The following events occurred in November 1927: Tuesday, November 1, 1927 The first communist government in China was proclaimed by Peng Pai, encompassing the counties of Haifeng and Lufeng near Hong Kong. The "Haifeng Soviet of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers" was created three weeks later, but Nationalist Chinese troops recaptured the area four months later. The first currency for the British Mandate in Palestine, the "Palestine pound", was introduced. After the creation of Israel and the independence of Jordan, and a redemption offer, the Palestine pound ceased to be legal tender after 1952. Died: Florence Mills, 32, African-American performer, of a burst appendix Karl Plauth, 31, aircraft designer and World War One ace who had downed 17 planes for Germany; in a flying accident; Wednesday, November 2, 1927 The Soviet Communist Party declared an amnesty for former White Army officers. American native T. S. Eliot became a naturalized British citizen. Born: Steve Ditko, American comic-book writer and artist, co-creator of Spider-Man; in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (d. 2018) Thursday, November 3, 1927 Rainfall began in Vermont, continuing into the next day, claiming its first victims. Described as the "worst natural disaster in the state's history". The final death toll was 132 people, of which 114 were in Vermont. Forty people were killed at the Sydney Harbour when the steamer Tahiti struck the passenger ferry Greycliffe. The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder, was first published in the United States. The first run of 4,500 copies was priced at $2.50 and sold out within a month. The Rodgers and Hart musical A Connecticut Yankee, based on Mark Twain's novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, was first performed, at the Vanderbilt Theater on Broadway. Born: Marius Barnard, South African cardiac surgeon and pioneer in that nation's critical illness insurance (d. 2014) Odvar Nordli, Prime Minister of Norway 1976 to 1981; in Tangen (d. 2018) Peggy McCay, American stage and television actress; in New York City (d. 2018) Friday, November 4, 1927 A cyclone struck the town of Nellore, northwest of Madras in India, killing almost 300 people. Legalized and state regulated prostitution in Germany, known as the "Bremen System", was abolished. Captain Hawthorne C. Gray, who had reached a record altitude of in a balloon on May 4, attempted to set an official record. Because his timer failed, he ran out of bottled oxygen while at an altitude of ,