June 27th

Today's Highlight in History:
On June 27th, 1950, President Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean conflict following a call from the UN Security Council for member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North.

On this date:
In 1844, Mormon leader Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.

In 1847, New York and Boston were linked by telegraph wires.

In 1893, the New York stock market crashed.

In 1942, the FBI announced the capture of eight Nazi saboteurs who had been put ashore from a submarine on New York's Long Island.

In 1944, during World War Two, American forces completed their capture of the French port of Cherbourg from the Germans.

In 1957, more than 500 people were killed when Hurricane "Audrey" slammed through coastal Louisiana and Texas.

In 1969, patrons at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village, clashed with police in an incident considered the birth of the gay rights movement.

In 1973, former White House counsel John W. Dean told the Senate Watergate Committee about an "enemies list" kept by the Nixon White House.

In 1980, President Carter signed legislation reviving draft registration.

In 1985, the legendary Route 66, which originally stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, passed into history as officials decertified the road.

Ten years ago: NASA announced that a flaw in the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope was preventing the instrument from achieving optimum focus.

Five years ago: The space shuttle "Atlantis" blasted off on a historic flight to link up with Russia's space station "Mir" and bring home American astronaut Norman Thagard. The San Francisco Chronicle received a message from the Unabomber threatening to blow up a plane by the July Fourth weekend (the Unabomber later called the threat a prank).

One year ago: George Papadopoulos, the head of Greece's 1967-to-74 military dictatorship, died of cancer in Athens at age 80. Juli Inkster shot a 6-under 65 to win the LPGA Championship, becoming the second woman to win the modern career Grand Slam (the first was Pat Bradley). The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-to-2 in the final game at the Kingdome.

"Genius is eternal patience."

-- Michelangelo, Italian artist (1475-1564).