Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 27, the 27th day of 2016. There are 339 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 27, 1945, during World War II, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.

On this date:

In 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.

In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

In 1901, opera composer Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan, Italy, at age 87.

In 1913, the musical play "The Isle O' Dreams" opened in New York; it featured the song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" by Ernest R. Ball, Chauncey Olcott and George Graff Jr.

In 1944, during World War II, the Soviet Union announced the complete end of the deadly German siege of Leningrad, which had lasted for more than two years.

In 1951, an era of atomic testing in the Nevada desert began as an Air Force plane dropped a one-kiloton bomb on Frenchman Flat.

In 1965, "Up the Down Staircase," Bel Kaufman's novel about a young, idealistic teacher at a New York inner-city school, was published by Prentice-Hall.

In 1967, astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo spacecraft. More than 60 nations signed a treaty banning the orbiting of nuclear weapons.

In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris.

In 1977, the Vatican issued a declaration reaffirming the Roman Catholic Church's ban on female priests.

In 1984, singer Michael Jackson suffered serious burns to his scalp when pyrotechnics set his hair on fire during the filming of a Pepsi-Cola TV commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

In 1998, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, on NBC's "Today" show, charged the sexual misconduct allegations against her husband were the work of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."

In 2005, Condoleezza Rice, in her first day on the job as Secretary of State, reached out by phone to European allies and partners in the war on terrorism and echoed President George W. Bush's inaugural charge to promote liberty across the globe. Frail survivors and humbled world leaders remembered the victims of the Holocaust as they marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz.

Ten years ago: Salzburg, Austria, held an exuberant 250th birthday party for its native son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Western Union delivered its last telegram. The first inhalable version of insulin, Exubera, won federal approval.

Five years ago: Tens of thousands of Yemenis demanded their president step down; taking inspiration from Tunisians' revolt, they vowed to continue until their U.S.-backed government fell. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that color-coded terror alerts would be phased out by late April 2011.

One year ago: An online message purportedly from the Islamic State group warned that a Japanese man and a Jordanian pilot being held by the group had less than 24 hours to live unless Jordan freed an Iraqi woman sentenced to death for involvement in a deadly 2005 terror attack. European leaders gathered in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet liberation the Auschwitz death camp. Amid tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin stayed away, sending his chief of staff instead. A National Weather Service forecaster apologized for predicting that the area from New York to Philadelphia would see a foot or two of snow. Instead, the storm moved farther east and piled more than 2 feet of snow on parts of New England.

Today's Birthdays: Actor James Cromwell is 76. Actor John Witherspoon is 74. Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nedra Talley (The Ronettes) is 70. Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 68. Political commentator Ed Schultz is 62. Chief U.S. Justice John Roberts is 61. Country singer Cheryl White is 61. Country singer-musician Richard Young (The Kentucky Headhunters) is 61. Actress Mimi Rogers is 60. Rock musician Janick Gers (Iron Maiden) is 59. Actress Susanna Thompson is 58. Political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann is 57. Rock singer Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 55. Rock musician Gillian Gilbert is 55. Actress Tamlyn Tomita (TV's "Teen Wolf") is 53. Actress Bridget Fonda is 52. Actor Alan Cumming is 51. Country singer Tracy Lawrence is 48. Rock singer Mike Patton is 48. Rapper Tricky is 48. Rock musician Michael Kulas (James) is 47. Actor-comedian Patton Oswalt is 47. Actor Josh Randall is 44. Country singer Kevin Denney is 40. Tennis player Marat Safin is 36. Rock musician Matt Sanchez (American Authors) is 30. Actor Braeden Lemasters is 20.

Thought for Today: "The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself." -- Wallace Stevens, American poet and author (1879-1955).