Today in History: Togo and Sierra Leone gained independence from France and Britain respectively

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on April 27:

1909 – A group known as the Young Turks deposed Sultan Abdul Hamid in Turkey.

1956 – Rocky Marciano retired as undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion.

1960 - After several years as an autonomous republic in the French Union, the West African country of Togo became independent. 

1961 – Sierra Leone—which for years had been a British colony and protectorate—achieved independence within the British Commonwealth; Sir Milton Margai served as the first prime minister.

1969 – Bolivian President Rene Barrientos Ortuno was killed in a helicopter crash. He had been president since 1964.

1990 – Joe Slovo, South African Communist leader, returned home to join peace talks after 27 years in exile.

1998 – Nguyen Van Linh, former general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, died.

2001 – Russia signed an agreement with North Korea to upgrade weapons it had supplied during the Soviet era.

2002 – Biggest cheese in the world recorded in Alkmaar, Netherlands.

2003 – Nicanor Duarte Frutos won Paraguay’s presidency, extending his Colorado party’s reign as the world’s longest-serving political force still in power.

2005 - The superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France

2007 – Ukrainian authorities controversially remove Bronze soldier from Tallinn, during political dispute with Russia.

2012 – Chinese students set world record for largest smiley face.

2014 - Pope John Paul II was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI.

(Reuters)