1. In 1977, the deadliest aviation disaster in Ohio's history occurred on May 27 when a Southern Airways DC-9 crashed near the airport in Huntington, West Virginia, killing all 75 passengers and crew members on board. Among the victims were 47 residents of the small Ohio town of Scottown.
2. The Ohio Department of Transportation completed the final stretch of Ohio's portion of the Appalachian Highway System on May 27, 2005, with the dedication of a new four-lane highway section of U.S. Route 52 near Portsmouth. The completion of this highway system was a major infrastructure project designed to boost economic development in Appalachian regions.
3. On May 27, 1907, the Ohio state legislature established the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, a prison known for its imposing Victorian Gothic architecture. The prison was open for over 94 years and housed some of Ohio's most notorious criminals, including Charles Manson, until it closed in 1990. It now operates as a museum and tourist attraction.
4. Bob Evans, the founder of the popular Bob Evans Restaurants chain, was born on May 27, 1918, in Sugar Ridge, Ohio. Evans grew his business from a single roadside diner in southeastern Ohio to more than 600 stores nationwide before his death in 2007.
5. The National Museum of the United States Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, opened its doors on May 27, 1971. The museum houses one of the world's largest collections of historic aircraft and related artifacts, and welcomes more than one million visitors each year.