Today in History

Today is Thursday, Jan. 27, the 27th day of 2022. There are 338 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 27, 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.

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 1888, the National Geographic Society was incorporated in Washington, D.C.

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

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

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, greeted the 52 former American hostages released by Iran at the White House.

In 2006, Western Union delivered its last telegram.

In 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad tablet computer during a presentation in San Francisco. J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of "The Catcher in the Rye," died in Cornish, New Hampshire, at age 91.

In 2013, Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil, killing 242 people.

In 2018, a suicide bombing in the Afghan capital of Kabul killed more than 100 people; the attacker was driving an ambulance full of explosives and raced through a security checkpoint after saying he was transferring a patient to a hospital.

In 2020, China confirmed more than 2,700 cases of the new coronavirus with more than 80 deaths in that country; authorities postponed the end of the Lunar New Year holiday to keep the public at home. U.S. health officials said they believed the risk to Americans remained low and that they had no evidence that the new virus was spreading in the United States; they advised Americans to avoid non-essential travel to any part of China.

Ten years ago: A federal judge in Seattle sentenced "Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore to 6 1/2 years in prison for his infamous two-year, international crime spree of break-ins and boat and plane thefts. (Harris-Moore was transferred from prison to a work-release facility in September 2016.) Former Boston Mayor Kevin H. White died at age 82.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump barred all refugees from entering the United States for four months -- and those from war-ravaged Syria indefinitely -- declaring the ban necessary to prevent "radical Islamic terrorists" from entering the nation.

One year ago: In an effort to stave off the worst of climate change, President Joe Biden signed executive orders to transform the nation's heavily fossil-fuel powered economy into a clean-burning one, pausing oil and gas leasing on federal land and targeting subsidies for those industries. The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin warning of the lingering potential for violence from people motivated by antigovernment sentiment. Ty Garbin, one of six men charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Europe's aviation safety agency said a modified version of the Boeing 737 Max had been approved to resume flights in Europe, following nearly two years of reviews after the aircraft was involved in two deadly crashes. Cloris Leachman, who won an Oscar for the "The Last Picture Show" and Emmys for her comedic work in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and other TV series, died at 94.

Today's Birthdays: Actor James Cromwell is 82. Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 78. R&B singer Nedra Talley (The Ronettes) is 76. Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 74. Latin singer-songwriter Djavan is 73. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is 67. Country singer Cheryl White is 67. Country singer-musician Richard Young (The Kentucky Headhunters) is 67. Actor Mimi Rogers is 66. Rock musician Janick Gers (Iron Maiden) is 65. Actor Susanna Thompson is 64. Political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann is 63. Rock singer Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 61. Rock musician Gillian Gilbert is 61. Actor Tamlyn Tomita is 59. Actor Bridget Fonda is 58. Actor Alan Cumming is 57. Country singer Tracy Lawrence is 54. Rock singer Mike Patton is 54. Rapper Tricky is 54. Rock musician Michael Kulas (James) is 53. Actor-comedian Patton Oswalt is 53. Actor Josh Randall is 50. Country singer Kevin Denney is 44. Tennis player Marat Safin is 42. Rock musician Matt Sanchez (American Authors) is 36. Actor Braeden Lemasters is 26.