On this Day

Monday, June 27th
The 178th day of 2005
There are 187 days left in the year

Today's Highlights in History

On June 27, 1950, President Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean War following a call from the United Nations Security Council for member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North. (Go to article.)

On June 27, 1880, Helen Keller, the blind and deaf American woman who became an accomplished writer and humanitarian, was born. Following her death on June 1, 1968, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. Other Birthdays)

On June 27, 1868, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the black voting rights and the presidential election of 1868. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)

Reference: The New York Times



The follwowing courtesy Iraq War Today

Today in History
1847 - NYC and Boston are first linked by telegraph wires.
1862 - Day 3 of the 7 Days - Battle of Gaines' Mill.
1864 - Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
1929 - NYC sees the first demonstration of a color TV.
1934 - Federal Savings & Loan Association is created.
1942 - The FBI captures eight Nazi saboteurs from a sub off the coast of Long Island.
1944 - The Allies capture Cherbourg, France.
1950 - The UN Security Council calls on members to send troops to aid South Korea; President Truman orders the Air Force and Navy into Korea; the U.S. sends 35 military advisors to South Vietnam.
1954 - Near Moscow, the first atomic power station opens; CIA-sponsored rebels overthrow the government of Guatemala.
1962 - NASA civilian pilot Joseph Walker takes the X-15 to 6,606 kph, 37,700 m.
1963 - USAF Major Robert A. Rushworth reaches 86,900 m in the X-15.
1973 - John W. Dean testifies in front of the Watergate Committee.
1977 - A 5-4 Supreme Court decision allows lawyers to advertise.
1978 - Soyuz 30 carries two cosmonauts to the Salyut 6 space station; the first oceanographic satellite, the U.S. Seasat 1, is launched into polar orbit.
1982 - The fourth Space Shuttle Mission (Columbia 4) launches.
1983 - NASA launches the space vehicle S-205; the Soyuz T-9 carries two cosmonauts to the Salyut 7 space station.
1984 - The Supreme Court ends the NCAA monopoly on college football telecasts.
1986 - The U.S. informs New Zealand it will not defend it against attack; the World Court rules U.S. aid to Nicaraguan contras illegal.
1987 - Supreme Court Justice Powell retires

Birthdays
1462 - King Louis XII (the Just) of France
1550 - King Charles IX of France
1682 - King Charles XII of Sweden
1880 - Helen Keller blind-deaf author/lecturer
1900 - Otto E. Passman (Rep-LA,)
1927 - Bob Keeshan (aka Capt Kangaroo/Clarabelle the Clown)
1937 - Joseph P. Allen IV, Ph. D. /astronaut (STS-5, STS 51A)
1938 - Bruce E. Babbitt (Gov-AL)
1951 - Sidney M. Gutierrez, Major USAF/astronaut (STS 40)

Passings
1829 - James Smithson, whose will established the Smithsonian Institute

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Jackson, Carl E., USAF (LA); C123 shot down; KIA, body not recovered
Roth, Billie L., USAF (IL); C123 shot down; KIA, body not recovered
1966
Smith, Gene A., USN (UT); A4E shot down; remains returned March, 1989
1968
Giammerino, Vincent F., US Army (NY); disappeared while on patrol
1969
Jablonski, Michael J., US Army (IL); drowned in river while on patrol, body not recovered
1972
Baker, David E., USAF (NY); O2A shot down, released by PRG February, 1973, retired as a Brig. General - alive and well as of 1998 - *** Veteran of Desert Storm (F-15E)*** (Check out Pam's post on Gen Baker)
Cerak, John P., USAF (NJ); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998
Dingee, David B., USAF (CT); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973, retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998
Francis, Richard L., USAF (OK); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973, retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998
Hanton, Thomas J., USAF (CA); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998 - *** Veteran of Desert Storm (AWACS / EC-130H) ***
McDow, Richard H., USAF (AL); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973, retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998 ***Veteran of Desert Storm (A-10) ***
Sullivan, Farrell J., USAF (TX); F4E shot down, remains returned June, 1983