Today is Thursday, Sept. 27, the 271st day of 2012. There are 95 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight:

On Sept. 27, 1962, “Silent Spring,” Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking as well as controversial study on the effects of pesticides on the environment, was published in book form by Houghton Mifflin.

On this date:

In 1540, Pope Paul III issued a papal bull establishing the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, as a religious order.

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 1862, during the Civil War, the Union Army’s first all-black regiment, the self-described “Chasseurs d’Afrique” (Hunters of Africa), was formed in New Orleans (which was then under Northern control).

In 1928, the United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.

In 1939, Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.

In 1941, the United States launched 14 rapidly built “Liberty” military cargo vessels.

In 1942, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra performed together for the last time, at the Central Theater in Passaic, N.J., prior to Miller’s entry into the Army.

In 1954, “Tonight!,” hosted by Steve Allen, made its debut on NBC-TV.

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 its final approval to forming the U.S. Department of Education.

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.

Associated Press