May 27

May 27 in recent years

2024 (Monday)

2023 (Saturday)

2022 (Friday)

2021 (Thursday)

2020 (Wednesday)

2019 (Monday)

2018 (Sunday)

2017 (Saturday)

2016 (Friday)

2015 (Wednesday)

May 27 is the 147th day of the year (148th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 218 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 927 – Death of Simeon I the Great, the first Bulgarian to be recognized as Emperor.
• 1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death.
• 1153 – Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.
• 1199 – John is crowned King of England.
• 1644 – Manchu regent Dorgon defeats rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allowing the Manchus to enter and conquer the capital city of Beijing.
• 1703 – Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
• 1798 – The Battle of Oulart Hill takes place in Wexford, Ireland.
• 1799 – War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeats the French at Winterthur, Switzerland, securing control of the northeastern Swiss Plateau because of the town's location at the junction of seven cross-roads.
• 1813 – War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.
• 1849 – The Great Hall of Euston station in London is opened.
• 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian unification.
• 1863 – American Civil War: First Assault on the Confederate works at the Siege of Port Hudson.
• 1874 – The first group of Dorsland trekkers under the leadership of Gert Alberts leaves Pretoria.
• 1883 – Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia.
• 1896 – The F4-strength 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing $2.9 billion in damage (1997 US dollars).
• 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins.
• 1907 – Bubonic plague breaks out in San Francisco.
• 1908 – Khilafat Day – the day of establishment of Khilafat in Islam Ahmadiyya.
• 1917 – Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive codification of Catholic canon law in the legal history of the Catholic Church.
• 1919 – The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight.
• 1927 – The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A.
• 1930 – The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
• 1933 – New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
• 1933 – The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon Three Little Pigs, with its hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"
• 1933 – The Century of Progress World's Fair opens in Chicago.
• 1935 – New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495).
• 1937 – In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
• 1940 – World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops; two survive.
• 1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an "unlimited national emergency".
• 1941 – World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing almost 2,100 men.
• 1942 – World War II: In Operation Anthropoid, Reinhard Heydrich is fatally wounded in Prague; he dies of his injuries eight days later.
• 1958 – The F-4 Phantom II makes its first flight.
• 1960 – In Turkey, a military coup removes President Celâl Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office.
• 1962 – The Centralia mine fire is ignited in the town's landfill above a coal mine.
• 1965 – Vietnam War: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam.
• 1967 – Australians vote in favor of a constitutional referendum granting the Australian government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous Australians and to count them in the national census.
• 1967 – The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is launched by Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline.
• 1968 – The meeting of the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (National Union of the Students of France) takes place. 30,000 to 50,000 people gather in the Stade Sébastien Charléty.
• 1968 – Major League Baseball's National League awards Montreal the first franchise in Canada and the first franchise outside the United States. (the Montreal Expos)
• 1971 – The Dahlerau train disaster, the worst railway accident in West Germany, kills 46 people and injures 25 near Wuppertal.
• 1975 – Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, in North Yorkshire, England, kills 33 – the highest ever death toll in a road accident in the United Kingdom.
• 1980 – The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.
• 1995 – The 7.0 Mw Neftegorsk earthquake shakes northern Sakhalin Island in Russia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 1,989 people dead and 750 injured.
• 1996 – First Chechen War: the Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire.
• 1997 – The unusual tornado outbreak in Jarrell, Texas.
• 1998 – Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
• 2001 – Members of the Islamist separatist group Abu Sayyaf seize twenty hostages from an affluent island resort on Palawan in the Philippines; the hostage crisis would not be resolved until June 2002.
• 2006 – The 6.4 Mw Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java with an MSK intensity of IX (Destructive), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.
• 2016 – Barack Obama is the first president of United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.

