July 27
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1377: The worldâs first quarantine begins
On this day in 1377, lawmakers in Ragusaâthe Adriatic merchant republic we now call Dubrovnikâ instituted the first quarantine in the world so as to manage the spread of the Black Death. Anyone arriving from a plague-stricken place, whether on foot or by sea, would be made to wait 30 days (later extended to 40) in isolation before entering the city. The quarantine was a successâRagusa passed a full 44 years without any instances of the plague and shook off outbreaks that decimated the population of other regions.
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© The Print Collector/Heritage ImagesâHulton Archive/Getty Images; Photo Illustration EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
Featured Event
Eric DraperâAP/Shutterstock.com
Terrorist attack at Atlanta Olympics
On this day in 1996, a pipe bomb exploded in Olympic Centennial Park in Atlanta, Georgia, killing 1 person and injuring 111 in the first terrorist attack at the Olympics since the 1972 Games in Munich, West Germany. In 2025 domestic terrorist Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to this attack and three others. He was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences.
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Courtesy of the BibliothĂšque Nationale, Paris
I told my plans to no one. I was not killing a man, but a wild beast that was devouring the French people.
Charlotte Cordayâa young Girondin conservative who assassinated the French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat in 1793 while he was bathing and who was subsequently tried, convicted, and guillotinedâwas born this day in 1768.
Famous Birthdays
More on July 27
Petty Officer 3rd Class Tyler J. Clements/U.S. Navy
2017
American playwright and actor Sam Shepardâwhose plays adroitly blend images of the American West, Pop motifs, science fiction, and other elements of popular and youth cultureâdied at age 73. [Take our history of theatre quiz.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
2003
British-born American entertainer and comic actor Bob Hope, who was known for his rapid-fire delivery of jokes and one-liners, died at age 100. [Test your knowledge of actors and acting.]
U.S. Department of Defense
1953
The armistice agreement ending the Korean War was signed at PâanmunjĆm in central Korea. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Korea.]
Carl Van Vechten/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-103678)
1946
Avant-garde writer Gertrude Stein, whose Paris home was a salon for leading artists and writers, died at age 72. [Take our famous authors quiz.]
PRNewsFoto/Six Flags Great Adventure/AP Images
1940
Warner Brothers released the Looney Tunes animated short film A Wild Hare, featuring the debut of Bugs Bunny in his familiar incarnation; embryonic versions of the character had appeared in earlier cartoons. [Watch a clip from Fresh Hare (1942), featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.]
© Historica Graphica CollectionâHeritage Images/Getty Images
1919
The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 was ignited after a young Black man was stoned and drowned in Lake Michigan for swimming in an area reserved for whites. [Read more about this and nine other riots in U.S. history.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. cph 3a08822)
1909
The worldâs first military airplane completed one of the final qualifying flights for its sale to the U.S. Army Signal Corps by Wilbur and Orville Wright. [Test your knowledge of early aviation.]
Gianni Dagli Orti/Shutterstock.com
1830
The July Revolution began in France, leading to the abdication of Charles X and bringing Louis-Philippe to the throne. [How much do you know about French history?]
@ DEA/G.DAGLI ORTIâDe Agostini Editorial/Getty Images
1794
Antoine-Christophe Merlin and other conspirators initiated the Thermidorian Reaction, a revolt that ultimately resulted in the fall of Maximilien de Robespierre and the end of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. [Take our quiz about plots and revolutions.]