Today In History

Today is Saturday, March 27, the 86th day of 2021. There are 279 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1964: Alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake (the strongest on record in North America) and tsunamis that together claimed about 130 lives.

ON THIS DATE

› 1513: Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted present-day Florida.

› 1884: The first telephone line between Boston and New York was inaugurated.

› 1945: During World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower told reporters in Paris that German defenses on the Western Front had been broken.

› 1973: “The Godfather” won the Academy Award for best picture of 1972, but its star, Marlon Brando, refused to accept his Oscar for best actor. Liza Minnelli won best actress for “Cabaret.”

› 1975: Construction began on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which was completed two years later.

› 1977: In aviation’s worst disaster, 583 people were killed when a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off in heavy fog, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on an airport runway on the Canary Island of Tenerife.

› 1995: “Forrest Gump” won six Academy Awards, including best picture and a second consecutive best actor Oscar for Tom Hanks.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Julian Glover is 86. Actor Jerry Lacy is 85. Hall of Fame racer Cale Yarborough is 82. Actor-director Austin Pendleton is 81. Actor Michael York is 79. Rock musician Tony Banks (Genesis) is 71. Rock musician Andrew Farriss (INXS) is 62. Jazz musician Dave Koz is 58. Movie director Quentin Tarantino is 58. Rock musician Derrick McKenzie (Jamiroquai) is 57. Rock musician Johnny April (Staind) is 56. Actor Talisa Soto is 54. Actor Ben Koldyke is 53. Actor Pauley Perrette is 52. Singer Mariah Carey is 51. Rock musician Brendan Hill (Blues Traveler) is 51. Jazz musician Tia Fuller is 45. Actor Emily Ann Lloyd is 37. MLB catcher Buster Posey is 34. Actor Brenda Song is 33. Pop singer-songwriter Kimbra is 31. Actor Taylor Atelian is 26. Actor/R&B singer Halle Bailey is 21. Classical crossover singer Amira Willighagen (TV: “Holland’s Got Talent”) is 17.