On This Day in History

• The Emperor Constantine receives a vision of a cross of light in the sky with the inscription Εν Τούτῳ Νίκ (“In this sign, you shall conquer”) before his victory the next day in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312)
• The city of Amsterdam is founded (1275)
• The city of Philadelphia is founded (1682)
• The United States annexes West Florida (1910)
• The governor of Missouri signs the Extermination Order against Mormons (1838)
• The first line of the New York City Subway System opens (1904)
• Wallis Simpson files for divorce so she can marry King Edward VIII (1936)
• Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African-American general in the US Air Force (1954)
• First president of Pakistan Iskander Mirza is deposed in a coup d’état by General Ayub Khan (1958)
• US Navy radioman Allen R. Schindler Jr. is murdered by a shipmate for being gay, triggering the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy (1992)

Birthdays

• Niccolò Paganini, violinist (1782)
• Isaac Singer, sewing machine manufacturer (1811)
• Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (1858)
• Emily Post, etiquette expert (1872)
• Dylan Thomas, poet (1914)
• Harry Saltzman, James Bond co-producer (1915)
• Oliver Tambo, South African politician (1917)
• Nanette Fabray, actress and singer (1920)
• Roy Lichtenstein, painter (1923)
• Ruby Dee, actress (1924)
• Warren Christopher, 63rd US Secretary of State (1925)
• H.R. Haldeman, Watergate figure (1926)
• Sylvia Plath, poet (1932)
• John Cleese, Monty Python player (1939)
• John Gotti, mobster (1940)
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula), Brazilian president (1945)
• Ivan Reitman, producer and director (1946)
• Carrie Snodgrass, actress (1946)
• Fran Lebowitz, author (1950)
• Jayne Kennedy, actress and sportscasater (1951)
• Francis Fukuyama, political philosopher (1952)
• Peter Firth, actor (1953)
• Robert Picardo, actor (1953)
• Veronica Hart, porn star (1956)
• Simon Le Bon, singer-songwriter (1958)
• Rick Carlisle, basketball coach (1959)
• Marla Maples, model, wife of Donald Trump (1963)
• Matt Drudge, blogger (1966)
• Kelly Osbourne, reality star (1984)

Deaths

• Lope de Aguirre, conquistador (1561)
• Akbar the Great, Mughal emperor (1605)
• Lise Meitner, physicist (1968)
• Rex Stout, mystery writer (1975)
• James M. Cain, author (1977)
• Xavier Cugat, musician (1990)
• Ugo Tognazzi, actor (1990)
• Morey Amsterdam, actor (1996)

Holidays

• American Beer Day (US)
• Cranky Co-Workers Day (Wellcat Holidays & Herbs)
• Deň černovskej tragédie (Cernova Tragedy Day) (Slovakia)
• Independence Day (Saint Vincent and the Grenandines)
• Independence Day (Turkmenistan)
• Navy Day (United States)
• Tell a Story Day (Scotland and England)
• World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (International)

Photo: A US Navy P5M Marlin overlies a Foxtrot-class submarine. The destroyer Charles B. Cecil (DDR-835) is in the background.

October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years). There are 65 days remaining until the end of the year.