FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2012

Today is Friday, July 27, the 209th day of 2012. There are 157 days left in the year.

1501 ― Copernicus formally installed as canon of Frauenberg Cathedral

1586 ― Sir Walter Raleigh brings first tobacco to England from Virginia

1694 ― Bank of England chartered

1919 ― Chicago race riot (15 whites and 23 blacks killed, 500 injured)

1940 ― Billboard magazine starts publishing bestseller charts

1941 ― Japanese forces land in Indochina

1953 ― Armistice signed ending Korean War

1954 ― Armistice divides Vietnam into two countries

1976 ― 8.2 Tangshan earthquake kills estimated 240,000 Chinese

1991 ― TV Guide publishes its 2,000th edition