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Today in History — May 27

Celebrity birthdays, highlights in history, plus more facts about this day.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Today is Sunday, May 27, the 147th day of 2007. There are 218 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County, Calif., opened to pedestrian traffic (vehicular traffic began crossing the bridge the next day).

On this date:

In 1896, 255 people were killed when a tornado struck St. Louis and East St. Louis, Ill.

In 1907, 100 years ago, marine biologist and ecologist Rachel Carson, author of “Silent Spring,” was born in Springdale, Pa.

In 1933, Walt Disney’s Academy Award-winning animated short “The Three Little Pigs” was first released.

In 1935, the Supreme Court, in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act.

In 1936, the Cunard liner Queen Mary left England on its maiden voyage to New York.

In 1941, amid rising world tensions, President Roosevelt proclaimed an “unlimited national emergency.”

In 1941, the British navy sank the German battleship Bismarck off France, with a loss of more than 2,100 lives.

In 1964, independent India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, died.

In 1977, New York fined “human fly” George H. Willig $1.10 — one penny for each of the 110 stories of the World Trade Center he scaled.

In 1985, in Beijing, representatives of England and China exchanged instruments of ratification on the pact returning Hong Kong to the Chinese in 1997.

Ten years ago: The Supreme Court ruled Paula Jones could pursue her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton while he was in office. Twenty-seven people were killed when a tornado struck Jarrell, Texas. In Paris, Russian President Boris Yeltsin joined 16 NATO leaders, including President Clinton, to sign a historic agreement giving Moscow a voice in NATO affairs. Arie Luyendyk won the Indianapolis 500 for the second time.

Five years ago: President Bush commemorated Memorial Day at Normandy American Cemetery in France, where he honored the 9,387 men and women buried there.

One year ago: A 6.3-magnitude earthquake in central Indonesia killed at least 5,800 people. Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, was born in Namibia, where the family had traveled for privacy.

Today’s Birthdays: Novelist Herman Wouk is 92. Actor Christopher Lee is 85. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is 84. Actress Lee Meriwether is 72. Musician Ramsey Lewis is 72. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 71. Rhythm-and-blues singer Raymond Sanders (The Persuasions) is 68. Country singer Don Williams is 68. Actor Bruce Weitz is 64. Singer Cilla Black is 64. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., is 63. Singer Bruce Cockburn is 62. Actor Richard Schiff is 52. Singer Siouxsie Sioux (The Creatures, Siouxsie and the Banshees) is 50. Rock singer-musician Neil Finn (The Finn Brothers) is 49. Actress Peri Gilpin is 46. Actress Cathy Silvers is 46. Actor Todd Bridges is 42. Rock musician Sean Kinney (Alice In Chains) is 41. Actor Dondre Whitfield is 38. Actor Paul Bettany is

36. Rock singer-musician Brian Desveaux (Nine Days) is 36. Country singer Jace Everett is 35. Rapper Andre 3000 (Outkast) is 32. Rapper Jadakiss is 32. TV chef Jamie Oliver is 32. Actor Ethan Dampf is 13.

Thought for Today: “One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, ’What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?”’ — Rachel Carson, American biologist-ecologist (1907-1964).