1328 – French King Philip VI of Valois crowned at the Cathedral in Reims, France
1592 – The Korean navy, led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, repels a Japanese fleet in the Battle of Sacheon, the first use of a Korean Turtle Ship
1943 – Algiers Allied Planning Conference between Winston Churchill, George C. Marshall and General Dwight D. Eisenhower finalizes the plan for the Italian Campaign
1954 – British runner Diane Leather becomes first woman to run the mile in under 5 minutes; 4:59.6 at Alexander Sports Ground in Birmingham, England
1954 – French Championships Women’s Tennis: Maureen Connolly retains her title; beats Ginette Bucaille of France 6-4, 6-1
1982 – Pentagon plans first strategy to fight a nuclear war
2004 – World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
2012 – Thousands march in protest in Johannesburg against Brett Murray’s controversial painting “The Spear”, part of the artist’s Hail to the Thief II exhibition that criticizes South Africa’s ruling party
Author: gil7
Today in History for 29th May 2026
Historical Events
1919 – Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, that when light passes a large body, gravity will bend the rays confirmed by Arthur Eddington’s expedition to photograph a solar eclipse on the island of Principe, West Africa
1943 – Algiers Allied Planning Conference between Winston Churchill, George C. Marshall and General Dwight D. Eisenhower finalizes the plan for the Italian Campaign
1969 – Britain’s Trans-Arctic expedition makes 1st crossing of Arctic Sea ice
1970 – Soviet dissident Zhores Medvedev is arrested and taken to a psychiatric hospital in Kaluga sparking protests
1983 – Indianapolis 500: Tom Sneva wins his first Indy 500; represents record 7th Indy victory for chief mechanic George Bignotti
Famous Birthdays
1929 – Peter Higgs, English theoretical physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics, 2013), born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England (d. 2024)
1946 – Fernando Buesa Blanco, Spanish politician, member of the Basque Parliament (1984-2000) and Deputy General of Álava (1987-91), born in Bilbao, Spain (d. 2000)
1962 – Eric Davis, American baseball outfielder (World Series 1990 Cincinnati Reds; MLB All-Star 1987, 89; Gold Glove 1987, 88, 89), born in Los Angeles, California
1970 – Natarsha Belling, Australian news presenter, born in Mudgee, Australia
1983 – Richard Jackson, American actor (Ryan Meyers-Saved by the Bell), born in Redlands, California
Famous Deaths
1973 – P. Ramlee, Malaysian film actor, director, singer and songwriter, dies of a heart attack at 44
1996 – Jeremy Sinden, English actor (Chariots of Fire, Ascendancy, Harem), dies at 45
1998 – Eric Atkinson, West Indian cricket fast bowler (8 Tests, 25 wickets, BB 5/42; Barbados), dies at 70
2021 – Keith Mullings, American boxer (WBC and lineal light middleweight titles 1998), dies at 53
2024 – Manfred Wolke, German boxer (Olympic gold GDR welterweight 1968), dies at 81
Famous Deaths for 28th May 2026
1089 – Lanfranc, Italian Archbishop of Canterbury (1070-89) and counsellor to William the Conqueror, dies
1891 – Winfield Scott Featherston “Old Swet”, American politician and Army Brigadier General (Confederate), dies at 70
1940 – Walter Connolly, American actor (It Happened One Night, Good Earth), dies from a stroke at 53
1973 – Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, German composer and conductor (Hassan), dies at 73
1979 – William Edmonson, American bass harmony and gospel vocalist (Southernaires), radio, stage and screen actor (Thirty Years Later), dies at 76
1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer, dies at 77
2009 – Terence Alexander, English actor (Bergerac), dies at 86
2014 – Maya Angelou [Marguerite Johnson], American author (“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots), dies at 86
2017 – John Noakes, British TV presenter, dies at 83
2019 – Edward Seaga, Jamaican politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica (1980-89) and record producer, dies at 89
Historical Events for 28th May 2026
1731 – All Hebrew books in the Vatican Papal States are confiscated
1892 – Sierra Club formed by John Muir and others in San Francisco, for conservation of nature
