TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT August 27, 1928

The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in Paris, outlawing war and providing for the peaceful settlement of disputes. ALSO ON THIS DATE

1776

The Battle of Long Island began during the Revolutionary War as British troops attacked American forces who ended up being forced to retreat two days later.

1859

Edwin L. Drake drilled the first successful oil well in the United States, at Titusville, Pa.

1883

The island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions; the resulting tidal waves in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra.

1949

A violent white mob prevented an outdoor concert headlined by Paul Robeson from taking place near Peekskill, New York.

1964

The Walt Disney movie musical fantasy “Mary Poppins,” starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

1967

Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles, was found dead in his London flat from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills; he was 32.

1975

Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia’s 3,000-year-old monarchy, died in Addis Ababa at age 83 almost a year after being overthrown.