Today in History: October 27
On This Day in History – October 27
1682 – William Penn founds the city of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) as the capital of his colony. It later served as a temporary U.S. capital and is the only UNESCO World Heritage City in the United States.
1787 – The first of the Federalist Papers appears in a New York newspaper under the pseudonym “Publius.” The essays (eventually 85 in total), written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, explain and advocate ratification of the new U.S. Constitution.
1795 – The United States and Spain sign Pinckney’s Treaty (Treaty of San Lorenzo / Treaty of Madrid). It settles the northern boundary of Spanish Florida and grants Americans free navigation rights on the Mississippi River.
1873 – Illinois farmer Joseph Glidden files a patent application for his design of barbed wire. The invention transforms fencing on the American frontier and accelerates the closing of the open range.
1904 – The New York City subway opens. Operated initially by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the first line runs about 9 miles with 28 stations from City Hall to 145th Street; it is the first rapid-transit subway system in the United States.
1954 – Walt Disney’s anthology television series Disneyland premieres on ABC, helping promote the upcoming theme park and expanding Disney’s reach into American living rooms. The same day, Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (commander of the Tuskegee Airmen) beco
mes the first Black officer promoted to general in the U.S. Air Force.
1962 – “Black Saturday” of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A U.S. U-2 spy plane is shot down over Cuba (killing pilot Maj. Rudolf Anderson), Soviet submarines are harassed by U.S. Navy depth charges, and the world comes closest to nuclear war before de-escalation begins.
1978 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the Camp David Accords and the subsequent Egypt–Israel peace treaty.
2004 – The Boston Red Sox win the World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. It is their first championship since 1918 and ends the “Curse of the Bambino.”
2022 – Elon Musk completes his acquisition of Twitter (later rebranded X) and immediately dismisses several top executives.
Born on October 27
1728 – James Cook, British naval captain and explorer whose Pacific voyages mapped New Zealand, Australia’s east coast, and much of the Pacific.
1782 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer legendary for his virtuosity.
1811 – Isaac Singer, American inventor and entrepreneur who commercialized the sewing machine.
1858 – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. President, Progressive reformer, conservationist, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
1872 – Emily Post, American author and authority on etiquette.
1908 – Lee Krasner, American abstract expressionist painter.
1914 – Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet (Do not go gentle into that good night).
1923 – Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist.
1932 – Sylvia Plath, American poet and novelist (The Bell Jar, Ariel).
1939 – John Cleese, English actor, comedian, and writer (Monty Python, Fawlty Towers).
1940 – John Gotti, American mobster, boss of the Gambino crime family.
1942 – Lee Greenwood, American country singer (“God Bless the USA”).
1945 – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazilian politician and president.
1950 – Fran Lebowitz, American author and social commentator.
1952 – Roberto Benigni, Italian actor and director (Life Is Beautiful); also Francis Fukuyama, American political scientist (The End of History).
1958 – Simon Le Bon, English singer (Duran Duran).
1967 – Scott Weiland, American singer (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver).
1984 – Kelly Osbourne, American television personality and singer.
Lee Greenwood 
