TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, May 27, the 147th day of 2019. There are 218 days left in the year. This is the Memorial Day observance.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 27, 1941, the British Royal Navy sank the German battleship Bismarck off France with a loss of some 2,000 lives, three days after the Bismarck sank the HMS Hood with the loss of more than 1,400 lives. Amid rising world tensions, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed an “unlimited national emergency” during a radio address from the White House.
On this date:
In 1199, King John of England was crowned in Westminster Abbey nearly two months after the death of his brother, Richard I (“The LionHearted”).
In 1933, the Chicago World’s Fair, celebrating “A Century of Progress,” officially opened. Walt Disney’s Academy Awardwinning animated short “The Three Little Pigs” was first released.
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, Pennsylvania, ignited a blaze in underground coal deposits that continues to burn to this day.
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 1993, five people were killed in a bombing at the Uffizi museum of art in Florence, Italy; some three dozen paintings were ruined or damaged.
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama announced more spending for renewable energy after touring a large field of solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base, near Las Vegas.
Five years ago: Michelle Obama struck back at House Republicans trying to weaken healthier school meal standards as she met with school nutrition officials who said the guidelines were working at their schools; the first lady called any effort to roll back the guidelines “unacceptable.”
One year ago: LeBron James reached his eighth straight NBA Finals as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 87-79 in Game 7 of the semifinals.
Today’s Birthdays: Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is 96. Former FBI Director William Sessions is 89. Author John Barth is 89. Actress Lee Meriwether is 84. Musician Ramsey Lewis is 84. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 83. Actor Bruce Weitz is 76. Actress Peri Gilpin is 58. Actress Cathy Silvers is
58. Comedian Adam Carolla is 55. Actor Todd Bridges is
54. Actor Dondre Whitfield is
50. Actor Paul Bettany is 48. Country singer Jace Everett is
47. Actor Jack McBrayer is 46. Rapper Andre 3000 (Outkast) is 44. Alt-country singer-songwriter Shane Nicholson is 43. Actor Ben Feldman is 39. Actor Darin Brooks is 35. Actor-singer Chris Colfer is 29. Actor Ethan Dampf is 25. Actress Desiree Ross (TV: “Greenleaf”) is 20.
Thought for Today: “A man who limits his interests limits his life.”—Vincent Price, American actor (born this date in 1911, died 1993).