February 27, 2017

400 years ago
1617

War
Sweden and Russia signed the Treaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War and shutting Russia out of the Baltic Sea.

250 years ago
1767

Born on this date
Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure. Prime Minister of France, 1848. Mr. Dupont de l'Eure served as Chairman of the Provisional Government (Prime Minister)--the first head of state--of the Second Republic from February 24-May 9, 1848, after the 1848 Revolution and the collapse of the July Monarchy. Mr. Dupont de l'Eure failed to gain re-election to the Chamber of Deputies in 1849, and retired from public life. He died on March 3, 1855, four days after his 88th birthday.

150 years ago
1867

Born on this date
Irving Fisher. U.S. economist. Dr. Fisher was one of America's earliest neoclassical economists--focusing on the determination of goods, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand. His books included The Nature of Capital and Income (1906); The Rate of Interest (1907); and The Theory of Interest (1930). Several days before the stock market crash in 1929, Dr. Fisher said that stock prices had "reached what looks like a permanently high plateau"--a prediction of such overwhelming inaccuracy that it caused Dr. Fisher's reputation to crash. He died on April 29, 1947 at the age of 80.

125 years ago
1892

Born on this date
William Demarest. U.S. actor. Mr. Demarest was a character actor in many movies in the 1930s and '40s, usually playing gruff characters with a "heart of gold." He was best known as Uncle Charley in the television comedy series My Three Sons (1965-1972). Mr. Demarest died on December 28, 1983 at the age of 91.

Died on this date
Louis Vuitton, 70. French fashion designer. Mr. Vuitton founded the Louis Vuitton leather goods company in 1854.

110 years ago
1907

Born on this date
Mildred Bailey. U.S. singer. Mrs. Bailey was a jazz singer who was popular in the 1930s and '40s, performing and recording with the bands of artists such as Paul Whiteman and Red Norvo, and frequently appearing on radio. She was the older sister of musician Al Rinker, who teamed up with Bing Crosby and Harry Barris in the Rhythm Boys in the 1920s. Mrs. Bailey suffered from diabetes in later years, and died of heart failure on December 12, 1951 at the age of 44.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Rube Melton. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Melton, the cousin of major league pitcher Cliff Melton, played with the Philadelphia Phillies (1941-1942) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1943-1944, 1946-1947), compiling a record of 30-50 with an earned run average of 3.62 in 162 games, batting .120 with 1 home run and 14 runs batted in. He was 49-48 in 171 games in 7 seasons in the minor leagues (1936-1951). Mr. Melton ran a sand and gravel company after his baseball career was over; he was 54 when he was killed on September 11, 1971 in a highway accident in South Carolina that also took the life of his wife Hazel and the driver of the vehicle they collided with.

John Connally. U.S. politician. Mr. Connally, a Democrat, served as United States Secretary of the Navy from January-December 1961 in the administration of President John F. Kennedy. He was Governor of Texas from 1963-1969, and was seriously wounded while sitting in front of Mr. Kennedy when the President was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Mr. Connally was Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1971-1972, and switched his affiliation to the Republican Party in 1973. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination in 1980. Mr. Connally died on June 15, 1993 at the age of 76.

75 years ago
1942

War
During the Battle of the Java Sea, an Allied strike force was defeated by a Japanese task force in the Java Sea in the Dutch East Indies.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Reach Out I'll Be There--Four Tops (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): This is My Song--Petula Clark

Music
The single At the Zoo/The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Simon and Garfunkel was released on Columbia Records.

Terrorism
Six people were killed by the explosion of a bomb in Aden, South Arabia.

Boxing
Bob Foster (24-4) knocked out Andres Antonio Selpa (135-48-26-3) at 2:30 of the 2nd round of their light heavyweight bout at Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: After the Lovin'--Engelbert Humperdinck

Died on this date
John Dickson Carr, 70. U.S. author. Mr. Carr was a mystery writer who specialized in "locked room" mysteries; his novel The Hollow Man (1935), featuring the detective Dr. Fell, is regarded as his masterpiece. He wrote the biography The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1949), and collaborated with Sir Arthur's son Adrian to write the first half of the short story collection The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (1954). Mr. Carr also wrote scripts for radio and television dramas.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Reality--Richard Sanderson (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Joan Greenwood, 65. U.K. actress. Miss Greenwood, known for her husky voice, appeared in movies such as Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949); Stage Struck (1958); and Tom Jones (1963). She died of a heart attack, four days before her 66th birthday.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.7% in January, while the Commerce Department announced a trade deficit of $14.78 billion in January.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Stay--Shakespears Sister

Died on this date
S. I. Hayakawa, 85. Canadian-born U.S. linguist and politician. Dr. Hayakawa, a native of Vancouver, grew up in Calgary before obtaining university degrees from the University of Manitoba and McGill University. He was prominent in the field of semantics; his books included Language in Thought and Action (1949) and Symbol, Status, and Personality (1963). Dr. Hayakawa was President of San Francisco State College from 1968-1973; he attracted public support for standing up to Black Panther protesters during demonstrations in 1968-1969. Dr. Hayakawa, a Republican, served in the United States Senate from 1977-1983.

Golf
Tiger Woods, a 16-year-old amateur, became the youngest person to compete in a PGA tour event when he participated in the Nissan Los Angeles Open at the Riviera Country Club. Mr. Woods posted a 1-over par score of 72 in the first round, but shot a 4-over par 75 the following day in the second round and missed the cut.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Ring-A-Ling--Tiggy (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Discothèque--U2 (3rd week at #1)

Law
Legislation banning most handguns in the United Kingdom went into effect.

Divorce became legal in Ireland.

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, 93. German military officer. Leutnant Loringhoven commanded a tank battalion during the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943. He was promoted to Major, and prepared reports for Fuehrer Adolf Hitler during the final days of April 1945, leaving the Führerbunker on April 29, the day before Mr. Hitler's suicide. Freiherr (Baron) Lovinghoven was imprisoned by the Allies from May 1945-January 1948, but wasn't charged with war crimes. He eventually joined the West German Bundeswehr, rising to the rank of Generalleutnant (General).

Economics and finance
The Shanghai Stock Exchange fell 9%, the largest drop in ten years.