistan features a white crescent (symbol of Islam) and five stars; those stars represent the five regions of the country. They are placed upon a green field along with a symbolic representation of the country's famous carpet industry. It was introduced as the flag of Turkmenistan on September 27, 1992 to replace the Soviet-era flag.

Flag of Turkmenistan

1996 The Taliban is a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement and military organization which emerged in 1994 in Afghanistan. Under the leadership of Mohammed Omar, the movement spread throughout most of Afghanistan, and The Taliban seized Afghanistan's capital Kabul on September 27, 1996 after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah. They declared the country an Islamic state and remained in power until December 2001  Two decades later, the Afghan government collapsed and The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan became the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, led by the Taliban.

2013 On September 27, 2013 George Clooney gave 14 of his close friends $1 million each as a surprise gift. The actor also paid their taxes for the year. George Clooney is known for his philanthropic efforts and has been involved in various charitable activities. 

2014 British Tech genius Ayan Qureshi took and passed Microsoft's IT Technician Exam on September 27, 2014, at the age of 5 years and 11 months, making him the youngest computer specialist in the world. Ayan, who father is an IT consultant, developed interest in computers and high tech gadgets in the very early age and has set up his own computer network at home.