Today in History.....February 27

On this day in …

* 1801, the District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress

* 1867, Dr. William G. Bonwill, of Philadelphia invented the dental mallet after watching a telegraph key sounder in operation at a local hotel

* 1874, baseball 1st played in England, at Lord's Cricket Grounds

* 1877, US Electoral College declares Hayes presidential winner

* 1883, Oscar Hammerstein, of New York, patented the first, practical, cigar-rolling machine. The inventor's grandson would later gain fame by writing some of the best-known music in the world, after teaming up with Richard Rodgers

* 1922, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed the right of women to vote

* 1933, Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag, caught fire.
The Nazis, ym"sh, blaming the Communists, used the fire as a pretext for suspending civil liberties

* 1939, the Supreme Court outlawed sit-down strikes

* 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, limiting presidential terms of office. Franklin Roosevelt had served four successive terms

* 1952, the United Nations held its first meetings in its new permanent headquarters in New York

* 1972, President Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China

* 1980, Israel and Egypt exchanged ambassadors

* 1986, the U.S. Senate approved telecasts of its debates on a trial basis

* 1991, at 9 p.m. (EST), President George Bush appeared on live television, declaring: "Kuwait is liberated. Iraq's army is defeated. I am pleased to announce that at midnight tonight, exactly 100 hours since ground operations began and six weeks since the start of Operation Desert Storm, all United States and coalition forces will suspend offensive combat operations."

* 1992, Tiger Woods, 16, becomes youngest PGA golfer in 35 years

* 2001, President Bush went before Congress with a $1.9 trillion spending plan that would sharply reduce growth in many government programs while leaving room to give Americans the biggest tax cut in two decades

* 2005, the Iraqi government announced the capture of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, Saddam Hussein's half brother and former adviser