Events from the year 1927 in the United States.

Incumbents Federal government President: Calvin Coolidge (R-Massachusetts) Vice President: Charles G. Dawes (R-Illinois) Chief Justice: William Howard Taft (Ohio) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Nicholas Longworth (R-Ohio) Senate Majority Leader: Charles Curtis (R-Kansas) Congress: 69th (until March 4), 70th (starting March 4)

State governments Governors and lieutenant governors Governors

Lieutenant governors

Events January–March January 7 – The first transatlantic telephone call is made from New York City to London. January 17 – Bibb Graves is sworn in as the 38th governor of Alabama replacing William W. Brandon. February 23 – The U.S. Federal Radio Commission (later renamed the Federal Communications Commission) begins to regulate the use of radio frequencies. March 11 In New York City, the Roxy Theater is opened by Samuel Roxy Rothafel.a The first armoured car robbery is committed by the Flatheads Gang near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

April–June

April 19 – Actress-playwright Mae West is sentenced to ten days incarceration for "corrupting the morals of youth" for her comedy-drama Sex after 375 performances on Broadway. April 22–May 5 – The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 affects 700,000 people in the greatest national disaster in U.S. history at this time. April 30 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens near Alderson, West Virginia, as the first federal prison for women in the U.S. May 2 – Buck v. Bell decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, permitting compulsory sterilization of people with intellectual disability. May 11 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the "Academy" of the "Academy Awards," is founded. May 14 – The University of Chicago's local collegiate organization, Phi Sigma, becomes incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois as Eta Sigma Phi, the National Honorary Classical Fraternity. May 17 – Army aviation pioneer Major Harold Geiger dies in the crash of his Airco DH.4 de Havilland plane, at Olmsted Field, Pennsylvania. May 18 – Bath School disaster: Bombings by a disaffected local official result in 45 deaths, mostly children, in Bath Township, Michigan. May 20–21 – Aviator Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight, from New York to Paris in the single-seat, single-engine monoplane Spirit of St. Louis. May 23 – Nearly 600 members of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Radio Engineers view the first live demonstration of television at the Bell Telephone Building in New York. May 26 – The final Model T rolls off the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company factory in Highland Park, Michigan, ending a run of 19 years and 15 million cars. June 13 – A ticker-tape parade is held for aviator Charles Lindbergh down Fifth Avenue in New York City.

July–September August 2 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge announces, "I do not choose to run for president in 1928." August 7 – The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York. August 23 – After six years of appeals, as protests rage in capital cities around the world, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are electrocuted at midnight in Charlestown, Massachusetts. August 26 – Paul Redfern leaves Brunswick, Georgia, flying his Stinson Detroiter Port of Brunswick to attempt a solo non-stop flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but later crashes in the Venezuela jungle (the crash site is never located). September 5 – Oswald the Lucky Rabbit makes his debut in Trolley Troubles. September 18 – The Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System (later known as CBS) is formed and goes on the air with 47 radio stations. September 29 – 79 are killed and 550 are injured when a tornado strikes the St. Louis, Missouri area; it is the second-costliest and at least 24th-deadliest tornado in U.S. history.

October–December

October 6 – The Jazz Singer opens in Warner Brothers' flagship theater in New York City and becomes a huge success, leading to the end of the silent film era globally. October 8 – Murderer's Row: The New York Yankees complete a 4-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. October 28 – Pan American Airways' first flight takes off from Key West, bound for Havana. November 3–4 – Floods devastating Vermont incur the "worst natural disaster in the state's history". November 4 Frank Heath and his horse Gypsy Queen return to Washington, D.C., having completed a 2-year journey of 11,356 miles to all 48 states. The 7.3 Lompoc earthquake affects the central coast of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), causing a tsunami and moderate damage. November 10 – Unexplained explosions occur in Canton, Ohio. November 13 – The Holland Tunnel opens to traffic as the first Hudson River vehicular tunnel linking New Jersey to New York City. November 14 – The Pittsburgh Gasometer Explosion: Three Equitable Gas storage tanks in the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, explode, killing 26 people and causing damage estimated between contemporary totals of $4 million and $5 million. December 2 – Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile. December 15 – Marion Parker, 12, is kidnapped in Los Angeles. Her dismembered body is found on December 19, prompting the largest manhunt to date on the West Coast for her killer, William Edward Hickman, who is arrested on December 22 in Oregon. December 17 – The U.S. submarine S-4 is accidentally rammed and sunk by the United States Coast Guard destroyer John Paulding off Provincetown, Massachusetts, killing everyone aboard after several unsuccessful attempts to raise the sub. December 27 – Kern and Hammerstein's musical play Show Boat, based on Edna Ferber's novel, opens on Broadway and goes on to become the first great classic of the American musical theatre. December - The Dearborn Independent is closed down after Lawsuits regarding antisemitic material published in the paper caused owner Henry Ford to close it.

Undated The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers is founded in New York to assist in bringing about the repeal of Prohibition of alcohol in United States.

