Whitsunday, or Pentecost, is the seventh Sunday after Easter. For Christians, this commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit in tongues of flame upon the apostles. Because the disciples were said to have begun baptizing thousands of people soon afterward, Whitsunday or Pentecost became the traditional time for baptisms. Whit, a corruption of white, refers to the white baptismal garments worn on this day. It is also a time of spring festivals throughout Europe, with echoes of pagan spring rites such as morris dancing and dressing a young boy in greenery (Jack-in-the-Green) and marching him through the village.
Daily Calendar for Sunday, May 16, 2027
Explore Other Dates on the Calendar
Daily Calendar
View daily calendar information including holidays, advice, and daily features.
Sunday, May 16, 2027
Born
- William Henry Seward (politician) –
- Henry Fonda (actor) –
- Studs Terkel (writer) –
- Theodore Holmes Bullock (neuroscientist) –
- Liberace (entertainer) –
- Pierce Brosnan (actor) –
- Olga Korbut (Olympic gold medalist/gymnast) –
- Debra Winger (actress) –
- Joan Benoit Samuelson (runner, Olympic gold medalist) –
- Janet Jackson (singer) –
- Tracey Gold (actress) –
- Tucker Carlson (television commentator) –
- David Boreanaz (actor) –
- Jim Sturgess (actor) –
- Thomas Sangster (actor) –
Died
- Andy Kaufman (comedian & actor) –
- Sammy Davis Jr. (entertainer) –
- Jim Henson (creator of The Muppets) –
Events
- Marie Antoinette (age 14) married future King Louis XVI of France (age 15) –
- U.S. Congress gave authorization to mint the nickel –
- Charles Elmer Hires invented root beer –
- A dam on the Mill River in western Massachusetts broke, causing a deadly flash flood –
- Grand League of the American Horseshoe Pitchers Association was organized in Kansas City, Kansas –
- Joan of Arc was canonized –
- President John F. Kennedy began a 3-day visit to Canada –
- Fire broke out at tire dump, St-Amable, Quebec –
- In downtown Houston, Texas, large, black grackles, in an effort to protect their fallen offspring, attacked the heads, hair, and backs of pedestrians. –
- Canadian Victoria Cross unveiled –
- Discovery of 2.6-billion-year-old water in Ontario mine announced –
Weather
- Due to a dam break on the Mill River, a flash flood caused 143 deaths near Northampton, Massachusetts –
- Portland, Maine, received 4.88 inches of rain in 24 hours –
- The temperature in Blitzen, Oregon, was 108 degrees F, a record high for this date –
- Tornado in Portland, Maine –
- Sioux City, Iowa, set daily minimum and maximum temperature records within the same day—the low was 33 degrees F; the high was 91 degrees F –