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UPI Almanac for Monday, May 27, 2019

On May 27, 1943, former Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini's B-24 bomber crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a rescue mission. He and one other survivor were captured by the Japanese and made prisoners of war. His story became the subject of the book Unbroken and a film by the same name directed by Angelina Jolie.

By United Press International
On May 27, 1943, former Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini's B-24 bomber crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a rescue mission. File Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration
On May 27, 1943, former Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini's B-24 bomber crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a rescue mission. File Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

Today is Monday, May 27, the 147th day of 2019 with 218 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars and Saturn.

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Today is Memorial Day in the United States.


Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include financier Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1794; social reformer Amelia Bloomer, for whom the undergarment was named, in 1818; poet Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the lyrics for "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," in 1819; frontiersman James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok in 1837; detective novelist Dashiell Hammett in 1894; writer Rachel Carson in 1907; composer Harold Rome in 1908; Hubert Humphrey, U.S. vice president/longtime U.S. senator, in 1911; actor Vincent Price in 1911; author Herman Wouk in 1915; actor Christopher Lee in 1922; former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1923 (age 96); writer Harlan Ellison in 1934; jazz musician Ramsey Lewis in 1935 (age 84); actor Lee Meriwether in 1935 (age 84); actor Louis Gossett Jr. in 1936 (age 83); singer/songwriter Don Williams in 1939; actor Bruce Weitz in 1943 (age 76); actor Peri Gilpin in 1961 (age 58); actor Todd Bridges in 1965 (age 54); actor Joseph Fiennes in 1970 (age 49); actor Paul Bettany in 1971 (age 48); singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in 1971; actor Jack McBrayer in 1973 (age 46); celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in 1975 (age 44); rapper Andre 3000, born Andre Benjamin, in 1975 (age 44); actor Shanola Hampton in 1977 (age 42); actor Chris Colfer in 1990 (age 29); actor/model Lily-Rose Depp in 1999 (age 20).

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On this date in history:

In 1703, Czar Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg as the new capital of Russia.

In 1930, Richard Gurley Drew received a patent for his adhesive tape, which was later manufactured by 3M as Scotch tape.

In 1937, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge was opened. An estimated 200,000 people crossed it the first day.

In 1941, after attacks by British ships and planes, the German battleship Bismarck sank 400 miles west of the French port of Brest.

In 1943, former Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini's B-24 bomber crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a rescue mission. He and one other survivor were captured by the Japanese and made prisoners of war. His story became the subject of the book Unbroken and a film by the same name directed by Angelina Jolie.

In 1968, the U.S. nuclear submarine Scorpion disappeared in the Atlantic with 99 men aboard. The wreckage was located months later.

In 1990, Cesar Gaviria, 34, was elected president of Colombia after a campaign in which three candidates were killed. He vowed to make no deals with the cocaine cartels.

In 1992, hours after a Russian-brokered cease-fire went into effect in Bosnia, Serb guerrillas launched a surprise mortar bombardment on Sarajevo, killing at least 20 people and injuring up to 160 more waiting in lines to buy bread.

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In 1997, an F5 tornado half a mile wide ripped through the small Texas town of Jarrell, killing 27 people, including a family of five.

In 2004, a federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld Oregon's law authorizing doctors to help their terminally ill patients kill themselves.

In 2006, an earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Java, killing approximately 5,000 people and leaving an estimated 200,000 homeless.

In 2018, Will Power became the first Australian to win the Indianapolis 500, edging out Ed Carpenter and Scott Dixon.


A thought for the day: "If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in." -- Rachel Carson

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