Today in History
Today is Saturday, Aug. 27, the 240th day of 2016. There are 126 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Aug. 27, 1883, the
island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic
explosions; the resulting tidal waves in Indonesia's Sunda Strait
claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra. On this date: In 1776,
the Battle of Long Island began during the Revolutionary War as British
troops attacked American forces, who ended up being forced to retreat
two days later. In 1908, Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of
the United States, was born near Stonewall, Texas. In 1928, the
Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in Paris, outlawing war and providing
for the peaceful settlement of disputes. In 1939, the first
turbojet-powered aircraft, the Heinkel He 178, went on its first
full-fledged test flight over Germany. In 1949, a violent white mob
prevented an outdoor concert headlined by Paul Robeson from taking
place near Peekskill, New York. (The concert was held eight days
later.) In 1957, the USS Swordfish, the second Skate Class nuclear
submarine, was launched from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine. In
1962, the United States launched the Mariner 2 space probe, which flew
past Venus in December 1962. In 1965, influential Swiss-born architect
Le Corbusier, 77, died in Cap Martin, France. In 1975, Haile Selassie
(HY'-lee sehl-AH'-see), the last emperor of Ethiopia's 3,000-year-old
monarchy, died in Addis Ababa at age 83 almost a year after being
overthrown. In 1979, British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten and three
other people, including his 14-year-old grandson Nicholas, were killed
off the coast of Ireland in a boat explosion claimed by the Irish
Republican Army. In 1989, the first U.S. commercial satellite rocket
was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida a Delta booster carrying a
British communications satellite, the Marcopolo 1. In 2008, Barack
Obama was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention
in Denver. Ten years ago: A Comair CRJ-100 crashed after trying to take
off from the wrong runway in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49 people and
leaving the co-pilot the sole survivor. Two Fox News journalists, Steve
Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig, were freed by militants nearly two
weeks after being kidnapped in Gaza City. The action series "24" won
Emmys for best drama series and best actor for Kiefer Sutherland; "The
Office" was honored as best comedy. Five years ago: Hurricane Irene,
after striking Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, pushed up the East Coast,
prompting evacuations in New York City and leaving major flood damage
in Vermont. Hundreds of soldiers and federal agents raided a casino in
Monterrey in northern Mexico, two days after an arson attack on a
gambling house killed 52 people. One year ago: Visiting residents on
tidy porch stoops and sampling the fried chicken at a corner
restaurant, President Barack Obama held out the people of New Orleans
as an extraordinary example of renewal and resilience 10 years after
the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Ex-NBA star Darryl Dawkins, 58,
whose board-shattering dunks earned him the moniker "Chocolate Thunder"
and helped pave the way for breakaway rims, died in Allentown,
Pennsylvania. Today's Birthdays: Author Lady Antonia Fraser is 84.
Actor Tommy Sands is 79. Bluegrass singer-musician J.D. Crowe is 79.
Musician Daryl Dragon is 74. Actress Tuesday Weld is 73. Actor G.W.
Bailey is 72. Rock singer-musician Tim Bogert is 72. Actress Marianne
Sagebrecht is 71. Country musician Jeff Cook is 67. Actor Paul Reubens
is 64. Rock musician Alex Lifeson (Rush) is 63. Actor Peter Stormare is
63. Actress Diana Scarwid is 61. Rock musician Glen Matlock (The Sex
Pistols) is 60. Golfer Bernhard Langer is 59. Country singer Jeffrey
Steele is 55. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 55. Country musician
Matthew Basford (Yankee Grey) is 54. Writer-producer Dean Devlin is 54.
Rock musician Mike Johnson is 51. Rap musician Bobo (Cypress Hill) is
48. Country singer Colt Ford is 47. Actress Chandra Wilson is 47. Rock
musician Tony Kanal (No Doubt) is 46. Actress Sarah Chalke is 40. Actor
RonReaco (correct) Lee is 40. Rapper Mase is 39. Actress-singer
Demetria McKinney is 38. Actor Aaron Paul is 37. Rock musician Jon
Siebels (Eve 6) is 37. Actor Shaun Weiss is 37. Contemporary Christian
musician Megan Garrett (Casting Crowns) is 36. Actor Kyle Lowder is 36.
Actor Patrick J. Adams is 35. Actress Karla Mosley is 35. Actress
Amanda Fuller is 32. Singer Mario is 30. Actress Alexa PenaVega is 28.
Actor Ellar Coltrane is 22. Actress Savannah Paige Rae is 13. Thought
for Today: "Doing what's right isn't the problem. It is knowing what's
right. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States
(1908-1973).
