A birthday on the globe
27 June on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 27 June, the English Wikipedia lists 54 events and 210 births. 28 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; six more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 27 June through the years
The Earth on 27 June
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in June 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 27 June the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 23.3° north. In London, the day lasts about 16 hours 35 minutes.
Beyond 67° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 67° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Europe · Rovaniemi
1928
The Rovaniemi township decree is promulgated, as a result of which Rovaniemi secedes from the old rural municipality as its own market town on January 1, 1929.
On the map: Rovaniemi.
Europe · Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant
1954
The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, the Soviet Union's first nuclear power station, opens in Obninsk, near Moscow.
On the map: Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
Europe · Innsbruck
1977
Constitution for the Federation of Earth was adopted by the second session of the World Constituent Assembly, held at Innsbruck, Austria.
On the map: Innsbruck.
Asia · Johor–Singapore Causeway
1924
The Johor–Singapore Causeway opens after five years of construction, providing a land connection for road and rail vehicles travelling between Johor and Singapore.
On the map: Johor–Singapore Causeway.
North America · Kennedy Space Center
1982
Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final research and development flight mission, STS-4.
On the map: Kennedy Space Center.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
North America · Atlanta
2024
U.S. President Joe Biden debates former U.S. President Donald Trump. Biden's perceived poor performance leads to his withdrawal from the election on July 21.
On the map: Atlanta.
27 June
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · Enfield
1967
The British inventor John Shepherd-Barron puts the world's first automatic teller machine into service at the Enfield Town branch of Barclays Bank.
On the map: Enfield.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · International Court of Justice
1986
The International Court of Justice rules against the United States in Nicaragua v. United States.
On the map: International Court of Justice.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
27 June
Born on 27 June#
The English Wikipedia lists 210 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 27 June
1880
Helen Keller, American author, academic, and activist (died 1968)
Place of birth: Ivy Green.
Born on 27 June
1869
Emma Goldman, Lithuanian-Canadian philosopher and activist (died 1940)
Place of birth: Kaunas.
Born on 27 June
1955
Isabelle Adjani, French actress
Place of birth: 17th arrondissement of Paris.
Born on 27 June
1975
Tobey Maguire, American actor
Place of birth: Santa Monica.
Born on 27 June
1985
Nico Rosberg, German race car driver
Place of birth: Wiesbaden.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1986
Sam Claflin, British actor
Place of birth: Ipswich.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1987
Ed Westwick, English actor
Place of birth: Stevenage.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1989
Matthew Lewis, English actor
Place of birth: Leeds.
27 June
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 27 June through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 27 June
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 20 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 363
Jovian is proclaimed Roman emperor following the death of emperor Julian in the previous night.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Jovian - 678
Pope Agatho is consecrated following the death of pope Donus two months prior.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pope Agatho - 1499
Amerigo Vespucci sights what is now Amapá State in Brazil.
Latin America · AmapáWikipedia: Amerigo Vespucci - 1556
The thirteen Stratford Martyrs are burned at the stake near London for their Protestant beliefs.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Stratford Martyrs - 1571
Queen Elizabeth I issued a royal charter establishing Jesus College, the first Protestant college at the University of Oxford.
Britain & Ireland · Jesus College, OxfordWikipedia: Jesus College, Oxford - 1743
In the Battle of Dettingen, George II becomes the last reigning British monarch to participate in a battle.
Europe · Battle of DettingenWikipedia: Battle of Dettingen - 1760
Anglo-Cherokee War: Cherokee warriors defeat British forces at the Battle of Echoee near present-day Otto, North Carolina.
North America · Otto, North CarolinaWikipedia: Anglo-Cherokee War - 1800
War of the Second Coalition: French forces won a victory at the Battle of Neuburg, ending Austrian control over the River Danube.
Europe · Battle of NeuburgWikipedia: Battle of Neuburg - 1806
British forces take Buenos Aires during the first of the British invasions of the River Plate.
Latin America · Buenos AiresWikipedia: British invasions of the River Plate - 1844
Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum Smith, are killed by a mob at the Carthage, Illinois jail.
North America · Carthage, IllinoisWikipedia: Killing of Joseph Smith - 1864
American Civil War: Confederate forces defeat Union forces during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the Atlanta campaign.
North America · Battle of Kennesaw MountainWikipedia: American Civil War - 1869
One day after surrendering at the Battle of Hakodate, Enomoto Takeaki turned the fort of Goryōkaku over to Japanese forces, signaling the collapse of the Republic of Ezo.
