December 27
| December 27 in recent years |
| 2023 (Wednesday) |
| 2022 (Tuesday) |
| 2021 (Monday) |
| 2020 (Sunday) |
| 2019 (Friday) |
| 2018 (Thursday) |
| 2017 (Wednesday) |
| 2016 (Tuesday) |
| 2015 (Sunday) |
| 2014 (Saturday) |
December 27 is the 361st day of the year (362nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; four days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 537 – The Hagia Sophia is completed.
- 1512 – The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regard to native Indians in the New World.
- 1655 – Second Northern War/the Deluge: Monks at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa are successful in fending off a month-long siege.
- 1657 – The Flushing Remonstrance is signed.
- 1703 – Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England.
- 1814 – War of 1812: The American schooner USS Carolina is destroyed. It was the last of Commodore Daniel Patterson's makeshift fleet that fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
- 1831 – Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard the HMS Beagle, during which he will begin to 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 by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia.
- 1911 – "Jana Gana Mana", the national anthem of India, is first sung in the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress.
- 1918 – The Great Poland Uprising against the Germans begins.
- 1922 – Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō becomes the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.
- 1923 – Daisuke Namba, a Japanese student, tries to assassinate the Prince Regent Hirohito.
- 1927 – Show Boat, considered to be the first true American musical play, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway.
- 1932 – Radio City Music Hall, "Showplace of the Nation", opens in New York, New York.
- 1939 – Erzincan, Turkey is hit by an earthquake, killing 30,000.
- 1939 – Winter War: Finland holds off a Soviet Union attack in the Battle of Kelja.
- 1942 – The Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia is founded.
- 1945 – The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are created with the signing of an agreement by 29 nations.
- 1949 – Indonesian National Revolution: The Netherlands officially recognizes Indonesian independence. End of the Dutch East Indies.
- 1966 – The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, is discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
- 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital manned mission to the Moon.
- 1978 – Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
- 1979 – The Soviet Union invades the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
- 1985 – Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside Rome, Italy and Vienna, Austria airports.
- 1996 – Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan.
- 1997 – Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
- 2001 – 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, Russia.
- 2004 – Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet.
- 2007 – Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a shooting incident.
- 2007 – Riots erupt in Mombasa, Kenya, after Mwai Kibaki is declared the winner of the presidential election, triggering a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis.
- 2008 – Israel launches 3-week operation on Gaza - Operation Cast Lead.
- 2009 – Iranian election protests: On the Day of Ashura in Tehran, Iran, government security forces fire upon demonstrators.
Births
- 1390 – Anne de Mortimer, Irish wife of Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (d. 1411)
- 1571 – Johannes Kepler, German astronomer (d. 1630)
- 1572 – Johannes Vodnianus Campanus, Czech composer, poet, and playwright (d. 1622)
- 1654 – Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1705)
- 1683 – Conyers Middleton, English clergyman (d. 1750)
- 1714 – George Whitefield, English-American preacher (d. 1770)
- 1715 – Philippe de Noailles, French soldier (d. 1794)
- 1717 – Pope Pius VI (d. 1799)
- 1721 – François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher (d. 1790)
- 1761 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal (d. 1818)
- 1773 – George Cayley, English engineer (d. 1857)
- 1776 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1811)
- 1796 – Mirza Ghalib, Indian poet (d. 1869)
- 1803 – François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian activist (d. 1839)
- 1822 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (d. 1895)
- 1823 – Mackenzie Bowell, Canadian politician, 5th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1917)
- 1832 – Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tretyakov Gallery (d. 1897)
- 1858 – Juan Luis Sanfuentes, Chilean politician, 17th President of Chile (d. 1930)
- 1863 – Louis Lincoln Emmerson, American politician, 27th Governor of Illinois (d. 1941)
- 1864 – Hermann-Paul, French painter and illustrator (d. 1940)
- 1879 – Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (d. 1954)
