December 27

Events

• 537 - The construction of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople 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.
• 1521 - The Zwickau prophets arrive in Wittenberg, disturbing the peace and preaching the Apocalypse.
• 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 articulates for the first time in North American history that freedom of religion is a fundamental right.
• 1703 - Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England.
• 1814 - War of 1812: The American schooner 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, during which he will begin to formulate his theory of evolution.
• 1836 - The worst ever avalanche in England occurs at Lewes, Sussex, killing eight people.
• 1845 - Ether anesthetic is used for childbirth for the first time by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia.
• 1845 - Journalist John L. O'Sullivan, writing in his newspaper the New York Morning News, argues that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country "by the right of our manifest destiny".
• 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 - becomes the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.
• 1927 - Kern and Hammerstein's musical play Show Boat, considered to be the first true American musical play, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway.
• 1929 - Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin orders the "liquidation of the kulaks as a class".
• 1932 - Radio City Music Hall, "Showplace of the Nation", opens in New York City.
• 1935 - Regina Jonas is ordained as the first female rabbi in the history of Judaism.
• 1939 - The 7.8 Erzincan earthquake shakes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI. At least 32,700 people were killed.
• 1939 - Winter War: Finland holds off a Soviet attack in the Battle of Kelja.
• 1945 - The International Monetary Fund is 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 fascist dictatorship.
• 1979 - The Soviet Union invades the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
• 1983 - Pope John Paul II visits Mehmet Ali Ağca in Rebibbia's prison and personally forgives him for the 1981 attack on him in St. Peter's Square.
• 1985 - Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside the airports of Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria.
• 1989 - The Romanian Revolution concludes, as the last minor street confrontations and stray shootings abruptly end in the country's capital, Bucharest.
• 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.
• 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 - Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches 3-week operation on Gaza.
• 2009 - Iranian election protests: On the Day of Ashura in Tehran, Iran, government security forces fire upon demonstrators.

  Births

• 1350 - John I of Aragon
• 1390 - Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne
• 1459 - John I Albert
• 1481 - Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Margrave of Bayreuth
• 1493 - Johann Pfeffinger, German theologian
• 1566 - Jan Jesenius, Bohemian physician, politician and philosopher
• 1571 - Johannes Kepler, German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer
• 1572 - Johannes Vodnianus Campanus, Czech poet, playwright, and composer
• 1584 - Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania
• 1595 - Bohdan Khmelnytsky, hetman of Ukraine
• 1683 - Conyers Middleton, English priest and theologian
• 1714 - George Whitefield, English preacher and saint
• 1715 - Philippe de Noailles, French general
• 1721 - François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher and author
• 1761 - Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Finland
• 1773 - George Cayley, English engineer and politician
• 1776 - Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general
• 1797 - Ghalib, Indian poet
• 1797 - Charles Hodge, American theologian
• 1803 - François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian activist
• 1809 - Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, Greek poet and politician, Foreign Minister of Greece
• 1822 - Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist
• 1823 - Mackenzie Bowell, English-Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Canada
