On this day

May 27, 1939

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from May 27, 1939

14 LINERS TIED UP AS STRIKE IS BEGUN IN COASTAL SERVICE; Eastern Stops All Operation, Asserts That Its Men Voted 3 to 1 Against Walkout UNION LEADERS BLAMED Line Says It Cannot Meet the Demands of Labor Chiefs Who Came From West

By Unknown Author

The Eastern Steamship Lines and allied services announced last night cancellation of all its immediate sailings along the Atlantic Coast and to Bermuda, and officials indicated that the company would tie up its entire fleet of fourteen vessels today.

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Mrs. Roosevelt a Guest As Hotel Fire Breaks Out

By the Associated Press

Arthurdale Inn room damaged

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109 Czechs Ask Places In French Foreign Legion

By Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES

Czech refugees seek to enlist in Foreign Legion

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ROOSEVELT PLEADS FOR UTILITY ACCORD IN PUBLIC INTEREST; He Challenges Companies to Cooperate for Wider Use of Electricity, Lower Costs CITES PLAN FOR NEW YORK Commends Program Outlined by State Power Authority-- Leaves for Hyde Park

By Felix Belair Jr. Special To the New York Times

cited by Roosevelt; sent to Sen and House Mil Coms

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DIVERS CLEAR WAY TO RAISE SQUALUS; PONTOONS TESTED; Calm Sea Enables Descents All Day to Prepare Craft for Plan Devised by Experts LONGER PROCESS FAVORED Floating Tanks Would Lift Submarine--Neglect and Sabotage Rumors Denied

By Marshall Newton Special To the New York Times

PORTSMOUTH, N.H., May 26.-- Rescue accomplished, with thirtythree of the crew of fifty-nine aboard the Squalus saved, the navy settled down today to the more tedious task of salvage of the $5,000,000 submarine.

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Notable Births

1939Simon Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns, English courtier and businessman^[†]

Simon Dallas Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns,, styled Viscount Garmoyle between 1946 and 1989, is a British businessman.

1939Yves Duhaime, Canadian captain and politician^[†]

Yves Duhaime is a former politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as Cabinet Member and Member of the National Assembly of Quebec.

1939Sokratis Kokkalis, Greek businessman^[†]

Sokratis Kokkalis is a Greek businessman, founder and principal shareholder of Intracom Holdings.

1939Gerald Ronson, English businessman and philanthropist^[†]

Sir Gerald Maurice Ronson is a British businessman, philanthropist, and convicted criminal. In the 1980s, he was one of the 'Guinness Four' involved in a trading fraud, for which he served six month in prison. He is a long-time supporter of Jewish charities, and was knighted for this charitable work in the UK's 2024 New Years Honours List.

1939Lionel Sosa, Mexican-American advertising and marketing executive^[†]

Lionel Sosa is a Mexican-American advertising and marketing executive.

1939Don Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2017)^[†]

Donald Ray Williams was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing 17 number-one country hits. His straightforward yet smooth bass-baritone voice, soft tones, and imposing build earned him the nickname "The Gentle Giant". In 1975, Williams starred in a movie with Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed called W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings.

Notable Deaths

1939Joseph Roth, Austrian-French journalist and author (born 1894)^[†]

Moses Joseph Roth was an Austrian-Jewish journalist and novelist, best known for his family saga Radetzky March (1932), about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his novel of Jewish life Job (1930) and his seminal essay "Juden auf Wanderschaft", a fragmented account of the Jewish migrations from eastern to western Europe in the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution. In the 21st century, publications in English of Radetzky March and of collections of his journalism from Berlin and Paris created a revival of interest in Roth.