What Happened on November 27?

November 27 is Pins and Needles Day — celebrating a worker-powered Broadway musical and handmade crafts — on the same date Alfred Nobel signed his prize-creating will in 1895 and Macy's held its first Thanksgiving parade in 1924.

• 1895 — Alfred Nobel signs the will that creates the Nobel Prizes

  On November 27, 1895, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel signed his last will in Paris — setting aside his fortune for prizes that honor great work for humanity. Read the full story →

• 1924 — Macy's stages its first Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City

  On November 27, 1924, Macy's employees marched animals and floats from Harlem to Herald Square — launching the Thanksgiving Day Parade tradition. Read the full story →

• 1937 — Garment workers open the Broadway hit Pins and Needles

  On November 27, 1937, the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union opened Pins and Needles — a musical revue performed by actual sewing-machine operators. Read the full story →

• 1949 — Maria Tallchief debuts in Firebird as America's first prima ballerina star turn

  On November 27, 1949, Osage ballerina Maria Tallchief dazzled in the New York City Ballet's Firebird — helping make her the first American prima ballerina of international fame. Read the full story →

• 1989 — Surgeons perform the world's first successful living-donor liver transplant on a child

  On November 27, 1989, doctors in Chicago transplanted part of a mother's liver into her infant daughter — the first successful living-donor liver transplant. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Bruce Lee (1940–1973) · Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) · Bill Nye (1955) · Kathryn Bigelow (1951)

Days & observances

Pins and Needles Day · National Bavarian Cream Pie Day · National Craft Jerky Day · Nobel Prize Awareness Moment