Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on May 27th?

The Treaty of Copenhagen is signed, ending the Second Northern War between Denmark and Sweden and establishing the modern borders between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. More

The Habeas Corpus Act was passed in England, during the reign of King Charles II. The Act, significantly strengthening a person's right to challenge unlawful arrest and imprisonment. This landmark legislation ensured that individuals detained could be brought before a judge to determine the legality of their detention. It's considered one of the four pillars of English liberty, alongside Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the Bill of Rights. The act is often wrongly described as the origin of the writ of habeas corpus in England although the writ of habeas corpus had existed before in various forms for at least five centuries before and has been amended several times since then, it remains on the statute book to this day. 

The Russian city of St. Petersburg, named after the apostle Saint Peter is founded by Tsar Peter the Great on the site of a captured Swedish fortress. St. Petersburg is a Russian port city on the Baltic Sea and it was the imperial capital for 2 centuries. It remains Russia's cultural center. Among its many beautiful sites, architecture and art is the Bronze Horseman, an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square opened to the public in 1782. The statue influenced an 1833 poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin.

The Hells Canyon Massacre. The mass slaughter of Chinese gold miners by a gang of white horse thieves takes place, in Lewiston, Washington Territory, in what is now Idaho. This was one of many hate crimes perpetrated against Asian immigrants in the American West during this period.

The Naval engagement of Tsushima starts during the Russo-Japanese War resulting in the final, crushing defeat of the Russian navy in that conflict. The Japanese ships were superior in speed and armament and sunk two-thirds of the Russian Fleet and captured six ships during the two-day battle. More

Walt Disney releases the Three Little Pigs animated short film based on the classic fairy tale about a three pig brothers, who build their houses out of straw, sticks, and bricks to protect themselves from the Big Bad Wolf. The short won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. The story emphasizes the importance of hard work and planning ahead. The names of the pigs were Fiddler Pig, Fifer Pig, and Practical Pig. The cartoon is considered by many to be the most successful animated short ever made.

The San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge is opened to the public for the first time for “Pedestrian Day". 200,000 people strolled across the bridge to celebrate the grand opening. The next day the bridge was opened to car traffic. More

The St. Louis, a boat sailed from Hamburg carrying 937 refugees from Germany, most of whom were Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, is turned away from Havana, Cuba. Only 28 immigrants are admitted into the country. After appeals to the United States and Canada for entry are denied, the rest are forced to sail back to Europe, where they’re distributed among several countries including Great Britain and France.