December 27......

December 27 is the 361st day of the year (362nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 4 days remaining in the year on this date.

EVENTS

● 418 - [Etalius] begins his reign as Catholic Pope

● 537 - The Hagia Sophia, church in Constantinople, is completed and dedicated.

● 1437 - Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes king of Bohemia

● 1503 - Battle at Garigliano - Spanish army under G Córdoba beats France

● 1512 - Puerto Rico: The Burgos Law is issued, by Ferdinand II, the Catholic, of Aragon, regulating relations between Spaniards and the conquered Indians, particularly to ensure the spiritual and material welfare of the latter, who were often severely treated. The Spaniards & Taino Indians had a falling out in 1510, and the following year the Taino Indians revolt against the Spaniards. Ponce de Leon orders 6,000 shot; survivors flee to mountains or leave the island.

● 1521 - "Zwickauer profeten" appear in Wittenberg

● 1657 - The Flushing Remonstrance is signed.

● 1679 - Dutch troops capture Madurees prince Trunudjojo in Java

● 1703 - Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England.

● 1741 - Prussian forces took Olmutz, Czechoslovakia

● 1763 - A troop of 50 armed men enter the Workhouse at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and hatchet to death the only 14 surviving Conestoga Indians (the rest of the tribe having been similarly dispensed with 13 days earlier). Having finished their work, the troop, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, "huzzahed in triumph as if it had gained a victory, and rode off unmolested."

● 1774 - English founder of Methodism, John Wesley wrote in a letter: 'God...frequently...makes young men and women wiser than the aged, and gives to many, in a very short time, a closer and deeper communion with himself than others attain in a long course of years.'

● 1784 - In Baltimore, at its first General Conference held this side of the Atlantic, Francis Asbury, 39, was ordained the first bishop of the Methodist Church in America.

● 1796 - Mirza Ghalib, a famous Indian poet of Urdu and Farsi is born in Agra, Awadh, on this day.

● 1815 - Peace Society founded, Massachusetts. And none too soon.

● 1822 - Scientist Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, France.

● 1825 - 1st public railroad using steam locomotive completed in England

● 1827 - Georgia passes law proclaiming "all the lands of Georgia belong to her absolutely. The Indians are tenants at her will." In another three years, legislation would mandate removal of all Indians to west of the Mississippi River.

● 1831 - Charles Darwin set out on a voyage to the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin's discoveries during the voyage helped him form the basis of his theories on evolution.

● 1836 - The worst ever avalanche in England occurs at Lewes, Sussex, killing 8 people of the 15 buried.

● 1845 - Dr. Crawford Williamson Long used ether as an anesthesia for childbirth for the first time in Jefferson, Georgia. The birth was the delivery of his own child.

● 1850 - Hawaiian Fire Department established

● 1862 - Battle of Chickasaw Bluffs MS (Chickasaw Bayou)

● 1862 - Battle of Elizabethtown KY

● 1867 - Ontario & Québec legislatures hold 1st meeting

● 1871 - World's 1st cat show (Crystal Palace, London)

● 1884 - Netherlands recognizes king Leopold II's Congo Free State

● 1892 - Foundation Stone of the Cathedral of St John laid (New York NY)

● 1893 - Victor Considerant dies. French socialist who sought to develop and implement the theses of Fourier, in particular on the idea of the phalanstery.

● 1899 - American Christian temperance leader Carry Nation, 53, raided and wrecked her first saloon in Medicine Lodge, KA. She went on similar rampages in Wichita and Topeka, and in other cities in Iowa and Illinois as well.

● 1900 - Prohibitionist Carry Nation leads first bottle-smashing raid of saloon at Hotel Carry Annex Bar in Wichita, Kansas. She broke each and every one of the liquor bottles that could be seen.

● 1901 - Marlene Dietrich, the magnetic movie star and singer who was considered an international symbol of glamour, was born.

● 1903 - "Sweet Adeline", a barbershop quartet favorite, is 1st sung

● 1904 - James Barrie's play Peter Pan premieres in London.

● 1904 - The Abbey Theatre opens.

● 1906 - 1st annual meeting of American Sociological Society, Providence RI

● 1911 - UK cotton mills lock out 126,000 workers.

● 1913 - Mass rebellion by IWW workers in Edmonton, Alberta forces city to house 400 unemployed during winter.

