August 27
1776 - The Battle of Long Island began during the Revolutionary War as British troops attacked American forces who ended up being forced to retreat two days later.
1859 - Edwin Drake drilled the first successful oil well in the United States, near Titusville, Pennsylvania.
1883 - A massive volcanic eruption on the island of Krakatoa blew up most of the island and resulted in tsunamis that killed more than 36,000 people.
1908 - Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, was born.
1928 - The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in Paris, outlawing war and providing for the peaceful settlement of disputes.
1945 - American troops began landing in Japan after the country's surrender in World War II.
1949 - A violent white mob prevented an outdoor concert headlined by Paul Robeson from taking place near Peekskill, New York. (The concert was held eight days later.)
1962 - The U.S. launched the Mariner II space probe, which flew past Venus the following December.
1964 - President Lyndon Baines Johnson accepted his party’s nomination for a term in his own right, telling the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, “Let us join together in giving every American the fullest life which he can hope for.”
1967 - The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, was found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills.
1975 - Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia's 3,000-year-old monarchy, died in Addis Ababa almost a year after being overthrown.
1979 - British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed off the coast of Ireland in a boat explosion; the Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility.
1998 - Two suspects in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya were brought to the United States to face charges. (Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-‘Owhali and Mohammed Saddiq Odeh were convicted in 2001 of conspiring to carry out the bombing; both were sentenced to life in prison.)
2001 - Israeli helicopters fired a pair of rockets through office windows and killed senior PLO leader Mustafa Zibri.
2003 - Mars made its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years.
2005 - Coastal residents jammed freeways and gas stations as they rushed to get out of the way of Hurricane Katrina, which was headed toward New Orleans.
2008 - Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
2009 - Jaycee Lee Dugard, kidnapped when she was 11, was reunited with her mother 18 years after her abduction in South Lake Tahoe, California.
2016 - Republican Donald Trump warned of a “war on the American farmer,” telling a crowd in Cockeye that rival Hillary Clinton wanted “to shut down family farms” and implement anti-agriculture policies; Trump’s speech at the annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser for GOP Sen. Joni Ernst came hours after Clinton received her first national security briefing as the Democratic presidential nominee.
2020 - Speaking on the White House South Lawn, President Donald Trump accepted his party’s renomination, blasting Joe Biden as a hapless career politician who would endanger Americans’ safety and painting a grim portrait of violence in American cities run by Democrats; Trump spoke for more than a hour to a tightly-packed and largely maskless crowd.
2020 - Hurricane Laura roared ashore as a Category 4 storm near Cameron, Louisiana, bringing 150 mile-an-hour winds, torrential rains and a storm surge as high as 15 feet; the storm, one of the strongest ever to strike the U.S., would leave more than 20 people dead in Louisiana and Texas.
Birthdays
25 - Stefanie Giesinger (model)
25 - Anastasia Henesey (model)
27 - Breanna Stewart (basketball player)
33 - Alexa PenaVega (actress)
36 - Kayla Ewell (actress)
37 - Amanda Fuller (actress)
40 - Kara Mosley (actress)
40 - Patrick J. Adams (actor)
41 - Kyle Lowder (actor)
42 - Shaun Weiss (actor)
42 - Aaron Paul (actor)
43 - Demetria McKinney (actress/singer)
45 - RonReaco Lee (actor)
45 - Sarah Chalke (actress)
49 - The Great Khali (professional wrestler)
52 - Chandra Wilson (actress)
52 - Cesar Milan (reality star)
52 - Colt Ford (country singer)
56 - Mike Johnson (musician)
60 - Jeffrey Steele (country singer)
64 - Bernhard Langer (golfer)
66 - Diana Scarwid (actress)
68 - Peter Stormare (actor)
69 - Paul Reubens (actor)
76 - Marianne Sagebrecht (actress)
77 - G.W. Bailey (actor)
84 - Tommy Sands (actor)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - August 27
1921 - The owner of Acme Packing Company bought a pro football team for Green Bay, Wisconsin. J.E. Clair paid tribute to those who worked in his plant by naming the team the Green Bay Packers.
1976 - Transsexual tennis player Renee Richards is barred from competing in the U.S. Open.
1982 - Rickey Henderson steals his 119th base of the season, breaking Lou Brock's single season MLB record.
1985 - Mary Joe Fernández at 14 years 8 days old becomes youngest player to win at the US Tennis Open.
1986 - Nolan Ryan, while with the Houston Astros, earned his 250th career win against the Chicago Cubs.
1988 - #2 Nebraska opens the season with a 23-14 win over #10 Texas A&M.
2004 - In one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, Argentina defeats a star-studded U.S. men's basketball team 89-81 in the semifinals of the Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
2007 - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty in Richmond, Virginia, to a federal dogfighting charge.
2017 - Former five-weight world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats MMA fighter Conor McGregor in his debut match in the 10th round in Las Vegas.
