December 27

Events
Up to 1900
537 - The Hagia Sophia is consecrated as a church in Byzantium.
1703 - Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England.
1814 - War of 1812: American schooner (a type of sailing boat) USS Carolina is destroyed.
1831 - Charles Darwin begins his trip on the boat the HMS Beagle, where he will think of the theory of evolution.
1836 - The worst ever avalanche in England happens at Lewes, Sussex, killing 8 people.
1845 - Ether anesthetic is used for childbirth for the first time (Dr. Crawford Williamson Long in Jefferson, Georgia).
1901 2000
1904 - James Barrie's play Peter Pan begins to be shown in London.
1904 - The Abbey Theatre opens.
1911 - Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem of India, is first sung at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress.
1918 - Beginning of Great Poland Uprising. The Poles in Poland beign to fight against the Germans so that they can become free.
1922 - Japanese aircraft carrier Hosho becomes the first purpose-built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.
1923 - Daisuke Namba, Japanese student, tries to assassinate Japan's then-Prince-Regent Hirohito.
1932 - Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City.
1936 - Spanish Civil War: Francisco Franco's forces bomb Santander.
1939 - Erzincan, Turkey, is struck by a major earthquake, killing 30,000 people.
1939 - Winter War: Finland holds off a Soviet Union attack in the Battle of Kelja.
1945 - The World Bank is created with the signing of an agreement by 28 nations.
1945 - Korea is divided (put into two pieces).
1947 - Howdy Doody, a children's television program, makes its debut (NBC).
1949 - Indonesian National Revolution: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands recognises Indonesia as an independent country.
1959 - In a referendum, voters in the Pacific islands of Wallis and Futuna decide that their islands should have the status of a French overseas territory.
1960 - The Beatles play their first performance in Litherland Town Hall, Liverpool.
1966 - The Cave of Swallows, the largest-known cave shaft, is discovered near San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
1968 - Long-time radio show The Breakfast Club ends on ABC radio.
1975 - A mining explosion in Jharkhand, India, causes a flood, in which 372 miners drown.
1978 - Spain becomes a democracy (a place where people vote) after 40 years of dictatorship.
1979 - The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan and Babrak Karmal becomes the new president. The old one, Hafizullah Amin, was killed.
1985 - Palestinian fighters kill twenty people in the Rome and Vienna airports (places where airplanes take off and land).
1985 - American naturalist Dian Fossey is found murdered in Rwanda.
1996 - Taliban fighters take over the Bagram air base. They became safer and stronger in Kabul after they did that.
1997 - Protestant paramilitary (paramilitary is what you call an army that is not legal and part of the government) leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland.
From 2001
2001 - The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States.
2002 - Two truck bombs in Grozny kill 72 and hurt 200 at the building where the government of Chechnya works.
2004 - Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar "SGR 1806-20" reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar (outside the Solar System) event known to have been witnessed on the planet.
2006 - Space telescope COROT is launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
2007 - Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, is killed in a terrorist attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
2007 - Mwai Kibaki is declared the winner of a disputed Presidential election in Kenya. Riots start, which ultimately lead to a political, economic and humanitarian crisis.
2008 - A three-week war begins in the Gaza Strip, as Israel launches Operation Cast Lead on suspected Hamas militants in Gaza, lasting three weeks.
