Historical Events on December 27

  • 1814: Catching on fire from heated shot hurled by British forces, the USS Carolina eventually is destroyed during the War of 1812.
  • 1831: Charles Darwin boards the HMS Beagle. It’s during this trip that he’ll start to formalize some of his ideas on his theory of evolution.
  • 1845: Crawford uses anesthetic for a woman in childbirth for the first time. This happened in Jefferson, Georgia.
  • 1845: Journalist John L. O’Sullivan advocated the use of Manifest Destiny in claiming the entirety of the Oregon Country in his article in the New York Morning News.
  • 1927: The first truly American musical – Show Boat – plays for the first time at Ziegfeld Theater on Broadway.
  • 1939: As Soviet forces attack the city of Kelja, Finnish forces are able to hold them off during the Winter War.
  • 1966: The largest known cave shaft in the entire world is located in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. It’s called the Cave of Swallows.
  • 1979: Soviet Forces invade Afghanistan in what would become a costly and bloody war for them.
  • 2004: The radiation expelled from the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches the Earth. It’s considered to be the brightest extrasolar event to have been witnessed.
  • 2008: During Operation Cast Lead, a three week operation is launched on Gaza by Israel.

Famous Birthdays on December 27

  • French chemist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur is born in 1822.
  • English-Canadian journalist and politician, Mackenzie Bowell is born in 1823.
  • French painter and illustrator, Hermann Paul is born in 1864.
  • German actress and screenwriter, Thea von Harbou is born in 1888.
  • German-American actress, Marlene Dietrich is born in 1901.
  • English actress Irene Handl is born in 1901.
  • American gynecologist and author, William Masters is born in 1915.
  • American actress Cathy Lewis is born in 1916.
  • American general Charles Sweeney is born in 1919.
  • Canadian NHL player, Patrick Sharp is born in 1981.
  • American illustrator Erin E. Stead is born in 1982
  • American high jumper Jesse Williams is born in 1983.