December 27
December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. (362nd in a leap year). There are 4 days remaining.
Events
- 537 - Hagia Sophia completed.
- 1703 - Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England.
- 1831 - Charles Darwin embarks on his historic journey aboard the HMS Beagle, where he will formulate the theory of evolution.
- 1836 - The worst ever avalanche in England occurs at Lewes, Sussex, killing 8 people.
- 1845 - Ether anesthetic is used for childbirth for the first time (Dr. Crawford Williamson Long in Jefferson, Georgia).
- 1904 - James Barrie's play Peter Pan premieres in London.
- 1904 - The Abbey Theatre opens.
- 1918 - Beginning of Great Poland Uprising, the Poles in Greater Poland (or Grand Duchy of Poznań) rise against the Germans.
- 1932 - Radio City Music Hall opens.
- 1945 - The World Bank is created with the signing of an agreement by 28 nations.
- 1945 - Korea is divided.
- 1947 - Howdy Doody, a children's television program, makes its debut (NBC).
- 1949 - Indonesian National Revolution: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands grants Indonesia sovereignty.
- 1968 - The long-running radio program The Breakfast Club signs off for the last time (ABC radio).
- 1978 - Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
- 1979 - The Soviet Union seizes control of Afghanistan and Babrak Karmal replaces overthrown and executed President Hafizullah Amin.
- 1985 - Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside Rome and Vienna airports.
- 1985 - American naturalist Dian Fossey is found murdered in Rwanda.
- 1996 - Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.
- 1997 - Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland.
- 2001 - The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States.
- 2002 - Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya.
Births
- 1390 - Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (d. 1411)
- 1571 - Johannes Kepler, German astronomer (d. 1630)
- 1654 - Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1705)
- 1683 - Conyers Middleton, English minister (d. 1750)
- 1715 - Philippe de Noailles, duc de Mouchy, French soldier (d. 1794)
- 1717 - Pope Pius VI (d. 1799)
- 1721 - François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher (d. 1790)
- 1773 - George Cayley, English scientist, inventor, and politician (d. 1857)
- 1822 - Louis Pasteur, French scientist (d. 1895)
- 1823 - Sir Mackenzie Bowell, fifth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1896)
- 1832 - Pavel Tretyakov, Russiand businessman and patron of art (d. 1897)
- 1879 - Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (d. 1954)
- 1888 - Thea von Harbou, German author and actress (d. 1954)
- 1896 - Carl Zuckmayer, German author and dramatist (d. 1977)
- 1896 - Louis Bromfield, American writer (d. 1956)
- 1900 - Hans Stuck, German race car driver (d. 1978)
- 1901 - Marlene Dietrich, German actress and singer (d. 1992)
- 1906 - Oscar Levant, American pianist, composer, and actor (d. 1972)
- 1907 - Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and writer (d. 1999)
- 1910 - Charles Olson, American poet (d. 1970)
- 1915 - William Masters, American gynecologist (d. 2001)
- 1915 - Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer
- 1917 - Onni Palaste, Finnish writer
- 1920 - Bruce Hobbs, American jockey (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Michel Piccoli, French actor
- 1927 - Agnes Nixon, American television producer, director, and writer
- 1934 - Larisa Latynina, Russian gymnast
- 1939 - John Amos, American actor
- 1941 - Michael Pinder, British musician (Moody Blues)
- 1943 - Cokie Roberts, American journalist
- 1943 - Peter Sinfield, British lyricist and producer
- 1943 - Joan Manuel Serrat, Spanish Musician
- 1943 - Pete Quaife, British musician (Kinks)
- 1944 - Mick Jones, British musician (Foreigner)
- 1948 - Gérard Depardieu, French actor
- 1949 - Carson Kievman, American composer
- 1950 - Roberto Bettega, Italian footballer
- 1950 - Terry Bozzio, American drummer (Missing Persons)
- 1951 - David Knopfler, British musician (Dire Straits)
- 1952 - Karla Bonoff, American singer/songwriter
- 1959 - Gerina Dunwich, American author
- 1959 - Andre Tippett, American football player
- 1960 - Maryam d'Abo, British actress
- 1965 - Salman Khan, Indian actor
- 1966 - Bill Goldberg, American football player and professional wrestler
- 1969 - Sarah Vowell, American author and journalist
- 1971 - Joanie Laurer, American professional wrestler
- 1971 - Duncan Ferguson, Scottish footballer
- 1972 - Matt Slocum, American musician (Sixpence None The Richer)
- 1973 - Wilson Cruz, Puerto Rican actor
- 1975 - Heather O'Rourke, American actress (d. 1988)
- 1979 - David Dunn, English footballer
- 1979 - Carson Palmer, American football player
- 1981 - Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
Deaths
- 418 - Zosimus, Greek pope
- 1076 - Prince Svyatoslav II of Kiev (b. 1027)
- 1381 - Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, English politician
- 1548 - Francesco Spiera, Italian protestant jurist (b. 1502)
- 1603 - Thomas Cartwright, English Puritan clergyman
- 1707 - Jean Mabillon, French palaeograopher and diplomat (b. 1632)
- 1737 - William Bowyer, English printer (b. 1663)
- 1743 - Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (b. 1659)
- 1771 - Henri Pitot, French engineer (b. 1695)
- 1782 - Henry Home, Lord Kames, Scottish philosopher (b. 1697)
- 1800 - Hugh Blair, Scottish preacher and man of letters (b. 1718)
- 1812 - Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Lithuanian rabbi and founder of Chabad Hasidism (b. 1745)
- 1836 - Stephen F. Austin, American pioneer (b. 1793)
- 1858 - Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French composer (b. 1785)
- 1896 - John Brown, British manufacturer (b. 1816)
- 1900 - William George Armstrong, English inventor, industrialist, and engineer (b. 1810)
- 1914 - Charles Martin Hall, American chemist and inventor (b. 1863)
- 1923 - Gustave Eiffel, French engineer and architect (b. 1832)
- 1925 - Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (b. 1895)
- 1938 - Calvin Bridges, geneticist (b. 1889)
- 1938 - Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet (b. 1891)
- 1950 - Max Beckmann, German painter (b. 1884)
- 1953 - Julian Tuwim, Polish poet (b. 1894)
- 1955 - Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, English soldier (b. 1881)
- 1966 - Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (b. 1906)
- 1972 - Lester B. Pearson, fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1897)
- 1974 - Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock, Russian physicist (b. 1898)
- 1978 - Houari Boumédienne, President of Algeria (b. 1932)
- 1981 - Hoagy Carmichael, American composer and singer (b. 1899)
- 1988 - Hal Ashby, American film director (b. 1929)
- 1992 - Kay Boyle, American writer (b. 1902)
- 1997 - Brendan Gill, American columnist and humorist (b. 1914)
- 1997 - Billy Wright, Irish Protestant paramilitary leader (b. 1960)
- 2002 - George Roy Hill, American film director (b. 1922)
- 2003 - Alan Bates, English actor (b. 1934)
- 2003 - Ivan Calderon, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player (murdered) (b. 1962
- 2004 - Hank Garland, Nashville studio musician (b. 1930)
Holidays and Observances
- R.C. Saints - John the Apostle and Evangelist
- Also see December 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- The second day of Christmas in Western Christianity.
- a bank holiday in Britain and elsewhere if 25 or 26 December falls in the weekend.
External links
December 26 - December 28 - November 27 - January 27 -- listing of all days