May 27th in History

Michael Dobson | May 27

Photo: The Curtiss NC-4 flying boat completes the first transatlantic flight, May 27, 1919

Today in History

  • The Curtiss NC-4 completes the first transatlantic flight (1919)
  • Ford stops making the Model T and begins retooling to make the Model A (1927)
  • The Chrysler Building, tallest man-made structure at the time, opens in New York City (1930)
  • Walt Disney releases Three Little Pigs, featuring “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” (1933)
  • The German battleship Bismarck is sunk (1941)
  • The Montreal Expos become the first MLB franchise outside the United States (1968)
  • Christopher Reeve is paralyzed from the neck down after a riding accident (1995)

Birthdays

  • أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي‎ (Ibn Khaldūn), founding father of sociology, historiography, and economics, polymath  (1332)
  • Cornelius Vanderbilt, businessman (1794)
  • Amelia Bloomer, women’s rights and temperance advocate (1818)
  • Julia Ward Howe, poet (1819)
  • Jay Gould, businessman (1836)
  • Wild Bill Hickok, lawman (1837)
  • Isadora Duncan, dancer (1877)
  • Dashiell Hammett, mystery writer (1894)
  • Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring (1907)
  • Hubert Humphrey, US vice president (1911)
  • Vincent Price, actor (1911)
  • John Cheever, author (1912)
  • Sam Snead, golfer (1912)
  • Herman Wouk, author (1915)
  • Caryl Chessman, death row inmate (1921)
  • Christopher Lee, actor (1922)
  • Henry Kissinger, diplomat (1923)
  • Sumner Redstone, media owner (1923)
  • Tony Hillerman, mystery writer (1925)
  • Harlan Ellison, science fiction writer (1934)
  • Ramsey Lewis, pianist (1935)
  • Lee Meriwether, actress and former Miss America (1935)
  • Louis Gossett, Jr., actor (1935)
  • Bruce Weitz, actor (1943)
  • Siouxsie Sue, singer-songwriter (1957)
  • Linnea Quigley, scream queen (1958)
  • Rebekah Brooks, disgraced journalist (1968)

Deaths

  • John Calvin, theologian (1564)
  • Niccolò Paganini, violinist (1840)
  • Robert Ripley, Believe It or Not creator (1949)
  • James Montgomery Flagg, poster creator (1960)
  • Jawaharlal Nehru, politician (1964)
  • Jeff Conaway, actor (2011)
  • Gil Scott-Heron, singer-songwriter (2011)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Armed Forces Day (Nicaragua)
  • Children’s Day (Nigeria)
  • Día de la Madre (Bolivia)
  • Slavery Abolition Day (Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin)
Informal and made-up holidays include Cellophane Tape Day, National Grape Popsicle Day, and Sunscreen Day.