Today is Sunday, Sept. 27, the 270th day of 2009. There are 95 days left in the year. The Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, begins at sunset.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Sept. 27, 1939, Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.
ON THIS DATE
In 1779, John Adams was named by Congress to negotiate the Revolutionary War’s peace terms with Britain.
In 1854, the first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean passenger vessel occurred when the steamship SS Arctic sank off Newfoundland; of the more than 400 people on board, only 86 survived.
In 1928, the United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.
In 1942, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra performed together for the last time, at the Central Theater in Passaic, N.J., before Miller’s entry into the Army.
In 1954, “Tonight!” hosted by Steve Allen, made its network debut on NBC-TV.
In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev concluded his visit to the United States; Vice President Richard Nixon presided over the farewell ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.
In 1964, the government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which found that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.
In 1979, Congress gave final approval to forming the U.S. Department of Education.
In 1989, Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc. agreed to a $3.4 billion cash buyout by Sony Corp.
In 1994, more than 350 Republican congressional candidates gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to sign the “Contract with America,” a 10-point platform they pledged to enact if voters sent a GOP majority to the House.
In 1999, Sen. John McCain of Arizona officially opened his campaign for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, the same day former Vice President Dan Quayle dropped his White House bid. Tiger Stadium closed in grand fashion after 87 years as the Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 8-2.
In 2004, President George W. Bush asked Congress for more than $7.1 billion to help Florida and other Southeastern states recover from their lashing by four hurricanes. A Justice Department audit said the FBI had a backlog of hundreds of thousands of hours of untranslated audio recordings from terror and espionage investigations. NBC announced that “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno would be succeeded by “Late Night” host Conan O’Brien in 2009.
In 2008, China marked its first spacewalk as astronaut Zhai Zhigang floated outside the Shenzhou 7 for 13 minutes.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Author Louis Auchincloss is 92. Former Illinois Sen. Charles Percy is 90. Actress Jayne Meadows is 89. Movie director Arthur Penn is 87. Actress Sada Thompson is 80. Actress Kathleen Nolan is 76. Actor Wilford Brimley is 75. Actor Claude Jarman Jr. is 75. Author Barbara Howar is 75. Producer Don Cornelius (“Soul Train”) is 73.
Golfer Kathy Whitworth is 70. Singer-musician Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 66. Rock singer Meat Loaf is 62. Actress Liz Torres is 62. Actor A Martinez is 61. Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt is 60. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is 59. Rock musician Greg Ham (Men At Work) is 56. Singer Shaun Cassidy is 51.
Rock singer Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) is 45. NBA player Steve Kerr is 44. Actor Patrick Muldoon is 41. Singer Mark Calderon is 39. Actress Amanda Detmer is 38. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 37. Rock singer Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down) is 31.
MLB pitcher Jon Rauch is 31. Christian rock musician Grant Brandell (Underoath) is 28. Rapper Lil’ Wayne is 27. Singer Avril Lavigne is 25.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
“A man who is afraid will do anything.” — Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian statesman (1889-1964).
Associated Press
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