This day in history

[September 27, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Sept. 27, the 270th day of 2010. There are 95 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 27, 1939, Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.

On this date:

In 1540, Pope Paul III issued a papal bull establishing the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, as a religious order.

In 1779, John Adams was named by Congress to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain.

In 1854, the first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean passenger vessel occurred when the steamship SS Arctic sank off Newfoundland; of the more than 400 people on board, only 86 survived.

In 1928, the United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.

In 1942, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra performed together for the last time, at the Central Theater in Passaic, N.J., prior to Miller's entry into the Army.

In 1954, "Tonight!" hosted by Steve Allen, made its network debut on NBC-TV.

In 1964, the government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which found that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

In 1979, Congress gave final approval to forming the U.S. Department of Education.

In 1985, Hurricane Gloria brushed the Outer Banks of North Carolina as a Category 3 storm; it proceeded to head up the Atlantic Coast toward New England.

In 1994, more than 350 Republican congressional candidates gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to sign the "Contract with America," a 10-point platform they pledged to enact if voters sent a GOP majority to the House.

Ten years ago: In Sydney, Australia, the U.S. Olympic baseball team beat Cuba 4-0 to capture America's first official baseball gold medal. Venus Williams became only the second player to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Olympics in the same year with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Elena Dementieva. (The first was Steffi Graf, in 1988.)

Five years ago: In a fiery appearance before Congress, former FEMA director Michael Brown angrily blamed the Louisiana governor, the New Orleans mayor and even the Bush White House that appointed him for the dismal response to Hurricane Katrina; in response, lawmakers alternately lambasted and mocked the former official. New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass stepped down from his post four weeks after Katrina destroyed the city. Army reservist Lynndie England was sentenced to three years behind bars for her role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. (She ended up serving half that time.)

One year ago: German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a second term, along with the center-right majority that had eluded her four years earlier -- nudging Europe's biggest economic power to the right. Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist and former Nixon speechwriter William Safire died at age 79.

Today's birthdays: Former Illinois Sen. Charles Percy is 91. Actress Jayne Meadows is 90. Movie director Arthur Penn is 88. Actress Sada Thompson is 81. Actress Kathleen Nolan is 77. Actor Wilford Brimley is 76. Actor Claude Jarman Jr. is 76. Author Barbara Howar is 76. Producer Don Cornelius ("Soul Train") is 74. World Golf Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth is 71. Singer-musician Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 67. Rock singer Meat Loaf is 63. Actress Liz Torres is 63. Actor A Martinez is 62. Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt is 61. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is 60. Rock musician Greg Ham (Men At Work) is 57. Singer Shaun Cassidy is 52. Rock singer Stephan (STEE'-fan) Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) is 46. Actor Patrick Muldoon is 42. Singer Mark Calderon is 40. Actress Amanda Detmer is 39. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 38. Rock singer Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down) is 32. Christian rock musician Grant Brandell (Underoath) is 29. Rapper Lil' Wayne is 28. Singer Avril Lavigne (AV'-rihl la-VEEN') is 26.

Thought for today: "Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once." -- Lillian Dickson, American missionary (1901-1983)

[Associated Press]

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