Asia · Battle of HakodateWikipedia: Battle of Hakodate - 1869
The military phase of the Meiji Restoration in Japan was completed with an imperial victory in the Boshin War.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Meiji Restoration - 1895
The inaugural run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad - 1898
The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
North America · Nova ScotiaWikipedia: Circumnavigation - 1899
A. E. J. Collins scored 628 runs not out, the highest recorded score in cricket until being surpassed in 2016.
no place on the mapWikipedia: A. E. J. Collins - 1905
During the Russo-Japanese War, sailors start a mutiny aboard the Russian battleship Potemkin.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Russo-Japanese War - 1914
The Illinois Monument is dedicated at Cheatham Hill in what is now the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
North America · Illinois MonumentWikipedia: Illinois Monument - 1924
The Johor–Singapore Causeway opens after five years of construction, providing a land connection for road and rail vehicles travelling between Johor and Singapore.
Asia · Johor–Singapore CausewayWikipedia: Johor–Singapore Causeway - 1927
Prime Minister of Japan Tanaka Giichi convenes an eleven-day conference to discuss Japan's strategy in China. The Tanaka Memorial, a forged plan for world domination, is later claimed to be a secret report leaked from this conference.
Asia · Empire of JapanWikipedia: Prime Minister of Japan - 1928
The Rovaniemi township decree is promulgated, as a result of which Rovaniemi secedes from the old rural municipality as its own market town on January 1, 1929.
Europe · RovaniemiWikipedia: Rovaniemi - 1941
Romanian authorities launch one of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history in the city of Iași, resulting in the murder of at least 13,266 Jews.
Europe · IașiWikipedia: Iași pogrom - 1941
World War II: German troops capture the city of Białystok during Operation Barbarossa.
Europe · BiałystokWikipedia: World War II - 1944
World War II: Mogaung is the first place in Burma to be liberated from the Japanese by British Chindits, supported by the Chinese.
Asia · MogaungWikipedia: Battle of Mogaung - 1946
In the Canadian Citizenship Act, the Parliament of Canada establishes the definition of Canadian citizenship.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Canadian Citizenship Act, 1946 - 1950
The United States decides to send troops to fight in the Korean War.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Korean War - 1954
Jacobo Árbenz resigned as President of Guatemala following a CIA-led coup against his administration.
Latin America · GuatemalaWikipedia: 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état - 1954
The FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match between Hungary and Brazil, highly anticipated to be exciting, instead turns violent, with three players ejected and further fighting continuing after the game.
Europe · Charmilles StadiumWikipedia: 1954 FIFA World Cup - 1954
The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, the Soviet Union's first nuclear power station, opens in Obninsk, near Moscow.
Europe · Obninsk Nuclear Power PlantWikipedia: Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant - 1957
Hurricane Audrey makes landfall near the Texas–Louisiana border, killing over 400 people, mainly in and around Cameron, Louisiana.
North America · Cameron, LouisianaWikipedia: Hurricane Audrey - 1973
The President of Uruguay Juan María Bordaberry dissolves Parliament and establishes a dictatorship.
no place on the mapWikipedia: President of Uruguay - 1974
U.S. president Richard Nixon visits the Soviet Union.
Asia · Soviet UnionWikipedia: President of the United States - 1976
Air France Flight 139 (Tel Aviv-Athens-Paris) is hijacked en route to Paris by the PFLP and redirected to Entebbe, Uganda.
Africa · Entebbe raidWikipedia: Entebbe raid - 1976
The first identifiable case of Ebola occurred in Sudan.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ebola - 1977
Constitution for the Federation of Earth was adopted by the second session of the World Constituent Assembly, held at Innsbruck, Austria.
Europe · InnsbruckWikipedia: World Constitutional Convention - 1977
France grants independence to Djibouti.
Africa · DjiboutiWikipedia: Djibouti - 1980
The 'Ustica massacre': Itavia Flight 870 crashes in the sea while en route from Bologna to Palermo, Italy, killing all 81 on board.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Itavia Flight 870 - 1981
The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issues its "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China", laying the blame for the Cultural Revolution on Mao Zedong.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party - 1982
Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final research and development flight mission, STS-4.
North America · Kennedy Space CenterWikipedia: Space Shuttle Columbia - 1988
The Gare de Lyon rail accident in Paris, France, kills 56 people.
Europe · ParisWikipedia: Gare de Lyon rail accident - 1988
Villa Tunari massacre: Bolivian anti-narcotics police kill nine to 12 and injure over a hundred protesting coca-growing peasants.
Latin America · Villa TunariWikipedia: Villa Tunari massacre - 1991
Croatian War of Independence: As the Yugoslav Army moved into Osijek, Croatia, a civilian attempted to halt them by placing his car in the path of a tank, becoming a symbol of Croatian resistance in the war.
