ON OCTOBER 27 ...

In 1505 the Grand Duke of Moscow, Ivan III (also known as “Ivan the Great”), died; he was succeeded by his son, Vasily III. (Vasily's son, Ivan IV, later became the first czar of Russia, “Ivan the Terrible.”)

In 1787 the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution, was published in a New York newspaper.

In 1858 Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, was born in New York.

In 1871 William Marcy “Boss” Tweed, the political leader of Tammany Hall in New York, was arrested on charges of defrauding the city of millions of dollars.

In 1904 the first rapid transit subway, the IRT, was inaugurated in New York.

In 1923 Pop art painter Roy Lichtenstein was born in New York.

In 1932 poet Sylvia Plath was born in Boston.

In 1938 DuPont announced a name for its new synthetic yarn: nylon.

In 1978 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.

In 1994, in the first trip to Syria by a U.S. president in 20 years, President Bill Clinton met with Syrian President Hafez Assad before heading to Jerusalem to meet with Israeli officials.

In 1999 the U.S. federal budget surplus was put at $123 billion in 1998, marking the first back-to-back surpluses since the 1950s.

In 2003 suicide bombers in Baghdad struck Red Cross headquarters and three police stations, killing dozens of people. Also in 2003 Rod Roddy, announcer on “The Price Is Right,” died in Los Angeles.