1906 – Julian Edwards, Alfred E. Aarons, Ren Shields, and Will D. Cobb’s musical “His Honor, the Mayor” opens at New York Theatre and runs for 104 performances
1926 – Military coup by General Manuel Gomes da Costa in Portugal
1964 – Jawaharlal Nehru cremated in New Delhi
1995 – White Sox (5) and Tigers (7) combine for record 12 HRs at Tiger Stadium
2019 – Johnson and Johnson go on trial in Oklahoma accused of deceptively marketing painkillers and downplaying risks of addiction helping create “opioid epidemic”; first of 2,000 cases against US pharmaceutical firms
2023 – Surgeons complete the world’s first whole eyeball transplant with a partial facial transplant for a US veteran lineman injured in an accident at NYU Langone Health
Today in History for 28th May 2026
Historical Events
1946 – First night game at Yankee Stadium (Senators 2, Yankees 1)
1968 – MLB: NL grants San Diego Padres a franchise
1975 – Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is established by the Treaty of Lagos
1990 – David Robilliard achieves the longest bicycle wheelie at with 5 hours, 12 minutes, and 33 seconds
2002 – NHL Eastern Conference Final: Carolina Hurricanes beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 2
Famous Birthdays
1760 – Alexandre de Beauharnais, French politician, general of the revolution and first husband of Joséphine de Beauharnais, born in Fort-Royal, Martinique, France (d. 1794)
1883 – Luigi Perrachio, Italian pianist, composer (Nove Poemetti; 25 Preludi), and pedagogue (Liceo Musicale Torino), born in Turin, Italy (d. 1966)
1925 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German baritone (Doktor Faust), born in Zehlendorf, Germany (d. 2012)
1946 – K. Satchidanandan, Indian bilingual poet, writer, editor, and translator (While I Write, Words Matter), born in Pulloot, India
1967 – Glen Rice, American basketball guard and forward (3-time NBA All Star; NBA C’ship 2000; Charlotte Hornets, NY Knicks), born in Jacksonville, Arkansas
Famous Deaths
1891 – Winfield Scott Featherston “Old Swet”, American politician and Army Brigadier General (Confederate), dies at 70
1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American politician, longest serving mayor of a major American city as Mayor of Albany (1941-83), dies at 73
2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician (b. 1945)
2008 – Robert Justman, American television producer (b. 1926)
2014 – Maya Angelou [Marguerite Johnson], American author (“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots), dies at 86
Famous Deaths for 27th May 2026
1708 – Jacques Danican Philidor, French composer, dies at 51
1887 – Coenraad Johannes van Houten, Dutch chemist and cocoa manufacturer (Dutch process chocolate), dies at 86
1947 – Ed Konetchy, American MLB player, dies at 61
1972 – Roy K. Marshall, American astronomer, TV host (Nature of Things), and first director of Morehead Planetarium, dies at 64
1986 – Gaston Duribreux, Flemish writer (Sour Dove), dies at 82
1995 – László Kalmár, Hungarian composer (Triangles), dies at 63
1995 – Ulysses Kay, American neoclassical composer (Of New Horizons: Overture), dies of Parkinson’s disease complications at 78
2007 – Ed Yost, American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and known as “Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon.”, dies at 87
2014 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director and writer (Apple Trees; Germany, Pale Mother), dies of cancer at 73
2020 – Larry Kramer, American playwright and AIDS activist, dies at 84
Historical Events for 27th May 2026
1896 – Tornado hit St Louis, killing 255, leaving thousands homeless
1950 – Morton Gould and Dorothy Field’s colonial-era musical “Arms and the Girl”, starring Nanette Fabray and Pearl Bailey, closes at 46th St Theater, NYC, after 134 performances
1984 – Indianapolis 500: 1979 champion Rick Mears wins second Indy 500 two laps ahead of the field after contenders Tom Sneva and Mario Andretti drop out in second half of the race
1984 – Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria wins three singles tennis matches in one day at the Italian Open, defeating Virginia Ruzici, Carling Bassett, and Chris Evert in the final, 6-3, 6-3; she becomes only the seventh player to defeat Evert on clay
