May 27 has produced turning points in politics, science, culture, war, law, and technology. This timeline collects notable events recorded for this calendar day.
The list below is generated from public historical datasets and refreshed automatically by date.
Timeline for May 27
20182018 Central Maryland Flood
Maryland Flood Event: A flood occurs throughout the Patapsco Valley, causing one death, destroying the entire first floors of buildings on Main Street in Ellicott City, and causing cars to overturn.
2017Andrew Scheer
Andrew Scheer takes over after Rona Ambrose as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
2016Barack Obama
Barack Obama is the first president of the United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.
2014Kerala Blasters FC
The football club Kerala Blasters FC and its first supporters' group Manjappada are formed.
20062006 Yogyakarta earthquake
The 6.4 Mw Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java with an MSK intensity of VIII (Damaging), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.
2001Abu Sayyaf
Members of Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist separatist group, seize twenty hostages from an affluent island resort on Palawan in the Philippines; the hostage crisis would not be resolved until June 2002.
1999Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-96, the first shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station.
1998Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
19971997 Central Texas tornado outbreak
The 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak occurs, spawning multiple tornadoes in Central Texas, including the F5 that killed 27 in Jarrell.
1996First Chechen War
First Chechen War: Russian president Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechen rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire.
1988Somaliland War of Independence
Somaliland War of Independence: The Somali National Movement launches a major offensive against Somali government forces in Hargeisa and Burao, then the second- and third-largest cities of Somalia.
1984Danube–Black Sea Canal
The Danube–Black Sea Canal is opened, in a ceremony attended by the Ceaușescus. It had been under construction since the 1950s.
1980Gwangju Uprising
The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.
1977Aeroflot Flight 331
A plane crash at José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, kills 67.
19751975 Dibbles Bridge coach crash
Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, in North Yorkshire, England, kills 33 – the highest ever death toll in a road accident in the United Kingdom.
1971Dahlerau train disaster
The Dahlerau train disaster, the worst railway accident in West Germany, kills 46 people and injures 25 near Wuppertal.
1971Bengali Hindus
Pakistani forces massacre over 200 civilians, mostly Bengali Hindus, in the Bagbati massacre.
19671967 Australian referendum (Aboriginals)
Australians vote in favor of a constitutional referendum granting the Australian government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous Australians and to count them in the national census.
1967USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is launched by Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline.
1965Vietnam War
Vietnam War: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam.
1962Centralia mine fire
The Centralia mine fire is ignited in the town's landfill above a coal mine.
1960Turkey
In Turkey, a military coup removes President Celâl Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office.
1958McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
First flight of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
1950Linnanmäki
The Linnanmäki amusement park is opened for the first time in Helsinki.
1942Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
World War II: In Operation Anthropoid, Reinhard Heydrich is fatally wounded in Prague; he dies of his injuries eight days later.
1941Franklin D. Roosevelt
World War II: U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an "unlimited national emergency".
1941German battleship Bismarck
World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic, killing almost 2,100 men.
1940World War II
World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops; two survive.
1937California
In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
1935Supreme Court of the United States
New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495).
1933New Deal
New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
1930Chrysler Building
The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
1927Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A.
1919Curtiss NC-4
The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight.
1917Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive codification of Catholic canon law in the legal history of the Catholic Church.
1915HMS Princess Irene
HMS Princess Irene explodes and sinks off Sheerness, Kent, with the loss of 352 lives.
1905Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins.
1896Fujita scale
The F4-strength St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing over $10 million in damage.
1883Alexander III of Russia
Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia.
1874Dorsland Trek
The first group of Dorsland trekkers under the leadership of Gert Alberts leaves Pretoria.
1863American Civil War
American Civil War: The first Union infantry assault of the Siege of Port Hudson occurs.
1860Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi begins the Siege of Palermo, part of the wars of Italian unification.
1832Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
An Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha captures Acre from the Ottomans after a five-months siege.
1813War of 1812
War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.
1799War of the Second Coalition
War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeat the French at Winterthur, Switzerland.
1798Pitt–Tierney duel
The Pitt–Tierney duel takes place on Putney Heath outside London. A bloodless duel between the prime minister of Great Britain William Pitt the Younger and his political opponent George Tierney.
1798Battle of Oulart Hill
The Battle of Oulart Hill takes place in Wexford, Ireland; Irish rebel leaders defeat and kill a detachment of militia.
1703Peter the Great
Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
1644Manchu people
Manchu regent Dorgon defeats 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.
1595Battle of Clontibret
A Gaelic Irish army successfully ambushes an English force in the battle of Clontibret during the Nine Years' War.
1257Richard of Cornwall
Richard of Cornwall, and his wife, Sanchia of Provence, are crowned King and Queen of the Germans at Aachen Cathedral.
1199John, King of England
John is crowned King of England.
1153Malcolm IV of Scotland
Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.
1120Richard III of Capua
Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death.
1096Emicho
Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens. At least 600 Jews are killed.
