Today In History

Today is Tuesday, June 27, the 178th day of 2017. There are 187 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1787: English historian Edward Gibbon completed work on his six-volume work, “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.”

ON THIS DATE

› 1864: Confederate forces repelled a frontal assault by Union troops in the Civil War Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia.

› 1905: The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in Chicago.

› 1922: The first Newbery Medal, recognizing excellence in children’s literature, was awarded to “The Story of Mankind” by Hendrik Willem van Loon.

› 1966: The Gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” premiered on ABCTV.

› 1974: President Richard Nixon opened an official visit to the Soviet Union.

› 1986: The International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled the United States had broken international law and violated the sovereignty of Nicaragua by aiding the contras. (The U.S. had already said it would not consider itself bound by the World Court decision.)

› 1991: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first black jurist to sit on the nation’s highest court, announced his retirement. (His departure led to the contentious nomination of Clarence Thomas to succeed him.)

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Business executive Ross Perot is 87. Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is 79. Singer-musician Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys) is 75. Country singer Lorrie Morgan is 58. Actor Brian Drillinger is 57. Writer-producer-director J.J. Abrams is 51. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., is 49. Olympic gold and bronze medal figure skater Viktor Petrenko is 48. Actor Edward “Grapevine” Fordham Jr. is 47. TV personality Jo Frost is 47. Actor Yancey Arias is 46. Actor Christian Kane is

43. Actor Tobey Maguire is 42. Rock singer Bernhoft is 41. Gospel singer Leigh Nash is 41. Actor Drake Bell is 31. Actor Sam Claflin is 31. Actress India de Beaufort is 30. Actor Ed Westwick is 30. Actress Madylin Sweeten is 26. Pop singer Lauren Jauregui (Fifth Harmony) (TV: “The X Factor”) is

21. Actor Chandler Riggs is 18.