What Happened on July 27?

July 27 is Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day — a silly celebration of leafy friends — on the same date the Korean War armistice was signed in 1953, Bugs Bunny debuted in 1940, Robespierre was arrested in 1794, and the first transatlantic telegraph cable was completed in 1866.

• 1586 — Sir Walter Raleigh brings potatoes from the Americas to Britain

  On his return from Virginia in 1586, Walter Raleigh helped introduce the potato to English tables — a crop that later fed millions across Europe. Read the full story →

• 1794 — Maximilien Robespierre is arrested, ending the Reign of Terror

  On July 27, 1794, revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre was arrested in Paris — stopping the bloodiest phase of the French Revolution. Read the full story →

• 1866 — The first successful transatlantic telegraph cable begins service

  On July 27, 1866, a telegraph cable under the Atlantic Ocean carried messages between North America and Europe in minutes instead of weeks. Read the full story →

• 1940 — Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the cartoon A Wild Hare

  On July 27, 1940, audiences met Bugs Bunny — the wisecracking rabbit who asks 'What's up, Doc?' — in A Wild Hare. Read the full story →

• 1953 — Combat ends in the Korean War as an armistice is signed at Panmunjom

  On July 27, 1953, negotiators signed an armistice halting three years of fighting on the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Alex Rodriguez (1975) · Peggy Fleming (1948) · Maya Rudolph (1972) · Joseph Engelberger (1925–2015)

Days & observances

Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day · National Scotch Day · National Crème Brûlée Day · National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day