On this day: January 27
Live Fish Found Frozen Inside Block of Ice, 1966
On January 27, 1966, reports circulated of a fish discovered alive, preserved within a block of ice—an unusual event noted in contemporary newspapers and local accounts that attracted attention for its seeming defiance of expected survival conditions.
The First Documented Time Capsule Theft, January 27, 1939
On January 27, 1939, a sealed container interred as a civic time capsule in a Midwestern U.S. town was unsealed and several items removed—an incident recorded in local newspapers as the first documented theft from a time capsule. The act prompted legal and civic debate about stewardship of buried public artifacts.
Jim Thorpe Stripped of 1912 Olympic Medals Over Earlier Semi‑Pro Baseball Play
On January 27, 1913, the Amateur Athletic Union declared that Jim Thorpe had violated amateurism rules by playing minor‑league baseball in 1909–10, and the International Olympic Committee subsequently revoked his 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon titles.
Jim Thorpe Stripped of Olympic Medals Over Semi‑Pro Baseball
On January 27, 1913, the International Olympic Committee ruled that Jim Thorpe had violated amateurism rules by previously playing professional semi‑professional baseball, and stripped him of the gold medals he won at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.
CIA Acknowledges Past Surveillance of Civil Rights Leaders
On January 27, 1975, the CIA publicly admitted it had monitored American civil rights activists during the 1960s, revealing a controversial domestic surveillance program that stoked congressional concern over intelligence agency limits and civil liberties.
Bills Lose Super Bowl XXV After Scott Norwood's Wide Right Field Goal
On January 27, 1991, Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal attempt for the Buffalo Bills sailed wide right as time expired, handing the New York Giants a 20–19 victory in Super Bowl XXV and denying the Bills a championship.
Whitney Houston’s 1991 Super Bowl National Anthem Performance
Whitney Houston’s rendition of the U.S. National Anthem at Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991, is widely regarded as one of the most powerful and culturally resonant performances of the anthem in modern American history.