April 27th Through History

Explanation: Victor Schœlcher, Undersecretary of State for the Colonies, was the principal architect of this decree. France had already abolished slavery a first time in 1794 under the Convention, but Napoleon had reestablished it in 1802. The 1848 abolition was final.

Explanation: The Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula, often called Al-Andalus, lasted about eight centuries, until the fall of the Kingdom of Granada in 1492. The name "Gibraltar" comes from the Arabic "Jabal al-Tariq", meaning "mountain of Tariq".

Explanation: Charles de Gaulle had submitted to the French a referendum on the reform of the Senate and regionalization. After the "no" of the voters, he announced his resignation in the night of April 27 to 28. Georges Pompidou succeeded him after the presidential election of June 1969.

Explanation: Togo was the first French-speaking sub-Saharan African country to gain independence in 1960. A former German colony that became a mandate then territory under Franco-British trusteeship after World War I, it is today administered from Lomé.

Explanation: The Airbus A380 is the largest commercial airliner ever built, capable of carrying up to 853 passengers in all-economy configuration. Despite its innovative character, its production was stopped in 2021 due to a lack of orders, mainly linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Explanation: Magellan was killed trying to impose Spanish sovereignty on the local chief Lapu-Lapu on the island of Mactan (current Philippine archipelago). Although Magellan died, his expedition continued under other commanders and completed the first circumnavigation of the world in 1522.

Explanation: Ulysses S. Grant was first General-in-Chief of the Union armies during the Civil War before becoming the 18th President of the United States. His term (1869-1877) was marked by Reconstruction after the civil war, but also by corruption scandals.

Explanation: Nelson Mandela, after 27 years in prison under the apartheid regime, was elected president of South Africa during these first multiracial elections. He had received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 jointly with Frederik de Klerk for their efforts to dismantle apartheid.

Explanation: In leap years, April 27 becomes the 118th day of the year because February has 29 days instead of 28. Leap years return every 4 years, with a few exceptions for centennial years.

Explanation: This meeting between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un was the first between North and South Korean leaders since 2007. Panmunjom is the village located in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, a symbolic place where the 1953 armistice ending the fighting of the Korean War was signed.