TODAY'S HISTORY

Today is Tuesday,October 27, the 300th day of 2009. There are 65 days left in the year.

1651 - Limerick, Ireland, surrenders to British soldiers after lengthy siege.

1787 - The first of the Federalists Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the U.S. Constituion, is published in a New York newspaper.

1806 - Frances Napoleon Bonaparte occupies Berlin.

1807 - Spain & France agree to conquer Portugal.

1871 - Britian annexes the diamond fields of Kimberly, South Africa.

1904 - The first rapid transit subway opens in New York City.

1922 - Southern Rhodesia referendom rejects joining Union of South Africa.

1938 - U.S. company DuPont, announces the invention of nylon.

1943 - Germans close the Norway-Sweden border after moving up additional troops during World War II.

1961 - U.S. and Soviet are brought to the border between East & West Berlin because of a decree ordering all foreigners to submit to identity contols on entering East Berlin.

1966 - The U.N. General Assembly proclaims termination of South Africa's mandate over Southwest Africa.

1973 - U.N. peacekeeping forces arrive in Cairo to attempt to set up a lasting cease-fire between Israeli and Arab forces.

1977 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter rules out any U.S. embargo on trade with South Africa or any ban on U.S. investments to protest its racial policies.

1987 - South Korean voters approve a new constitution, clearing the way for the first direct presidential elections in 16 years.

1989 - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announces an end to cease-fire with U.S.-backed anti-Sandinista rebels.

1960 - Roman Catholic bishops conclude a monthlong synod in Rome, reafirming the policy for celibacy for priests. The possibilty of easing te church's opposition to married priests cmae up as a way to help overcome a shortage of clerics in some dioceses.

1992 - Israelis jets bomb Southern Lebanon evenging the deaths of six Israelis, but the Israeli government resists calls to withdraw from Middle East peace talks.