537 Justinian I, the Byzantine (East Roman) emperor from 527 to 565, reconstructed Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople, after the original church was burnt down by rioters. An enormous building shaped like a cross, Justinian intended it to be higher than any church built up before, to reach up to God. The reconstruction was completed on December 27, 537.
1571 German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, at the Free Imperial City of Weil der Stadt (50 miles west of Stuttgart). Johannes was introduced to astronomy at an early age, and observed at the age of six the Great Comet of 1577. Today Kepler is best known for his laws of planetary motion, his fundamental work in the field of optics, and an improved version of the refracting telescope.
1821 Oscar Wilde's mother, Lady Jane Wilde, was born on December 27, 1821. A revolutionary poet under the pen name "Speranza" and authority on Celtic folklore, Lady Wilde read the Young Irelanders' poetry to Oscar and his brother Willie, inculcating a love of these poets in her sons. Oscar adored his mother, who was heartbroken when her son was imprisoned. She refused to leave her house and died when he was in jail.
1822 French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822, in Dole, Jura, in the French Jura mountains. Louis' childhood was spent there among the vineyard covered slopes where his chief interest and talent lay in painting. Pasteur is remembered today for his breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of diseases, including the creation of the first vaccines for rabies and anthrax and his discoveries of the principles of microbial fermentation and pasteurization.
1831 The Beagle departed from Devonport for the Pacific on December 27, 1831 with 74 on board including Charles Darwin. Darwin took part in the expedition as a self-financing gentleman naturalist and companion to the captain. Also on board was an English-born landscape artist Conrad Martens. Below is his painting of HMS Beagle in the seaways of Tierra del Fuego,
1836 England's worst ever avalanche occurred at Lewes, Sussex on December 27, 1836, when a huge build-up of snow on a chalk cliff overlooking the town collapsed into the settlement 325 feet (100 metres) below. It destroyed a row of cottages killing eight people.
1845 Journalist John L. O'Sullivan, writing in his newspaper The New York Morning News on December 27, 1845, argued that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country "by the right of our manifest destiny." Oregon was the 33rd state to join the United States, in 1859.
1845 Dr. Crawford Long used ether as an anesthetic for childbirth for the first time on December 27, 1845. Long was apparently unaware of the full significance of ether anesthetic and did not publish a description of his procedure until 1849. His delay in reporting his discovery kept him for many years from being recognized as the first physician to use anesthesia.
1901 Marlene Dietrich was born on December 27, 1901 in Leberstrasse 65 on the Rote Insel in Schöneberg, now a district of Berlin, Germany. She is considered to have been the first German actress to become successful in Hollywood. Her big break came in 1930, when she was cast in The Blue Angel as Lola-Lola, a cabaret singer.
1904 J.M. Barrie's play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up had its first stage performance at Duke of York's Theatre, London on December 27, 1904. A Broadway production was mounted in 1905 starring Maude Adams. Barrie adapted the play into the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy (most often now published simply as Peter Pan).
1904 Dublin's Abbey Theatre, converted from a former morgue, opened on December 27, 1904. The bill for the opening night consisted of three one-act plays, On Baile's Strand and Cathleen Ní Houlihan by W.B. Yeats, and Spreading the News by Lady Gregory.
1909 The Electric Cinema in Birmingham, England, first opened its doors on December 27, 1909. It is considered the oldest working cinema in the UK. The cinema has undergone various changes and renovations over the years but has retained its historic charm. It initially operated as a silent cinema, showcasing the latest films of the time. Over the decades, it adapted to technological advancements, including the transition to sound in the late 1920s.
1911 The national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana," was first sung on December 27, 1911 during the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. The song, which was written in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was later adopted as the national anthem of India in 1950, after the country gained independence from British rule.
1918 Irish woman Constance Markievicz became the first female Member of Parliament to be elected to the British House of Commons on December 27, 1918, representing Sinn Féin. However, in line with her party's abstention policy, she refused to take her seat in the House of Commons. and never served.
1922 Hōshō, the world's first purpose built aircraft carrier was commissioned on December 27, 1922 by the Imperial Japanese Navy, the ship was used for testing carrier aircraft operations equipment, techniques, such as take-offs and landings, and carrier aircraft operational methods and tactics.
1927 In 1927 Jerome Kern combined multiple forms of ballet, music and theater to invent the modern musical with Show Boat. The first massively popular musical comedy, Show Boat told a serious dramatic story about the lives of a family of showboat performers from the 1880s to the 1920s. It opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway on December 27, 1927.
1959 The 11-year-old Prince Charles (now Charles III) spoke in public for the first time on December 27, 1959 when he read the eighth lesson at a service of nine carols and lessons at the 15th century Church of St Peter and St Paul on the Sandringham estate. Other members of the congregation were surprised to see the 11-year-old royal walk up to the chancel.
1966 The Cave of Swallows in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico is the largest known cave shaft in the world. The floor of the cave is a 1092 feet (333-meter)) freefall drop from the lowest side of the opening, with a 370-meter (1,214 ft) drop from the highest side. The first documented exploration was on December 27, 1966 by T. R. Evans, Charles Borland and Randy Sterns.
1978 Following the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War, the Victorious General Franco established a Fascist dictatorship. Spain held its first democratic elections in four decades in 1977. The election marked the beginning of the end of authoritarian rule, and Spain officially became a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. The Spanish Constitution was ratified in 1978, and it came into effect on December 29, 1978.
