Today in history
Today is Friday, Oct. 27, the 300th day of 2017. There are 65 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight
On Oct. 27, 1947, “You Bet Your Life,” a comedy quiz show starring Groucho Marx, premiered on ABC Radio. (It later became a television show on NBC.)
On this date
In 1787, the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the United States Constitution, was published.
In 1858, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, was born in New York City.
In 1880, Theodore Roosevelt married his first wife, Alice Lee.
In 1886 (New Style date), the musical fantasy “A Night on Bald Mountain,” written by Modest Mussorgsky (MOH’dest muh-SAWRG’-skee) and revised after his death by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, was performed in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In 1922, the first annual celebration of Navy Day took place.
In 1938, Du Pont announced a name for its new synthetic yarn: “nylon.”
In 1954, U.S. Air Force Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was promoted to brigadier general, the first black officer to achieve that rank in the USAF. Walt Disney’s first television program, titled “Disneyland” after the yet-to-be completed theme park, premiered on ABC.
In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down while flying over Cuba, killing the pilot, U.S. Air Force Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr.
In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (men-AH’-kem BAY’gihn) were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.
In 1980, opera star Beverly Sills gave her last public performance during a farewell gala at New York’s Lincoln Center.
In 1992, Petty Officer Allen Schindler, a gay U.S. Navy sailor, was beaten to death near Sasebo Naval Base in southwestern Japan by shipmate Terry Helvey, who pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4, 3-0.
Ten years ago: Despite significant dissent in the ranks, United Auto Workers members narrowly passed a fouryear contract agreement with Chrysler LLC. The Boston Red Sox took a 3-0 World Series lead with a 10-5 win over the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
Five years ago: The eastern United States braced for high winds, torrential rains, power outages and even snow from Hurricane Sandy, which was headed north from the Caribbean toward a merger with two wintry weather systems. The San Francisco Giants, with a 2-0 victory, took a three-games-to-none lead in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers.
One year ago: A jury in Portland, Oregon, delivered an extraordinary blow to the government in a long-running battle over the use of public lands when it acquitted all seven defendants, including group leader Ammon Bundy, who were involved in the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in 2014. Law enforcement officers dressed in riot gear evicted protesters from private land in the path of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, dramatically escalating a monthslong dispute over Native American rights and the project’s environmental impact. Twitter announced it was cutting about 9 percent of its employees worldwide.