May 27
1647 - The first recorded execution of a witch reportedly took place in Massachusetts when Achsah Young was hanged.
1703 - St. Petersburg was founded by Czar Peter the Great.
1861 - Chief Justice Roger Taney, sitting as a federal circuit court judge in Baltimore, ruled that President Abraham Lincoln lacked the authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus (Lincoln disregarded the ruling).
1896 - A tornado struck St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing 255 people.
1935 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, unanimously struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act, a key component of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” legislative program.
1936 - The Queen Mary left England on its maiden voyage, arriving in France four hours later.
1937 - The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco opened to traffic.
1941 - British ships sank the German battleship Bismarck off the coast of France, resulting in the loss of 2,300 lives; this took place three days after the Bismarck sank the HMS Hood with the loss of more than 1,400 lives.
1942 - Doris “Dorie” Miller, a cook aboard the USS West Virginia, became the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross for displaying “extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety” during Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
1968 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. O’Brien, upheld the conviction of David O’Brien for destroying his draft card outside a Boston courthouse, ruling that the act was not protected by freedom of speech.
1994 - Nobel Prize-winning dissident, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia after 20 years in exile.
1995 - Actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed when he was thrown from his horse during a jumping event in Charlottesville, Virginia.
1996 - After a year and a half of bloodshed, Russian President Boris Yeltsin met with the leader of the Chechen rebels and negotiated a cease fire.
1997 - The Supreme Court ruled Paula Jones could pursue her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton while he was in office.
1998 - Michael Fortier, the government's star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing case, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after apologizing for not warning anyone about the deadly plot.
1999 - Slobodan Milosevic was indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague for crimes against humanity, holding the former Yugoslav president personally responsible for the horrors in Kosovo.
2011 - Astronauts Mike Fincke and Gregory Chamitoff made history as the final spacewalkers of NASA’s 30-year shuttle program, completing construction of the International Space Station with the smooth addition of an extension pole.
2016 - President Barack Obama became the first American chief executive to visit Hiroshima, the city where the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb during World War II, declaring it a fitting place to summon people everywhere to embrace the vision of a world without nuclear weapons.
2020 - Protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody rocked Minneapolis for a second night, with some people looting stores and setting fires. Protests spread to additional cities; hundreds of people blocked a Los Angeles freeway and shattered windows of California Highway Patrol cruisers.
2020 - For the first time, House lawmakers voted by proxy, a move aimed at avoiding the risks of travel to Washington during the pandemic.
Birthdays
20 - Izabella Vidovic (actress)
21 - Maeve Tomalty (actress)
22 - Desiree Ross (actress)
22 - Lily-Rose Depp (actress)
27 - Ethan Dampf (actor)
31 - Chris Colfer (actor/singer)
37 - Darin Brooks (actor)
39 - Natalie Neidhart (professional wrestler)
41 - Michael Steger (actor)
41 - Ben Feldman (actor)
44 - Shanola Hampton (actress)
46 - Jadakiss (rapper)
46 - Andre 3000 (rapper)
48 - Jack McBrayer (actor)
49 - Jace Everett (country singer)
50 - Paul Bettany (actor)
52 - Dondre Whitfield (actor)
56 - Todd Bridges (actor)
57 - Adam Carolla (comedian)
60 - Cathy Silvers (actress)
60 - Peri Gilpin (actress)
76 - Bruce Cockburn (singer)
78 - Bruce Weitz (actor)
85 - Louis Gossett Jr. (actor)
86 - Lee Meriwether (actor)
98 - Henry Kissinger (former U.S. secretary of state)
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Today in Sports History - May 27
1873 - The first Preakness Stakes was won by Survivor.
1904 - Dan McGann of the New York Giants sets a major league record with five stolen bases in a game against Brooklyn. (The record would stand until 1991 when broken by Otis Nixon.)
1912 - Golfer Sam Snead was born in Ashwood, Virginia.
1937 - Pitcher Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants sets a major league record with his 24th consecutive win.
1968 - After 48 years as coach of the Chicago Bears, George Halas retired, finishing his career with 318 regular season wins and six NFL championships.
1968 - It was announced that National League baseball franchises had been awarded to Montreal and San Diego.
1975 - The Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Buffalo Sabres to win a second straight Stanley Cup.
1982 - Three New Jersey businessmen bought the NHL's Colorado Rockies. They got approval to move the team to New Jersey and become the Devils.
1987 - Phil Niekro (New York Yankees) became the third pitcher to make 700 starts.
