Summary of the Day ✨ 27 May (27/05)
A devastating flood in Maryland’s Patapsco Valley caused one death and extensive damage to Ellicott City while a powerful earthquake in Java left over 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured, as Andrew Scheer took over leadership of Canada’s Conservative Party and Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park.
Historical Events 📜
- 2018: Maryland Flood Event: A flood occurs throughout the Patapsco Valley, causing one death, destroying the entire first floors of buildings on Main Street in Ellicott City, and causing cars to overturn.
- 2017: Andrew Scheer takes over after Rona Ambrose as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
- 2016: Barack Obama is the first president of the United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.
- 2014: The football club Kerala Blasters FC and its first supporters’ group Manjappada are formed.
- 2006: The 6.4 Mw Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java with an MSK intensity of VIII (Damaging), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.
- 2001: Members of Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist separatist group, seize twenty hostages from an affluent island resort on Palawan in the Philippines; the hostage crisis would not be resolved until June 2002.
- 1999: Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-96, the first shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station.
- 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.
- 1997: The 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak occurs, spawning multiple tornadoes in Central Texas, including the F5 that killed 27 in Jarrell.
- 1996: First Chechen War: Russian president Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechen rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire.
- 1988: Somaliland War of Independence: The Somali National Movement launches a major offensive against Somali government forces in Hargeisa and Burao, then the second- and third-largest cities of Somalia.
- 1984: The Danube–Black Sea Canal is opened, in a ceremony attended by the Ceaușescus. It had been under construction since the 1950s.
- 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.
- 1977: A plane crash at José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, kills 67.
- 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.
Famous Births 👶
- 2003: Franco Colapinto, Formula 1 driver
- 2002: Jérémy Doku, Belgian footballer
- 2002: Gabri Veiga, Spanish footballer
- 2000: Abner Vinícius, Brazilian footballer
- 1999: Matheus Cunha, Brazilian footballer
- 1999: Lily-Rose Depp, French-American actress and model
- 1998: Josep Martínez, Spanish footballer
- 1997: Anna Bondar, Hungarian tennis player
- 1997: Daniel Jones, American football player
- 1997: Konrad Laimer, Austrian footballer
- 1996: Kim Jae-hwan, South Korean singer
- 1995: Yoán Moncada, Cuban baseball player
- 1994: Maximilian Arnold, German footballer
- 1994: João Cancelo, Portuguese footballer
- 1994: Aymeric Laporte, French-Spanish footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Freddie Aguilar, Filipino musician and singer-songwriter (born 1953)
- 2024: Elizabeth MacRae, American actress (born 1936)
- 2024: Bill Walton, American basketball player and sportscaster (born 1952)
- 2021: Poul Schlüter, former Prime Minister of Denmark (born 1929)
- 2020: Larry Kramer, American playwright, public health advocate and LGBT rights activist (born 1935)
- 2018: Gardner Dozois, American science fiction author and editor (born 1947)
- 2017: Gregg Allman, American musician, singer and songwriter (born 1947)
- 2015: Erik Carlsson, Swedish rally driver (born 1929)
- 2015: Nils Christie, Norwegian sociologist, criminologist, and author (born 1928)
- 2015: Andy King, English footballer and manager (born 1956)
- 2015: Michael Martin, American philosopher and academic (born 1932)
- 2014: Robert Genn, Canadian painter and author (born 1936)
- 2014: Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1940)
- 2014: Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1929)
- 2014: Massimo Vignelli, Italian-American graphic designer (born 1931)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Armed Forces Day (Nicaragua)
- Children’s Day (Nigeria)
- Christian feast day:
Augustine of Canterbury - Christian feast day:
Blessed Lojze Grozde - Christian feast day:
Bruno of Würzburg - Christian feast day:
Eutropius of Orange - Christian feast day:
Hildebert - Christian feast day:
Julius the Veteran - Christian feast day:
May 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Mother’s Day (Bolivia)
- Navy Day (Japan)
- Slavery Abolition Day (Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin)
- Start of National Reconciliation Week (Australia)