On This Day, May 27: Tornado outbreak kills 27 in Central Texas

UPI Staff
·3 min read
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On May 27, 1997, an F5 tornado half a mile wide ripped through the small Texas town of Jarrell, killing 27 people, including a family of five. File Photo courtesy of the National Weather Service
On May 27, 1997, an F5 tornado half a mile wide ripped through the small Texas town of Jarrell, killing 27 people, including a family of five. File Photo courtesy of the National Weather Service

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.

File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
Smoke rises from the German battleship Bismarck shortly before it sinks May 27, 1941. File Photo courtesy of the Royal Navy
Smoke rises from the German battleship Bismarck shortly before it sinks May 27, 1941. File Photo courtesy of the Royal Navy

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.

Salvation Army volunteer Ed Wizeman secures wrapping paper on a Christmas gift using Scotch tape during the first day of the Salvation Army's Toy Lift in St. Louis on November 30, 2004. On May 27, 1930, Richard Gurley Drew received a patent for his adhesive tape, which was later manufactured by 3M as Scotch tape. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Salvation Army volunteer Ed Wizeman secures wrapping paper on a Christmas gift using Scotch tape during the first day of the Salvation Army's Toy Lift in St. Louis on November 30, 2004. On May 27, 1930, Richard Gurley Drew received a patent for his adhesive tape, which was later manufactured by 3M as Scotch tape. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

In 1968, the U.S. nuclear submarine USS Scorpion was reported overdue in the Atlantic with 99 men aboard. The wreckage was located in October 1968.

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.

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
File Photo by Ricardo Watson/UPI
File Photo by Ricardo Watson/UPI

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.

On May 27, 1968, the U.S. nuclear submarine Scorpion disappeared in the Atlantic with 99 men aboard. The wreckage was located months later. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy
On May 27, 1968, the U.S. nuclear submarine Scorpion disappeared in the Atlantic with 99 men aboard. The wreckage was located months later. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy

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 2023, the Republican-led Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was under scrutiny for alleged abuse of office and other scandals for nearly a decade. He was acquitted on all charges in September 2023.

File Photo by Justin Lane/UPI
File Photo by Justin Lane/UPI