1571 German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, at the Free Imperial City of Weil der Stadt (50 miles west of Stuttgart). Johannes was introduced to astronomy at an early age, and observed at the age of six the Great Comet of 1577. Today Kepler is best known for his laws of planetary motion, his fundamental work in the field of optics, and an improved version of the refracting telescope.
1821 Oscar Wilde's mother, Lady Jane Wilde, was born on December 27, 1821. A revolutionary poet under the pen name "Speranza" and authority on Celtic folklore, Lady Wilde read the Young Irelanders' poetry to Oscar and his brother Willie, inculcating a love of these poets in her sons. Oscar adored his mother, who was heartbroken when her son was imprisoned. She refused to leave her house and died when he was in jail.
1822 French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822, in Dole, Jura, in the French Jura mountains. Louis' childhood was spent there among the vineyard covered slopes where his chief interest and talent lay in painting. Pasteur is remembered today for his breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of diseases, including the creation of the first vaccines for rabies and anthrax and his discoveries of the principles of microbial fermentation and pasteurization.
1831 The Beagle departed from Devonport for the Pacific on December 27, 1831 with 74 on board including Charles Darwin. Darwin took part in the expedition as a self-financing gentleman naturalist and companion to the captain. Also on board was an English-born landscape artist Conrad Martens. Below is his painting of HMS Beagle in the seaways of Tierra del Fuego,
1836 England's worst ever avalanche occurred at Lewes, Sussex on December 27, 1836, when a huge build-up of snow on a chalk cliff overlooking the town collapsed into the settlement 325 feet (100 metres) below. It destroyed a row of cottages killing eight people.
1845 Journalist John L. O'Sullivan, writing in his newspaper The New York Morning News on December 27, 1845, argued that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country "by the right of our manifest destiny." Oregon was the 33rd state to join the United States, in 1859.
1845 Dr. Crawford Long used ether as an anesthetic for childbirth for the first time on December 27, 1845. Long was apparently unaware of the full significance of ether anesthetic and did not publish a description of his procedure until 1849. His delay in reporting his discovery kept him for many years from being recognized as the first physician to use anesthesia.
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| Crawford Long |
1901 Marlene Dietrich was born on December 27, 1901 in Leberstrasse 65 on the Rote Insel in Schöneberg, now a district of Berlin, Germany. She is considered to have been the first German actress to become successful in Hollywood. Her big break came in 1930, when she was cast in The Blue Angel as Lola-Lola, a cabaret singer.
1904 J.M. Barrie's play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up had its first stage performance at Duke of York's Theatre, London on December 27, 1904. A Broadway production was mounted in 1905 starring Maude Adams. Barrie adapted the play into the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy (most often now published simply as Peter Pan).
1904 Dublin's Abbey Theatre, converted from a former morgue, opened on December 27, 1904. The bill for the opening night consisted of three one-act plays, On Baile's Strand and Cathleen Ní Houlihan by W.B. Yeats, and Spreading the News by Lady Gregory.
1918 Irish woman Constance Markievicz became the first female Member of Parliament to be elected to the British House of Commons on December 27, 1918, representing Sinn Féin. However, in line with her party's abstention policy, she refused to take her seat in the House of Commons. and never served.
1922 Hōshō, the world's first purpose built aircraft carrier was commissioned on December 27, 1922 by the Imperial Japanese Navy, the ship was used for testing carrier aircraft operations equipment, techniques, such as take-offs and landings, and carrier aircraft operational methods and tactics.
 |
| Aerial view of Hōshō as completed in December 1922 |
1927 In 1927 Jerome Kern combined multiple forms of ballet, music and theater to invent the modern musical with Show Boat. The first massively popular musical comedy, Show Boat told a serious dramatic story about the lives of a family of showboat performers from the 1880s to the 1920s. It opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway on December 27, 1927.
1959 The 11-year-old Prince Charles (now Charles III) spoke in public for the first time on December 27, 1959 when he read the eighth lesson at a service of nine carols and lessons at the 15th century Church of St Peter and St Paul on the Sandringham estate. Other members of the congregation were surprised to see the 11-year-old royal walk up to the chancel.
1966 The Cave of Swallows in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico is the largest known cave shaft in the world. The floor of the cave is a 1092 feet (333-meter)) freefall drop from the lowest side of the opening, with a 370-meter (1,214 ft) drop from the highest side. The first documented exploration was on December 27, 1966 by T. R. Evans, Charles Borland and Randy Sterns.
1978 Following the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War, the Victorious General Franco established a Fascist dictatorship. Spain held its first democratic elections in four decades in 1977. The election marked the beginning of the end of authoritarian rule, and Spain officially became a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. The Spanish Constitution was ratified in 1978, and it came into effect on December 29, 1978.
1983 Two and a half years after being shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Agca, Pope John Paul II showed what Christian forgiveness is about when on December 27, 1983, he sat in his would-be assassin's cell holding the hand that held the gun.
1989 Romania's national flag consists of three vertical stripes of equal width, from left to right: blue, yellow, and red. This tricolor design has been in use since the early 19th century. The current design was officially adopted on December 27, 1989, through the Law on the State Flag of Romania.
2004 Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reached Earth on December 27, 2004. It was the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet. The neutron star is also the most magnetic object ever perceived by mankind, with a magnetic field of over 1015 gauss in intensity.
2007 Prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated as she waved at crowds out of her election campaign bus at Liaquat National Bagh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on December 27, 2007.
She was the first woman to head a Muslim majority nation.
2007 Prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated as she waved at crowds out of her election campaign bus at Liaquat National Bagh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on December 27, 2007.
She was the first woman to head a Muslim majority nation.
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