July 27th
Today in America's Present Past
1586 | Walter Raleigh exports the first tobacco to England from Virginia.
1655 | Civil Rights: Jews of New Amsterdam (NYC) petition for a Jewish cemetery.
1789 | Congress: Established the Department of Foreign Affairs, now known as the State Department.
1816 | Indian Wars: troops destroy Fort Apalachicola, a Seminole fort.
1861 | Civil War: The Battle of Mathias Point, Virginia.
1861 | Civil War: The Battle of St. Augustine Springs, New Mexico Territory.
1861 | Civil War: Union General George McClellan takes command from McDowell of the Army of the Potomac.
1870 | Politician Henry Lincoln "Linc" Johnson was born.
1883 | Lawyer Montgomery Blair died.
1894 | Admiral Gerald F. Bogan was born on Mackinac Island, Michigan.
1905 | Writer Robert L. May was born.
1909 | Orville Wright successfully tests the Wright Military Flyer, the world's first military airplane.
1919 | Civil Rights: “Red Summer race riots” in Chicago, Illinois, start.
1927 | Inventor Allen Breed was born.
1927 | Musician Guy Carawan was born.
1929 | The United States signed the Geneva Convention.
1938 | Gamer Gary Gygax was born.
1940 | Billboard publishes its first singles record chart; "I'll Never Smile Again" by Tommy Dorsey, with vocals by Frank Sinatra, at number 1.
1940 | Film: Bugs Bunny, the cartoon character created, debuted in "A Wild Hare.”
1945 | The U.S. Communist Party formed.
1946 | Novelist Gertrude Stein died.
1949 | The De Havilland Comet, the world’s first commercial jet airliner, makes its maiden flight.
1953 | Korean War: The United States concludes the Korean War.
1958 | “Flying Tiger” Claire Chennault died.
1962 | Engineer James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger died.
1962 | Civil Rights: Martin Luther King Jr. is jailed in Albany, Georgia.
1963 | Inventor Garrett Morgan died.
1967 | Civil Rights: A Long, hot summer of riots continues in Albany, New York.
1972 |The USAF F-15 Eagle flies for the first time.
1972 | Actress Maya Rudolph was born.
1974 | Congress: The House Judiciary Committee votes 27-11 to recommend Nixon's impeachment.
1980 | Auto racer Jessi Combs was born.
1981 | Child Adam Walsh died.
1990 | Zsa Zsa Gabor begins a 3-day jail sentence for slapping a police officer in Beverly Hills, California.
1993 | Golf pro Jordan Spieth was born.
1995 | The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
1996 | War on Terror: A bomb explodes at Atlanta Olympic Park, killing one and injuring 110.
2003 | Entertainer Bob Hope died.