On this day in History - Dec. 27

• 0537 - 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 - Ferdinand II issued the Laws of Burgos to “regulate the relations” between Spaniards and Indians in Spain's American colonies.
• 1571 - Johannes Kepler was born (d. 1630). German astronomer .
• 1654 - Jacob Bernoulli was born (d. 1705). Swiss mathematician.
• 1683 - D. Maria Francisca Isabel de Sabóia dies (b. 21 Jun 1646). Queen of Portugal.
• 1703 - Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England. ( Ler em português Tratado de Methuen)
• 1717 - Pope Pius VI was born (d. 1799)
• 1721 - François Hemsterhuis was born (d. 1790). Dutch philosopher.
• 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.
• 1797 - Marquesa de Santos (Domitília de Castro do Canto e Mello), was born in São Paulo -SP. Brazilian nobless personality.
• 1801 - After conquering Italy, Napoleon established the Republic of Lucca.
• 1802 - Jørgensen “Jens” Juel dies (b. 12 May 1745). Danish painter.
• 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).
• 1849 - Jacques Laurent Agasse dies in London (b. 24 Mar 1767). Swiss English painter specialized in animals. White Horse in Pasture (1807)
• 1845 - Augusto de Oliveira Machado was born in Lisbon (d. 26 Mar 1924). Portuguese composer.
• 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.
• 1888 - Thea von Harbou was born (d. 1954). German author and actress.
• 1896 - Carl Zuckmayer was born (d. 1977). German author and dramatist.
• 1897 – Tudor Vianu was born (d. 21 May 1964). Romanian poet
• 1896 - Louis Bromfield was born (d. 1956). American writer.
• 1899 - Concepción Michel (Concha) dies (b. 1899). Mexican singer, musicologist and politic activist.
• 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. German actress.
• 1904 - Peter Pan, by James Barrie, opens in London .
• 1904 - The Abbey Theatre opens.
• 1904 - El Banfield Athletic Club se refunda como Club Atlético Banfield (Argentina).
• 1906 - Bernardo de Irigoyen dies in Buenos Aires. Argentine politician.
• 1909 - Club Atlético Concepción, de Tucumán is founded.
• 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.
• 1918 - Beginning of Great Poland Uprising, the Poles in Greater Poland (or Grand Duchy of Poznań) rise against the Germans
• 1923 - Lagoa Henriques was born in Lisbon. Portuguese sculptor.
• 1923 - Gustave Eiffel dies (b. 1832). French engineer and architect.
• 1924 - William Archer dies in London (b. 23 Sep 1856). Scottish critic and playwright (Green Goddess)
• 1925 - Michel Piccoli was born in Paris. French actor (Topaz, Peril, May Fools).
• 1925 - Sergei Yesenin was born (d. 1895). Russian poet.
• 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.
• 1927 - Leon Trotsky expelled from the Communist Party
• 1932 - Radio City Music Hall in New York City opened.
• 1932 - The internal passport system, previously denounced by Vladimir Ilich Lenin as one of the worst stigmas of tsarist backwardness and despotism, was reinstated in the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin.
• 1934 - Persia comienza a denominarse Irán, por disposición del Gobierno.
• 1934 - Isaac Karabtchewsky was born. Brazilian conductor
• 1936 - Iris Zavala was born in Puerto Rico. Writer ( Breve historia feminista de la literatura española)
• 1939 - Between 20,000 & 40,000 die in magnitude 8 quake (Erzincam Turkey) .
• 1940 - Louis Hayet dies (b. 29 Aug 1864). French painter and writer.
• 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.
• 1947 - the children’s television program "Howdy Doody" made its debut on NBC.
• 1947 - Primera Constitución italiana tras la Guerra Mundial.
• 1947 - Peter Criss (Peter Crisscuola) was born. Musician (Kiss).
• 1948 - Gerard Depardieu was born. French actor.
• 1949 - Einstein’s Theory of Gravitation - Albert Einstein published his extended theory of gravitation in the "New York Times".
• 1949 - T.S. Monk was born. Jazz singer-musician.
• 1949 - Indonesian National Revolution: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands grants Indonesia sovereignty.
• 1950 - Roberto Bettega was born. Italian footballer.
• 1950 - Max Beckmann was born (d. 1884). German painter
• 1951 - 40th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Sydney (3-2) .
• 1951 - Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León was born. President of Mexico (1994-2000).
• 1952 - David Knopfler was born. Musician and composer (Dire Straits) .
• 1953 - Julian Tuwim dies (b. 1894). Polish poet.
• 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 dies (b. 17 May 1889). Mexican poet, historian and diplomat.
• 1960 - France detonates its third atomic device in the Sahara.
• 1966 - Guillermo Stábile dies. Argentine footballer and National coach
• 1968 - Apollo 8 returns to Earth
• 1978 - King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's 1st democratic constitution.
• 1978 - Spain adopted a new constitution and became a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
• 1978 - Houari Boumédienne dies (b. 1932). President of Algeria
• 1979 - The Soviet Union took control of Afghanistan, installing Afghan politician Babrak Karmal as president.
• 1981 - Emilie de Ravin was born. Australian actress
• 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.
• 1985 - American naturalist Dian Fossey is found murdered in Rwanda.
• 1988 - Hall Ashby dies at 59. US director (Shampoo, 8 Million Ways to Die).
• 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.
• 1997 - Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in prison in Northern Ireland.
• 2000 - Antonio Rodríguez Valdivieso dies (b. 1918). Spanish painter.
• 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.
• 2002 - Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya.
• 2003 - Alan Bates dies (b. 1934). English actor.
• 2004 - Yushchenko wins Ukraine election re-run
• 2005 - César Peixoto, portuguese footballer and Isabel Figueira, Portuguese model and TV personality, get married at Igreja do Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Costa, na Pousada de Guimarães.
• The second day of Christmas in Western Christianity.
• Feast of the Holy Innocents, Eastern Orthodox.
• Christmas in lieu if Christmas falls on a weekend