July 27th

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 27th, 1940, Bugs Bunny made his "official" debut in the Warner Brothers animated cartoon "A Wild Hare."

On this date:
In 1789, Congress established the Department of Foreign Affairs, the forerunner of the Department of State.

In 1794, French revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre was overthrown and placed under arrest; he was executed the following day.

In 1861, Union General George B. McClellan was put in command of the Army of the Potomac.

In 1866, Cyrus W. Field finally succeeded, after two failures, in laying the first underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe.

In 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.

In 1960, Vice President Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican national convention in Chicago.

In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-to-eleven to recommend President Nixon's impeachment on a charge that he had personally engaged in a "course of conduct" designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case.

In 1976, Air Force veteran Ray Brennan became the first person to die of so-called "Legionnaire's Disease" following an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

In 1980, on day 267 of the Iranian hostage crisis, the deposed Shah of Iran died at a military hospital outside Cairo, Egypt, at age 60.

In 1996, terror struck the Atlanta Olympics as a pipe bomb exploded at the public Centennial Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring more than 100.

Ten years ago: Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer vetoed a tough abortion bill passed by his state's legislature. A mistrial was declared in Raymond Buckey's retrial on charges of molesting children at the McMartin Pre-School in California.

Five years ago: The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington by President Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam.

One year ago: The House approved President Clinton's one-year extension of normal trade with China. In an overwhelming defeat for major league umpires, their threatened walkout collapsed when all of the umpires withdrew their resignations; however, about one-third of them ended up losing their jobs anyway. A flash flood in Switzerland claimed the lives of 21 people, 18 of them tourists. With Air Force Colonel Eileen Collins at the controls, space shuttle "Columbia" returned to Earth, ending a five-day mission.

"He who is learned is not wise; He who is wise is not learned."

-- From the Tao Te Ching, the sacred book of Taoism.