On this day: April 27

/on/april-27

1912 • neutral • 43 views

How the Piltdown Forgery Was First Challenged (April 27, 1912)

A wide view of an early 20th-century archaeological dig near Piltdown, Sussex, showing excavation pits, scattered bone fragments on cloth, wooden tools and field notebooks on the ground, and researchers in period dress examining finds from a distance.

On April 27, 1912, scientists publicly questioned the authenticity of the Piltdown skull fragments—an early, documented challenge to a staged scientific fraud that would later be exposed as deliberate forgery.

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1828 • neutral • 80 views

London’s First Public Zoo Opens in 1828

A 19th-century London outdoor animal collection showing caged exotic birds and a fenced area with a small ungulate, visitors in period dress viewing the enclosures.

On April 27, 1828, London saw the opening of its first public zoological garden, offering paying visitors structured displays of exotic animals and marking a shift toward public scientific education and urban leisure.

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1828 • neutral • 29 views

London’s First Public Zoo Opens at the Tower Menagerie (1828)

Visitors viewing cages and enclosures of the Tower of London menagerie in the early 19th century, showing animals such as lions and bears in period ironwork enclosures and visitors in Regency-era dress at a distance.

On April 27 in 1828 Londoners began daily public access to a permanent collection of exotic animals housed at the Tower of London, marking an early step toward modern zoological gardens and public attitudes to wildlife display.

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