May 27th

Today is the Roman Catholic Feast Day of St. Augustine, (a day later than the Greek Orthodox, but there you are).

Also the Feast Day of St. Eutropius of Orange. He was Bishop of Orange in the 5th Century. His remains are interred in the altar of St. Mary Magdalene's Chapel at The London Oratory.

1199 John is crowned King of England.

1703 Tsar Peter the Great founds St. Petersburg.

1837 Wild Bill Hickok is born in Troy Grove, Illinois, best known as a gunfighter and gambler, he later became a lawman and seduced Doris Day.

1840 Composer and violinist Niccolo Paganini died from internal haemorrhaging before a priest could be summoned. Because of this and his rumoured association with the devil he was denied
a Catholic burial in Genoa. It took an appeal to the Pope four years later for the body to be transported there, even then burial was not allowed. His remains were finally laid to rest in 1876 in a cemetery in Parma.

1877 Legendary dancer Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, California. A highly controversial figure due to her open bisexuality and Soviet sympathising, she died tragically aged 50yo when her silk scarf became entangled in the open  spoked wheel and rear axle of an Amilcar sports car in which she was a passenger and broke her neck.

1907 Bubonic Plague breaks out in San Francisco.

1921 Animator Bob Godfrey, best known for Roobarb and Custard, Noah and Nelly and Henry's Cat, is born in West Maitland ,Australia.

1922 English actor and singer Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was born in Belgravia, London. Most famous for Hammer Pictures'  Count Dracula, Lee also played Felix Scaramanga in James Bond flick, The Man With The Golden Gun, then in Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit as Saruman.

1933 Walt Disney releases " The Three Little Pigs" introducing the hit song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf". Possibly the most intriguing version of the song was 1991's LL Cool J's take on the album " Simply Mad About The Mouse".

1941 The German battleship "Bismarck" is sunk by HMS Norfolk, Rodney and King George V who disabled the great ship before withdrawing and allowing HMS Dorsetshire to complete the sinking of Hitler's most famous battleship with the loss of  2,015 crew and 98 Officers.

1943 Liverpudlian, Tory Party supporting Cilla Black is born Priscilla Maria Veronica White in Liverpool.

1955 Wrestling Promoter, commentator and occasional wrestler Eric Bischoff was born in Detroit, Michigan.

1965 Australian tennis legend Pat Cash is born in Melbourne, surprisingly he was delivered without a headband!

1966 Mad scientist chef, Heston Blumenthal was born,(created?), today in London.

1967 English footballing, alcoholic great Paul Gascoigne is born in Dundton, Gateshead. He holds the World Record for being at Death's door, currently standing at 32. He also keeps several rehabilitation centres in business.

1967 Also on this day Warehouse 13 star Eddie McLintock is born in North Canton, Dakota.

1968 Journalist, Editor,Liar, Phone Hacker, Cameron shagging soon to be jailbird, Rebekah Brooks was born today as Rebekah Mary Wade in Warrington.

1969 Jesus died!
Henry Herman McKinnies Jnr. died from an intercranial haemorrhage while on a set of steps at his California home. He fell, knocked over a planter and cracked his head on a bannister which fractured his skull. Found unconscious by his wife he was rushed to hospital and underwent brain surgery, but succumbed to his injuries shortly after, he was just 42yo. Better known as Jeffrey Hunter he will always be remembered for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in " King of Kings" in 1961, though  he decided he would not star in the TV Series Star Trek as Captain Christopher Pike, after filming the pilot episode, thereby allowing a certain William Shatner an opportunity.

1971 British actor Paul Bettany, best known for stealing the film 'A Knight's Tale' from under Heath Ledger's nose, was born in Shepherd's Bush, London

1976 A good date for cooks today as James Trevor Oliver also popped into the world today in Clavering, Essex. Though at times completely unintelligible and drowning the audience, his no nonsense cooking caught the eyes of top politicians to try and reinvent school dinners, an experiment brought to a crushing standstill by the coalition when Michael Gove ordered schools to serve dried bread and water,( gruel available in the winter).

Political News: Nick Clegg continued his denial of reality today, insisting the Lib-Dems were doing fine and well and in 12 months would still be in government, as the men in white coats carried off the deputy PM, celebrating Nigel Farrrrrrrrrage claimed that, "UKIP were on an unstoppable bandwagon that was rolling through Europe like the Third Reich and would be a real force to be reckoned with!" When asked about his party's policies he snapped," Oh go away you silly woman, who cares about that? Not my voters anyhows, now where's the champers and let's go bot some Romanian layabouts!"

2011 Jeff Conaway passed away at the age of 60. Best known for the role of Kenickie in the film Grease, he also starred in Taxi and Babylon 5. His career was dogged by drug abuse, an addiction that eventually led to his death in Encino, California from pneumonia.

2013 English comedy actor, Bill Pertwee, best known as ARP Warden Hodges in Dad's Army died aged 86yo.