What Happened in November 1927

Historical Events

  • Nov 3 22.3 cm rainfall at Somerset, Vermont (state record)

Connecticut Yankee

Nov 3 Rodgers & Hart's musical "Connecticut Yankee", based on Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court", opens at the Vanderbilt Theatre, NYC; runs for 421 performances

  • Nov 3 Tropical storm flooding kills 84 in Winooski River Valley, Vermont

PGA Championship

Nov 5 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Cedar Crest CC: Defending champion Walter Hagen beats Joe Turnesa 1-up to win his 4th straight PGA title

  • Nov 9 Pastor of Have begins blessing of motorcars and motors

Trotsky Expelled

Nov 12 Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, paving the way for Joseph Stalin to consolidate complete power

  • Nov 12 Notre Dame's Fighting Irish changes blue jerseys for green
  • Nov 13 New York - New Jersey Holland Tunnel, 1st twin-tube underwater auto tunnel, opens
  • Nov 14 World's largest gas tank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, explodes; 28 die
  • Nov 17 Tornado hits Washington, D.C.
  • Nov 22 1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason (Sayner, Wisconsin)
  • Nov 22 Belgian government of Henri Jaspar falls but is reformed the same day

Funny Face

Nov 22 George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin's musical "Funny Face", starring Fred Astaire and his sister Adele Astaire, opens at the new Alvin Theatre, NYC; runs 244 performances

  • Nov 22 Neil Simon Theater (Alvin) opens at 250 W 52nd St NYC
  • Nov 26 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Toronto Balmy Beach defeat Hamilton Tigers, 9-6 for their first of 2 Championships
  • Nov 28 J McHugh & D Fields' musical "Delmar's Revels" premieres in NYC
  • Nov 29 Russian-French player Alexander Alekhine becomes the fourth world chess champion, defeating reigning champion Cuban José Raúl Capablanca in Buenos Aires
1927 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Nov 1 Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman (co-owner of Montreal Canadiens, 1971-78), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2005)
  • Nov 1 Victor Pellot, Puerto Rican baseball infielder (6 x MLB All Star; 7 x Gold Glove), born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico (d. 2005)
  • Nov 2 John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, English businessman (Chairman and CEO of Sainsburys), (d. 2022)
  • Nov 2 Steve Ditko, American comic artist (The Amazing Spider-Man, Doctor Strange), born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (d. 2018)
  • Nov 3 Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman (McCain Foods Limited), born in Florenceville, New Brunswick (d. 2004)
  • Nov 3 Zbigniew Cybulski, Polish actor (Ashes and Diamonds), born in Kniaze, Stanislawowskie, Poland (d. 1967)
  • Nov 4 Vittorio Fellegara, Italian composer, born in Milan, Italy (d. 2011)
  • Nov 5 Bob Abernethy, American journalist and newscaster (NBC News Encore; PBS - Religion & Ethics Newsweekly), born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 2021)
  • Nov 6 Eric St Eval Atkinson, West Indian cricketer (bro of Denis WI pace bowler 1958-59), born in Rockley, Christ Church, Barbados (d. 1998)
  • Nov 7 Hiroshi Yamauchi, Japanese businessman (President of Nintendo, 1949-2003, owner of Seattle Mariners), born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 2013)
  • Nov 7 Ivor Emmanuel, Welsh singer and actor (Zulu, Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate), born in Margam, Wales (d. 2007)
  • Nov 8 Chris Connor [Mary Jean Loutsenhizer], American jazz singer ("I Wonder What Became of Me"), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2009)
  • Nov 8 Ivo Vinco, Italian operatic bass singer, born in Verona, Italy (d. 2014)
  • Nov 8 Ken Dodd, British singer and comedian described as "the last great music hall entertainer", born in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, England (d. 2018)

Patti Page (1927-2013)

Nov 8 American pop singer ("With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming"; "Tennessee Waltz"), born in Claremore, Oklahoma

