This day in history

[April 27, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, April 27, the 117th day of 2011. There are 248 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On April 27, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln, citing public safety concerns amid the Civil War, suspended the writ of habeas corpus in an area between Philadelphia and Washington. (Lincoln later lifted the order, but then suspended habeas corpus for the entire Union in September 1862. Habeas corpus was restored by President Andrew Johnson in December 1865.)

On this date:

In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.

In 1777, the only land battle in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Ridgefield, took place, resulting in a limited British victory.

In 1805, during the First Barbary War, an American-led force of Marines and mercenaries captured the city of Derna, on the shores of Tripoli.

In 1822, the 18th president of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio.

In 1865, the steamer Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn., killing more than 1,400 people, mostly freed Union prisoners of war.

In 1941, German forces occupied Athens during World War II.

In 1967, Expo '67 was officially opened in Montreal by Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.

In 1973, Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned after it was revealed that he'd destroyed files removed from the safe of Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt.

In 1981, the Xerox Star computer workstation, featuring the first commercially available mouse, made its debut.

In 1986, a video pirate calling himself "Captain Midnight" interrupted a movie on HBO with a printed message protesting de-scrambling fees. (Captain Midnight turned out to be John R. MacDougall of Florida, who was fined and placed on probation.)

Ten years ago: The U.S. Navy resumed military exercises on Vieques (bee-AY'-kes) island in Puerto Rico, drawing protesters. A Russian court sentenced American Fulbright scholar John Tobin to three years and one month in prison after convicting him of drug possession, purchase and distribution. (Tobin, who maintained his innocence, was later paroled and released.)

Five years ago: Construction began on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower that will stand on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. The publisher of the teen novel "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life" pulled the book off the market after its author, a Harvard student, said she had unintentionally lifted numerous passages from another writer.

One year ago: Defending his company against blistering criticism, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, told a Senate hearing that clients who'd bought subprime mortgage securities from the Wall Street powerhouse in 2006 and 2007 came looking for risk "and that's what they got." Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was extradited from the United States to France, where he was later convicted of laundering drug money and received a seven-year sentence. Thomas Hagan, the only man to admit shooting Malcolm X, was freed on parole. University of Washington president Mark Emmert was selected as president of the NCAA.

Today's birthdays: Actor Jack Klugman is 89. Actress Anouk Aimee is 79. Announcer Casey Kasem is 79. Actress Judy Carne is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Cuba Gooding is 67. Singer Ann Peebles is 64. Rock singer Kate Pierson (The B-52's) is 63. Rhythm-and-blues singer Herbie Murrell (The Stylistics) is 62. Actor Douglas Sheehan is 62. Rock musician Ace Frehley is 60. Pop singer Sheena Easton is 52. Actor James Le Gros (groh) is 49. Rock musician Rob Squires (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 46. Singer Mica (MEE'-shah) Paris is 42. Actress Maura West is 39. Actress Sally Hawkins is 35. Rock singer-musician Travis Meeks (Days of the New) is 32. Actress Ari Graynor is 28. Rock singer-musician Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) is 27. Actor William Moseley is 24. Singer Allison Iraheta is 19.

Thought for today: "The trouble with our age is all signposts and no destination." -- Louis Kronenberger, American author (1904-1980)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.