By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Friday, May 28, the 148th day of 2021. There are 217 days left in the year.

Todayís Highlight in History:

On May 28, 1977, 165 people were killed when fire raced through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky.

On this date:

In 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, made up of freed Blacks, left Boston to fight for the Union in the Civil War.

In 1912, the Senate Commerce Committee issued its report on the Titanic disaster that cited a ìstate of absolute unpreparedness,î improperly tested safety equipment and an ìindifference to dangerî as some of the causes of an ìunnecessary tragedy.î

In 1918, American troops fought their first major battle during World War I as they launched an offensive against the German-held French village of Cantigny (kahn-tee-NYEEí); the Americans succeeded in capturing the village.

In 1929, the first all-color talking picture, ìOn with the Show!î produced by Warner Bros., opened in New York.

In 1934, the Dionne quintuplets — Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie and Yvonne — were born to Elzire Dionne at the family farm in Ontario, Canada.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington signaling that vehicular traffic could begin crossing the just-opened Golden Gate Bridge in California. Neville Chamberlain became prime minister of Britain.

In 1940, during World War II, the Belgian army surrendered to invading German forces.

In 1959, the U.S. Army launched Able, a rhesus monkey, and Baker, a squirrel monkey, aboard a Jupiter missile for a suborbital flight which both primates survived.

In 1964, the charter of the Palestine Liberation Organization was issued at the start of a meeting of the Palestine National Congress in Jerusalem.

In 1972, Edward, the Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the English throne to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson, died in Paris at age 77.

In 1987, to the embarrassment of Soviet officials, Mathias Rust (mah-TEEí-uhs rust), a young West German pilot, landed a private plane in Moscowís Red Square without authorization. (Rust was freed by the Soviets the following year.)

In 2003, President George W. Bush signed a 10-year, $350 billion package of tax cuts, saying they already were ìadding fuel to an economic recovery.î

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama praised Polandís transition to democracy following a meeting in Warsaw with President Bronislaw Komorowski (kah-mah-RAWFí-skee). After a four-year blockade, Egypt permanently opened the Gaza Stripís main gateway to the outside world. North Korea freed Eddie Jun, an American it had held for a half year for reportedly proselytizing.

One year ago: People torched a Minneapolis police station that the department was forced to abandon amid spreading protests over the death of George Floyd.