On This Day in History May 27, 2023

Historical Events 1679  Habeas Corpus Act passes in England, strengthening a person's right to challenge unlawful arrest and imprisonment 1703  Saint Petersburg (Leningrad) founded by Russian Tsar Peter the Great 1873  Heinrich Schliemann discovers "Priam's Treasure" a cache of gold and other objects in Hisarlik (Troy) in Anatolia 1905  Japanese fleet destroys the Russian East Sea fleet in the Battle of Tsushima, the only decisive clash between modern steel battleships in history 1940  British and Allied forces begin the evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) during WWII 1963  Jomo Kenyatta elected 1st Prime Minister of Kenya 1999  The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo 2006  Earthquake strikes Java, Indonesia at 5:53:58 AM local time (22:53:58 UTC May 26) devastating Bantul and the city of Yogyakarta, killing over 6,600 people Famous Birthdays Cornelius Vanderbilt 1794 - 1877 Ibn Khaldūn 1332 - 1406 Lisa Lopes 1971 - 2002 Rachel Carson 1907 - 1964 More Famous Birthdays Famous Deaths John Calvin 1509 - 1564 Ludovico Sforza 1452 - 1508 More Famous Deaths May 27: Ship that Changed the Face of Britain Britain was on its knees after the Second World War, its economy and infrastructure in tatters. For help the Mother Country turned to the Commonwealth. Read the Article