On This Day in History - October 27th - Almanac

Today is Monday, Oct. 27, the 300th day of 2014 with 65 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Jupiter and Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Neptune, Saturn Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include English explorer Capt. James Cook in 1728; Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini in 1782; sewing machine developer Isaac Singer in 1811; Swedish pacifist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Klas Pontus Arnoldson in 1844; Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in 1858; etiquette arbiter Emily Post in 1872; longtime "Tonight Show" producer/director Fred de Cordova in 1910; Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in 1914; actors Nanette Fabray in 1920 (age 94) and Ruby Dee in 1924; baseball Hall of Fame member Ralph Kiner in 1922; pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in 1923; former Secretary of State Warren Christopher in 1925; Nixon aide H.R. Haldeman in 1926; poet Sylvia Plath in 1932; pop pianist Floyd Cramer in 1933; comedian John Cleese in 1939 (age 75); country singer Lee Greenwood in 1942 (age 72); former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 1945 (age 69); Canadian filmmaker Ivan Reitman in 1946 (age 68); writer Fran Lebowitz in 1950 (age 64); actors Carrie Snodgress in 1945, Roberto Benigni in 1952 (age 62) and Robert Picardo in 1953 (age 61); singer Simon Le Bon in 1958 (age 56); blogger-political commentator Matt Drudge in 1966 (age 48); and television personality Kelly Osbourne in 1984 (age 30).

On this date in history:

In 1682, the city of Philadelphia was founded.

In 1787, a New York newspaper published the first of 77 essays explaining the new Constitution and urging its ratification. The essays were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay (and later combined as "The Federalist Papers)."

In 1795, a treaty with Spain settled Florida's northern boundary and gave navigation rights on the Mississippi River to the United States.

In 1904, the first rapid transit subway system in America opened in New York City.

In 1946, the travel show "Geographically Speaking," sponsored by Bristol-Myers, became the first television program with a commercial sponsor.

In 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio divorced, Among the issues that ended their much-publicized marriage was a blowup over her famous scene in "The Seven-Year Itch" in which a blast of air lifts her skirt. The marriage lasted nine months.

In 1981, the National Labor Relations Board withdrew recognition of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization because of an illegal strike by its members.

In 1990, CBS founder William S. Paley died at age 89 and band leader/rumba king Xavier Cugat died at 90.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch, one of the strongest recorded Atlantic storms, began a four-day siege of Central America, causing at least 10,000 deaths.

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years.

In 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration revoked the licenses of two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles after becoming distracted while working on laptop computers.

In 2010, at least 60 people, mostly women and children, were killed in Afghanistan when a three-story mud-brick house collapsed during a wedding.

In 2011, most "Occupy" demonstrations on economic matters that began on Wall Street and spread across the United States were peaceful. But a rally in Oakland, Calif., turned violent when police used force to keep protesters from setting up a tent camp in a downtown plaza from which they had been evicted earlier.

In 2012, the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 in 10 innings to sweep the World Series.

In 2013, Lou Reed, iconoclastic main singer of the New York rock band Velvet Underground, died at the age of 71. He was widely regarded as an influential musician in pop music.

A thought for the day: "A hot dog at the ballpark is better than steak at the Ritz." -- Humphrey Bogart