Births

• 742 – Emperor Dezong of Tang (d. 805)
• 1332 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian historian and theologian (d. 1406)
• 1519 – Girolamo Mei, Italian historian and theorist (d. 1594)
• 1537 – Louis IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg (d. 1604)
• 1576 – Caspar Schoppe, German author and scholar (d. 1649)
• 1584 – Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (d. 1640)
• 1601 – Antoine Daniel, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1648)
• 1626 – William II, Prince of Orange (d. 1650)
• 1627 – Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (d. 1693)
• 1651 – Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (d. 1729)
• 1652 – Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine of Germany (d. 1722)
• 1738 – Nathaniel Gorham, American merchant and politician, 14th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1796)
• 1756 – Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (d. 1825)
• 1794 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1877)
• 1818 – Amelia Bloomer, American journalist and activist (d. 1894)
• 1819 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (d. 1910)
• 1827 – Samuel F. Miller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1892)
• 1832 – Zenas Ferry Moody, American surveyor and politician, 7th Governor of Oregon (d. 1917)
• 1836 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (d. 1892)
• 1837 – Wild Bill Hickok, American police officer (d. 1876)
• 1860 – Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portuguese politician, 7th President of Portugal (d. 1941)
• 1863 – Arthur Mold, English cricketer (d. 1921)
• 1867 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (d. 1931)
• 1868 – Aleksa Šantić, Bosnian poet and author (d. 1924)
• 1871 – Georges Rouault, French painter and illustrator (d. 1958)
• 1875 – Frederick Cuming, English cricketer (d. 1942)
• 1876 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 1945)
• 1876 – William Stanier, English engineer (d. 1965)
• 1878 – Anna Cervin, Swedish artist (d. 1972)
• 1879 – Karl Bühler, German-American linguist and psychologist (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Hans Lammers, German judge and politician (d. 1962)
• 1883 – Jessie Arms Botke, American painter (d. 1971)
• 1884 – Max Brod, Czech journalist, author, and composer (d. 1968)
• 1887 – Frank Woolley, English cricketer (d. 1978)
• 1888 – Louis Durey, French composer (d. 1979)
• 1891 – Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (d. 1965)
• 1891 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (d. 1958)
• 1894 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (d. 1961)
• 1894 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (d. 1961)
• 1895 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (d. 1995)
• 1897 – John Cockcroft, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
• 1897 – Dink Templeton, American rugby player and coach (d. 1962)
• 1899 – Johannes Türn, Estonian chess and draughts player (d. 1993)
• 1900 – Uładzimir Žyłka, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1933)
• 1902 – Émile Benveniste, Syrian-French linguist and semiotician (d. 1976)
• 1904 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (d. 1997)
• 1906 – Buddhadasa, Thai monk and philosopher (d. 1993)
• 1906 – Harry Hibbs, English footballer (d. 1984)
• 1906 – Antonio Rosario Mennonna, Italian bishop (d. 2009)
• 1907 – Nicolas Calas, Swiss-American poet and critic (d. 1988)
• 1907 – Rachel Carson, American biologist, environmentalist, and author (d. 1964)
• 1909 – Don Finlay, English hurdler and pilot (d. 1970)
• 1909 – Dolores Hope, American singer and philanthropist (d. 2011)
• 1911 – Hubert Humphrey, American journalist and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (d. 1978)
• 1911 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (d. 2007)
• 1911 – Vincent Price, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1912 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1982)
• 1912 – Sam Snead, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
• 1912 – Terry Moore, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1995)
• 1913 – Wols, German painter and photographer (d. 1951)
• 1915 – Ester Soré, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Herman Wouk, American novelist
• 1918 – Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japanese commander and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Japan
• 1921 – Bob Godfrey, Australian-English animator, director, and voice actor (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (d. 2015)
• 1922 – Christopher Lee, English actor (d. 2015)
