May 1927 - May 25, 1927 (Wednesday)

May 25, 1927 (Wednesday)

  • U.S. Army Lt. James H. Doolittle became the first person to perform an "outside loop", a feat that aviators had been attempting since 1912, with at least two getting killed in the attempt. Doolittle, who would later become more famous as Lt. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle for a daring raid on Tokyo, climbed to 8,000 feet over Dayton, Ohio, then turned the nose of his plane downward, being upside down at 6,000 feet, before flying back upward to his original altitude and completing the circle.
  • Born: Robert Ludlum, American novelist who wrote The Bourne Identity and its sequels, in New York City (d. 2001)
  • Died: St. Cristobal Magallanes, 57, and St. Agustin Caloca, were both shot by a firing squad at Colotitlan, Jalisco state, and later canonized.

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