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

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

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. 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.