On July 27, 1834, John Brien, the owner of Catoctin Furnace, died in Bedford Springs, PA. On July 27, 1848, wires for the magnetic telegraph from Baltimore to Wheeling, VA, were installed in Frederick. On July 27, 1917, Amos Tecumseh "Tup" Lucas, who was born into slavery, died at his Thurmont home at age 69. He had become a familiar figure in town and had a barber shop for many years which served Thurmont's white population. On July 27, 1944, the deed giving ownership of the historic Steiner House, at the intersection of West Patrick Street and South Jefferson Street in Frederick, to the Historical Society of Frederick County for its first permanent home was recorded. On July 27, 1950, Army Pfc. Charles C. Roberts, of Ijamsville, went missing in action near Anui, Korea. It is unknown what happened to him, but he was declared deceased on December 31, 1953, by the U.S. Army. On July 27, 1958, President and Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower made a surprise call at the home of Goodloe and Beverly Byron on Fleming Avenue in Frederick. During World War II, Mrs. Eisenhower shared an apartment in Washington with Mrs. Ruth Butcher, Mrs. Byron's mother. Mrs. Butcher was staying with the Byrons at the time of this visit. Both Mr. and Mrs. Byron were later elected to the U. S. House of Representatives. On July 27, 2006, Marine Lance Cpl. James W. Higgins, of Thurmont, MD, was mortally wounded in Al Anbar Province, Afghanistan, a week before he was scheduled to return to the U.S. He was born June 2, 1984, in Olney MD, the son of Debbie Russ Higgins of Thurmont, MD, and James W. Higgins Sr., of Elizabethtown PA. He graduated from Catoctin High School in 2003. If anyone can add information to these History Moments, or would like to suggest an item for another calendar day, please contact me privately. John W. Ashbury Wasps1965@comcast.net <mailto:Wasps1965@comcast.net>