• 1922 – John D. Vanderhoof, American banker and politician, 37th Governor of Colorado (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Henry Kissinger, German-American political scientist and politician, 56th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1923 – Sumner Redstone, American businessman and philanthropist
• 1924 – Jaime Lusinchi, Venezuelan physician and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2014)
• 1924 – John Sumner, English-Australian director, founded the Melbourne Theatre Company (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Tony Hillerman, American journalist and author (d. 2008)
• 1927 – Jüri Randviir, Estonian chess player and journalist (d. 1996)
• 1927 – Harry Webster, English engineer (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Thea Musgrave, Scottish-American composer and educator
• 1930 – John Barth, American novelist and short story writer
• 1930 – William S. Sessions, American civil servant and judge, 8th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• 1930 – Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer and educator (d. 2010)
• 1931 – John Chapple, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Gibraltar
• 1931 – Bernard Fresson, French actor (d. 2002)
• 1931 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Philip Kotler, American author and professor
• 1933 – Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian businessman (d. 2008)
• 1933 – Manfred Sommer, Spanish author and illustrator (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Ray Daviault, Canadian-American baseball player
• 1934 – Harlan Ellison, American author and screenwriter
• 1935 – Daniel Colchico, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Lee Meriwether, American model and actress, Miss America 1955
• 1936 – Benjamin Bathurst, English admiral
• 1936 – Louis Gossett, Jr., American actor and producer
• 1936 – Marcel Masse, Canadian educator and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2014)
• 1937 – Allan Carr, American playwright and producer (d. 1999)
• 1939 – Simon Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns, English courtier and businessman
• 1939 – Yves Duhaime, Canadian captain and politician
• 1939 – Sokratis Kokkalis, Greek businessman
• 1939 – Gerald Ronson, English businessman and philanthropist
• 1939 – Don Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1940 – Mike Gibson, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2015)
• 1942 – Lee Baca, American police officer
• 1942 – Piers Courage, English race car driver (d. 1970)
• 1942 – Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman, English accountant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• 1942 – Robin Widdows, English race car driver
• 1943 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (d. 2015)
• 1943 – Bruce Weitz, American actor
• 1944 – Chris Dodd, American lawyer and politician
• 1944 – Ingrid Roscoe, English historian and politician, Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire
• 1944 – Alain Souchon, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1945 – Bruce Cockburn, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1946 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (d. 2005)
• 1946 – John Williams, English motorcycle racer (d. 1978)
• 1947 – Peter DeFazio, American politician
• 1947 – Marty Kristian, German-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1947 – Branko Oblak, Slovenian footballer and coach
• 1947 – Riivo Sinijärv, Estonian politician, 19th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1948 – Wubbo de Boer, Dutch civil servant
• 1948 – Pete Sears, English bass player
• 1948 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (d. 2014)
• 1949 – Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale, English politician
• 1949 – Christa Vahlensieck, German runner
• 1950 – Dee Dee Bridgewater, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1950 – Makis Dendrinos, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1951 – John Conteh, English boxer
• 1954 – Pauline Hanson, Australian businesswoman and politician
• 1954 – Shahrdad Rohani, Iranian composer
• 1954 – Jackie Slater, American football player and coach
• 1955 – Eric Bischoff, American wrestler, manager, and producer
• 1955 – Richard Schiff, American actor, director, and producer
• 1955 – Ian Tracey, English organist and conductor
• 1956 – Cynthia McFadden, American journalist
• 1956 – Rosemary Squire, English producer and manager, co-founded Ambassador Theatre Group
• 1956 – Giuseppe Tornatore, Italian director and screenwriter
