TODAY IN HISTORY: July 27 Today is Friday, July 27, the 209th
day of 2012. There are 157 days left in the year. Today’s
Highlight in History: On July 27, 1942, during World War II, the
First Battle of El Alamein in Egypt ended in a draw as Allied
forces stalled the progress of Axis invaders. (The Allies went
on to win a clear victory over the Axis in the Second Battle of
El Alamein later that year.) On this date: In 1789, President
George Washington signed a measure establishing the Department
of Foreign Affairs, forerunner of the Department of State. In
1861, Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan took command of the
Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. In 1866, Cyrus W.
Field finished laying out the first successful underwater
telegraph cable between North America and Europe (a previous
cable in 1858 burned out after only a few weeks’ use). In 1909,
during the first official test of the U.S. Army’s first
airplane, Orville Wright flew himself and a passenger, Lt. Frank
Lahm, above Fort Myer, Va., for one h