Today in history

Today is Wednesday, July 27, the 209th day of 2016. There are 157 days left in the year.

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 1789, President George Washington signed a measure establishing the Department of Foreign Affairs, forerunner of the Department of State.

In 1866, Cyrus W. Field finished laying out the first successful underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe (a previous cable in 1858 burned out after only a few weeks’ use).

In 1921, Canadian researcher Frederick Banting and his assistant, Charles Best, succeeded in isolating the hormone insulin at the University of Toronto.

In 1946, American author, poet and publisher Gertrude Stein, 72, died in Neuillysur-Seine (NU’-yee-suhrsehn), France.

In 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.

In 1960, Vice President Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president on the first ballot at the Republican national convention in Chicago.

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 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted 2711 to adopt the first of three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.

In 1976, Air Force veteran Ray Brennan became the first person to die of socalled “Legionnaire’s Disease” following an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

In 1980, on day 267 of the Iranian hostage crisis, the deposed Shah of Iran died at a military hospital outside Cairo, Egypt, at age 60.

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. Julio Lugo scored from third base on a blown umpire’s call at the plate, giving the Atlanta Braves a post-midnight 4-3 win in 19 innings over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ervin Santana pitched the first solo no-hitter for the Angels in nearly 27 years, striking out 10 and leading Los Angeles over Cleveland 3-1. Former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu, 42, was found dead of an apparent suicide in the affluent Los Angeles suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Thought for Today: “We are always the same age inside.” — Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).