Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, Aug. 27, the 239th day of 2017. There are 126 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 27, 1967, Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles, was found dead in his London flat from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills; he was 32.

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 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.

In 1892, fire seriously damaged New York's original Metropolitan Opera House.

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 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: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation after a controversy over the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick apologized for "using bad judgment and making bad decisions" and vowed to redeem himself after pleading guilty in Richmond, Virginia, to a federal dogfighting charge (Vick ended up serving 19 months in federal prison).

Five years ago: Republicans opened their national convention in Tampa, Florida, a day late, then immediately recessed as Tropical Storm Isaac surged toward New Orleans and the northern Gulf Coast.

One year ago: Republican Donald Trump warned of a "war on the American farmer," telling a crowd in Iowa that rival Hillary Clinton wanted "to shut down family farms" and implement anti-agriculture policies; Trump's speech at the annual "Roast and Ride" fundraiser for GOP Sen. Joni Ernst came just hours after Clinton received her first national security briefing as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Today's Birthdays: Author Lady Antonia Fraser is 85. Actor Tommy Sands is 80. Bluegrass singer-musician J.D. Crowe is 80. Musician Daryl Dragon is 75. Actress Tuesday Weld is 74. Actor G.W. Bailey is 73. Rock singer-musician Tim Bogert is 73. Actress Marianne Sagebrecht is 72. Country musician Jeff Cook is 68. Actor Paul Reubens is 65. Rock musician Alex Lifeson (Rush) is 64. Actor Peter Stormare is 64. Actress Diana Scarwid is 62. Rock musician Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols) is 61. Golfer Bernhard Langer is 60. Country singer Jeffrey Steele is 56. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 56. Movie director Tom Ford (Film: "Nocturnal Animals") is 56. Country musician Matthew Basford (Yankee Grey) is 55. Writer-producer Dean Devlin is 55. Rock musician Mike Johnson is 52. Rap musician Bobo (Cypress Hill) is 50. Country singer Colt Ford is 48. Actress Chandra Wilson is 48. Rock musician Tony Kanal (No Doubt) is 47. Actress Sarah Chalke is 41. Actor RonReaco Lee is 41. Rapper Mase is 40. Actress-singer Demetria McKinney is 39. Actor Aaron Paul is 38. Rock musician Jon Siebels (Eve 6) is 38. Actor Shaun Weiss is 38. Contemporary Christian musician Megan Garrett (Casting Crowns) is 37. Actor Kyle Lowder is 37. Actor Patrick J. Adams is 36. Actress Karla Mosley is 36. Actress Amanda Fuller is 33. Singer Mario is 31. Actress Alexa PenaVega is 29. Actor Ellar Coltrane is 23. Actress Savannah Paige Rae is 14.

Thought for Today: "In order to have wisdom we must have ignorance." -- Theodore Dreiser, American author (born this date in 1871, died 1945).