Births
Up to 1900
1350 - John I of Aragon (d. 1396)
1390 - Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (d. 1411)
1459 - John I Albert, King of Poland (d. 1501)
1555 - Johann Arndt, German theologian (d. 1621)
1566 - Jan Jesenius, Slovakian physician, politician and philosopher (d. 1621)
1571 - Johannes Kepler, German astronomer (d. 1630)
1572 - Johannes Vodnianus Campanus, Czech humanist (d. 1622)
1654 - Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1705)
1717 - Pope Pius VI (d. 1799)
1755 - Anthony of Saxony (d. 1836)
1761 - Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal (d. 1818)
1773 - George Cayley, English naturalist, physical scientist, engineer, politician (d. 1857)
1776 - Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1811)
1793 - Alexander Gordon Laing, Scottish explorer (d. 1826)
1796 - Mirza Ghalib, poet of Urdu (d. 1869)
1797 - Manuela Saenz, South American independence activist (d. 1856)
1802 - Gerardus Johannes Mulder, Dutch physician and chemist (d. 1880)
1803 - Francois-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian activist (d. 1839)
1822 - Louis Pasteur, French scientist (d. 1895)
1823 - Sir Mackenzie Bowell, fifth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1896)
1832 - Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and patron of art (d. 1897)
1851 - Percy Gilchrist, metallurgist (d. 1935)
1858 - Juan Luis Sanfuentes, President of Chile (d. 1930)
1860 - David Hendricks Bergey, bacteriologist (d. 1937)
1863 - Louis Lincoln Emmerson, 27th Governor of Illinois (d. 1941)
1867 - Leon Delacroix, Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1929)
1879 - Sydney Greenstreet, British actor (d. 1954)
1881 - Antonio Granjo, Portuguese politician (d. 1921)
1883 - Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American financier, businessman and philanthropist (d. 1979)
1888 - Thea von Harbou, German writer and actress (d. 1954)
1892 - Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian pilot (d. 1917)
1896 - Carl Zuckmayer, German writer (d. 1977)
1896 - Louis Bromfield, writer (d. 1956)
1900 - Hans Stuck, German automobile racer (d. 1978)
1901 1950
1901 - Marlene Dietrich, German actress and singer (d. 1992)
1903 - Hermann Volk, German cardinal (d. 1988)
1906 - Oscar Levant, composer and actor (d. 1972)
1907 - Sebastian Haffner, German publicist (someone who tells people about things) (d. 1999)
1907 - Willem van Otterloo, Dutch conductor and composer (d. 1978)
1909 - Henryk Jablonski, Polish politician (d. 2003)
1914 - Doris Bowdon, American actress (d. 2005)
1915 - William Masters, American sexologist (d. 2001)
1917 - Buddy Boudreaux, American jazz musician (d. 2015)
1923 - Lucas Mangope, South African politician (d. 2018)
1925 - Michel Piccoli, French actor
1926 - Jerome Courtland, American actor, director and producer
1926 - Rodrigo Carazo Odio, President of Costa Rica (d. 2009)
1927 - Nityanand Swami, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Uttarakhand (d. 2012)
1928 - Walter Romberg, German politician (d. 2014)
1930 - Marshall Sahlins, American anthropologist
1931 - John Charles, Welsh footballer (d. 2004)
1931 - Tommy Lapid, Israeli politician (d. 2008)
1931 - Scotty Moore, American rock musician (d. 2016)
1934 - Larisa Latynina, Russian gymnast
1935 - Michael Turnbull, English bishop
1938 - Stanislav Stanojevic, Serbian-born French movie director and actor
1938 - Rolf Wolfsohl, German cyclist
1939 - John Amos, American actor
1941 - Miles Aiken, American basketball player and coach
1941 - Mike Pinder, English singer-songwriter and keyboardist
1941 - Nolan Richardson, American basketball player and coach
1942 - Charmian Carr, American actress (d. 2016)
1942 - Thomas Menino, 53rd Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2014)
1942 - Ron Jacobs, American basketball coach (d. 2015)
