December 27

Events

• 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.
• 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 twenty 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 Mortimer
• 1571 - Johannes Kepler, German astronomer (d. 1630)
• 1654 - Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1705)
• 1717 - Pope Pius VI (d. 1799)
• 1773 - George Cayley, naturalist, physical scientist, engineer, inventor, politician (d. 1857)
• 1822 - Louis Pasteur, French scientist d. 1895)
• 1823 - Sir Mackenzie Bowell, fifth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1896)
• 1851 - Percy Gilchrist, metallurgist (d. 1935)
• 1860 - David Hendricks Bergey, bacteriologist (d. 1937)
• 1879 - Sydney Greenstreet, actor (d. 1954)
• 1888 - Thea von Harbou, author and actress (d. 1954)
• 1896 - Carl Zuckmayer, author and dramatist (d. 1977)
• 1896 - Louis Bromfield, writer (d. 1956)
• 1900 - Hans Stuck, automobile racer (d. 1978)
• 1901 - Marlene Dietrich, German actress and singer (d. 1992)
• 1906 - Oscar Levant, composer, actor (d. 1972)
• 1907 - Sebastian Haffner, publicist (d. 1999)
• 1915 - William Masters, sexologist (d. 2001)
• 1925 - Michel Piccoli, actor
• 1927 - Agnes Nixon, soap opera producer, director, writer
• 1934 - Larisa Latynina, Soviet gymnast
• 1939 - John Amos, actor
• 1943 - Cokie Roberts, journalist
• 1948 - Grard Depardieu, French actor
• 1959 - Gerina Dunwich, occult author
• 1960 - Maryam d'Abo, actress
• 1965 - Salman Khan, actor, India
• 1966 - Bill Goldberg, professional wrestler, NFL player
• 1971 - Chyna, professional wrestler
• 1973 - Wilson Cruz, actor
• 1975 - Heather O'Rourke, child actress (Poltergeist) (d. 1988)
• 1979 - Carson Palmer, American football quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner
• 1981 - Emilie de Ravin, actress

Deaths

• 1812 - Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of the Chabad Hasidic movement (b. 1745)
• 1836 - Stephen F. Austin, American pioneer (b. 1793)
• 1896 - John Brown, manufacturer
• 1900 - William George Armstrong, inventor, industrialist and engineer (b. 1810)
• 1914 - Charles Martin Hall, chemist, inventor
• 1938 - Calvin Bridges, geneticist (b. 1889)
• 1950 - Max Beckmann, painter (b. 1884)
• 1953 - Julian Tuwim, Polish poet (b. 1894)
• 1968 - Victor Ernest Shelford, zoologist
• 1972 - Lester B. Pearson, fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1897)
• 1981 - Hoagy Carmichael, composer, singer (b. 1899)
• 1985 - Dian Fossey, American biologist (b. 1932)
• 1988 - Hal Ashby, film director (b. 1929)
• 1997 - Billy Wright, Protestant paramilitary leader (b. 1960)
• 1997 - Brendan Gill, columnist, humorist
• 2002 - George Roy Hill, film director (b. 1922)
• 2002 - Carla Henius, singer
• 2003 - Ivan Calderon, baseball player (b. 1962) (murdered)
• 2003 - Bob Monkhouse, English comedian and game show host

Holidays and Observances

• The second day of Christmas in Western Christianity.
• Feast of the Holy Innocents, Eastern Orthodox.

External links

• BBC: On This Day

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