TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, July 27, the 209th day of 2016. There are 157 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 27, 1996, terror struck the Atlanta Olympics as a pipe bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, directly killing one person and injuring 111. (Anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph later pleaded guilty to the bombing, exonerating security guard Richard Jewell, who had been wrongly suspected.) On this date:
In 1921, Canadian researcher Frederick Banting and his assistant, Charles Best, succeeded in isolating the hormone insulin at the University of Toronto.
In 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.
In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to assess the causes of urban rioting, the same day black militant H. Rap Brown said in Washington that violence was “as American as cherry pie.”
In 1995, the Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington by President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam.
In 2003, comedian Bob Hope died in Toluca Lake, California, at age 100.
Ten years ago: Floyd Landis’ stunning Tour de France victory just four days earlier was thrown into doubt when he tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race. (Landis was stripped of his title for doping.)
Five years ago: A Russian space official (Vitaly Davydov) said that once the mammoth International Space Station was no longer needed, it would be sent into the Pacific Ocean.
One year ago: The Boy Scouts of America ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.
Today’s Birthdays: TV producer Norman Lear is 94. Actor Jerry Van Dyke is 85. Sportscaster Irv Cross is 77. Actor John Pleshette is 74. Actress-director Betty Thomas is 69. Olympic gold medal figure skater Peggy Fleming is 68. Comedian Maya Rudolph is 44. Singer Cheyenne Kimball is 26. Golfer Jordan Spieth is 23. Actress Alyvia Alyn Lind is nine.
Thought for Today: “We are always the same age inside.”— Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).