On this day in History - Dec. 27

• 537- St Sofia-church in Constantinople, initiated .
• 1437- Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes king of Bohemia .
• 1492 - Cristóbal Colón descubre la isla de Cuba, a la que llama "Juana" y después "Fernandina", pero que mantendrá finalmente su nombre autóctono.
• 1512 - Se promulgan las Reales Ordenanzas dadas para el buen regimiento y tratamiento de los indios, más conocidas como Leyes de Burgos.
• 1571 - Johannes Kepler was born, [d. 1630]; German astronomer .
• 1703 - Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England.
• 1732 - Em Portugal região de Loulé no Algarve ficou parcialmente destruída, como consequência de um sismo devastador.
• 1763 - Tratado de paz de Fontainebleau, por el que los británicos devuelven Manila a los españoles.
• 1773 -Sir George Cayley was born, scientist and aerial navigator .
• 1822 - Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, France.[d. 1895]; French scientist, chemist and microbiologist whose contributions were among the most varied and valuable in the history of science and industry.
• 1831-Darwin began his historic voyage 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).
• 1852 - Dom João G da Câmara was born, Portuguese journalist/songwriter.
• 1864 - Hood's army crosses the Tennessee River .
• 1871 - World's 1st Cat show (Crystal Palace, London) .
• 1879 - Sydney Greenstreet was born, actor (1879) .
• 1884- Netherlands recognizes king Leopold II's Congo Free State .
• 1900- militant prohibitionist Carry A. Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kan.
• 1901 -Marlene Dietrich was born, actress.
• 1904 - Peter Pan, by James Barrie, opens in London .
• 1904 - El Banfield Athletic Club se refunda como Club Atlético Banfield (Argentina).
• 1906 - Muere en Buenos Aires el político argentino Bernardo de Irigoyen.
• 1909 - Se funda el club Atlético Concepción, de Tucumán.
• 1915 - William H. Masters, was born [d. 1951]; William H(owell) Masters with his wife, Virginia Johnson, an American research team, and, respectively, physician and psychologist, noted for their studies of human sexuality.
• 1923 - Nasce em Lisboa o escultor Lagoa Henriques .
• 1925 - Michel Piccoli, was born in Paris France, actor (Topaz, Peril, May Fools).
• 1927 - the musical play "Show Boat," with music by Jerome Kern and libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II, opened at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York.
• 1932 - Radio City Music Hall in New York City opened.
• 1934 - Persia comienza a denominarse Irán, por disposición del Gobierno.
• 1939 -Between 20,000 & 40,000 die in magnitude 8 quake (Erzincam Turkey) .
• 1943 - Joan Manuel Serrat was born in Barcelona, singer.
• 1943 -German warship "Scharnhorst" sinks in Barents Sea.
• 1945-The World Bank was created with an agreement signed by 28 nations.
• 1945- 28 nations signed an agreement creating the World Bank.
• 1947 - the children’s television program "Howdy Doody" made its debut on NBC.
• 1947 - Primera Constitución italiana tras la Guerra Mundial.
• 1948 - Gerard Depardieu was born, actor (1948).
• 1949 - Jazz singer-musician T.S. Monk was born.
• 1949 - United States of Indonesia gains independence from Netherlands ~
• 1950 - Nace Roberto Bettega, delantero del fútbol italiano.
• 1951- 40th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Sydney (3-2) .
• 1951 - Nace Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, quien fuera presidente de México de 1994 a 2000.
• 1952-Rock musician David Knopfler (Dire Straits) .
• 1956- 5.580 Egyptian prisoners of war are exchanged for four Israelis held by Egypt following the Tripartite Invasion.
• 1957 - James Sanford, was born, US runner (world record 50m indoor) .
• 1959 - Alfonso Reyes, Mexican Poet / Historian / diplomat, dies at 70.
• 1960 - ance detonates its third atomic device in the Sahara.
• 1968 - Apollo 8 returns to Earth
• 1978 - King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's 1st democratic constitution.
• 1979 - The Soviet Union took control of Afghanistan, installing Afghan politician Babrak Karmal as president.
• 1985- Palestinian guerrillas opened fire inside the Rome and Vienna airports; a total of 20 people were killed, including five of the attackers, who were slain by police and security personnel.
• 1988 - Hall Ashby, US director (Shampoo, 8 Million Ways to Die), dies at 59 .
• 1993 - Dow-Jones hits record 3792.93 .
• 1994 - Four Roman Catholic priests — three French and a Belgian — were shot to death in their rectory in Algiers, a day after French commandos killed four radicals who’d hijacked an Air France jet from Algiers to Marseille.
• 1996 -Rwanda's first genocide trial opened for the 1994 slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis.
• 2001 -The U.S. announced plans to hold Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
• 2001 -President Bush permanently normalized trade relations with China.