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