TODAY is Wednesday, September 27, the 270th day of 2017. There are 95 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: HISTORY AT A GLANCE
1940 – World War II: The Tripartite Pact is signed in Berlin by
Germany, Japan and Italy. 1942 – Last day of the September Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps troops barely escape after being surrounded by Japanese forces near the Matanikau River. 1949 – The first Plenary Session of the National People’s Congress approves the design of the Flag of the People’s Republic of China. 1956 – USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first man to exceed Mach 3 while flying the Bell X-2. Shortly thereafter, the craft goes out of control and Captain Apt is killed. 1959 – Nearly 5,000 people die on the main Japanese island
of Honshu as the result of a typhoon. 1962 – The Yemen Arab Republic is established. 1964 – The British TSR-2 aircraft XR219 makes its maiden
flight from Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. 1968 – The stage musical Hair opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, where it played 1,998 performances until its closure was forced by the roof collapsing in July 1973. 1988 – National League for Democracy is formed by Aung San Suu Kyi and various others to help fight against dictatorship in Myanmar. 1996 – In Afghanistan, the Taliban capture the capital city Kabul after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah. 1996 – The Julie N. tanker ship crashes into the Million Dollar Bridge in Portland, Maine spilling thousands of gallons of oil. 1997 – Communications are suddenly lost with the Mars
Pathfinder space probe. 1998 – The Google internet search engine retrospectively
claims this as its birthday. 2000 – The first Olympic Gold Medal ever for Tae Kwon Do was won by Greek athlete Michalis Mouroutsos in men’s -58 kg division in Sydney. 2001 – Zug massacre: In Zug, Switzerland, Friedrich Leibacher shoots 18 citizens, killing 14 and then himself. 2003 – Smart 1 satellite is launched. 2007 – NASA launches the Dawn probe. 2008 – CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk while flying on Shenzhou 7.