  • Nov 8 Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr., American magazine publisher (Parade, Vogue, Vanity Fair), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2017)
  • Nov 9 Carel Boshoff, South African activist and chairman (Broederbond/Volkswag), born in Nylstroom, Transvaal South Africa (d. 2011)
  • Nov 10 Jacob Pleydell-Bouvery, 8th earl of Radnor and art collector (d. 2008)
  • Nov 11 Leonard Wolfson, Baron Wolfson, English businessman and multi-millionaire
  • Nov 11 Maati Bouabid, Prime Minister of Morocco (1979-83), born in Casablanca, Morocco (d. 1996)
  • Nov 11 Mose Allison, American jazz and blues piano player, singer, and composer ("Everybody's Cryin' Mercy"; "Your Mind Is on Vacation"), born in Tippo, Mississippi (d. 2016)
  • Nov 12 Jack Butler, American Pro Football HOF cornerback (First-team All-Pro 1957-59; Pro Bowl 1955–58; Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2013)
  • Nov 12 Pavel Kharin, Russian sprint canoeist (Olympic gold USSR C-2 10,000m, silver C-2 1,000m 1956), born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 2023)
  • Nov 12 Yutaka Taniyama, Japanese mathematician (d. 1958)
  • Nov 13 Billy Klüver, American scientist and engineer, born in Monaco (d. 2004)
  • Nov 13 John Pont, American college football coach (Miami, Yale, Northwestern, Indiana), born in Canton, Ohio (d. 2008)
  • Nov 14 McLean Stevenson, American actor (M*A*S*H, 1972-75 - "Col. Henry Blake"; Hello Larry), born in Normal, Illinois (d. 1996)
  • Nov 14 Narciso Yepes, Spanish classical guitarist (Orquesta Nacionale 1947), born in Lorca, Spain (d. 1997)
  • Nov 14 Sir Lawrence "Lawrie" Barratt, British businessman and housing developer (Barratt Developments), born in England (d. 2012)
  • Nov 15 Gregor Mackenzie, British politician (d. 1992)
  • Nov 16 Barbara Payton [Redfield], American actress known for her tumultuous private life (Dallas, Trapped, Bad Blonde), born in Cloquet, Minnesota (d. 1967)
  • Nov 17 Fenella Fielding, English actress (Carry On films), born in London (d. 2018)
  • Nov 17 Robert Drasnin, American clarinetist, composer, and film and television music supervisor (CBS, 1977-91), born in Charleston, West Virginia (d. 2015)
  • Nov 18 Eldar Ryazanov, Russian film director and screenwriter (A Cruel Romance), born in Kuybyshev, USSR (d. 2015)
  • Nov 18 Hank Ballard [John Henry Kendricks], American rocker (The Midnighters - "The Twist" - pre-Chubber Checker), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2003)
  • Nov 18 Lawrence Moss, American contemporary classical, opera, and electronic music composer, and educator, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2022)
  • Nov 19 Joe Hunter, American pianist and bandleader of Motown's house band - The Funk Brothers (1959-64), born in Jackson, Tennessee (d. 2007)
  • Nov 20 Erhard Schnell, German automotive designer 'Father of the Opel GT', born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 2020)
  • Nov 20 Estelle Parsons, American actress (Rachel Rachel, Bonnie & Clyde), born in Lynn, Massachusetts
  • Nov 21 (Carlos) "Charlie" Palmieri, American salsa and charanga music bandleader, musical director, and piano player (Tito Puente; Alegre All-Stars), born in South Bronx, New York City (d. 1988)
  • Nov 21 Georgia Frontiere, American businesswoman (co-owner Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams 1979–2008), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2008)
  • Nov 22 Grady "Fats" Jackson, American tenor sax player, born in Asheville, North Carolina (d. 1994)
  • Nov 23 Guy Davenport, American author, artist, and scholar, born in Anderson, South Carolina (d. 2005)
  • Nov 24 Agustín Edwards, Chilean media tycoon (El Mercurio), born in Paris (d. 2017)
  • Nov 24 Ahmadou Kourouma, Ivorian writer (d. 2003)
  • Nov 24 Alfredo Kraus, Spanish bel canto tenor (Massenet - "Werther"; La Scala; New York Metroplolitan Opera, 1966-94), born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands (d. 1999)
  • Nov 24 Emma Lou Diemer, American classical composer (Songs for the Earth; Fantasy for Carillon), and educator, born in Kansas City, Missouri
  • Nov 25 Dick Wellstood, American jazz pianist, born in Greenwich, Connecticut (d. 1987)
  • Nov 26 Ernie Coombs, American-Canadian children's entertainer (Mr. Dressup), born in Lewiston, Maine (d. 2001)
  • Nov 26 John Carter, American actor (Scarface, The Hoax, Badlands, Max-Falcon Crest), born in Center Ridge, Arkansas (d. 2015)
  • Nov 27 Carlos Castilho, Brazilian soccer goalkeeper (25 caps; Fluminense FC 697 games) and manager (Santos FC, SE Palmeiras), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 1987)
  • Nov 27 William E. Simon, American businessman, US Secretary of Treasury under Nixon, born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2000)
  • Nov 28 Chuck Mitchell, American actor (General Hospital, Porky's, Better Off Dead), born in Connecticut, United States (d. 1992)
  • Nov 29 Rupert Crosse, American actor, 1st African-American to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award (The Reivers), born in New York City (d. 1973)

