TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SUNDAY, MAY 27, the 147th day of 2018. There are 218 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 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.
In 1818, American reformer Amelia Jenks Bloomer, who popularized the garment that bears her name — “bloomers” — was born in Homer, N.Y.
In 1937, the newly completed Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County, Calif., was opened to pedestrian traffic. Vehicles began crossing the next day.
In 1941, the British Royal Navy sank the German battleship Bismarck off France with a loss of some 2,000 lives.
In 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.
In 1957, the single “That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly’s group The Crickets was released by Brunswick Records.
In 1962, a dump fire in Centralia, Pa., ignited a blaze in underground coal deposits that continues to burn to this day.
In 1977, the punk rock single “God Save the Queen,” the Sex Pistols’ sardonic salute to Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Virgin Records.
In 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. Fortier was freed in January 2006.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Herman Wouk is 103. Actress Lee Meriwether and musician Ramsey Lewis are 83. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 82. Rhythm and blues singer Raymond Sanders (The Persuasions) is 79. Actor Bruce Weitz is 75. Singer Bruce Cockburn is 73. Actor Richard Schiff is 63. Singer Siouxsie Sioux (The Creatures, Siouxsie and the Banshees) is 61. Rock singer-musician Neil Finn (The Finn Brothers) is 60. Actresses Peri Gilpin and Cathy Silvers are 57. Comedian Adam Carolla is 54. Actor Todd Bridges is 53. Rock musician Sean Kinney (Alice In Chains) is 52. Actor Dondre Whitfield is 49. Actor Paul Bettany and rock singer-musician Brian Desveaux (Nine Days) are 47. Alt-country singer-songwriter Shane Nicholson is 42. Actor Darin Brooks is 34. Actress Desiree Ross (TV: “Greenleaf”) is 19.