Today in History
Today is Wednesday, July 27, the 209th day of 2016. There are 157 days
left in the year. Today's 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 Neuilly-sur-Seine
(NU'-yee-suhr-sehn), 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 27-11 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
so-called "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. One
year ago: President Barack Obama, during a visit to Ethiopia, unleashed
a blistering and belittling rebuke of Republican White House hopefuls,
calling their attack on his landmark nuclear deal with Iran "ridiculous
if it weren't so sad. The Boy Scouts of America ended its blanket ban
on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to
maintain the exclusion for religious reasons. Today's Birthdays: TV
producer Norman Lear is 94. Actor Jerry Van Dyke is 85. Sportscaster
Irv Cross is 77. Actor John Pleshette is 74. Actress-director Betty
Thomas is 69. Olympic gold medal figure skater Peggy Fleming is 68.
Singer Maureen McGovern is 67. Actress Janet Eilber is 65. Rock
musician Tris Imboden (Chicago) is 65. Actress Roxanne Hart is 62.
Country musician Duncan Cameron is 60. Comedian-actress-writer Carol
Leifer is 60. Comedian Bill Engvall is 59. Jazz singer Karrin Allyson
is 54. Country singer Stacy Dean Campbell is 49. Rock singer Juliana
Hatfield is 49. Actor Julian McMahon is 48. Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
(NIH'-koh-lye KAH'-stur WAHL'-dah) is 46. Comedian Maya Rudolph is 44.
Rock musician Abe Cunningham is 43. Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn is 42.
MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez is 41. Actor Seamus Dever is 40. Actor
Jonathan Rhys (rees) Meyers is 39. Actor Blair Redford is 33. Actress
Taylor Schilling is 32. Singer Cheyenne Kimball is 26. Golfer Jordan
Spieth is 23. Actress Alyvia Alyn Lind is nine. Thought for Today: "We
are always the same age inside. Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).
