A Day in the Past

On this day: 27 March

131 things happened on 27 March, from 1309 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 3

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 31

1309 717 years ago

Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.

Find out more: Pope Clement V (Wikipedia)
1915 111 years ago

Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States, is put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life.

Find out more: Mary Mallon (Wikipedia)
1980 46 years ago

Brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt failed in their attempt to corner the world silver market, causing panic in commodity and futures exchanges.

Find out more: Nelson Bunker Hunt (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “Charles I became King of England, Scotland and Ireland”?

    1. 1782
    2. 1912
    3. 1625
    Show the answer

    C: 1625. 1625 — that’s 401 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year was James Callaghan born?

    1. 1912
    2. 1988
    3. 1782
    Show the answer

    A: 1912. 1912 — that’s 114 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. The Second Rockingham ministry assumes office in Great Britain and begins
    2. The first international rugby football match
    3. Charles I became King of England, Scotland and Ireland
    Show the answer

    C: Charles I became King of England, Scotland and Ireland. 1782: The Second Rockingham ministry assumes office in Great Britain and begins · 1871: The first international rugby football match · 1625: Charles I became King of England, Scotland and Ireland Find it on the page

  4. “The first international rugby football match” happened in 1871. How many years ago was that?

    1. 155 years
    2. 165 years
    3. 145 years
    Show the answer

    A: 155 years. 2026 − 1871 = 155. Find it on the page

Born on this day 40

Famous people whose birthday is 27 March.

Remembering 22

Well-known people who died on 27 March.

Special days 11

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 27 March somewhere in the world.

For older readers 24 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “March 27” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.