Today in History: October 27, 11 killed in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 27, the 300th day of 2026. There are 65 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman shot and killed 11 congregants and wounded six others at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in the deadliest domestic attack on Jews in U.S. history; authorities said the suspect, Robert Bowers, raged against Jews during and after the rampage. (Bowers was convicted and sentenced to death in 2023.)

Also on this date:

In 1787, the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the United States Constitution, was published.

In 1904, New York's first subway line opened to the public, running 9.1 miles from Manhattan's City Hall to Harlem and carrying more than 100,000 passengers on its first day.

In 1961, NASA launched the first test flight of its new Saturn I rocket. A later rocket in the series, the Saturn V, was used in the Apollo spacecraft program of the 1960s and early 1970s that put astronauts on the moon.

In 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis, a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down while flying over Cuba, killing the pilot, U.S. Air Force Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr.

In 1995, a sniper killed one soldier and wounded 18 others during an outdoor physical training session at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. (Paratrooper William J. Kreutzer was convicted in the shootings and condemned to death; the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.)

In 1998, powerful Hurricane Mitch cut through the western Caribbean, pummeling coastal Honduras and Belize; the storm caused at least 10,000 deaths in Central America before eventually making U.S. landfall in southwest Florida as a tropical storm.

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games.

In 2019, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died by detonating a suicide vest as U.S. special forces raided his compound in northwest Syria. He once commanded tens of thousands of fighters who had carved out a territorial caliphate for a time in parts of Syria and Iraq and carried out a wave of atrocities.

In 2022, billionaire Elon Musk took control of Twitter by completing the acquisition for $44 billion after a protracted legal battle and months of uncertainty. He rebranded the social media platform as X in 2023.

In 2023, Israel knocked out communications and created a near-blackout of information with stepped-up bombardment and artillery fire in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said it was expanding ground operations in the territory ahead of a planned invasion intended to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack and hostage-taking in southern Israel.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor-comedian John Cleese is 87. Author Maxine Hong Kingston is 86. Country singer Lee Greenwood is 84. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is 81. Author Fran Lebowitz is 76. Rock guitarist K.K. Downing (Judas Priest) is 75. Actor-director Roberto Benigni is 74. Golf Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan is 70. Singer Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran) is 68. Author Anthony Doerr is 53. Violinist Vanessa-Mae is 48. TV personality Kelly Osbourne is 42. Actor Gavin Lewis is 23.