● 1914 - Founding of International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), multi-faith peace group, Cambridge, Great Britain.

● 1918 - The Great Poland Uprising against the Germans begins.

● 1923 - Namba Daisuke, a Japanese student, tried to assassinate the Prince Regent Hirohito

● 1926 - Depot Square in the Bronx renamed Botanical Square

● 1926 - Latkin Square in Bronx named for 1st US Jewish soldier to die in WWI

● 1927 - Stalin's faction wins All-Union Congress in USSR, Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Communist party.

● 1932 - Radio City Music Hall opens.

● 1934 - 1st youth hostel in US opens (Northfield MA)

● 1934 - Shah of Persia declares Persia now Iran

● 1937 - German immigration officials with no explanation bar Juan Carlos Zabala (Argentina), 1932 Olympic marathon champion, from entering Germany

● 1937 - Mae West performs Adam & Eve skit that gets her banned from NBC radio

● 1938 - The first skimobile course in America opened in North Conway, NH.

● 1939 - 8.0 Earthquake in Erzincam Turkey, about 50,000 die

● 1941 - Japan bombs Manila even though it was declared an "open city"

● 1942 - 1st Japanese women camp (Ambarawa) goes into use

● 1943 - France transfers most of her powers in Lebanon to Lebanese government

● 1943 - German warship "Scharnhorst" sinks in Barents Sea

● 1943 - Montgomery discusses Overlord with Eisenhower & Bedell Smith

● 1943 - The film "The Song of Bernadette" was released by 20th Century Fox. It told the supposed true story of 14-year-old French Catholic peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous, who experienced 18 visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France in 1858.

● 1944 - Greece: British premier Churchill flies back to London

● 1945 - The International Monetary Fund established and the World Bank is created with the signing of an agreement by 28 nations.

● 1947 - The children's television program "Howdy Doody," hosted by Bob Smith, made its debut on NBC.

● 1949 - Indonesian War of Independence: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands granted sovereignty to Indonesia after more than 300 years of Dutch rule. Many residents leave Indonesia as they consider themselves Dutch.

● 1949 - In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Evangelical Theological Society was organized. A conservative fellowship of North American theologians and Bible scholars, ETS promotes theological discussion and exploration within the context of a firm belief in the truthfulness of the Bible.

● 1951 - In Cincinnati, OH, a Crosley automobile, with a steering wheel on the right side, became the first vehicle of its kind to be placed in service for mail delivery.

● 1960 - France explodes third atomic bomb; The French move a step closer to developing a compact nuclear bomb after a third test in the Sahara desert.

● 1961 - Belgium & Congo resume diplomatic relations

● 1965 - Old leadership of SDS (Students for Democratic Society) unseated and women hold a closed door workshop at the SDS convention.

● 1965 - The British Petroleum and Britain's first North Sea oil rig "Sea Gem" capsized in the North Sea, with the loss of 13 lives.

● 1968 - Apollo 8 returns to Earth

● 1968 - China People's Republic performs nuclear test at Lop Nor People's Rebublic of China

● 1968 - "The Breakfast Club" signed off for the last time on ABC radio, after 35 years on the air.

● 1971 - Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Woodstock of Charles Schulz’ "Peanuts" comic strip were on the cover of "Newsweek" magazine.

● 1972 - New North Korean constitution comes into effect

● 1972 - Belgium recognizes German Democratic Republic

● 1974 - FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional/Sandinista National Liberation Front) seizes government hostages at a private Managua party

● 1974 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR

● 1975 - Explosion at Chasnala Colliery collapses drowning 350 (Dhanbad India)

● 1976 - Albania constitution goes into effect

● 1977 - Star Wars fever hits Britain; Thousands of people flock to UK cinemas to watch the long-awaited blockbuster, Star Wars.

● 1978 - King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's 1st democratic constitution making Spain 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.

