Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 27, the 271st day of 2016. There are 95 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 27, 1964, the government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

On this date:

In 1540, Pope Paul III issued a papal bull establishing the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, as a religious order.

In 1779, John Adams was named by Congress to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain.

In 1854, the first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean passenger vessel occurred when the steamship SS Arctic sank off Newfoundland; of the more than 400 people on board, only 86 survived.

In 1928, the United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.

In 1939, Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.

In 1941, the United States launched the first 14 rapidly built "Liberty" military cargo vessels.

In 1956, Olympic track and field gold medalist and Hall of Fame golfer Babe Didrikson Zaharias died in Galveston, Texas, at age 45.

In 1962, "Silent Spring," Rachel Carson's study on the effects of pesticides on the environment, was published in book form by Houghton Mifflin.

In 1979, Congress gave its final approval to forming the U.S. Department of Education.

In 1989, Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc. agreed to a $3.4 billion cash buyout by Sony Corp.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush announced in a nationally broadcast address that he was eliminating all U.S. battlefield nuclear weapons, and called on the Soviet Union to match the gesture. The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked, 7-7, on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2001, an armed man went on a shooting rampage in the local parliament of Zug, Switzerland, killing 14 people before taking his own life. President George W. Bush asked the nation's governors to post National Guard troops at airports as a first step toward federal control of airline security.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush hosted a peacemaking dinner at the White House for the bickering leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Hamid Karzai. Republicans announced they would hold their 2008 presidential convention in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul. A gunman took six girls hostage at a high school in Bailey, Colorado; he molested some of them and killed one girl before committing suicide.

Five years ago: Opening statements in the Los Angeles trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, took place as prosecutors accused Murray of killing the superstar through irresponsible use of the anesthetic propofol, and the defense maintaining Jackson had caused his own death. (Murray was later convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter.) Israel gave the go-ahead for construction of 1,100 new Jewish housing units in east Jerusalem; the announcement met with swift criticism from the United States and the European Union.

One year ago: President Barack Obama committed the U.S. to a new blueprint to eliminate poverty and hunger around the world as he addressed a global summit at the United Nations. Pope Francis urged hundreds of thousands of faithful gathered in Philadelphia for the biggest event of his U.S. visit to be open to the "miracles of love," closing out a six-day trip with a message of hope for families and consolation for victims of child sexual abuse.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Kathleen Nolan is 83. Actor Wilford Brimley is 82. Actor Claude Jarman Jr. is 82. Author Barbara Howar is 82. World Golf Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth is 77. Singer-musician Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 73. Rock singer Meat Loaf is 69. Actress Liz Torres is 69. Actor A Martinez is 68. Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt is 67. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is 66. Singer Shaun Cassidy is 58. Comedian Marc Maron is 53. Rock singer Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) is 52. Former Democratic National Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is 50. Actor Patrick Muldoon is 48. Singer Mark Calderon is 46. Actress Amanda Detmer is 45. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 44. Rock singer Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down) is 38. Christian rock musician Grant Brandell (Underoath) is 35. Actress Anna Camp is 34. Rapper Lil' Wayne is 34. Singer Avril Lavigne is 32. Bluegrass singer/musician Sierra Hull is 25.

Thought for Today: "God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages." -- Jacques Deval, French writer, director and actor (1895-1972).