Ongoing Lochner era ( – ) U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915–1934) Prohibition (1920–1933) Roaring Twenties (1920–1929)

Births January

January 1 Vernon L. Smith, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate Doak Walker, American football player (d. 1998) January 2 – Gino Marchetti, American football player (d. 2019) January 4 Lauro Cavazos, American politician and educator (d. 2022) Barbara Rush, American actress (d. 2024) January 5 – Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, American guru and author (d. 2001) January 8 – Virginia Norwood, American physicist (d. 2023)Virginia Norwood, a pioneer in satellite land imaging, dies at age 96 January 10 Arthur Kramer, American lawyer (d. 2008) Johnnie Ray, American singer, pianist and songwriter (d. 1990) January 13 Brock Adams, American politician (d. 2004) Liz Anderson, American country music singer, songwriter (d. 2011) January 15 – Phyllis Coates, American actress (d. 2023) January 17 Thomas Anthony Dooley III, American physician, humanitarian (d. 1961) Eartha Kitt, African-American singer, actress, activist, and author (d. 2008) Harlan Mathews, American politician (d. 2014) January 22 Lou Creekmur, American football player (d. 2009) Joe Perry, African-American football player (d. 2011) January 23 Robert L. Butler, American politician (d. 2019) Ernest Hawkins, American football coach (d. 2018) January 24 Paula Hawkins, American politician (d. 2009) Marvin Kaplan, American actor (d. 2016) January 25 Marian Brown, American celebrity icon (d. 2013) Vivian Brown, American celebrity icon (d. 2014) January 27 Bob DeMoss, American football player (d. 2017) Richard Fulton, American politician (d. 2018) January 28 – Vera Williams, American author and illustrator (d. 2015) January 31 – Jean Speegle Howard, American actress (d. 2000)

February

February 1 – Galway Kinnell, American poet (d. 2014) February 2 Stan Getz, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1991) Doris Sams, American professional baseball player (d. 2012) February 3 – Kenneth Anger, American actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2023) February 6 William Gardner Smith, American novelist and journalist (d. 1974) Art Stewart, American baseball executive and scout (d. 2021)Art Stewart, who drafted Bo Jackson, Mike Sweeney and others for Royals, dies at 94 February 8 – George Taliaferro, American football player (d. 2018) February 10 – Leontyne Price, African-American soprano February 11 – Nalda Bird, American professional baseball player (d. 2004) February 12 Ann Gillis, American actress (d. 2018) Rita Meyer, American professional baseball player (d. 1992) H. M. Wynant, American actor February 13 – Buck Hill, American jazz tenor, soprano saxophonist (d. 2017) February 15 – Harvey Korman, American actor and Comedian (d. 2008) February 17 – John Selfridge, American mathematician (d. 2010) February 18 – John Warner, American politician (d. 2021) February 20 Roy Cohn, American lawyer, anti-Communist (d. 1986) Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, film director (d. 2022) February 21 Patricia Benoit, American actress (d. 2018) Erma Bombeck, American humorist (d. 1996) February 22 Donald May, American actor (d. 2022) Guy Mitchell, American singer and actor (d. 1999) February 23 – Paul W. Schroeder, historian (d. 2020) February 24 – Mark Lane, American conspiracy theorist (d. 2016) February 25 Dick Jones, actor, singer (d. 2014) Ralph Stanley, American bluegrass banjo player and vocalist (d. 2016) February 26 – Tom Kennedy, American game show host (d. 2020)

March

March 1 George O. Abell, American astronomer, professor at UCLA, science popularizer, and skeptic (d. 1983) Harry Belafonte, Jamaican-American musician, actor, and civil rights activist (d. 2023) Robert Bork, American conservative law professor (d. 2012) March 3 – Harry Whittington, American lawyer, real estate investor and political figure (d. 2023) March 4 Phil Batt, American politician (d. 2023) Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978) Robert Orben, American comedy writer (d. 2023) Dick Savitt, American tennis player (d. 2023) March 5 – Jack Cassidy, American actor and singer (d. 1976) March 6 William J. Bell, American soap creator (d. 2005) Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (d. 2004) Mel Groomes, American football player (d. 1997) March 7 – James Broderick, American actor (d. 1982) March 8 – Dick Hyman, American composer, pianist March 9 – Jackie Jensen, American baseball player (d. 1982) March 10 – Bill Fischer, American football offensive lineman (d. 2017) March 11 – Gloria Blackwell, African-American civil rights activist and educator (d. 2010) March 13 – Robert Denning, American interior designer (d. 2005) March 15 Annastasia Batikis, Greek-American female professional baseball player (d. 2016) Aaron Rosand, American violinist (d. 2019) Carl Smith, American country music singer (d. 2010) March 16 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American author, politician, and statesman (d. 2003) March 18 – George Plimpton, American writer and actor (d. 2003) March 19 – Richie Ashburn, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1997) March 20 – Earlene Risinger, American professional baseball player (d. 2008) March 21 – Jerome Chazen, American businessman (d. 2022) March 27 – Lorry I. Lokey, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2022) March 29 Donn Kushner, American Canadian scientist and writer (d. 2001) John Mclaughlin, American television and radio host (d. 2016) March 31 César Chávez, American labor activist, United Farm Workers founder (d. 1993) William Daniels, American actor

April

April 1 – Amos Milburn, American R&B singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1980)