Today is Sunday, Oct. 27, the 300th day of 2019. There are 65 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 27, 1787, the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the United States Constitution, was published.
On this date:
In 1858, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, was born in New York City.
In 1904, the first rapid transit subway, the IRT, was inaugurated in New York City.
In 1914, author-poet Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales.
In 1947, “You Bet Your Life,” a comedy quiz show starring Groucho Marx, premiered on ABC Radio. (It later became a television show on NBC.)
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 1995, a sniper killed one soldier and wounded 18 others at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. (Paratrooper William J. Kreutzer was convicted in the shootings, and condemned to death; the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.)
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch cut through the western Caribbean, pummeling coastal Honduras and Belize; the storm caused several thousand deaths in Central America in the days that followed.
In 2002, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (loo-EEZ’ ee-NAH’-cee-oh LOO’-luh duh SEEL’-vuh) was elected president of Brazil in a runoff, becoming the country’s first elected leftist leader.
In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4, 3-0.
In 2013, Lou Reed, 71, who radically challenged rock’s founding promise of good times and public celebration as a leader of the Velvet Underground, was a solo artist and was a founder of indie rock, died in Southampton, New York.
Ten years ago: Eight American troops were killed in two separate bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan. Michael Jackson’s last work, the documentary “Michael Jackson: This Is It,” opened.
Five years ago: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended new restrictions for people at highest risk for coming down with the Ebola virus and symptom monitoring for those at lower risk. Toronto elected John Tory, a moderate conservative, as the new mayor, ending the scandal-ridden Rob Ford era.
One year ago: A gunman shot and killed 11 congregants and wounded six others at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history; authorities said the suspect, Robert Bowers, raged against Jews during and after the rampage. (Bowers, who is awaiting trial, has pleaded not guilty; prosecutors are seeking a death sentence.) Hundreds of Mexican federal officers carrying plastic shields blocked a Central American caravan from advancing toward the United States after several thousand migrants turned down the chance to apply for refugee status in Mexico and obtain a Mexican offer of benefits.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor-comedian John Cleese is 80. Author Maxine Hong Kingston is 79. Country singer Lee Greenwood is 77. Producer-director Ivan Reitman is 73. Country singer-musician Jack Daniels is 70. Rock musician Garry Tallent (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band) is 70. Author Fran Lebowitz is 69. Rock musician K.K. Downing is 68. TV personality Jayne Kennedy is 68. Actor-director Roberto Benigni is 67. Actor Peter Firth is 66. Actor Robert Picardo is 66. World Golf Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan is 63. Singer Simon Le Bon is 61. Country musician Jerry Dale McFadden (The Mavericks) is 55. Internet news editor Matt Drudge is 53. Rock musician Jason Finn (Presidents of the United States of America) is 52. Actor Sean Holland is 51. Actor Channon Roe is 50. Actress Sheeri Rappaport is 42. Actor David Walton is 41. Violinist Vanessa-Mae is 41. Actress-singer Kelly Osbourne is 35. Actress Christine Evangelista is 33. Actor Bryan Craig is 28. Actor Troy Gentile is 26.
Thought for Today: “Happiness is a way station between too much and too little.” — Channing Pollock, American author and dramatist (1880-1946).