● 1979 - Soviet troops invade Afghánistán, President Hafizullah Amin overthrown

● 1981 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR

● 1983 - Propane gas fire devastated 16 square blocks of Buffalo NY

● 1983 - Pope John Paul II forgives man who shot him (Mehmet Ali Agca)

● 1985 - Palestinian guerrillas opened fire inside the Rome and Vienna airports targeting the Israeli airline El Al. A total of twenty people were killed, including five of the attackers, who were slain by police and security personnel. President Reagan blamed Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qaddafi

● 1985 - Dian Fossey, an American naturalist, who had studied gorillas in the wild, was found hacked to death at a research station in Rwanda. It has always been assumed that her murder was in retaliation of her efforts to stop the poaching of the African Mountain Gorilla. This event is recounted in the movie "Gorillas in the Mist."

● 1987 - Steve Largent sets all-time NFL record for career catches when he catches his 752nd pass

● 1987 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR

● 1988 - Bulgaria stops jamming Radio Free Europe after more than 3 decades

● 1991 - "Carol Burnett Show" last airs on CBS-TV

● 1992 - 13th United Negro College Fund raises $11,000,000

● 1992 - Harry Connick Jr is caught with 9mm gun in New York's JFK airport

● 1992 - The U.S. shot down an Iraqi fighter jet during what the Pentagon described as a confrontation between a pair of Iraqi warplanes and U.S. F-16 jets in U.N.-restricted airspace over southern Iraq.

● 1993 - Actress Teri Garr (44) weds John O'Neil (42)

● 1993 - Dow-Jones hits record 3792.93

● 1996 - Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.

● 1997 - Convention to combat desertification comes into force.

● 1997 - Loyalist leader murdered in prison; A leading protestant paramilitary, Billy Wright, is shot dead at the maximum security Maze prison in Northern Ireland.

● 2000 - Mario Lemeiux (Pittsburgh Penguins) returned to the National Hockey League (NHL) as a player after over 3 years of retirement. He was the first owner-player in the modern era of pro sports. Lemieux had purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins during his retirement from playing.

● 2001 - U.S. officials announced that Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners would be held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

● 2001 - The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States by King George W.

● 2002 - Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya.

● 2002 - North Korea ordered U.N. nuclear inspectors to leave the country and said that it would restart a laboratory capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons.

● 2002 - Clonaid announced the birth of the first cloned human baby. The baby had been born December 26.

● 2002 - In Chechnya, at least 40 people were killed when suicide bombers attacked the administartion of Grozny.

● 2004 - Yushchenko wins Ukraine election re-run; Ukraine's "orange revolutionaries" celebrate as opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko is declared winner of the presidential election.

● 2004 - In an audiotape, a man purported to be Osama bin Laden endorsed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq and called for a boycott of January's elections in the country.

● 2005 - Indonesia's Aceh rebels formally abolished their 30-year armed struggle for independence under a peace deal born out of the 2004 tsunami.

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)

● 1714 - Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1780)

● 1715 - Philippe de Noailles, duc de Mouchy, French soldier (d. 1794)

● 1717 - Pope Pius VI (d. 1799)

● 1721 - François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher (d. 1790)

● 1771 - William Johnson, American Supreme Court justice (d. 1834)

● 1773 - Sir George Cayley, English scientist, inventor, and politician (d. 1857)

● 1776 - Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1811)

● 1797 - Mirza Ghalib, Indian poet (d. 1869)

● 1822 - Louis Pasteur, French biologist and chemist; invented pasteurization process (d. 1895)

● 1823 - Sir Mackenzie Bowell, fifth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1896)

● 1832 - Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and patron of art (d. 1897)

● 1864 - René Georges Hermann-Paul, French artist

● 1879 - Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (d. 1954)

● 1883 - Cyrus Eaton, Canadian-born American industrialist and philanthropist (d. 1979)

● 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)

● 1896 - Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (d. 1952)

● 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 - Mary Kornman, American actress (d. 1973)

● 1915 - Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer

● 1917 - Onni Palaste, Finnish writer

● 1920 - Bruce Hobbs, American jockey (d. 2005)

● 1924 - James A. McClure, Former U.S. senator, R-Idaho

● 1925 - Michel Piccoli, French actor

● 1927 - Agnes Nixon, American television producer, director, and writer

● 1931 - Scotty Moore, Rock musician

● 1933 - John Hughey, Country musician

● 1934 - Larissa Latynina, Russian gymnast

● 1939 - John Amos, American actor

● 1941 - Michael Pinder, British musician (Moody Blues)

● 1942 - Byron Browne, Baseball player

● 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 - Tracy Nelson, Blues singer

