Historical events on May 27
MAY 27, 1975
The deadliest road accident in England took place when the brakes on a coach failed and it crashed in North Yorkshire, killing 32 people.
A bus is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average
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MAY 27, 1941
World War II: The German battleship Bismarck was sunk by gun and torpedo fire by the British battleships HMS Rodney and HMS King George V and supporting cruisers.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
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MAY 27, 1935
The United States Supreme Court ruled in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States that the National Industrial Recovery Act, a major component of the New Deal, was unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has
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MAY 27, 1995
American actor Christopher Reeve was thrown from his horse, leaving him quadriplegic; he later became an activist on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries.
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career,
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MAY 27, 1967
Australians voted overwhelmingly to include Indigenous Australians in population counts for constitutional purposes and to allow the federal government to make special laws affecting them in states.
The second question of the 1967 Australian referendum of 27 May 1967, called by the Holt government, related to Indigenous Australians. Voters
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MAY 27, 1937
The Golden Gate Bridge, at the time the world's longest suspension bridge by span, opened between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the
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MAY 27, 1799
War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeated the French Army of the Danube, capturing the strategically important Swiss town of Winterthur.
The War of the Second Coalition was the second war targeting revolutionary France by many European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and
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MAY 27, 1813
War of 1812: The troops of the U.S. Army and vessels of the U.S. Navy cooperated in a successful amphibious assault to capture Fort George in Upper Canada.
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in North
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MAY 27, 1923
French drivers André Lagache and René Léonard completed the most laps during the first edition of the sports car race the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
André Ernest Paul Lagache was a French racing driver who, along with René Léonard, won the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1923.
MAY 27, 1915
HMS Princess Irene (pictured) exploded and sank off Sheerness, United Kingdom, with the loss of 352 lives.
HMS Princess Irene was a 5,394 GRT ocean liner which was built in 1914 by William Denny and Brothers Ltd, Dumbarton, Scotland for
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MAY 27, 2006
An earthquake registering 6.4 Mw struck near the city of Yogyakarta on the southern side of the Indonesian island of Java, killing more than 5,700 people.
The 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake occurred at 05:53 local time on 27 May with a moment magnitude of 6.4 and a maximum MSK
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MAY 27, 1954
The security clearance of American nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, head of Project Y, was revoked.
J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World
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MAY 27, 1958
The F-4 Phantom II, the principal air superiority jet fighter for both the U.S. Navy and Air Force, made its first flight.
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed
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MAY 27, 1896
The St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, one of the deadliest and most destructive tornadoes in U.S. history, struck St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing more than 255 people and injuring at least 1,000 others.
The 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado was a historic tornado that caused severe damage to downtown St. Louis, Missouri, East St.
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MAY 27, 1997
A destructive F5-rated tornado tracked through a subdivision of homes northwest of Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people.
In the afternoon hours of May 27, 1997, a large, slow-moving and exceptionally intense F5 tornado caused extreme damage across portions of
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MAY 27, 2001
Twenty tourists were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants in Palawan, Philippines, triggering a hostage crisis that lasted for more than a year.
The Dos Palmas kidnappings was a hostage crisis in southern Philippines that began with the seizing of twenty hostages from the affluent
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MAY 27, 1963
American singer Bob Dylan (pictured) released The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, his first album to include a significant number of original songs.
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter. Considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in
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MAY 27, 1962
A fire at a landfill in Centralia, Pennsylvania, spread to an abandoned coal mine, where it continues burning today.
A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal,
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MAY 27, 1644
Manchu regent Dorgon (depicted) defeated rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allowing the Manchus to enter and conquer the capital city of Beijing.
The Manchus are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority
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MAY 27, 1995
Bosnian War: Forces of the Army of Republika Srpska captured a United Nations post at Vrbanja Bridge in Sarajevo; six soldiers of both sides were killed when French forces retook the post later in the day.
The Bosnian War was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is
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MAY 27, 1940
World War II: Ninety-seven soldiers of the British Royal Norfolk Regiment were killed after surrendering to German forces.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
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MAY 27, 1917
Pope Benedict XV (pictured) promulgated the Pio-Benedictine Code, the first official comprehensive codification of Latin canon law.
Pope Benedict XV was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed
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