On May 27th...

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1679 The Habeaus Corpus Act (strengthening a person's right to challenge unlawful arrest and imprisonment) was passed in England.

1703 Tsar Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg, Russia.

1794 Businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt was born.

1819 Poet Julia Ward Howe was born.

1836 Financier Jay Gould was born.

1837 Frontiersman James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was born.

1862 The Battle of Hanover Court House was fought.

1864 The Battle of Pickett's Mill was fought.

1878 Dancer Isadora Duncan was born.

1894 Author Dashiell Hammett was born.

1907 Biologist Rachel Carson was born.

1910 Nobel Prize-winning microbiologist Robert Koch died.

1911 American politician Hubert H. Humphrey was born.
1911 Actor Vincent Price was born.

1912 Golfer Sam Snead was born.

1915 Author Herman Wouk was born.

1922 Actor Christopher Lee was born.

1923 The first ever Le Mans 24-hour auto race ended with a win for Andre Lagache and Renee Leonard.
1923 Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State, was born.

1929 The Yellow Air Cab Company was chartered in Wichita, Kansas.

1930 Richard Drew invented masking tape.
1930 The Chrysler Building, in New York City, opened to the public.
1930 William Sessions, director of the FBI, was born.

1933 The Century of Progress International Exposition opened in Chicago.

1935 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional.
1935 Actress Lee Meriwether was born.

1936 The Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary left Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York.

1937 The Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic.

1941 The German battleship Bismarck was sunk by British ships.

1943 Laszlo Biro patented the ballpoint pen.
1943 Actor Bruce Weitz was born.

1949 Robert Ripley, of Ripley's Believe It or Not fame, died.

1950 Frank Sinatra made his television debut on NBC's "Star-Spangled Review."

1955 Actor Richard Schiff was born.

1964 Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India, died.

1965 Actor Todd Bridges was born.

1977 Two Boeing 747's collided on the runway of the Canary Islands airport, killing 582.

1990 Robert B. Meyner, former Governor of New Jersey, died.

1994 Arsenio Hall ended his final talk show.
1994 The live action Flintstones movie opened.
1994 Larry King ended his radio show.

1995 Actor Christopher Reeves was paralyzed as the result of being thrown from a horse during a jumping competition.

2001 Businessman Victor Kiam died.

2008 Movie producer Sydney Pollack died.

2011 Actor Jeff Conway died.

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This page was last updated on June 01, 2018.