Bill Gates officially stepped down from day-to-day duties at Microsoft to focus on philanthropy
After 33 years at the company he co-founded, Gates transitioned to part-time work at Microsoft to dedicate himself to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundat...
June 27 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2008
2007
British Prime Minister Tony Blair stepped down after 10 years in office
Blair's resignation ended a decade of Labour Party rule under New Labour. He handed power to Gordon Brown, his Chancellor of the Exchequer and longtim...
1985
Route 66, America's most famous highway, was officially decertified and removed from the U.S. Highway System
The iconic "Mother Road" that once stretched 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles was replaced by the Interstate Highway System. Though decertified...
1981
The Central Committee of China formally blamed Mao Zedong for the Cultural Revolution's excesses
In an unprecedented move, the Chinese Communist Party officially acknowledged that Chairman Mao bore "chief responsibility" for the Cultural Revolutio...
1977
The Supreme Court ruled that states could not ban people from distributing birth control information
In Carey v. Population Services International, the Court struck down a New York law that prohibited anyone except licensed pharmacists from distributi...
1969
Patrons at the Stonewall Inn in New York fought back against a police raid, sparking the modern LGBTQ rights movement
MajorWhen police raided the Greenwich Village gay bar in the early hours of June 28 (starting late on June 27), patrons and neighborhood residents resisted...
1967
The world's first ATM was installed and put into use in London
MajorBarclays Bank in Enfield unveiled the revolutionary cash machine, invented by John Shepherd-Barron. Instead of plastic cards, it used checks impregnat...
1954
The world's first commercial nuclear power station began generating electricity in Obninsk, Soviet Union
The AM-1 reactor produced just 5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power a small town. Though tiny by modern standards, it proved that nuclear fissi...
1950
The United States entered the Korean War after President Truman ordered air and naval forces to assist South Korea
MajorJust two days after North Korean forces invaded the South, Truman committed American military forces without a formal declaration of war. This marked...
1898
Joshua Slocum became the first person to sail solo around the world
After three years at sea in his 37-foot sloop "Spray," Slocum completed his 46,000-mile journey. The 54-year-old captain had rebuilt the boat himself...
1880
Helen Keller, who would become a world-famous author and activist despite being deaf and blind, was born in Alabama
MajorKeller lost her sight and hearing at 19 months old due to illness. With the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan, she learned to communicate and became t...