● 1944 - Mick Jones, British musician (Foreigner)

● 1947 - Tracy Nelson, American blues singer

● 1948 - Gérard Depardieu, French actor

● 1949 - Carson Kievman, American composer

● 1949 - T.S. Monk, Jazz drummer-vocalist

● 1950 - Roberto Bettega, Italian footballer

● 1950 - Terry Bozzio, American drummer (Missing Persons)

● 1951 - Ernesto Zedillo, President of Mexico

● 1952 - Karla Bonoff, American singer and songwriter

● 1952 - Jay Hill, Canadian politician

● 1952 - David Knopfler, British musician (Dire Straits)

● 1955 - Barbara Olson, American political commentator (d. 2001)

● 1956 - Karen Hughes, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

● 1959 - Gerina Dunwich, American author

● 1959 - Andre Tippett, American football player

● 1960 - Maryam d'Abo, British actress

● 1962 - Mark Few, American basketball coach

● 1962 - Jeff Bryant, Country musician

● 1964 - Theresa Randle, Actress

● 1965 - Andrew Ettingshausen, Australian rugby player

● 1965 - Salman Khan, Indian actor

● 1966 - Eva La Rue, Actress (''CSI: Miami'')

● 1966 - Wendy Coakley-Thompson, American writer

● 1966 - Bill Goldberg, American football player and professional wrestler

● 1966 - John Harrington, American photographer and author

● 1969 - Sarah Vowell, American author and journalist

● 1969 - Jean-Christophe Boullion, French race car driver

● 1971 - Joanie Laurer, American professional wrestler

● 1971 - Duncan Ferguson, Scottish footballer

● 1972 - Matt Slocum, American musician (Sixpence None The Richer)

● 1973 - Olu, R&B singer

● 1973 - Wilson Cruz, Puerto Rican actor

● 1974 - Masi Oka, Japanese-American actor

● 1975 - Heather O'Rourke, American actress (d. 1988)

● 1976 - Fernando Pisani, Canadian/Italian hockey player

● 1978 - Deuce McAllister, Football player

● 1979 - David Dunn, English footballer

● 1979 - Carson Palmer, American football player

● 1981 - Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress

● 1982 - James Mead, American guitarist (Kutless)

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, American 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)

● 1956 - Lambert McKenna, Irish editor and lexicographer.

● 1966 - Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (b. 1906)

● 1972 - Lester B. Pearson, fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, recipient of the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1897)

● 1974 - Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock, Russian physicist (b. 1898)

● 1978 - Bob Luman, American Country and Rockabilly singer (b. 1937)

● 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, American musician (b. 1930)

● 2005 - William Doody, Canadian politician (b. 1931)

HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES

● Roman Catholic:
● St. John the Apostle and Evangelist
● St. Fabiola
● St. Theodore and Theophanes
● St. Nicarete
● St. Maximus

● Russian Orthodox Christian Menaion Calendar for December 14 (Civil Date: December 27)
● Nativity Fast.
● Martyrs Thyrsus, Leucius and Callinicus of Apollonia.
● Martyrs Apollonius, Philemon, Arianus and Theoctychus of Alexandria.

● Greek Calendar:
● Four guards converted by St. Arianus and martyred.
● Repose of Blessed Recluse John of Sezenovo Convent (1839).

● Lutheran and Anglican:
● St. John the Apostle and Evangelist

● St. Stephen's Day, a public holiday in Romania.

● The second day of Christmas in Western Christianity.

● Australia, Channel Islands, England, Nauru : Boxing Day

● Bhutan : Day of 9 Evils

● Indonesia : Independence Day (1949)

● Namibia, South Africa : Family Day

● This Holiday is applicable on a given "day of the week"
● Canada, United Kingdom (except Scotland), Australia, New Zealand : Boxing Day celebrated - ( Monday )

IN FICTION

● 1887 - Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of The Blue Carbuncle"


Click on this LINK to see original Wikipedia list with many having links with details.

Additional facts taken from:

On this day in the New York Times

The BBC’s Take on the day

On This Day Website

Geov Parrish's this Day in Radical History, things that happened on this day that you never had to memorize in school.

Scope Systems Any Day Website

Roman Catholic Saint of the Day

Russian Orthodox Christian Menaion Calendar

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