1776 - The Battle of Long Island began during the Revolutionary War as British troops attacked American forces who ended up being forced to retreat two days later.
1859 - Edwin Drake drilled the first successful oil well in the United States, near Titusville, Pennsylvania.
1883 - A massive volcanic eruption on the island of Krakatoa blew up most of the island and resulted in tsunamis that killed more than 36,000 people.
1908 - Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, was born.
1928 - The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in Paris, outlawing war and providing for the peaceful settlement of disputes.
1945 - American troops began landing in Japan after the country's surrender in World War II.
1949 - A violent white mob prevented an outdoor concert headlined by Paul Robeson from taking place near Peekskill, New York. (The concert was held eight days later.)
1962 - The U.S. launched the Mariner II space probe, which flew past Venus the following December.
1964 - President Lyndon Baines Johnson accepted his party’s nomination for a term in his own right, telling the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, “Let us join together in giving every American the fullest life which he can hope for.”
1967 - The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, was found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills.
1975 - Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia's 3,000-year-old monarchy, died in Addis Ababa almost a year after being overthrown.
1979 - British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed off the coast of Ireland in a boat explosion; the Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility.
1998 - Two suspects in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya were brought to the United States to face charges. (Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-‘Owhali and Mohammed Saddiq Odeh were convicted in 2001 of conspiring to carry out the bombing; both were sentenced to life in prison.)
2001 - Israeli helicopters fired a pair of rockets through office windows and killed senior PLO leader Mustafa Zibri.
2003 - Mars made its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years.
2005 - Coastal residents jammed freeways and gas stations as they rushed to get out of the way of Hurricane Katrina, which was headed toward New Orleans.
2008 - Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
2009 - Jaycee Lee Dugard, kidnapped when she was 11, was reunited with her mother 18 years after her abduction in South Lake Tahoe, California.
2016 - Republican Donald Trump warned of a “war on the American farmer,” telling a crowd in Cockeye that rival Hillary Clinton wanted “to shut down family farms” and implement anti-agriculture policies; Trump’s speech at the annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser for GOP Sen. Joni Ernst came hours after Clinton received her first national security briefing as the Democratic presidential nominee.
2020 - Speaking on the White House South Lawn, President Donald Trump accepted his party’s renomination, blasting Joe Biden as a hapless career politician who would endanger Americans’ safety and painting a grim portrait of violence in American cities run by Democrats; Trump spoke for more than a hour to a tightly-packed and largely maskless crowd.
2020 - Hurricane Laura roared ashore as a Category 4 storm near Cameron, Louisiana, bringing 150 mile-an-hour winds, torrential rains and a storm surge as high as 15 feet; the storm, one of the strongest ever to strike the U.S., would leave more than 20 people dead in Louisiana and Texas.
Birthdays
25 - Stefanie Giesinger (model)
25 - Anastasia Henesey (model)
27 - Breanna Stewart (basketball player)
33 - Alexa PenaVega (actress)
36 - Kayla Ewell (actress)
37 - Amanda Fuller (actress)
40 - Kara Mosley (actress)
40 - Patrick J. Adams (actor)
41 - Kyle Lowder (actor)
42 - Shaun Weiss (actor)
42 - Aaron Paul (actor)
43 - Demetria McKinney (actress/singer)
45 - RonReaco Lee (actor)
45 - Sarah Chalke (actress)
49 - The Great Khali (professional wrestler)
52 - Chandra Wilson (actress)
52 - Cesar Milan (reality star)
52 - Colt Ford (country singer)
56 - Mike Johnson (musician)
60 - Jeffrey Steele (country singer)
64 - Bernhard Langer (golfer)
66 - Diana Scarwid (actress)
68 - Peter Stormare (actor)
69 - Paul Reubens (actor)
76 - Marianne Sagebrecht (actress)
77 - G.W. Bailey (actor)
84 - Tommy Sands (actor)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - August 27
1921 - The owner of Acme Packing Company bought a pro football team for Green Bay, Wisconsin. J.E. Clair paid tribute to those who worked in his plant by naming the team the Green Bay Packers.
1976 - Transsexual tennis player Renee Richards is barred from competing in the U.S. Open.
1982 - Rickey Henderson steals his 119th base of the season, breaking Lou Brock's single season MLB record.
1985 - Mary Joe Fernández at 14 years 8 days old becomes youngest player to win at the US Tennis Open.
1986 - Nolan Ryan, while with the Houston Astros, earned his 250th career win against the Chicago Cubs.
1988 - #2 Nebraska opens the season with a 23-14 win over #10 Texas A&M.
2004 - In one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, Argentina defeats a star-studded U.S. men's basketball team 89-81 in the semifinals of the Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
2007 - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty in Richmond, Virginia, to a federal dogfighting charge.
2017 - Former five-weight world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats MMA fighter Conor McGregor in his debut match in the 10th round in Las Vegas.
