TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Saturday, July 27, the 209th day of 2024. There are 157 days left in the year.
ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY
On July 27, 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting on the Korean peninsula that killed an estimated 4 million people.
1789 — President George Washington signed a measure establishing the Department of Foreign Affairs, forerunner of the Department of State.
1866 — Cyrus W. Field finished laying out the first successful underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe.
2020 — The world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine study began with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.
2021 — American gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of the gymnastics team competition at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental well-being, saying she realized following a shaky vault that she wasn’t in the right headspace to compete.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry is 82. Actor-director Betty Thomas is 77. Olympic gold medal figure skater Peggy Fleming is 76. Singer Maureen McGovern is 75. Comedian-actor-writer Carol Leifer is 68. Comedian Bill Engvall is 67. Actor-martial artist Donnie Yen is 61. Jazz singer Karrin Allyson is 61. Rock musician Juliana Hatfield is 57. Actor Julian McMahon is 56. Former professional wrestler Triple H is 55. Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is 54. Comedian Maya Rudolph is 52. Rock musician Abe Cunningham (Deftones) is 51. Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn is 50. Former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez is 49.