Today in History: October 27, 2026

• 2017: Catalonia's regional parliament declares independence from Spain.
  Spain's national government under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy responded the same day by taking direct control of the region, removing regional president Carles Puigdemont and dissolving the parliament. New regional elections were called for December, and pro-independence parties again won a majority of the seats.
• 2014: Taylor Swift releases her album 1989.
  Swift described it as her first official pop album, marking her move away from country music. It became a blockbuster seller, produced hits such as “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space,” and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
• 2004: The Boston Red Sox win the World Series and end the “Curse of the Bambino.”
  Boston swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games for the franchise's first championship in 86 years. The so-called curse traced back to the team's 1920 sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, and the Red Sox reached the Series only after rallying from three games down against those same Yankees.
• 2000: Richard Wagner's music is publicly performed in Israel for the first time.
  The Israel Chamber Orchestra played his work at a concert in Rishon LeZion, near Tel Aviv, breaking a long informal ban. Many Israelis had shunned the German composer's music because of his antisemitic writings and the Nazi regime's embrace of his work.
• 1979: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gains independence.
  The eastern Caribbean island nation in the Lesser Antilles became independent from the United Kingdom. It remained a member of the Commonwealth with the British monarch as head of state.
• 1968: Physicist Lise Meitner dies in Cambridge, England.
  Her research with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann led to the discovery of nuclear fission, and she and her nephew Otto Frisch provided the first explanation of the process. She was 89, and element 109, meitnerium, was later named in her honor.
• 1961: NASA launches the first Saturn rocket.
  The Saturn I test flight lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in a successful debut for the rocket family developed by Wernher von Braun's team. Its far larger successor, the Saturn V, later carried the Apollo astronauts to the Moon.
• 1795: The United States and Spain sign Pinckney's Treaty.
  Negotiated by American diplomat Thomas Pinckney and also called the Treaty of San Lorenzo, it gave Americans the right to navigate the Mississippi River. It also set the boundary between the United States and Spanish Florida.
• 1492: Christopher Columbus reaches Cuba and claims it for Spain.
  The sighting came about two weeks after his first voyage made landfall in the Bahamas. Columbus believed he might be nearing Asia.
• 939: Athelstan, the first king to rule all of England, dies.
  The grandson of Alfred the Great died at Gloucester after bringing the English kingdoms under one crown. His victory at the Battle of Brunanburh two years earlier had secured his rule.

Born on This Day

• 1997: Lonzo Ball, American basketball player
  Turns 29. NBA point guard who was the second overall pick in the 2017 draft.
• 1984: Kelly Osbourne, English TV personality
  Turns 42. Daughter of Ozzy Osbourne who became famous on the MTV reality show The Osbournes.
• 1982: Patrick Fugit, American actor
  Turns 44. Played the teenage rock journalist in Almost Famous.
• 1972: Brad Radke, American baseball player
  Turns 54. Minnesota connection: he pitched his entire 12-season career for the Minnesota Twins, including a 20-win season in 1997.
• 1967: Scott Weiland, American rock singer
  Frontman of Stone Temple Pilots and later Velvet Revolver.
• 1963: Marla Maples, American actress and TV personality
  Turns 63. Actress and former wife of Donald Trump.
• 1958: Simon Le Bon, English singer
  Turns 68. Lead singer of Duran Duran, known for “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Rio.”
• 1953: Robert Picardo, American actor
  Turns 73. Played the holographic Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager.
• 1952: Roberto Benigni, Italian actor and director
  Turns 74. Won the Best Actor Oscar for Life Is Beautiful.
• 1951: K. K. Downing, English rock guitarist
  Turns 75. Co-founding guitarist of the heavy metal band Judas Priest.
• 1950: Fran Lebowitz, American author and humorist
  Turns 76. Wry New York essayist featured in the Netflix series Pretend It's a City.
• 1949: Garry Tallent, American bass player
  Turns 77. Founding bassist of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
• 1946: Ivan Reitman, Canadian filmmaker
  Directed the comedies Ghostbusters, Stripes, and Twins.
• 1942: Lee Greenwood, American country singer
  Turns 84. Best known for the patriotic anthem “God Bless the U.S.A.”
• 1939: John Cleese, English actor and comedian
  Turns 87. Monty Python member who also starred in Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda.
• 1933: Floyd Cramer, American pianist
  Nashville session star known for his hit instrumental “Last Date.”
• 1932: Sylvia Plath, American poet and novelist
  Author of The Bell Jar and the poetry collection Ariel.
• 1923: Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist
  Famous for paintings in the style of comic book panels, complete with Ben-Day dots.
• 1922: Ruby Dee, American actress
  Starred in A Raisin in the Sun and Do the Right Thing and was a noted civil rights activist.
• 1858: Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. president
  Became the youngest president in 1901 and was known for trust-busting and conservation.