#TodayInHistory – June 27

June 27 – Some important events on this day.

1358 👉🏼 Republic of Dubrovnik is founded

1542 👉🏼 Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sets sail from the Mexican port of Navidad to explore the west coast of North America on behalf of the Spanish Empire.
The first explorer to navigate the coast of what would become California, he also explored much of the West Coast of the United States on behalf of the Spanish Empire.

1652 👉🏼 New Amsterdam (now New York City) enacts first speed limit law in North America
1693 👉🏼 1st women’s magazine “Ladies’ Mercury” published (London)

1743 👉🏼 War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Dettingen: in Bavaria, King George II of Britain personally leads troops into battle. The last time a British monarch commanded troops in the field.
When Charles VI died in 1740, Europe exploded into conflict over the question of his successor. Maria Theresa, his daughter, stepped into fill his role. Several European nations led by France and Prussia rejected her legitimacy as Salic laws prevented inheritance of the Hapsburg monarchy by a woman, and for various other reasons.
For 7 years the conflict raged. One of the more notable battles was that at Dettingen in Bavaria (now Karlstein am Main). A British-led force defeated the French Army – but it marked the last time a British monarch personally led his troops into battle, as George II commanded the British force.

1778 👉🏼 Liberty Bell returns home to Philadelphia after the British departure.
Originally it was the bell for the Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall. It was ordered by the Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly Isaac Norris in 1751 from the Whitechapel Foundry in London.
The bell cracked on its first test ring so it was then melted down and recast by local metalworkers John Pass and John Stow in Philadelphia and inscribed with the message “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof”.
The bell’s famous crack formed in the 1830s. Efforts were made to repair the bell in 1846 by widening the crack but these failed. As a result the bell hasn’t rung in living memory.
In the 18th century the bell became a national symbol of liberty and more commonly known as the Liberty Bell. Abolitionists striving to end slavery were inspired by its inscription, and it was a unifying symbol after the US Civil War when it toured the country. The American Women’s Suffrage movement also adopted the bell in their push for voting rights.

1923 👉🏼 Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter perform the first ever aerial refueling in a DH-4B biplane.
Aerial refueling is a dangerous process where fuel is transferred from one military aircraft to another mid-flight. It was adopted in widespread use during World War II, and has been used during multiple wars since then, to extend the range of aircraft on missions and reduce the take-off fuel weight to allow more payload onboard.
The first such aerial refueling took place on this day when two members of the United States Army Air Force, Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter, flew in De Havilland Airco DH.48B’s. A hose was passed down from the tanker aircraft, flown by Lts. Virgil Hine and Frank W. Seifert, to Smith and Richter’s plane.
Problems with Smith’s engine prevented the duo from setting world records on the day, but they would do so two months later – 16 records to be exact, for speed, distance and duration.

1929 👉🏼 1st color TV demo, performed by Bell Laboratories in NYC
1950 👉🏼 North Korean troops reach Seoul, UN asks members to aid South Korea, Harry Truman orders US Air Force & Navy into Korean conflict
1954 👉🏼 1st atomic power station opens – Obninsk, near Moscow in Russia
1967 👉🏼 The world’s first ATM is installed in Enfield, London
1994 👉🏼 Aerosmith become first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the internet