Today in History

Today is Wednesday, May 27, the 147th day of 2015. There are 218 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 27, 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, unanimously struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act, a key component of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" legislative program.

On this date:

In 1896, 255 people were killed when a tornado struck St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois.

In 1929, Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. married Anne Morrow in Englewood, New Jersey.

In 1933, the Chicago World's Fair, celebrating "A Century of Progress," officially opened. Walt Disney's Academy Award-winning animated short "The Three Little Pigs" was first released.

In 1936, the Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary left England on its maiden voyage to New York.

In 1937, the newly completed Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County, California, was opened to pedestrian traffic (vehicles began crossing the next day).

In 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.

In 1942, Navy Cook 3rd Class Doris "Dorie" Miller became the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross for his "extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety" during Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1944, Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist play "Huis clos" (known in English as "No Exit") was first performed in Paris.

In 1962, a dump fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania, ignited a blaze in underground coal deposits that continues to burn this day.

In 1964, independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, died.

In 1985, in Beijing, representatives of Britain and China exchanged instruments of ratification for an accord returning Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997.

In 1995, actor Christopher Reeve was left paralyzed when he was thrown from his horse during a jumping event in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Ten years ago: Speaking out for the first time in favor of controversial base closings, President George W. Bush told the Naval Academy commencement the nation was wasting billions of dollars on unnecessary military facilities and needed the money for the war on terrorism. Testimony ended in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial after prosecutors showed jurors a video of the accuser being interviewed by police and the defense rested. (Jackson was later acquitted.)

Five years ago: On the defensive more than five weeks into the nation's worst-ever oil spill, President Barack Obama insisted his administration, not oil giant BP, was calling the shots in the still-unsuccessful response. The Senate Armed Services Committee and the full House approved measures to repeal the 1993 "don't ask, don't tell" law that allowed gay people to serve in the armed services provided they hid their sexual orientation. Activist Lori Berenson walked out of a prison in Peru after serving three-quarters of a 20-year term for aiding leftist rebels. (Under her parole, Berenson cannot leave Peru until her sentence ends in 2015, or her sentence is commuted.)

One year ago: Charting an end to America's longest war, President Barack Obama announced plans for keeping nearly 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 but then withdrawing virtually all by the close of 2016 and the conclusion of his presidency. 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."

Today's Birthdays: Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Herman Wouk is 100. Actor Christopher Lee is 93. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is 92. Former FBI Director William Sessions is 85. Author John Barth is 85. Actress Lee Meriwether is 80. Musician Ramsey Lewis is 80. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 79. Rhythm-and-blues singer Raymond Sanders (The Persuasions) is 76. Country singer Don Williams is 76. Actor Bruce Weitz is 72. Singer Cilla Black is 72. Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Christopher Dodd is 71. Singer Bruce Cockburn is 70. Singer-actress Dee Dee Bridgewater is 65. Actor Richard Schiff is 60. Singer Siouxsie Sioux (The Creatures, Siouxsie and the Banshees) is 58. Rock singer-musician Neil Finn (The Finn Brothers) is 57. Actress Peri Gilpin is 54. Actress Cathy Silvers is 54. Comedian Adam Carolla is 51. Actor Todd Bridges is 50. Rock musician Sean Kinney (Alice In Chains) is 49. Actor Dondre Whitfield is 46. Actor Paul Bettany is 44. Rock singer-musician Brian Desveaux (Nine Days) is 44. Country singer Jace Everett is 43. Actor Jack McBrayer is 42. Rapper Andre 3000 (Outkast) is 40. Rapper Jadakiss is 40. TV chef Jamie Oliver is 40. Alt-country singer-songwriter Shane Nicholson is 39. Actor Ben Feldman is 35. Actor Michael Steger is 35. Actor Darin Brooks is 31. Actor-singer Chris Colfer is 25. Actor Ethan Dampf is 21.

Thought for Today: "A man who limits his interests limits his life." -- Vincent Price, American actor (born this date in 1911, died 1993).

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