2018 - LeBron James reached his eighth consecutive NBA Finals as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
1647 - The first recorded execution of a witch reportedly took place in Massachusetts when Achsah Young was hanged.
1703 - St. Petersburg was founded by Czar Peter the Great.
1861 - Chief Justice Roger Taney, sitting as a federal circuit court judge in Baltimore, ruled that President Abraham Lincoln lacked the authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus (Lincoln disregarded the ruling).
1896 - A tornado struck St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing 255 people.
1935 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, unanimously struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act, a key component of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” legislative program.
1936 - The Queen Mary left England on its maiden voyage, arriving in France four hours later.
1937 - The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco opened to traffic.
1941 - British ships sank the German battleship Bismarck off the coast of France, resulting in the loss of 2,300 lives; this took place three days after the Bismarck sank the HMS Hood with the loss of more than 1,400 lives.
1942 - Doris “Dorie” Miller, a cook aboard the USS West Virginia, became the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross for displaying “extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety” during Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
1968 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. O’Brien, upheld the conviction of David O’Brien for destroying his draft card outside a Boston courthouse, ruling that the act was not protected by freedom of speech.
1994 - Nobel Prize-winning dissident, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia after 20 years in exile.
1995 - Actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed when he was thrown from his horse during a jumping event in Charlottesville, Virginia.
1996 - After a year and a half of bloodshed, Russian President Boris Yeltsin met with the leader of the Chechen rebels and negotiated a cease fire.
1997 - The Supreme Court ruled Paula Jones could pursue her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton while he was in office.
1998 - Michael Fortier, the government's star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing case, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after apologizing for not warning anyone about the deadly plot.
1999 - Slobodan Milosevic was indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague for crimes against humanity, holding the former Yugoslav president personally responsible for the horrors in Kosovo.
2011 - Astronauts Mike Fincke and Gregory Chamitoff made history as the final spacewalkers of NASA’s 30-year shuttle program, completing construction of the International Space Station with the smooth addition of an extension pole.
2016 - President Barack Obama became the first American chief executive to visit Hiroshima, the city where the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb during World War II, declaring it a fitting place to summon people everywhere to embrace the vision of a world without nuclear weapons.
2020 - Protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody rocked Minneapolis for a second night, with some people looting stores and setting fires. Protests spread to additional cities; hundreds of people blocked a Los Angeles freeway and shattered windows of California Highway Patrol cruisers.
2020 - For the first time, House lawmakers voted by proxy, a move aimed at avoiding the risks of travel to Washington during the pandemic.
Birthdays
20 - Izabella Vidovic (actress)
21 - Maeve Tomalty (actress)
22 - Desiree Ross (actress)
22 - Lily-Rose Depp (actress)
27 - Ethan Dampf (actor)
31 - Chris Colfer (actor/singer)
37 - Darin Brooks (actor)
39 - Natalie Neidhart (professional wrestler)
41 - Michael Steger (actor)
41 - Ben Feldman (actor)
44 - Shanola Hampton (actress)
46 - Jadakiss (rapper)
46 - Andre 3000 (rapper)
48 - Jack McBrayer (actor)
49 - Jace Everett (country singer)
50 - Paul Bettany (actor)
52 - Dondre Whitfield (actor)
56 - Todd Bridges (actor)
57 - Adam Carolla (comedian)
60 - Cathy Silvers (actress)
60 - Peri Gilpin (actress)
76 - Bruce Cockburn (singer)
78 - Bruce Weitz (actor)
85 - Louis Gossett Jr. (actor)
86 - Lee Meriwether (actor)
98 - Henry Kissinger (former U.S. secretary of state)
================================================
Today in Sports History - May 27
1873 - The first Preakness Stakes was won by Survivor.
1904 - Dan McGann of the New York Giants sets a major league record with five stolen bases in a game against Brooklyn. (The record would stand until 1991 when broken by Otis Nixon.)
1912 - Golfer Sam Snead was born in Ashwood, Virginia.
1937 - Pitcher Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants sets a major league record with his 24th consecutive win.
1968 - After 48 years as coach of the Chicago Bears, George Halas retired, finishing his career with 318 regular season wins and six NFL championships.
1968 - It was announced that National League baseball franchises had been awarded to Montreal and San Diego.
1975 - The Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Buffalo Sabres to win a second straight Stanley Cup.
1982 - Three New Jersey businessmen bought the NHL's Colorado Rockies. They got approval to move the team to New Jersey and become the Devils.
1987 - Phil Niekro (New York Yankees) became the third pitcher to make 700 starts.
2018 - LeBron James reached his eighth consecutive NBA Finals as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
