Today in History: August 27, Krakatoa erupts, causing tsunamis
Today is Tuesday, Aug. 27, the 240th day of 2024. There are 126 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Aug. 27, 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions. The explosions (which could be heard 3,000 miles away) and resulting tsunamis in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra.
Also on this date:
In 1894, Congress passed the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which contained a provision for a graduated income tax that was later struck down by the Supreme Court.
In 1964, the film “Mary Poppins” had its world premiere in Los Angeles, California.
In 1979, British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten and three other people, including his 14-year-old grandson Nicholas, were killed off the coast of Ireland in a boat explosion claimed by the Irish Republican Army.
In 1982, Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A’s stole his 119th base of the season, breaking Lou Brock’s single-season stolen base record. (Henderson would finish the season with a still-unmatched 130 stolen bases.)
In 1990, blues musician Stevie Ray Vaughn and four others were killed in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin.
In 2001, Israeli helicopters fired a pair of rockets through office windows, killing senior PLO leader Mustafa Zibri.
In 2005, coastal residents jammed freeways and gas stations as they rushed to avoid Hurricane Katrina, which was headed toward New Orleans.
In 2008, Barack Obama was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Denver, becoming the first Black presidential nominee from a major political party.
In 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall in the United States; the storm would be responsible for 49 total deaths and more than $14 billion in damage.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Author William Least Heat-Moon is 85.
- Actor Tuesday Weld is 81.
- Former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., is 81.
- Actor G.W. Bailey is 80.
- Rock musician Alex Lifeson (Rush) is 71.
- Actor Peter Stormare is 71.
- Rock musician Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols) is 68.
- Golfer Bernhard Langer is 67.
- Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 63.
- Fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford is 63.
- U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines is 55.
- Actor Chandra Wilson is 55.
- Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome is 54.
- Rapper Mase is 49.
- Actor Sarah Chalke is 48.
- Actor Aaron Paul is 45.
- Actor Patrick J. Adams (TV: “Suits”) is 43.
- Singer Mario is 38.
- Actor Alexa PenaVega is 36.
- Singer-songwriter Kim Petras is 32.
- U.S. Olympic and WNBA basketball star Breanna Stewart is 30.
- Rapper/singer-songwriter Rod Wave is 26.