Jody Victor : Here's some interesting happenings from history on this day, April 27th.
1805 - The worst steamship disaster in the history of the United States occurred on this day. The Sultana, carrying approximately 2,300 passengers, the majority being freed Union POWs, exploded while en route to Cairo, IL. Neither the cause of the explosion nor the final count of the dead (estimated at between 450 and 2,000) was ever determined. Today, the Sultana disaster remains the worst of its kind.
1880 - Francis Clarke and M.G. Foster patented the electrical hearing aid.
1899 -The Western Golf Association was founded - in Chicago, IL.
1938 - Geraldine Apponyi was the first American woman to become a Queen. She married King Zog of Albania.
1938 - Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded I Hadn't Anyone 'til You for Victor Records. Jack Leonard was featured as vocalist.
1947 - Organized baseball celebrated Babe Ruth Day. Major-League parks throughout the U.S. and Japan participated. A crowd of 60,000 fans honored their hero in ceremonies at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Ruth, who was dying of throat cancer, managed to put in an appearance to thank his former club.
1947 - The first broadcast of Studio One on CBS radio was broadcast. The show was full of great stars, but no sponsors. CBS dropped Studio One after a year on radio. The show, however, began a nine-year run on CBS-TV...with sponsors.
1956 - Rocky Marciano relinquished his crown as heavyweight boxing champ when he retired from boxing this day.
1959 - Lloyd Price's song, Personality, was released. Price had 10 songs that made it on the nation's pop music charts in the 1950s through early 1960s.
1960 - The submarine, Tullibee, was launched from Groton, CT. It was the first sub to be equipped with closed-circuit television.
1968 - Muhammad Ali's successor was finally decided after an eight-month runoff. Jimmy Ellis defeated Jerry Quarry of Atascadero, CA for the World Boxing Association's heavyweight title.
1973 - Steve Busby of Kansas City lead the Royals to a 3-0, no-hit shutout of the Detroit Tigers.
1976 - Maxine Nightingale received a gold record for the single, Right Back Where We Started From. Nightingale was in the productions of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell and Savages in the early '70s. Right Back Where We Started From was a number two hit for two weeks in 1976.
1981 - Former Beatle Ringo Starr married Barbara Bach at the Marylebone Registry Office in London. Paul McCartney and wife Linda, George Harrison and Harry Nilsson were in attendance.
1983 - Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros broke Walter Johnson's strikeout record. He struck out the 3,509th batter of his career. The Astros won 4-2 over Montreal. Johnson's record had been in the books for 55 years before being eclipsed by 'The Ryan Express'.