What Happened on January 27?

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, when the world honors those who suffered in the Holocaust. It's also the day Edison's lightbulb patent was granted and Mozart's birthday!

• 1880 — Edison receives his electric lamp patent

  U.S. Patent No. 223,898 protected Edison's practical incandescent bulb with a high-resistance carbon filament — the design that brought electric light into homes. Read the full story →

• 1945 — Soviet troops liberate the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp

  Soldiers arriving at the Nazi concentration and death camp in Poland freed about 7,000 remaining prisoners — a moment now remembered worldwide every January 27. Read the full story →

• 1967 — Apollo 1 astronauts die in a launch-pad fire

  Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed when fire swept their command module during a ground test — a tragedy that forced NASA to redesign and fly safer. Read the full story →

• 1973 — Vietnam peace accords signed in Paris

  The United States, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the Viet Cong signed an agreement ending direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) · Lewis Carroll (1832–1898)

Days & observances

International Holocaust Remembrance Day · Punch the Clock Day · National Chocolate Cake Day