May 27, 1959 - Delegates of the Insurance Agent’s International Union and the Insurance Workers of America, having ratified the merger agreement at their respective conventions, convened as delegates of the merged union, the Insurance Workers International Union. The 15,000-member organization merged with the United Food and Commercial Workers in 1983.
May 27, 1980 - Hundreds, perhaps thousands were killed in the Kwangju, Korea, uprising. The massacre played a hugely important role in forcing Korean authorities finally to begin adopting democratic reforms in 1987. For more information, see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4557315.stm