• 1827 - Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria
• 1832 - Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tretyakov Gallery
• 1858 - Juan Luis Sanfuentes, Chilean lawyer and politician, 17th President of Chile
• 1863 - Louis Lincoln Emmerson, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of Illinois
• 1864 - Hermann-Paul, French painter and illustrator
• 1879 - Sydney Greenstreet, English-American actor
• 1883 - Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist
• 1888 - Thea von Harbou, German actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1892 - Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot
• 1896 - Louis Bromfield, American author and theorist
• 1896 - Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist
• 1896 - Carl Zuckmayer, German author and playwright
• 1898 - Inejiro Asanuma, Japanese politician
• 1900 - Hans Stuck, German race car driver
• 1901 - Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer
• 1901 - Irene Handl, English actress
• 1904 - René Bonnet, French race car driver and engineer
• 1905 - Cliff Arquette, American actor and comedian
• 1906 - Oscar Levant, American pianist, composer, and actor
• 1907 - Asaf Halet Çelebi, Turkish poet
• 1907 - Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author
• 1907 - Mary Howard, English author
• 1907 - Conrad L. Raiford, American baseball player and activist
• 1907 - Willem van Otterloo, Dutch conductor and composer
• 1909 - James Riddell, English skier and author
• 1910 - Charles Olson, American poet and educator
• 1911 - Anna Russell, English-Canadian singer and actress
• 1915 - William Masters, American gynecologist, author, and academic
• 1915 - Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian-Cypriot footballer and manager
• 1916 - Werner Baumbach, German pilot
• 1916 - Cathy Lewis, American actress
• 1917 - Buddy Boudreaux, American saxophonist and clarinet player
• 1917 - T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic
• 1917 - Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author
• 1918 - John Celardo, American captain and illustrator
• 1919 - Charles Sweeney, American general and pilot
• 1920 - Bruce Hobbs, American jockey and trainer
• 1921 - John Whitworth, English countertenor
• 1923 - Bruno Bobak, Polish-Canadian painter and educator
• 1923 - Lucas Mangope, South African politician
• 1924 - Jean Bartik, American computer scientist and engineer
• 1924 - James A. McClure, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
• 1925 - Michel Piccoli, French actor, singer, director, and producer
• 1926 - Jerome Courtland, American actor, director, and producer
• 1927 - Antony Gardner, English engineer and politician
• 1927 - Nityanand Swami, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
• 1927 - Audrey Wagner, American baseball player, obstetrician, and gynecologist
• 1930 - Marshall Sahlins, American anthropologist and academic
• 1930 - Wilfrid Sheed, English-born American novelist and essayist
• 1931 - Scotty Moore, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1933 - Dave Marr, American golfer
• 1934 - Larisa Latynina, Ukrainian gymnast and coach
• 1934 - Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow, English businessman
• 1935 - Michael Turnbull, English bishop
• 1936 - Phil Sharpe, English cricketer
• 1936 - Eve Uusmees, Estonian swimmer and coach
• 1939 - John Amos, American actor
• 1940 - David Shepherd, English cricketer and umpire
• 1941 - Miles Aiken, American basketball player and coach
• 1941 - Mike Pinder, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1941 - Nolan Richardson, American basketball player and coach
• 1942 - Byron Browne, American baseball player
• 1942 - Thomas Menino, American politician, 53rd Mayor of Boston
• 1942 - Ron Rothstein, American basketball player and coach
• 1943 - Cokie Roberts, American journalist and author
• 1943 - Joan Manuel Serrat, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1943 - Peter Sinfield, English songwriter and producer
• 1943 - Roy White, American baseball player and coach
• 1944 - Mick Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1946 - Lenny Kaye, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1946 - Joe Kinnear, Irish footballer and manager
• 1946 - Janet Street-Porter, English journalist and producer