1985 – Bands from across the US parade for President Reagan during his inauguration, filling the route with music, precision, and patriotic pageantry
1985 – Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to China in 1997
1997 – Major league revenue sharing begins, NY Yankees pay out most $28M
2006 – Super Rugby Final, Christchurch: Canterbury Crusaders retain the title with a 19-12 win over the Wellington Hurricanes; Dan Carter kicks four penalties and a conversion for the winners
Today in History for 27th May 2026
Historical Events
1930 – Richard Drew invents masking tape
1949 – MLB Cleveland Indians start 12-17, owner Bill Veeck arranges a “Second Opening Day”
1956 – US performs nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll (atmospheric tests)
1984 – Beth Henley’s “Miss Firecracker contest” premieres in NYC
2001 – Indianapolis 500: race rookie Hélio Castroneves of Brazil leads for the final 52 laps to win first of 4 Indy 500s; Penske Racing sweeps 1st-2nd with Gil de Ferran the runner-up
Famous Birthdays
1863 – Arthur Mold, English cricket fast bowler (England 3 Tests; 1,673 1st class wickets), born in Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire (d. 1921)
1867 – Arnold Bennett, English novelist (Anna of the Five Towns), born in Hanley, Staffordshire, England (d. 1931)
1909 – Isador Goodman, South African-Australian pianist and composer (New Guinea Fantasy), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 1982)
1926 – Kees Rijvers, Dutch soccer midfielder (33 caps; NAC Breda, Saint-Étienne, Feyenoord) and manager (FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), born in Breda, Netherlands (d. 2024)
1962 – Ray Borner, Australian basketball center (Olympics 1984, 88, 92, 96)
Famous Deaths
366 – Procopius, Roman usurper (b. 326)
1770 – Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Queen consort of Denmark and Norway (1730-46), dies at 69
1975 – Ezzard Charles, American world heavyweight boxing champion (1949-51), dies of ALS at 53
2017 – Gregg Allman, American Hammond organist, guitarist and vocalist (The Allman Brothers Band – “Whipping Post”), dies of cancer at 69
2018 – Connie Kurtz, American Gay Rights advocate, dies at 81
Famous Deaths for 26th May 2026
604 – Augustine of Canterbury, 1st Archbishop of Canterbury and apostle to England, dies (or 605)
1421 – Mehmed I, Ottoman Sultan (1413-21). B. 1389.
1871 – Aimé Maillart, French opera composer (Les Dragons de Villars), dies at 54
1944 – Jacob J. Hage, Dutch farmer and WW II resistance fighter, executed at 23
1947 – Nellie Neilson, PhD, American historian, first woman published in the American Historical Review, and the first female president of the American Historical Association, dies at 74
1954 – Franz Pfemfert, German journalist and writer, dies at 74
1995 – Severn Darden, American actor (Luv; The President’s Analyst; Saturday the 14th), dies at 65
1997 – Jack Jersey [de Nijs], Dutch pop singer (The Four Sweeters; Jack and Woody; The Losers), songwriter, and record producer, dies of cancer at 55
2004 – Dullah Omar, South African attorney and UDF-leader, dies at 69
2020 – Stanley Ho, Chinese casino tycoon who transformed Macao, dies at 98
Historical Events for 26th May 2026
1898 – 32nd Belmont: F Littlefield aboard Bowling Brook wins in 2:32
1946 – NY Yankee Mel Ott retires from playing to become a manager only after going 2-for-42 and hitting .048
1959 – Wreck of WWII bomber ‘Lady Be Good’ in the Libyan Desert is reached by a recovery team from US Air Force’s Wheelus Air Base in Tripoli; plane had crashed returning from initial mission on 1943
1972 – Joe Frazier TKOs Ron Stander in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
1974 – During a David Cassidy concert at London’s White City, a 14-year-old is trampled, and dies four days later
2000 – NHL Eastern Conference Final: New Jersey Devils beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 3
2021 – A super blood moon, the first total lunar eclipse in two years, is visible across the Pacific
2024 – Indianapolis 500: Defending champion Josef Newgarden of Team Penske passes Pato O’Ward in turn three on the final lap for back-to-back Indy victories