On This day May 27th

 OTD

May 27th is the one-hundred-forty-seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 218 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.

1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.

1703 – Tsar Peter the Great found the city of Saint Petersburg.

1754 – French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant George Washington defeated a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.

1892 – In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.

1896 – The F4-strength St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing over $10 million in damage.

1907 – The first Isle of Man TT race is held.

1927—The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacturing the Ford Model T and begins retooling its plants to make the Ford Model A.

1937—The Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic in California, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County.

1999—After 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is displayed in Milan, Italy.

2016 – Harambe, a gorilla, is shot to death after grabbing a three-year-old boy in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, resulting in widespread criticism and sparking various internet memes.

 

Birthdays

1738 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (d. 1814)

1794 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1877)

1836 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (d. 1892)

1888 – Jim Thorpe, American decathlete, football player, and coach (d. 1953)

1910 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)

1911 – Vincent Price, American actor (d. 1993)

1935 – Lee Meriwether, American model and actress, Miss America 1955

1939 – Don Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)

1944 – Gladys Knight, American singer-songwriter and actress.

1975 – André 3000, American rapper

1986 – Michael Oher, American football player.

 

Holiday Highlight

Decoration Day

Decoration Day, now Memorial Day, is a special celebration to honor our veterans and remember those who died in the armed services. It originated in the aftermath of the Civil War. Families and brothers-in-arms of the fallen on both sides of that conflict, north and south, came together in commemoration by laying flowers on the graves of the dead in honor of their sacrifice. The Civil War ended in 1865 and claimed more lives than any other conflict in U.S. history.

The origin of Memorial Day is shrouded in historical ambiguity, adding a layer of intrigue to its story. It is believed that different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings for their deceased relatives. One of the earliest recorded commemorations was organized by a group of formerly enslaved people in South Carolina less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. However, the federal government officially recognized Waterloo, New York, as the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966. This historical puzzle invites us to delve deeper into the origins of this significant holiday.

While Decoration Day originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War, it also evolved to commemorate all American military personnel who died during military operations, including during World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed by Congress, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. Moreover, the same law declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

Holidays And Observance

Cellophane Tape Day

Memorial Day

National Grape Popsicle Day

National Gray Day

National Hamburger Day

Nothing to Fear Day

Old Time Player Piano Day

Prayer for Peace, Memorial

Sunscreen Protection Day

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