• 1946 - Polly Toynbee, English journalist and author
• 1947 - Bill Eadie, American wrestler and coach
• 1947 - Doug Livermore, English footballer and manager
• 1947 - Osman Pamukoğlu, Turkish general and politician
• 1947 - Willy Polleunis, Belgian runner
• 1948 - Gérard Depardieu, French-Russian actor
• 1949 - Terry Ito, Japanese director, producer, and critic
• 1950 - Haris Alexiou, Greek singer-songwriter
• 1950 - Roberto Bettega, Italian footballer and manager
• 1950 - Terry Bozzio, American drummer and songwriter
• 1951 - Ernesto Zedillo, Mexican economist and politician, 54th President of Mexico
• 1952 - Tovah Feldshuh, American actress, singer, and playwright
• 1952 - Jay Hill, Canadian farmer and politician
• 1952 - David Knopfler, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1954 - Edmund Zagorski, American convicted murderer
• 1954 - Mandie Fletcher, English director, producer, and production manager
• 1954 - Teo Chee Hean, Singaporean politician and 5th Senior Minister of Singapore
• 1955 - Brad Murphey, American race car driver
• 1955 - Barbara Olson, American journalist and author
• 1956 - Doina Melinte, Romanian runner
• 1958 - Steve Jones, American golfer
• 1959 - Gerina Dunwich, American astrologer, historian, and author
• 1959 - Andre Tippett, American football player and coach
• 1960 - Maryam d'Abo, English actress
• 1960 - Donald Nally, American conductor and academic
• 1960 - Terry Price, Australian golfer
• 1961 - Guido Westerwelle, German lawyer and politician, 15th Vice-Chancellor of Germany
• 1962 - Mark Few, American basketball player and coach
• 1962 - John Kampfner, Singaporean journalist and author
• 1962 - Bill Self, American basketball player and coach
• 1962 - Sherri Steinhauer, American golfer
• 1963 - Gaspar Noé, Argentinian-French director and screenwriter
• 1965 - Chris Mainwaring, Australian footballer and journalist
• 1965 - Salman Khan, Indian film actor and producer
• 1966 - Marianne Elliott, English director and producer
• 1966 - Bill Goldberg, American football player, wrestler and actor
• 1966 - Eva LaRue, American model and actress
• 1966 - Fabian Núñez, American politician
• 1969 - Jean-Christophe Boullion, French race car driver
• 1969 - Sarah Vowell, American author and journalist
• 1969 - Chyna, American professional wrestler and actress
• 1970 - Brendon Cook, Australian race car driver and rugby player
• 1970 - Lorenzo Neal, American football player and radio host
• 1971 - Duncan Ferguson, Scottish footballer and coach
• 1971 - Guthrie Govan, English guitarist and educator
• 1971 - Savannah Guthrie, American television journalist
• 1971 - Jason Hawes, American paranormal investigator and author, founded The Atlantic Paranormal Society
• 1971 - Bryan Smolinski, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1972 - Colin Charvis, Welsh rugby union player and coach
• 1972 - Kevin Ollie, American basketball player and coach
• 1972 - Matt Slocum, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1973 - Kristoffer Zegers, Dutch pianist and composer
• 1974 - Tomáš Janků, Czech high jumper
• 1974 - Masi Oka, Japanese-American actor and visual effects designer
• 1974 - Fumiko Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1974 - Jay Pandolfo, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1975 - Aigars Fadejevs, Latvian race walker and therapist
• 1975 - Kjell Eriksson, Swedish television personality
• 1975 - Heather O'Rourke, American actress
• 1976 - Nikolaos Georgeas, Greek footballer
• 1976 - Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer
• 1976 - Daimí Pernía, Cuban basketball player and hurdler
• 1976 - Fernando Pisani, Canadian-Italian ice hockey player
• 1977 - Jacqueline Pillon, Canadian actress
• 1977 - Chris Tate, English footballer
• 1978 - Deuce McAllister, American football player
• 1979 - Pascale Dorcelus, Canadian weightlifter
• 1979 - David Dunn, English footballer and manager
• 1979 - Carson Palmer, American football player
• 1980 - Bernard Berrian, American football player
• 1980 - Cesaro, Swiss professional wrestler
• 1980 - Dahntay Jones, American basketball player
• 1980 - Meelis Kompus, Estonian journalist
• 1981 - David Aardsma, American baseball player
• 1981 - Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
• 1981 - Moise Joseph, American-Haitian runner
