Today In History: A New Sport is Born!

On this day in history, October 27th, 1682, the city of Philadelphia was founded by William Penn, marking the beginning of what would become one of America’s most historic cities. In 1904, New York City’s subway system opened for business, becoming the first rapid transit subway in the United States and revolutionizing urban travel. In 1925, Fred Waller received a patent for water skis, helping launch a new recreational sport. In 1964, 31-year-old Salvatore “Sonny” Bono married 18-year-old Cherilyn La Piere—better known as Cher—and together they rose to fame as the pop duo Sonny & Cher. In 1975, Bruce Springsteen achieved a rare honor, appearing on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week. In 1982, Prince released his breakthrough fifth album, 1999, featuring hits like “Little Red Corvette.” The record later re-entered the charts following his death in 2016, peaking higher than ever before. In 2022, Elon Musk completed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, setting off sweeping changes to the platform. And that’s today’s Almanac, on Northwest Newsradio.