December 27 in History

Historical Events on December 27

537 The Hagia Sophia is completed.

1814 War of 1812: The American schooner USS Carolina 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 the HMS Beagle, during which he will begin to formulate his theory of evolution.

1932 Radio City Music Hall, "Showplace of the Nation", opens in New York City.

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.

1996 Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan.

2008 Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches 3-week operation on Gaza.

All Events

Famous Birthdays on December 27

1822 Louis Pasteur

1979 David Dunn

1986 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

1990 Milos Raonic

All Births

Famous Deaths on December 27

1958 Harry Warner

1979 Hafizullah Amin

2007 Benazir Bhutto

2016 Carrie Fisher

All Deaths

Choose Another Date