Today in History

Today is Saturday, Jan. 27, the 27th day of 2024. There are 339 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 at the White House the 52 former American hostages released by Iran.

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 2006, Western Union delivered its last telegram.

In 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad tablet during a presentation in San Francisco. and 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 2017, President Donald Trump barred all refugees from entering the United States for four months, declaring the ban necessary to prevent "radical Islamic terrorists" from entering the nation.

In 2018, comic strip artist Mort Walker, a World War II veteran who satirized the Army with the antics of the lazy private "Beetle Bailey," died in Connecticut at age 94.

In 2020, China confirmed more than 2,700 cases of the new coronavirus with more than 80 deaths in that country. 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.

In 2021, Cloris Leachman, who won an Oscar for the "The Last Picture Show" and Emmys for her comic work on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and other TV series, died at 94.

In 2022, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer confirmed that he would step down from the court later in the year.

Today's birthdays: Actor James Cromwell is 84. Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 80. R&B singer Nedra Talley (The Ronettes) is 78. Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 76. Latin singer-songwriter Djavan is 75. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is 69. Country singer Cheryl White is 69. Country singer-musician Richard Young (The Kentucky Headhunters) is 69. Actor Mimi Rogers is 68. Rock musician Janick Gers (Iron Maiden) is 67. Actor Susanna Thompson is 66. Political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann is 65. Rock singer Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 63. Rock musician Gillian Gilbert is 63. Actor Tamlyn Tomita is 61. Actor Bridget Fonda is 60. Actor Alan Cumming is 59. Country singer Tracy Lawrence is 56. Rock singer Mike Patton is 56. Rapper Tricky is 56. Rock musician Michael Kulas (James) is 55. Actor-comedian Patton Oswalt is 55. Actor Josh Randall is 52. Country singer Kevin Denney is 46. Tennis player Marat Safin is 44. Rock musician Matt Sanchez (American Authors) is 38. Actor Braeden Lemasters is 28.