1943 - Joan Manuel Serrat, Catalan singer-songwriter
1943 - Cokie Roberts, American journalist (d. 2019)
1944 - Markus Werner, Swiss writer (d. 2016)
1946 - Janet Street-Porter, English journalist and television presenter
1946 - Polly Toynbee, English journalist
1948 - Gerard Depardieu, French actor
1949 - Klaus Fischer, German footballer
1950 - Roberto Bettega, Italian footballer
1951 1975
1951 - Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico
1952 - David Knopfler, British musician (Dire Straits)
1952 - Tovah Feldshuh, American actress
1954 - Kent Benson, American basketball player
1956 - Doina Melinte, Romanian athlete
1957 - Dane Witherspoon, American actor (d. 2014)
1958 - Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Prime Minister of Pakistan
1959 - Gerina Dunwich, occult writer
1960 - Maryam d'Abo, British actress
1961 - Guido Westerwelle, German politician (d. 2016)
1963 - Claus Meyer, Danish chef, television host and restaurateur
1963 - Gaspar Noe, Argentine-born director
1964 - Theresa Randle, American actress
1965 - Salman Khan, Indian actor
1966 - Masahiro Fukuda, Japanese footballer
1966 - Bill Goldberg, American professional wrestler, American football player
1966 - Eva LaRue, American actress
1969 - Sarah Vowell, American writer and journalist
1970 - Chyna, American professional wrestler and pornographic actress (d. 2016)
1971 - Duncan Ferguson, Scottish footballer
1971 - Sergei Bodrov, Jr., Russian movie actor and director (d. 2002)
1971 - Sabine Spitz, German cyclist
1973 - Wilson Cruz, actor
1974 - Masi Oka, Japanese-American actor
1975 - Heather O'Rourke, American child actress (Poltergeist) (d. 1988)
From 1976
1976 - Curro Torres, Spanish footballer
1976 - Aaron Stanford, American actor and producer
1976 - Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (d. 2009)
1976 - Tim Roberts, American professional wrestler (d. 2015)
1979 - David Dunn, English footballer
1979 - Carson Palmer, American football quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner
1981 - Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
1981 - Javine, British singer
1981 - Lise Darly, French singer
1981 - Patrick Sharp, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 - Anthony Boric, New Zealand rugby player
1983 - Cole Hamels, American baseball player
1984 - Black M, French rapper and singer-songwriter
1984 - Gilles Simon, French tennis player
1985 - Adil Rami, French footballer
1985 - Cristian Villagra, Argentine footballer
1986 - Torah Bright, Australian snowboarder
1986 - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaican athlete
1987 - Logan Bailly, Belgian footballer
1988 - Hiroki Yamada, Japanese footballer
1988 - Hayley Williams, American singer (Paramore)
1988 - Zavon Hines, Jamaican-English footballer
1990 - Milos Raonic, Canadian tennis player
1991 - Chloe Bridges, American actress
1991 - Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht, German actor and rapper
1991 - Danny Wilson, Scottish footballer
1995 - Mark Lapidus, Estonian chess player
1997 - Ana Konjuh, Croatian tennis player
Deaths
Up to 1900
1065 - King Ferdinand I of Leon and Castile (b. 1018)
1076 - Prince Sviatoslav of Kiev (b. 1027)
1087 - Bertha of Savoy, German queen and Holy Roman Empress (b. 1051)
1381 - Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, English politician
1543 - George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1484)
1743 - Hyacinthe Rigaud, French sculptor (b. 1659)
1771 - Henri Pitot, French inventor (b. 1695)
1782 - Henry Home, Lord Kames, Scottish lawyer and philosopher (b. 1697)
1800 - Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (b. 1718)
1812 - Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of the Chabad Hasidic movement (b. 1745)
1836 - Stephen F. Austin, American pioneer (someone who goes to new places) (b. 1793)
1873 - Edward Blyth, English zoologist and ornithologist (b. 1810)