• 1957 – Dag Terje Andersen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Labour
• 1957 – Nitin Gadkari, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Transport
• 1958 – Nick Anstee, English accountant and politician, 682nd Lord Mayor of London
• 1958 – Neil Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter and mandolin player
• 1958 – Jesse Robredo, Filipino politician, 23rd Filipino Secretary of the Interior (d. 2012)
• 1960 – Gaston Therrien, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1961 – José Luíz Barbosa, Brazilian runner and coach
• 1961 – Peri Gilpin, American actress
• 1962 – Marcelino Bernal, Mexican footballer
• 1962 – Ray Borner, Australian basketball player
• 1962 – Steven Brill, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Anthony A. Hyman, Israeli-English biologist and academic
• 1962 – David Mundell, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
• 1962 – Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
• 1963 – Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Cuban pianist and composer
• 1963 – Maria Walliser, Swiss skier
• 1964 – Adam Carolla, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Pat Cash, Australian-English tennis player and sportscaster
• 1966 – Heston Blumenthal, English chef and author
• 1967 – Paul Gascoigne, English footballer, coach, and manager
• 1967 – Eddie Harsch, Canadian-American keyboard player and bass player
• 1967 – Eddie McClintock, American actor
• 1968 – Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player and coach
• 1968 – Rebekah Brooks, English journalist
• 1968 – Harun Erdenay, Turkish basketball player and coach
• 1968 – Frank Thomas, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1969 – Todd Hundley, American baseball player
• 1969 – Jeremy Mayfield, American race car driver
• 1970 – Michele Bartoli, Italian cyclist
• 1970 – Tim Farron, English educator and politician
• 1970 – Joseph Fiennes, English actor
• 1971 – Mathew Batsiua, Nauruan politician
• 1971 – Paul Bettany, English actor
• 1971 – Wayne Carey, Australian footballer and coach
• 1971 – Kaur Kender, Estonian author
• 1971 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (d. 2002)
• 1971 – Lee Sharpe, English footballer
• 1971 – Grant Stafford, South African tennis player
• 1971 – Sophie Walker, British politician, leader of the Women's Equality Party
• 1972 – Todd Demsey, American golfer
• 1972 – Antonio Freeman, American football player
• 1973 – Jack McBrayer, American actor and comedian
• 1973 – Tana Umaga, New Zealand rugby player and coach
• 1974 – Skye Edwards, British singer-songwriter
• 1974 – Denise van Outen, English actress, singer, and television host
• 1974 – Derek Webb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1974 – Danny Wuerffel, American football player
• 1975 – André 3000, American rapper
• 1975 – Michael Hussey, Australian cricketer
• 1975 – Jamie Oliver, English chef and author
• 1975 – Feryal Özel, Turkish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
• 1976 – Marcel Fässler, Swiss race car driver
• 1977 – Abderrahmane Hammad, Algerian high jumper
• 1977 – Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1978 – Adin Brown, American soccer player
• 1979 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
• 1979 – Mile Sterjovski, Australian footballer
• 1980 – Craig Buntin, Canadian figure skater
• 1981 – Miloy, Angolan footballer
• 1981 – Marcelo Bonan, Brazilian footballer
• 1981 – Alina Cojocaru, Romanian ballerina
• 1981 – Johan Elmander, Swedish footballer
• 1982 – Natalya Neidhart, Canadian-American Professional wrestler
• 1984 – Blake Ahearn, American basketball player
• 1984 – Ryoko Mima, Japanese model and entertainer
• 1985 – Chiang Chien-ming, Taiwanese baseball player
• 1985 – Roberto Soldado, Spanish footballer
• 1986 – Conor Cummins, Manx motorcycle racer
• 1986 – Bamba Fall, Senegalese basketball player
• 1986 – Lasse Schöne, Danish footballer
• 1987 – Gervinho, Ivorian footballer
• 1987 – Eric Kolelas, French-English actor and director
• 1987 – Bora Paçun, Turkish basketball player
• 1987 – Matt Prior, Australian rugby league player
• 1987 – Martina Sablikova, Czech speed skater and cyclist
• 1988 – Irina Davydova, Russian hurdler
• 1988 – Tyler Sash, American football player (d. 2015)
• 1988 – Vontae Davis, American football player
• 1989 – Igor Morozov, Estonian footballer
• 1989 – Ben Pringle, English footballer
• 1990 – Yenew Alamirew, Ethiopian runner
• 1990 – Chris Colfer, American actor and singer
• 1991 – Sebastien Dewaest, Belgian footballer
• 1991 – Ksenia Pervak, Russian tennis player
• 1991 – Eneli Vals, Estonian footballer
• 1994 – Aymeric Laporte, French footballer

