Today in History

Today in History

Today is Friday, Nov. 27, the 331st day of 2015. There are 34 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 27, 1945, General George C. Marshall was named special U.S. envoy to China by President Harry S. Truman to try to end hostilities between the Nationalists and the Communists.

On this date:

In 1815, the constitution for the Congress Kingdom of Poland was signed by Russian Czar Alexander I, who was also king of Poland.

In 1901, the U.S. Army War College was established in Washington, D.C.

In 1910, New York's Pennsylvania Station officially opened.

In 1924, Macy's first Thanksgiving Day parade -- billed as a "Christmas Parade" -- took place in New York.

In 1939, the play "Key Largo," by Maxwell Anderson, opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York.

In 1942, during World War II, the Vichy French navy scuttled its ships and submarines in Toulon to keep them out of the hands of German troops.

In 1955, Swiss composer Arthur Honegger, 63, died in Paris.

In 1962, the first Boeing 727 was rolled out at the company's Renton Plant.

In 1973, the Senate voted 92-3 to confirm Gerald R. Ford as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew, who'd resigned.

In 1978, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone) and City Supervisor Harvey Milk, a gay-rights activist, were shot to death inside City Hall by former supervisor Dan White.

In 1983, 181 people were killed when a Colombian Avianca Airlines Boeing 747 crashed near Madrid's Barajas airport.

In 1989, a bomb blamed on drug traffickers destroyed a Colombian Avianca Boeing 727, killing all 107 people on board and three people on the ground.

Ten years ago: Doctors in France performed the world's first partial face transplant on a woman disfigured by a dog bite; Isabelle Dinoire received the lips, nose and chin of a brain-dead woman in a 15-hour operation. Actress Jocelyn Brando, older sister of Marlon Brando, died in Santa Monica, California, at age 86. Joe Jones, who sang the 1961 hit "You Talk Too Much," died in Los Angeles at age 79.

Five years ago: The State Department released a letter from its top lawyer to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, warning that an expected imminent release of classified cables would put "countless" lives at risk, threaten global counterterrorism operations and jeopardize U.S. relations with its allies. Movie director Irvin Kershner ("The Empire Strikes Back") died in Los Angeles at age 87.

One year ago: Reflecting its lessening oil clout, OPEC decided to keep its output target on hold and sit out falling crude prices. Mystery writer P.D. James, 94, died in Oxford, England. Frank Yablans, 79, a former president of Paramount Pictures who presided over the release of several groundbreaking pictures such as "The Godfather," died in Los Angeles.

Today's Birthdays: Author Gail Sheehy is 78. Footwear designer Manolo Blahnik is 73. Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (Film: "The Hurt Locker") is 64. TV host Bill Nye ("Bill Nye, the Science Guy") is 60. Actor William Fichtner is 59. Caroline Kennedy is 58. Academy Award-winning screenwriter Callie Khouri (Film: "Thelma and Louise") is 58. Rock musician Charlie Burchill (Simple Minds) is 56. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is 55. Rock musician Charlie Benante (Anthrax) is 53. Rock musician Mike Bordin (Faith No More) is 53. Actor Fisher Stevens is 52. Actress Robin Givens is 51. Actor Michael Vartan is 47. Rapper Skoob (DAS EFX) is 45. Actor Kirk Acevedo is 44. Rapper Twista is 43. Actor Jaleel White is 39. Actor Arjay Smith (TV: "Perception") is 32. Actress Alison Pill is 30. Actress/singer Aubrey Peeples (TV: "Nashville"; "Sharknado") is 22.

Thought for Today: "Man's loneliness is but his fear of life." -- Eugene O'Neill, American playwright (born 1888, died this date in 1953).