- 1883 – Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American financier, businessman, and philanthropist (d. 1979)
- 1888 – Thea von Harbou, German author and actress (d. 1954)
- 1892 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian pilot (d. 1917)
- 1896 – Louis Bromfield, American author (d. 1956)
- 1896 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (d. 1952)
- 1896 – Carl Zuckmayer, German author and playwright (d. 1977)
- 1900 – Hans Stuck, German race car driver (d. 1978)
- 1901 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (d. 1992)
- 1901 – Irene Handl, English actress (d. 1987)
- 1906 – Oscar Levant, American pianist, composer, and actor (d. 1972)
- 1907 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (d. 1999)
- 1907 – Mary Howard, English author (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Conrad L. Raiford, American baseball player and activist (d. 2002)
- 1907 – Willem van Otterloo, Dutch conductor and composer (d. 1978)
- 1909 – James Riddell, English skier and author (d. 2000)
- 1910 – Charles Olson, American poet (d. 1970)
- 1911 – Anna Russell, English-Canadian singer and actress (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Mary Kornman, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1915 – William H. Masters, American gynecologist (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer (d. 1999)
- 1916 – Werner Baumbach, German pilot (d. 1953)
- 1917 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan Tamil academic and lawyer (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (d. 2009)
- 1918 – John Celardo, American illustrator (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Charles Sweeney, American general (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Bruce Hobbs, American jockey (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Bruno Bobak, Polish-Canadian painter (d. 2012)
- 1924 – James A. McClure, American politician (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Maurice Bambier, French politician (d. 1994)
- 1925 – Michel Piccoli, French actor, singer, director, and producer
- 1926 – Jerome Courtland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Antony Gardner, English politician (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Nityanand Swami, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Uttarakhand (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Audrey Wagner, American baseball player (d. 1984)
- 1930 – Marshall Sahlins, American anthropologist
- 1930 – Wilfrid Sheed, English-American author (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Scotty Moore, American guitarist (The Blue Moon Boys)
- 1934 – Larisa Latynina, Russian gymnast
- 1938 – Stanislav Stanojevic, Serbian-French director, screenwriter, and actor
- 1939 – John Amos, American actor
- 1941 – Mike Pinder, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (The Moody Blues)
- 1941 – Nolan Richardson, American basketball player and coach
- 1942 – Byron Browne, American baseball player
- 1942 – Charmian Carr, American actress and singer
- 1942 – Thomas Menino, American politician, 53rd Mayor of Boston
- 1942 – Ron Rothstein, American basketball player and coach
- 1943 – Cokie Roberts, American journalist
- 1943 – Joan Manuel Serrat, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – Peter Sinfield, English songwriter and producer
- 1943 – Roy White, American baseball player
- 1944 – Mick Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Foreigner and Spooky Tooth)
- 1944 – Tracy Nelson, American singer (Mother Earth)
- 1946 – Lenny Kaye, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1946 – Joyce Spiliotis, American politician (d. 2012)
- 1946 – Janet Street-Porter, English journalist and producer
- 1947 – Bill Eadie, American wrestler
- 1947 – Janet Perry, American soprano
- 1947 – Willy Polleunis, Belgian runner
- 1947 – Mickey Redmond, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1948 – Gérard Depardieu, French actor
- 1950 – Haris Alexiou, Greek singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Roberto Bettega, Italian footballer
- 1950 – Terry Bozzio, American drummer and songwriter (Missing Persons UK, and HoBoLeMa)
- 1950 – Morgan Chu, American lawyer
- 1950 – Doug Stone, Canadian voice actor
- 1951 – Ernesto Zedillo, Mexican economist and politician, 54th President of Mexico
- 1952 – Karla Bonoff, American singer-songwriter (Bryndle)
- 1952 – Tovah Feldshuh, American actress and singer
- 1952 – Jay Hill, Canadian politician
- 1952 – David Knopfler, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Dire Straits)
- 1952 – Raimund Krauth, German footballer (d. 2012)
- 1955 – E. E. Bell, American actor
- 1955 – Brad Murphey, Australian race car driver
- 1955 – Barbara Olson, American journalist (d. 2001)
- 1957 – Jerry Gaskill, American drummer (King's X)
- 1957 – Greg Mortenson, American author
- 1958 – Barbara Crampton, American actress
- 1958 – Steve Jones, American golfer
- 1958 – Norbert Schmitz, German footballer (d. 1998)
- 1959 – Gerina Dunwich, American author
- 1959 – Andre Tippett, American football player