• 1981 - Patrick Sharp, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1982 - Erin E. Stead, American illustrator
• 1983 - Anthony Boric, New Zealand rugby union player
• 1983 - Cole Hamels, American baseball player
• 1983 - Jesse Williams, American high jumper
• 1984 - Andrejs Perepļotkins, Ukrainian-Latvian footballer
• 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
• 1985 - Halley Gross, American screenwriter
• 1986 - Torah Bright, Australian snowboarder
• 1986 - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaican sprinter
• 1987 - Tim Browne, Australian rugby league player
• 1987 - Lily Cole, English model
• 1988 - Hera Hilmar, Icelandic actress
• 1988 - Zavon Hines, Jamaican-English footballer
• 1988 - Ok Taec-yeon, South Korean singer and actor
• 1988 - Rick Porcello, American baseball player
• 1988 - Hayley Williams, American singer-songwriter
• 1989 - Ingrid Várgas Calvo, Peruvian tennis player
• 1990 - Max Lindholm, Finnish figure skater
• 1990 - Milos Raonic, Canadian tennis player
• 1990 - Jon Marchessault, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1991 - Michael Morgan, Australian rugby league player
• 1991 - Danny Wilson, Scottish footballer
• 1992 - Joel Indermitte, Estonian footballer
• 1992 - Maicel Uibo, Estonian decathlete
• 1993 - Olivia Cooke, English actress
• 1995 - Timothée Chalamet, American actor
• 1995 - Mark Lapidus, Estonian chess player
• 1997 - Ana Konjuh, Croatian tennis player

  Deaths

• 683 - Gaozong of Tang, founding emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty
• 870 - Aeneas of Paris, Frankish bishop
• 975 - Balderic, bishop of Utrecht
• 1003 - Emma of Blois, French duchess and regent
• 1005 - Nilus the Younger, Byzantine abbot
• 1076 - Sviatoslav II, Grand Prince of Kiev
• 1087 - Bertha of Savoy, Holy Roman Empress
• 1381 - Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, English politician
• 1518 - Mahmood Shah Bahmani II, sultan of the Bahmani Sultanate
• 1543 - George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
• 1548 - Francesco Spiera, Italian lawyer and jurist
• 1603 - Thomas Cartwright, English minister and theologian
• 1656 - Andrew White, English Jesuit missionary
• 1704 - Hans Albrecht von Barfus, Prussian field marshal and politician
• 1707 - Jean Mabillon, French monk and scholar
• 1737 - William Bowyer, English printer
• 1743 - Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter
• 1771 - Henri Pitot, French engineer, invented the Pitot tube
• 1776 - Johann Rall, Hessian colonel
• 1782 - Henry Home, Lord Kames, Scottish judge and philosopher
• 1800 - Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author
• 1812 - Joanna Southcott, English religious leader
• 1834 - Charles Lamb, English essayist and poet
• 1836 - Stephen F. Austin, American soldier and politician
• 1858 - Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French pianist and composer
• 1896 - John Brown, English businessman and politician
• 1900 - William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, English engineer and businessman, founded Armstrong Whitworth
• 1914 - Charles Martin Hall, American chemist and engineer
• 1919 - Achilles Alferaki, Russian-Greek composer and politician, Governor of Taganrog
• 1923 - Gustave Eiffel, French architect and engineer, co-designed the Eiffel Tower
• 1924 - Agda Meyerson, Swedish nurse and healthcare activist
• 1936 - Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Turkish poet, academic, and politician
• 1938 - Calvin Bridges, American geneticist and academic
• 1938 - Osip Mandelstam, Polish-Russian poet and critic
• 1938 - Zona Gale, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright
• 1939 - Rinaldo Cuneo, American painter
• 1943 - Ants Kurvits, Estonian general and politician, 10th Estonian Minister of War
• 1950 - Max Beckmann, German-American painter and sculptor
• 1952 - Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian priest, author, and educator
• 1953 - Şükrü Saracoğlu, Turkish soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Turkey
• 1953 - Julian Tuwim, Polish poet and author
• 1955 - Alfred Carpenter, English admiral, Victoria Cross recipient
• 1956 - Lambert McKenna, Irish priest and lexicographer
• 1958 - Harry Warner, Polish-American film producer, co-founded Warner Bros.
