May 27 is a very famous date in history. Among the moments in history recorded on this date are:
- In 1919, a United States Navy seaplane completed the first transatlantic flight. The flight was operated by a Curtis NC-4 flying boat. The planes route originated in New York state, and ended in Lisbon, Portugal 19 days later. This long route was a result of several rest and maintenance stops along the way. The feat seemed relatively insignificant 2 weeks later, when the first nonstop transatlantic flight was completed by RAF pilots John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in only 15 hours and 57 minutes.
- In 1931, Auguste Piccard and Charles Knipfer became the first men to ever enter the stratosphere. This feat was accomplished in a balloon which reached a peak height of 51,777 feet during the 17 hour journey that began in Augsburg, German.
- In 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge in California was opened to pedestrian traffic. The 4,200 foot long suspension bridge connecting San Francisco to Marin County took 5 years to complete, with the bridge opening to vehicle traffic the following day.
- In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck was sunk by torpedoes launched by British naval air forces. The Bismarck was ordered to sail into the Atlantic Ocean by Adolf Hitler. Once in the open sea, she would become virtually impossible to hunt down. Upon gaining intelligence of her departure, Britain sent a battle fleet out to hunt her down. On May 24, the British battlecruiser HMS Hood and battleship HMS Prince of Wales located the Bismarck as the ship was making its way into the Atlantic. In a horrific battle, the HMS Hood exploded and sank after her powder magazine was struck by a shell from the German ship. Only 3 of her crew of 1,421 men survived the blast. The Bismarck managed to escape following the battle, but was leaking fuel oil due to damage it sustained during battle. As the German ship fled to France for repairs, she was sighted by British reconnaissance aircraft. She was finally crippled by torpedo aircraft launched by the HMS Ark Royal on May 27, before being finished off by the British surface fleet later that same day.
- In 1969, construction began on Walt Disney World in Florida. The new 43 square mile development was planned to compliment Disneyland, as only 5% of visitors to the California theme park came from east of the Mississippi River. Walt Disney would die on December 15, 1966, before construction of the new park began. You can watch a video of the making of Disney World at this link: Making Disney World