- 1960 – Maryam d'Abo, English actress
- 1960 – Victoria Paige Meyerink, American actress and producer
- 1960 – Donald Nally, American conductor
- 1962 – Mark Few, American basketball coach
- 1962 – Bill Self, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Sherri Steinhauer, American golfer
- 1962 – Pierlucio Tinazzi, Italian security guard (d. 1999)
- 1963 – Gaspar Noé, Argentinian-French director
- 1964 – Ian Gomez, American actor
- 1964 – Theresa Randle, American actress
- 1965 – Salman Khan, Indian actor
- 1965 – Chris Mainwaring, Australian footballer (d. 2007)
- 1966 – Wendy Coakley-Thompson, American author
- 1966 – Bill Goldberg, American football player, wrestler, and actor
- 1966 – Eva LaRue, American actress
- 1966 – Fabian Núñez, American politician
- 1969 – Jean-Christophe Boullion, French race car driver
- 1969 – Sarah Vowell, American author and journalist
- 1970 – Chyna, American wrestler and actress
- 1970 – Brendon Cook, Australian race car driver
- 1970 – Tracey Cherelle Jones, American actress
- 1970 – Lorenzo Neal, American football player
- 1971 – Duncan Ferguson, Scottish footballer
- 1971 – Jason Hawes, American paranormal investigator and author, founded The Atlantic Paranormal Society
- 1971 – Bryan Smolinski, American ice hockey player
- 1971 – Savannah Guthrie, American journalist and co-host of The Today Show
- 1972 – Thomas Wilson Brown, American actor
- 1972 – Colin Charvis, Welsh rugby player
- 1972 – Kevin Ollie, American basketball player
- 1972 – Matt Slocum, American guitarist and songwriter (Sixpence None the Richer)
- 1973 – Wilson Cruz, Puerto Rican actor
- 1973 – Dee Ferris, English painter
- 1973 – Kristoffer Zegers, Dutch composer and pianist
- 1974 – Masi Oka, Japanese-American actor
- 1974 – Fumiko Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1974 – Jay Pandolfo, American ice hockey player
- 1974 – Edgar Ponce, Mexican actor and dancer (d. 2005)
- 1975 – Heather O'Rourke, American actress (d. 1988)
- 1976 – Nikolaos Georgeas, Greek footballer
- 1976 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (d. 2009)
- 1976 – Fernando Pisani, Canadian-Italian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Aaron Stanford, American actor
- 1977 – Jacqueline Pillon, Canadian actress
- 1978 – Deuce McAllister, American football player
- 1979 – David Dunn, English footballer
- 1979 – Carson Palmer, American football player
- 1980 – Bernard Berrian, American football player
- 1980 – Antonio Cesaro, Swiss wrestler
- 1980 – Cas Haley, American singer and guitarist
- 1980 – Dahntay Jones, American basketball player
- 1981 – David Aardsma, American baseball player
- 1981 – Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
- 1981 – Javine Hylton, English singer
- 1981 – Moise Joseph, American-Haitian runner
- 1981 – Patrick Sharp, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Anthony Boric, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Cole Hamels, American baseball player
- 1984 – Pleasure P, American singer-songwriter and producer (Pretty Ricky)
- 1984 – Gilles Simon, French tennis player
- 1985 – Logan Bailly, Belgian footballer
- 1985 – Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Belgian race car driver
- 1985 – Paul Stastny, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1988 – Zavon Hines, Jamaican-English footballer
- 1988 – Rick Porcello, American baseball player
- 1988 – Ok Taecyeon, South Korean rapper, dancer, and actor (2PM)
- 1988 – Hayley Williams, American singer-songwriter (Paramore)
- 1989 – Ingrid Várgas Calvo, Peruvian tennis player
- 1990 – Lazaro Arbos, Cuban-American singer
- 1990 – Milos Raonic, Canadian tennis player
- 1991 – Chloe Bridges, American actress
- 1991 – Danny Wilson, Scottish footballer
- 1997 – Ana Konjuh, Croatian tennis player
Deaths
- 1076 – Sviatoslav II of Kiev (b. 1027)
- 1087 – Bertha of Savoy, (b. 1051)
- 1381 – Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, English politician (b. 1352)
- 1543 – George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1484)
- 1548 – Francesco Spiera, Italian jurist (b. 1502)
- 1603 – Thomas Cartwright, English clergyman (b. 1535)
- 1704 – Hans Albrecht von Barfus, Prussian field marshal and politician (b. 1635)
- 1707 – Jean Mabillon, French monk and scholar (b. 1632)
- 1737 – William Bowyer, English printer (b. 1663)
- 1743 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (b. 1659)
- 1771 – Henri Pitot, French engineer, invented the Pitot tube (b. 1695)
- 1782 – Henry Home, Lord Kames, Scottish judge and philosopher (b. 1697)
- 1800 – Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (b. 1718)
- 1812 – Joanna Southcott, English prophet (b. 1750)
- 1812 – Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Lithuanian rabbi (b. 1745)
- 1834 – Charles Lamb, English author (b. 1775)
- 1836 – Stephen F. Austin, American army officer and politician (b. 1793)
- 1858 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French composer and pianist (b. 1785)
- 1896 – John Brown, English businessman (b. 1816)