Deaths

• 366 – Procopius, Roman usurper (b. 325)
• 866 – Ordoño I of Asturias (b. 831)
• 927 – Simeon I of Bulgaria (b. 864)
• 1039 – Dirk III, Count of Holland (b. 981)
• 1444 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1404)
• 1525 – Thomas Müntzer, German mystic and theologian (b. 1488)
• 1541 – Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (b. 1473)
• 1564 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (b. 1509)
• 1610 – François Ravaillac, French assassin of Henry IV of France (b. 1578)
• 1661 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, Scottish general and politician (b. 1607)
• 1675 – Gaspard Dughet, Italian-French painter (b. 1613)
• 1690 – Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1626)
• 1702 – Dominique Bouhours, French priest and critic (b. 1628)
• 1707 – Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (b. 1640)
• 1781 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1716)
• 1797 – François-Noël Babeuf, French journalist (b. 1760)
• 1831 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author (b. 1799)
• 1840 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782)
• 1867 – Thomas Bulfinch American mythologist (b. 1796)
• 1896 – Aleksandr Stoletov, Russian physicist, engineer, and academic (b. 1839)
• 1910 – Robert Koch, German physician and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
• 1918 – Ōzutsu Man'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna (b. 1869)
• 1919 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (b. 1848)
• 1933 – Achille Paroche, French target shooter (b. 1868)
• 1939 – Joseph Roth, Austrian-French journalist and author (b. 1894)
• 1941 – Ernst Lindemann, German captain (b. 1894)
• 1941 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (b. 1889)
• 1942 – Muhammed Hamdi Yazır, Turkish theologian, logician, and translator (b. 1878)
• 1943 – Gordon Coates, New Zealand soldier and politician, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1878)
• 1945 – Enno Lolling, German physician (b. 1888)
• 1947 – Ed Konetchy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1885)
• 1949 – Robert Ripley, American cartoonist, publisher, and businessman, founded Ripley's Believe It or Not! (b. 1890)
• 1953 – Jesse Burkett, American baseball player and manager (b. 1868)
• 1960 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1877)
• 1963 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (b. 1912)
• 1964 – Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of India (b. 1889)
• 1967 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and educator (b. 1880)
• 1967 – Ernst Niekisch, German academic and politician (b. 1889)
• 1971 – Béla Juhos, Hungarian-Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1901)
• 1971 – Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1935)
• 1980 – Gün Sazak, Turkish agronomist and politician (b. 1932)
• 1984 – Vasilije Mokranjac, Serbian composer (b. 1923)
• 1986 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
• 1986 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1901)
• 1986 – Giorgos Tzifos, Greek actor and cinematographer (b. 1918)
• 1987 – John Howard Northrop, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
• 1988 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (b. 1908)
• 1988 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
• 1989 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet and translator (b. 1907)
• 1990 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1908)
• 1991 – Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist and theorist (b. 1904)
• 1992 – Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (b. 1890)
• 1998 – Minoo Masani, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
• 2000 – Kazimierz Leski, Polish engineer and pilot (b. 1912)
• 2000 – Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, Scottish politician and diplomat, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1917)
• 2000 – Maurice Richard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1921)
• 2003 – Luciano Berio, Italian composer and educator (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Rob Borsellino, American journalist (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Paul Gleason, American actor (b. 1939)
• 2006 – Craig Heyward, American football player (b. 1966)
• 2007 – Izumi Sakai, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
• 2007 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer (b. 1932)
• 2007 – Ed Yost, American inventor, created the hot air balloon (b. 1919)
• 2008 – Franz Künstler, Hungarian soldier (b. 1900)
• 2009 – Thomas M. Franck, American lawyer and academic (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Clive Granger, Welsh-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
• 2009 – Mona Grey, British nursing administrator; Northern Ireland's first Chief Nursing Officer
• 2009 – Abram Hoffer, Canadian biochemist, physician, and psychiatrist (b. 1917)
• 2009 – Gérard Jean-Juste, Haitian-American priest and theologian (b. 1946)
• 2009 – Carol Anne O'Marie, American nun and author (b. 1933)
• 2009 – William Refshauge, Australian soldier and physician (b. 1913)
• 2009 – Paul Sharratt, English-American television host (b. 1933)
• 2010 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (b. 1929)
• 2011 – Jeff Conaway, American actor and singer (b. 1950)
• 2011 – Margo Dydek, Polish-American basketball player (b. 1974)
• 2011 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1949)
• 2012 – Simeon Daniel, Nevisian educator and politician, 1st Premier of Nevis (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Friedrich Hirzebruch, German mathematician and academic (b. 1927)
• 2012 – David Rimoin, Canadian-American geneticist and academic (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (b. 1917)
• 2013 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Abdoulaye Sékou Sow, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Robert Genn, Canadian painter and author (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
• 2014 – Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian-American graphic designer (b. 1931)
• 2015 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Nils Christie, Norwegian sociologist, criminologist, and author (b. 1928)
• 2015 – Andy King, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
• 2015 – Michael Martin, American philosopher and academic (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Nicaragua)
• Children's Day (Nigeria)
• Christian feast day:
  • Augustine of Canterbury
  • Blessed Lojze Grozde
  • Bede (commemoration, Anglican Communion)
  • Bruno of Würzburg
  • Eutropius of Orange
  • Hildebert
  • Julius the Veteran
  • May 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Mother's Day (Bolivia)
• Navy Day (Japan)
• Slavery Abolition Day (Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin)
• World MS Day
• Start of National Reconciliation Week (Australia)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada