On This Day, July 27: Opium War Begins, Đura Jakšić, Petar Lubarda, and Stanislav Binički Born

July 27th marks significant moments in history, from ancient times to the 20th century. In 916, St. Clement of Ohrid, a key figure in spreading Slavic literacy, passed away. Centuries later, in 1189, Serbian Grand župan Stefan Nemanja hosted German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in Niš during the Third Crusade, offering an alliance against Byzantium.

The date also saw pivotal political and military events. In 1540, Thomas Cromwell, chief advisor to England's King Henry VIII, was executed for treason. The Dutch War saw the death of French commander Henri de Turenne in battle in 1675. In 1789, the U.S. Congress established the Department of Foreign Affairs, the precursor to the State Department. France experienced the "July Revolution" in 1830, sparked by King Charles X's decrees against press freedom, leading to his abdication.

Several influential cultural figures were born on this day. Serbian Romantic poet and painter Đura Jakšić was born in 1832. Italian poet Giosuè Carducci, a Nobel laureate, was born in 1835. Composer Stanislav Binički, known for the "March on the Drina," was born in 1872. In 1905, Petar Lubarda, a prominent Yugoslav painter, was born in Montenegro.

Significant conflicts and literary milestones also punctuate July 27th. The "Opium War" between China and Great Britain began in 1839 after Chinese authorities destroyed opium shipments. Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov died in a duel in 1841. English chemist John Dalton, founder of atomic theory, died in 1844. In 1874, Svetozar Marković's socialist newspaper "Glas javnosti" was launched in Kragujevac. Swiss surgeon Emil Theodor Kocher, a Nobel laureate in medicine, died in 1917.