- 1900 – William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, English engineer and businessman, founded Armstrong Whitworth (b. 1810)
- 1914 – Charles Martin Hall, American chemist (b. 1863)
- 1923 – Gustave Eiffel, French engineer and architect, co-designed the Eiffel Tower (b. 1832)
- 1925 – Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (b. 1895)
- 1938 – Calvin Bridges, American geneticist (b. 1889)
- 1938 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet (b. 1891)
- 1950 – Max Beckmann, German painter (b. 1884)
- 1952 – Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian priest, author, and educator (b. 1878)
- 1953 – Julian Tuwim, Polish poet (b. 1894)
- 1955 – Alfred Carpenter, English navy officer (b. 1881)
- 1956 – Lambert McKenna, Irish lexicographer (b. 1870)
- 1958 – Harry Warner, Polish-American film producer, co-founded Warner Bros. (b. 1881)
- 1965 – Edgar Ende, German painter (b. 1901)
- 1966 – Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (b. 1905)
- 1972 – Lester B. Pearson, Canadian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1974 – Vladimir Fock, Russian physicist (b. 1898)
- 1978 – Chris Bell American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Big Star) (b. 1951)
- 1978 – Houari Boumediene, Algerian politician, 2nd President of Algeria (b. 1932)
- 1978 – Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
- 1979 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan politician, 2nd President of Afghanistan (b. 1929)
- 1981 – Hoagy Carmichael, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Jack Swigert, American astronaut (b. 1931)
- 1985 – Dian Fossey, American zoologist (b. 1932)
- 1988 – Hal Ashby, American director (b. 1929)
- 1992 – Kay Boyle, American author (b. 1902)
- 1993 – Feliks Kibbermann, Estonian chess player and philologist (b. 1902)
- 1993 – André Pilette, Belgian race car driver (b. 1918)
- 1994 – Fanny Cradock, English chief, author, and critic (b. 1909)
- 1994 – J. B. L. Reyes, Filipino jurist (b. 1902)
- 1995 – Shura Cherkassky, Ukrainian-American pianist (b. 1909)
- 1995 – Genrikh Kasparyan, Armenian chess player (b. 1910)
- 1997 – Brendan Gill, American journalist (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Billy Wright, English-Irish commander (b. 1960)
- 2002 – George Roy Hill, American director (b. 1922)
- 2003 – Alan Bates, English actor (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1962)
- 2003 – Vestal Goodman, American singer (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Hank Garland, American guitarist (b. 1930)
- 2005 – William Doody, Canadian politician (b. 1931)
- 2007 – Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani politician, 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1953)
- 2007 – Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Polish director (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Jaan Kross, Estonian author (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Delaney Bramlett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Delaney & Bonnie) (b. 1939)
- 2008 – Robert Graham, Mexican sculptor (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Isaac Schwartz, Ukrainian composer (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Catê, Brazilian footballer (b. 1973)
- 2011 – Michael Dummett, English philosopher (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Helen Frankenthaler, American abstract expressionist painter (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Johnny Wilson, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Valentin Boreyko, Russian rower (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Harry Carey, Jr., American actor (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Lloyd Charmers, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (The Uniques) (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Maurice Paul Delorme, French bishop (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Hamid Ghodse, Iranian-English academic (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Sohrab Hossain, Bangladeshi singer (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Jorma Kortelainen, Finnish skier (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Tingye Li, Chinese-American physicist (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Edgar May, American politician (b. 1929)
- 2012 – John Quimby, American politician (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Albert Riederer, American jurist and politician (b. 1945)
- 2012 – Archie Roy, Scottish astronomer (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Jesco von Puttkamer, German-American engineer (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Mlađa Veselinović, Serbian actor (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Salt Walther, American race car driver (b. 1947)
Holidays and observances
- Christian Feast Day:
- Constitution Day (North Korea)
- St. Stephen's Day (Eastern Orthodox Church; a public holiday in Romania)
- The third day of Christmas (Western Christianity)
External links
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