TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SATURDAY, OCT. 27, the 300th day of 2018. There are 65 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.
In 1787, the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the United States Constitution, was published.
In 1795, the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo (also known as “Pinckney’s Treaty”), which provided for free navigation of the Mississippi River.
In 1904, the first rapid transit subway, the IRT, was inaugurated in New York City.
In 1938, Du Pont announced a name for its new synthetic yarn: “nylon.”
In 1947, “You Bet Your Life,” a comedy quiz show starring Groucho Marx, premiered on ABC Radio. It later became a television show on NBC.
In 1954, U.S. Air Force Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was promoted to brigadier general, the first black officer to achieve that rank in the USAF.
In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down while flying over Cuba, killing the pilot, U.S. Air Force Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr.
In 1992, Petty Officer Allen Schindler, a gay U.S. Navy sailor, was beaten to death near Sasebo Naval Base in southwestern Japan by shipmate Terry Helvey, who pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch cut through the western Caribbean, pummeling coastal Honduras and Belize; the storm caused several thousand deaths in Central America in the days that followed.
In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4, 3-0.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor-comedian John Cleese is 79. Author Maxine Hong Kingston is 78. Country singer Lee Greenwood is 76. Producer-director Ivan Reitman is 72. Country singer-musician Jack Daniels and rock musician Garry Tallent (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band) are 69. Author Fran Lebowitz is 68. Actor-director Roberto Benigni is 66. Actors Peter Firth and Robert Picardo are 65. World Golf Hall-of-Famer Patty Sheehan is 62. Singer Simon Le Bon is 60. Internet news editor Matt Drudge is 52. Rock musician Jason Finn (Presidents of the United States of America) is 51. Actress Sheeri Rappaport is 41. Actress-singer Kelly Osbourne is 34. Actress Christine Evangelista is 32. Actor Bryan Craig is 27. Actor Troy Gentile is 25.