January 27, 1927

1927Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop (born 1871)^[†]

Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius was a Latin Church Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Vilnius from late 1918 until his resignation in 1925. Matulaitis was also the founder of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and the Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist; he served as the Superior-General of the Marian Fathers from 1911 until his death. He worked in secret to revive the Marian Fathers after the Russian authorities suppressed all religious orders and he even relinquished his teaching position to better dedicate himself to that secret revival. He was a noted teacher and spiritual director who set up other branches of the order in places such as Switzerland and the United States far from Russian authorities.

1927Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.^[†]

Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, known in the Western world as Ibn Saud, was the founder and first king of Saudi Arabia, reigning from 23 September 1932 until his death in 1953. He had ruled parts of the kingdom since 1902, having previously been Emir, Sultan, King of Nejd, and King of Hejaz.