SUNDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Sunday, May 28, the 148th day of 2017. There are 217 days left in the year.

Highlight in History:

On May 28, 1977, 165 people were killed when fire raced through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky. (Investigators cited faulty electrical wiring, fire safety code violations and overcrowding as reasons for the disaster.)

On this date:

In 1533, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declared the marriage of England’s King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn valid.

In 1912, the Senate Commerce Committee issued its report on the Titanic disaster that cited a “state of absolute unpreparedness,” improperly tested safety equipment and an “indifference to danger” as some of the causes of an “unnecessary tragedy.”

In1940, during World War II, the Belgian army surrendered to invading German forces.

In 1957, National League owners gave permission for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants baseball teams tomove to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

In 1961, Amnesty International had its beginnings with the publication of an article in the British newspaper The Observer, “The Forgotten Prisoners.”

In 1998, comic actor Phil Hartman of “Saturday Night Live” and “News Radio” fame was shot to death at his home in Encino, Calif., by his wife, Brynn, who then killed herself.

Ten years ago: The United States and Iran broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze with a four-hour meeting in Baghdad about Iraqi security.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama paid tribute on Memorial Day to the men and women who died defending America; speaking at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, Obama pointed to Vietnam veterans as an under-appreciated and sometimes maligned group of war heroes.

One year ago: A 3-year-old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo; he was rescued by a teamthat shot to death a 400-pound gorilla named Harambe after the rescuers concluded that the boy’s life was at stake, a decision which led to mourning and criticism around the globe.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Carroll Baker is 86. Actor John Karlen is 84. Basketball Hallof-Famer Jerry West is 79. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is 73. Singer Gladys Knight is 73. Singer Kylie Minogue is 49.

Thought for Today: “Intelligence rules the world, ignorance carries the burden.” — Marcus Garvey, Jamaican black nationalist (1887-1940).