TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT June 27, 1846

New York and Boston were linked by telegraph wires.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1787

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

1844

Mormon leader Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.

1905

The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in Chicago.

1922

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

1944

During World War II, American forces liberated the French port of Cherbourg from the Germans.

1957

Hurricane Audrey slammed into coastal Louisiana and Texas as a Category 4 storm; the official death toll from the storm was placed at 390, although a variety of sources have estimated the number of fatalities at between 400 and 600.

1974

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

1985

Route 66, which originally stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, passed into history as officials decertified the road.