May 27

Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland at the age of twelve following the death of his grandfather.

Malcolm IV became King of Scotland at just twelve years old following the death of his grandfather, David I, beginning a reign, earning him the nickname "Malcolm the Maiden," during which powerful regional nobles wielded significant influence and occasionally openly challenged royal authority during his prolonged minority.

John is crowned King of England, beginning a reign later marked by the signing of Magna Carta.

John, the youngest and previously least favored son of Henry II, was crowned King of England following the death of his elder brother Richard the Lionheart, beginning a controversial and often unsuccessful reign later defined by costly military losses in France, conflict with powerful English barons, and the eventual forced signing of Magna Carta near the end of his life.

Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg, which becomes the capital of the Russian Empire.

Tsar Peter the Great founded the city of Saint Petersburg on marshy, swampy land at the mouth of the Neva River, intending it as a modern, Western-facing "window to Europe" built largely through forced labor, and it later became the opulent imperial capital of the Russian Empire for two centuries.

A powerful tornado strikes St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people.

A powerful tornado tore through St. Louis, Missouri, and neighboring East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing extensive destruction to buildings and river traffic along the Mississippi, ranking among the deadliest single tornadoes ever recorded in American history.

The Battle of Tsushima begins, in which Japan's navy delivers a crushing defeat to Russia's fleet during the Russo-Japanese War.

The climactic Battle of Tsushima began as the Imperial Japanese Navy engaged Russia's Baltic Fleet, which had sailed roughly eighteen thousand miles halfway around the world only to suffer an overwhelming, decisive defeat that helped force an end to the Russo-Japanese War and stunned Western military observers.

The Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic in San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrian traffic in San Francisco a full day before vehicle traffic began, drawing enormous, enthusiastic crowds of roughly 200,000 people eager to walk across what was then, at nearly 4,200 feet, the longest suspension bridge span ever built in the world.

The German battleship Bismarck is sunk by British naval forces in the North Atlantic, killing nearly 2,100 crew members.

The German battleship Bismarck was cornered by a large British naval task force and sunk in the North Atlantic following an intense multi-day pursuit involving torpedo bombers and battleships, killing nearly 2,100 of its crew in a decisive act of retaliation for its earlier destruction of HMS Hood.

Australians vote overwhelmingly in a referendum to grant Indigenous Australians full citizenship rights and representation.

Australians voted overwhelmingly, with over 90 percent in favor, in a national constitutional referendum to grant the federal government explicit authority to legislate specifically for Indigenous Australians and to formally count them for the first time in the national census, correcting a longstanding constitutional exclusion.

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes Yogyakarta, Indonesia, killing more than 5,700 people.

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck near the historic city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, killing more than 5,700 people and destroying or damaging hundreds of thousands of homes across the densely populated island of Java, prompting a large-scale international humanitarian relief response.

Barack Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park.

Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, laying a wreath at the cenotaph and delivering remarks calling for nuclear disarmament, though he stopped short of formally apologizing on behalf of the United States for the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.