Vin Scully (1927-2022)

Nov 29 American sportscaster (Brooklyn / LA Dodgers, 1950-2016; Ford Frick Award, 1982; Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award, 1995), born in The Bronx, New York

  • Nov 30 Odvar Nordli, 21st Prime Minister of Norway (Labour: 1976-81), born in Tangen, Norway (d. 2018)
  • Nov 30 Robert Guillaume [Williams], American actor (Rafiki- The Lion King, Sports Night, Benson, Soap), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 2017)
Born in 1927

Famous Weddings

  • Nov 26 Future Sound of Music matriarch and folk star Maria Augusta Kutschera (22) marries naval captain Georg von Trapp (47) in Salzburg, Austria

Dr. Seuss

Nov 29 Theodor Geisel [Dr. Seuss] (23) marries first wife fellow author and editor Helen Palmer (28)


Famous Deaths

  • Nov 1 Florence Mills [Winfrey], American cabaret singer, dancer and comedian, known as 'the Queen of Happiness', dies of tuberculosis at 31
  • Nov 3 Karel Matěj Čapek-Chod, Czech journalist (b. 1860)
  • Nov 9 Ole Olsen, Norwegian composer, organist, and military bandleader, dies at 77
  • Nov 11 Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen, Danish Botanist and Geneticist (provided evidence for Hugo de Vries' mutation theory), dies at 70
  • Nov 17 Adolph Joffe, Russian Communist revolutionary and writer (Brest-Litovsk), commits suicide at 44
  • Nov 20 (Carl) Wilhelm Stenhammar, Swedish composer considered the finest Swedish pianist of his time, dies of a stroke at 56
  • Nov 23 Stanisław Przybyszewski, Polish writer and dramatist, dies at 59
  • Nov 26 Jean-Louis Pisuisse, Dutch cabaret singer and comedian ("M'n Eerste" - "My First"; "The French Governess"), killed along with his wife by her jilted lover at 47
  • Nov 28 Arthur Wichmann, German/Dutch geologist (New Guinea), dies
  • Nov 28 C. E. A. Wichmann, German-Dutch geologist, dies at 76
  • Nov 29 George Giffen, Australian cricket all-rounder (31 Tests, 1 x 100, 6 x 50, HS 161, 103 wickets, BB 7/117; SA CA), dies at 68