Europe · OsijekWikipedia: Croatian War of Independence - 1991
Two days after it had declared independence, Slovenia is invaded by Yugoslav troops, tanks, and aircraft, starting the Ten-Day War.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ten-Day War - 1994
Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release sarin gas in Matsumoto, Japan. Seven people are killed, 660 injured.
Asia · Matsumoto sarin attackWikipedia: Matsumoto sarin attack - 1995
Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-71, the first space shuttle mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Space Shuttle Atlantis - 2007
The Brazilian Military Police invades the favelas of Complexo do Alemão in an episode which is remembered as the Complexo do Alemão massacre.
Latin America · Complexo do Alemão massacreWikipedia: Complexo do Alemão massacre - 2007
Tony Blair resigns as British Prime Minister, a position he had held since 1997. Chancellor Gordon Brown succeeds him.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Tony Blair - 2008
In a highly scrutinized election, President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe is re-elected in a landslide after his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai had withdrawn a week earlier, citing violence against his party's supporters.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 2008 Zimbabwean general election - 2013
NASA launches the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph space probe to observe the Sun.
no place on the mapWikipedia: NASA - 2014
At least fourteen people are killed when a Gas Authority of India Limited pipeline explodes in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Asia · 2014 GAIL pipeline explosionWikipedia: 2014 GAIL pipeline explosion - 2015
Formosa Fun Coast fire: A dust fire occurs at a recreational water park in Taiwan, killing 15 people and injuring 497 others, 199 critically.
Asia · 2015 New Taipei water park fireWikipedia: 2015 New Taipei water park fire - 2017
A series of powerful cyberattacks using the Petya malware target websites of Ukrainian organizations and counterparts with Ukrainian connections around the globe.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 2017 Ukraine ransomware attacks - 2018
The Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 arrived at the asteroid Ryugu to collect samples for return to Earth.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Hayabusa2 - 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden debates former U.S. President Donald Trump. Biden's perceived poor performance leads to his withdrawal from the election on July 21.
North America · AtlantaWikipedia: 2024 Joe Biden–Donald Trump presidential debate
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and were translated for this page.
- 1967
The British inventor John Shepherd-Barron puts the world's first automatic teller machine into service at the Enfield Town branch of Barclays Bank.
- 1986
The International Court of Justice rules against the United States in Nicaragua v. United States.
Europe · International Court of JusticeTranslated from the list on Wikipedia in ChineseWikipedia: 国际法院
Who was born on 27 June
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 210 are shown.
- 1880
Helen Keller, American author, academic, and activist (died 1968)
Ivy GreenWikipedia: Helen Keller - 1869
Emma Goldman, Lithuanian-Canadian philosopher and activist (died 1940)
KaunasWikipedia: Emma Goldman - 1955
Isabelle Adjani, French actress
17th arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Isabelle Adjani - 1975
Tobey Maguire, American actor
Santa MonicaWikipedia: Tobey Maguire - 1462
Louis XII, king of France (died 1515)
Château de BloisWikipedia: Louis XII - 1550
Charles IX, king of France (died 1574)
Saint-Germain-en-LayeWikipedia: Charles IX of France - 1985
Nico Rosberg, German race car driver
WiesbadenWikipedia: Nico Rosberg - 1931
Martinus J. G. Veltman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2021)
- 1941
Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director and screenwriter (died 1996)
- 1951
Mary McAleese, Irish academic and politician, 8th President of Ireland
BelfastWikipedia: Mary McAleese - 1966
J. J. Abrams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
New York CityWikipedia: J. J. Abrams - 1350
Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (died 1425)
ConstantinopleWikipedia: Manuel II Palaiologos - 1884
Gaston Bachelard, French philosopher and poet (died 1962)
Bar-sur-AubeWikipedia: Gaston Bachelard - 1838
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (died 1894)
KanthalparaWikipedia: Bankim Chandra Chatterjee - 1869
Hans Spemann, German embryologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1941)
StuttgartWikipedia: Hans Spemann - 1984
Khloé Kardashian, American model, businesswoman, and radio host
Los AngelesWikipedia: Khloé Kardashian - 1806
Augustus De Morgan, English mathematician and logician (died 1871)
- 1985
Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russian tennis player
Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Svetlana Kuznetsova - 1850
Lafcadio Hearn, Greek-Japanese historian and author (died 1904)
LefkadaWikipedia: Lafcadio Hearn - 1930
Ross Perot, American businessman and politician (died 2019)
TexarkanaWikipedia: Ross Perot - 1988
Matthew Spiranovic, Australian footballer
- 1980
Hugo Campagnaro, Argentinian footballer
CórdobaWikipedia: Hugo Campagnaro - 1949
Vera Wang, American fashion designer
New York CityWikipedia: Vera Wang - 1986
Sam Claflin, British actor
IpswichWikipedia: Sam Claflin - 1987
Ed Westwick, English actor
StevenageWikipedia: Ed Westwick - 1984
Gökhan Inler, Swiss footballer
- 1989
Matthew Lewis, English actor
- 1962
Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Hong Kong actor and singer
British Hong KongWikipedia: Tony Leung Chiu-wai - 1966
Aigars Kalvītis, Latvian politician, businessman, and former Prime Minister of Latvia
- 1986
LaShawn Merritt, American sprinter
PortsmouthWikipedia: LaShawn Merritt - 1999
Chandler Riggs, American actor
AtlantaWikipedia: Chandler Riggs - 1908
João Guimarães Rosa, Brazilian physician and author (died 1967)
CordisburgoWikipedia: João Guimarães Rosa - 1846
Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish politician (died 1891)
County WicklowWikipedia: Charles Stewart Parnell - 1965
Simon Sebag Montefiore, English journalist, historian, and author
- 1767
Alexis Bouvard, French astronomer and academic (died 1843)
Les Contamines-MontjoieWikipedia: Alexis Bouvard - 1971
Serginho, Brazilian footballer
NilópolisWikipedia: Serginho - 1997
H.E.R., American singer-songwriter
VallejoWikipedia: H.E.R. - 1872
Heber Doust Curtis, American astronomer (died 1942)
MuskegonWikipedia: Heber Doust Curtis - 1986
Drake Bell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
Santa AnaWikipedia: Drake Bell - 1968
Kelly Ayotte, American lawyer and politician, Governor of New Hampshire
NashuaWikipedia: Kelly Ayotte - 1872
Paul Laurence Dunbar, American author, poet, and playwright (died 1906)
- 1932
Anna Moffo, American operatic soprano (died 2006)
- 1992
Ahn So-hee, South Korean singer and actress
- 1882
Eduard Spranger, German philosopher and academic (died 1963)
Groß-LichterfeldeWikipedia: Eduard Spranger - 1914
Giorgio Almirante, Italian journalist and politician (died 1988)
Salsomaggiore TermeWikipedia: Giorgio Almirante - 1939
R. D. Burman, Indian singer-songwriter (died 1994)
KolkataWikipedia: R. D. Burman - 1944
Patrick Sercu, Belgian cyclist (died 2019)
RoeselareWikipedia: Patrick Sercu - 1907
John McIntire, American actor (died 1991)
SpokaneWikipedia: John McIntire - 1913
Philip Guston, American painter and academic (died 1980)
MontrealWikipedia: Philip Guston - 1937
Joseph P. Allen, American physicist and astronaut
CrawfordsvilleWikipedia: Joseph P. Allen - 1951
Ulf Andersson, Swedish chess player
VästeråsWikipedia: Ulf Andersson - 1957
Gabriella Dorio, Italian runner
VeggianoWikipedia: Gabriella Dorio - 1973
Abbath Doom Occulta, Norwegian musician
Odda MunicipalityWikipedia: Abbath - 1974
Christopher O'Neill, English-American businessman
- 1865
John Monash, Australian engineer and general (died 1931)
MelbourneWikipedia: John Monash - 1899
Juan Trippe, American businessman, founded Pan American World Airways (died 1981)
Sea BrightWikipedia: Juan Trippe - 1974
Christian Kane, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1980
Alexander Peya, Austrian tennis player
- 850
Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir (died 902)
- 1918
Adolph Kiefer, American swimmer (died 2017)
ChicagoWikipedia: Adolph Kiefer
What is celebrated on 27 June
- Christian feast day: Arialdo
- Christian feast day: Crescens, one of the Seventy disciples
- Christian feast day: Cyril of Alexandria (Coptic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church)
- Christian feast day: Hemma of Gurk
- Christian feast day: Gundenis
- Christian feast day: Blessed Louise-Thérèse de Montaignac de Chauvance
- Christian feast day: Marguerite Bays
- Christian feast day: Our Lady of Perpetual Help
- Christian feast day: Sampson the Hospitable
- Christian feast day: Zoilus
- Christian feast day: June 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Canadian Multiculturalism Day (Canada)
- Commemoration Day for the Victims of the Communist Regime (Czech Republic)
- Day of Turkmen Workers of Culture and Art and poetry of Magtymguly Pyragy (Turkmenistan)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.