Today in History: August 27, catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa

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Today is Wednesday, Aug. 27, the 239th day of 2025. There are 126 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 27, 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions. The explosions (which could be heard 3,000 miles away) and resulting tsunamis in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra.

Also on this date:

In 1894, Congress passed the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which contained a provision for a graduated income tax that was later struck down by the Supreme Court.

In 1964, the film “Mary Poppins” had its world premiere in Los Angeles, California.

In 1979, British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten and three other people, including his 14-year-old grandson Nicholas, were killed off the coast of Ireland in a boat explosion claimed by the Irish Republican Army.

In 1982, Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A’s stole his 119th base of the season, breaking Lou Brock’s single-season stolen base record. (Henderson would finish the season with a still-unmatched 130 stolen bases.)

In 1990, blues musician Stevie Ray Vaughn and four others were killed in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin.

In 2001, Israeli helicopters fired a pair of rockets through office windows, killing senior PLO leader Mustafa Zibri.

In 2005, coastal residents jammed freeways and gas stations as they rushed to avoid Hurricane Katrina, which was headed toward New Orleans.

In 2008, Barack Obama was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Denver, becoming the first Black presidential nominee from a major political party.

In 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall in the United States; the storm would be responsible for 49 total deaths and more than $14 billion in damage.

Today’s Birthdays: Author William Least Heat-Moon is 86. Actor Tuesday Weld is 82. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., is 82. Actor G.W. Bailey is 81. Rock musician Alex Lifeson (Rush) is 72. Actor Peter Stormare is 72. Rock musician Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols) is 68. Golfer Bernhard Langer is 68. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 64. Fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford is 64. Actor Chandra Wilson is 56. Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome is 55. Rapper Mase is 50. Actor Sarah Chalke is 49. Actor Aaron Paul is 46. Actor Patrick J. Adams (TV: “Suits”) is 44. Singer Mario is 39. Actor Alexa PenaVega is 37. Singer-songwriter Kim Petras is 33. U.S. Olympic and WNBA basketball star Breanna Stewart is 31. Rapper/singer-songwriter Rod Wave is 27.