06/27/2025
Today's Highlight in History:
On June 27, 1971, the legendary New York concert venue Fillmore East shuts its doors. Concert promoter Bill Graham hosted the final show, with performances by Albert King, The J. Geils Band, The Beach Boys, and The Allman Brothers Band, among others. The venue had featured iconic acts since 1968 but proved to be too small for the growing concert industry.
On this date:
In 1957, Hurricane Audrey slammed into coastal Louisiana and Texas as a Category 4 storm; the official death toll from the storm was placed at 390, although a variety of state, federal and local sources have estimated the number of fatalities at between 400 and 600.
In 1972, a new firm named “Atari” was incorporated by designers of the first arcade video game, 'Computer Space.' It helped transform the industry as Atari's design engineer Al Alcorn got things rolling, or at least gliding, with his first creation, 'Pong.'
In 1985, America's legendary 'Mother Road' Route 66 was officially decertified. The once heavily travelled highway spanned the US heartland from Chicago to Santa Monica, California stretching more than 2,000 miles, but the giant US interstate highway system rendered the route obsolete. You can no longer get your kicks on Route 66
In 1988, Mike Tyson retained the undisputed heavyweight crown as he knocked out Michael Spinks 91 seconds into the first round of a championship fight in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
— Helen Keller (born June 27, 1880)
Today's Highlights in History:
On June 28, 1914, a 19-year-old assassin pulled the trigger that started WWI. When the young Serbian nationalist saw Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in a procession of stalled cars near his Sarajevo café, and he approached and shot the couple at point blank range. Their deaths caused a rapid disintegration of European unity, provoking World War I
On this date:
In 1778, the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth took place in New Jersey; from this battle arose the legend of "Molly Pitcher," a woman who was said to have carried water to colonial soldiers, then took over firing her husband's cannon after he was disabled.
In 1838, 18-year old Alexandrina Victoria was crowned Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey after a procession through London witnessed by a crowd of 400,000.
In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY') was signed in France, ending the First World War.
In 1939, Pan American Airways began regular trans-Atlantic air service with a flight that departed New York for Marseilles, France.
In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved commemorations for Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day and Veterans Day to Monday, creating three-day holiday weekends beginning in 1971.
In 1989, about 1 million Serbs gathered to mark the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.
In 1997, in a wild rematch, Evander Holyfield retained the WBA heavyweight boxing championship after his opponent, Mike Tyson, was disqualified for biting Holyfield's ear during the third round of their fight in Las Vegas.
In 2010, The Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that Americans had the right to own a gun for self-defense anywhere they lived.
Thought for Today: " Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." John Wesley, Founder of the Methodist Movement born on this day in 1703
Today's Highlight in History:
On June 29, 1967, a salacious trial in England wrapped up after a drug bust at Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richard's home. No "indian h**p" was actually found, and singer Mick Jagger had only four amphetamine pills, but they were both convicted and sentenced to prison, Jagger for three months and Richards a year. They spent just two days in prison before the convictions were thrown out.
On this date:
In 1520, Montezuma II, the ninth and last emperor of the Aztecs, died in Tenochtitlan (tay-nohch-TEET'-lahn) under unclear circumstances (some say he was killed by his own subjects; others, by the Spanish).
In 1613, London's original Globe Theatre, where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed, was destroyed by a fire sparked by a cannon shot during a performance of "Henry VIII."
In 1767, Britain approved the Townshend Revenue Act, which imposed import duties on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper and tea shipped to the American colonies. (Colonists bitterly protested, prompting Parliament to repeal the duties — except for tea.)
Thought for Today: " You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need." _ Mick Jagger, Lead Singer of the Rolling Stones