• 1965 - Edgar Ende, German painter
• 1972 - Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1974 - Vladimir Fock, Russian physicist and mathematician
• 1974 - Amy Vanderbilt, American author
• 1978 - Chris Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1978 - Houari Boumediene, Algerian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Algeria
• 1978 - Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1979 - Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, 2nd President of Afghanistan
• 1981 - Hoagy Carmichael, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
• 1982 - Jack Swigert, American pilot, astronaut, and politician
• 1985 - Jean Rondeau, French race car driver
• 1986 - George Dangerfield, English-American historian and journalist
• 1986 - Dumas Malone, American historian and author
• 1987 - Rewi Alley, New Zealand writer and political activist
• 1988 - Hal Ashby, American director and producer
• 1992 - Kay Boyle, American novelist, poet, and educator
• 1993 - Feliks Kibbermann, Estonian chess player and philologist
• 1993 - Evald Mikson, Estonian footballer
• 1993 - André Pilette, Belgian race car driver
• 1994 - Fanny Cradock, English author and critic
• 1994 - J. B. L. Reyes, Filipino lawyer and jurist
• 1995 - Shura Cherkassky, Ukrainian-American pianist
• 1995 - Genrikh Kasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer
• 1997 - Brendan Gill, American journalist and essayist
• 1997 - Billy Wright, Northern Irish loyalist leader
• 1999 - Michael McDowell, American author and screenwriter
• 2002 - George Roy Hill, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 2003 - Alan Bates, English actor
• 2003 - Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• 2004 - Hank Garland, American guitarist
• 2007 - Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani financier and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan
• 2007 - Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Polish director and screenwriter
• 2007 - Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet
• 2008 - Delaney Bramlett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 2008 - Robert Graham, Mexican-American sculptor
• 2009 - Isaac Schwartz, Ukrainian-Russian composer and educator
• 2011 - Catê, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 2011 - Michael Dummett, English soldier, philosopher, and academic
• 2011 - Helen Frankenthaler, American painter and educator
• 2011 - Johnny Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
• 2012 - Harry Carey, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 2012 - Lloyd Charmers, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer
• 2012 - Tingye Li, Chinese-American physicist and engineer
• 2012 - Archie Roy, Scottish astronomer and academic
• 2012 - Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general and engineer
• 2012 - Salt Walther, American race car driver
• 2013 - Richard Ambler, English-Scottish biologist and academic
• 2013 - Mohamad Chatah, Lebanese economist and politician, Lebanese Minister of Finance
• 2013 - Gianna D'Angelo, American soprano and educator
• 2013 - John Matheson, Canadian colonel, lawyer, and politician
• 2013 - Farooq Sheikh, Indian actor, philanthropist and a popular television presenter
• 2014 - Ben Ammi Ben-Israel, American-Israeli religious leader, founded the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem
• 2014 - Ulises Estrella, Ecuadorian poet and academic
• 2014 - Ronald Li, Hong Kong accountant and businessman
• 2014 - Karel Poma, Belgian bacteriologist and politician
• 2015 - Stein Eriksen, Norwegian-American skier
• 2015 - Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 2015 - Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor
• 2015 - Meadowlark Lemon, American basketball player and minister
• 2015 - Alfredo Pacheco, Salvadoran footballer
• 2015 - Stevie Wright, English-Australian singer-songwriter
• 2016 - Carrie Fisher, American actress, screenwriter, author, producer, and speaker
• 2016 - Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sri Lankan politician
• 2019 - Maria Creveling, American League of Legends player

  Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
• * Blessed Francesco Spoto
• * Blessed Sára Salkaházi
• * Fabiola
• * John the Apostle
• * Pope Maximus of Alexandria
• * Nicarete
• * Theodorus and Theophanes
• * December 27
• Constitution Day
• Emergency Rescuer's Day
• St. Stephen's Day
• The third of the Twelve Days of Christmas