On this day, June 27

1880 Author-lecturer Helen Keller, who lived most of her life without sight or hearing, was born in Tuscumbia, Ala.

1909 Pittsburgh Mayor William A. Magee was credited with settling the two-day strike of 2,900 motormen and conductors. The settlement was a blow to railroads, which had put on 400 extra cars in the absence of trolley service.

1936 The newly completed Allegheny General Hospital was dedicated.

1951 A special grand jury recommended indictment of Pittsburgh Mayor David L. Lawrence, City Controller Edward R. Frey and nine others as the result of an investigation into city light and coal contracts. 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.)

1994 It was announced that Lorin Maazel, musical director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, would not renew his contract after the 1996 season.

2005 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a pair of 5-4 decisions, that displaying the Ten Commandments on government property was constitutionally permissible in some cases, but not in others.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City

” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology). — Compiled by Alyssa Brown

Today’s birthdays: Singer-musician Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys), 78. Fashion designer Vera Wang, 71. Actress Julia Duffy, 69. Country singer Lorrie Morgan, 61. Olympic gold and bronze medal figure skater Viktor Petrenko, 51. Actor Tobey Maguire, 45. Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, 36. Thought for today: “It is no simple matter to pause in the midst of one’s maturity, when life is full of function, to examine what are the principles which control that functioning.”