1881 - John J. Bagley, American politician, 16th Governor of Michigan (b. 1832)
1891 - Antonio Arenas, President of Peru (b. 1808)
1896 - John Brown, manufacturer (b. 1861)
1900 - William George Armstrong, inventor, industrialist and engineer (b. 1810)
1901 2000
1914 - Charles Martin Hall, chemist, inventor (b. 1863)
1923 - Gustave Eiffel, French engineer and architect (b. 1832)
1925 - Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (b. 1895)
1936 - Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Turkish poet, writer and academic (b. 1873)
1937 - William Noble Andrews, American politician (b. 1876)
1938 - Calvin Bridges, geneticist (b. 1889)
1942 - William G. Morgan, American inventor of volleyball (b. 1870)
1950 - Max Beckmann, German painter (b. 1884)
1953 - Julian Tuwim, Polish poet (b. 1894)
1957 - Otto Nuschke, German politician (b. 1883)
1958 - Harry Warner, American studio executive (b. 1881)
1966 - Guillermo Stabile, Argentine footballer (b. 1905)
1968 - Victor Ernest Shelford, zoologist (b. 1877)
1972 - Lester Pearson, fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1897)
1974 - Vladimir Fock, Russian physicist and mathematician (b. 1898)
1974 - Amy Vanderbilt, American author (b. 1908)
1978 - Houari Boumedienne, President of Algeria (b. 1932)
1979 - Hafizullah Amin, President of Afghanistan (b. 1929)
1981 - Hoagy Carmichael, American composer, singer (b. 1899)
1982 - Jack Swigert, American astronaut (b. 1931)
1985 - Dian Fossey, American biologist (b. 1932)
1988 - Hal Ashby, movie director (b. 1929)
1994 - Fanny Cradock, British chef and cookery writer (b. 1909)
1997 - Billy Wright, Irish Protestant paramilitary leader (b. 1960)
1997 - Brendan Gill, columnist, humorist (someone who makes people laugh) (b. 1953)
From 2001
2002 - George Roy Hill, movie director (b. 1922)
2003 - Alan Bates, British actor (b. 1934)
2003 - Ivan Calderon, baseball player (b. 1962) (murdered)
2007 - Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani politician (b. 1953)
2007 - Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Polish movie director (b. 1922)
2007 - Jaan Kross, Estonian writer (b. 1920)
2008 - Alfred Pfaff, German footballer (b. 1926)
2009 - Takashi Takabayashi, Japanese footballer (b. 1931)
2010 - Ronald Lee Herrick, organ donor (b. 1931)
2011 - Helen Frankenthaler, American painter (b. 1928)
2011 - Michael Dummett, British philosopher (b. 1925)
2012 - Harry Carey, Jr., American actor (b. 1921)
2012 - Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general (b. 1934)
2012 - Jesco von Puttkamer, German-American engineer (b. 1933)
2013 - Mohamad Chatah, Lebanese economist and diplomat (b. 1951) (car bombing)
2013 - Elvira Quintilla, Spanish actress (b. 1928)
2014 - Tomaz Salamun, Slovenian poet (b. 1941)
2014 - Karel Poma, Belgian politician (b. 1920)
2015 - Alfredo Pacheco, El Salvadorean footballer (b. 1982)
2015 - Haskell Wexler, American cinematographer, movie producer and director (b. 1922)
2015 - Dave Henderson, American baseball player (b. 1958)
2015 - Ellsworth Kelly, American painter, sculptor and printmaker (b. 1923)
2015 - Meadowlark Lemon, American basketball player (b. 1932)
2015 - Stein Eriksen, Norwegian skier (b. 1927)
2015 - Gabriel Tambon, French politician (b. 1930)
2016 - Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1951)
2016 - Claude Gensac, French actress (b. 1927)
2016 - Carrie Fisher, American actress and writer (b. 1956)
2016 - Hans Tietmeyer, German economist (b. 1931)
2017 - Ben Barres, American neurobiologist (b. 1954)
2017 - Osvaldo Fattori, Italian footballer (b. 1922)
2017 - Thomas Hunter, American actor (b. 1932)
Observances
Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist
Constitution Day (North Korea)
Saint Stephen's Day (Eastern Orthodox Church), public holiday in Romania.
Days of the year