On this day: December 27

Events on December 27

• 537 The reconstructed Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was inaugurated; built as a church, it later became a mosque and a museum. Wikipedia
• 537 The second Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is consecrated. Wikipedia
• 1521 A period of unrest in Wittenberg following the arrival of three men of the Radical Reformation, known as the Zwickau prophets, was quelled after Martin Luther's release from custody. Wikipedia
• 1703 Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which allows Portugal to export wines to England on favorable trade terms. Wikipedia
• 1814 War of 1812: The destruction of the schooner USS Carolina brings to an end Commodore Daniel Patterson's makeshift fleet, which fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Wikipedia
• 1831 HMS Beagle departed Plymouth, England, on a voyage to South America that established Charles Darwin as a naturalist. Wikipedia
• 1831 Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard HMS Beagle, during which he will begin to formulate his theory of evolution. Wikipedia
• 1911 "Jana Gana Mana", the national anthem of India, is first sung in the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. Wikipedia
• 1929 Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin orders the "liquidation of the kulaks as a class". Wikipedia
• 1935 Regina Jonas is ordained as the first female rabbi in the history of Judaism. Wikipedia
• 1939 The 7.8 Mw Erzincan earthquake shakes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). At least 32,700 people were killed. Wikipedia
• 1939 Winter War: Finland holds off a Soviet attack in the Battle of Kelja. Wikipedia
• 1945 The International Monetary Fund is created with the signing of an agreement by 29 nations. Wikipedia
• 1949 Indonesian National Revolution: The Netherlands officially recognizes Indonesian independence. End of the Dutch East Indies. Wikipedia
• 1978 Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of fascist dictatorship. Wikipedia
• 1979 Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet troops stormed Tajbeg Palace outside Kabul and killed Afghan president Hafizullah Amin and his 100–150 elite guards. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1985 Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside the airports of Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria. Wikipedia
• 1989 The Romanian Revolution concludes, as the last minor street confrontations and stray shootings abruptly end in the country's capital, Bucharest. Wikipedia
• 1991 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 crashes in Gottröra in the Norrtälje Municipality in Sweden, injuring 92. Wikipedia
• 1996 Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan. Wikipedia
• 1997 Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Wikipedia
• 2002 Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. Wikipedia
• 2009 During protests in Tehran against the recent presidential election, Iranian security forces opened fire on demonstrators. Wikipedia
• 2009 Iranian election protests: On the Day of Ashura in Tehran, Iran, government security forces fire upon demonstrators. Wikipedia
• 2019 Bek Air Flight 2100 crashes during takeoff from Almaty International Airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan, killing 13. Wikipedia

Born on December 27

• 1459 John I Albert, King of Poland (died 1501) Wikipedia
• 1571 Johannes Kepler, German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer (died 1630) Wikipedia
• 1595 Bohdan Khmelnytsky, hetman of Ukraine (died 1657) Wikipedia
• 1797 Ghalib, Indian poet (died 1869) Wikipedia
• 1822 Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (died 1895) Wikipedia
• 1823 Mackenzie Bowell, English-Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Canada (died 1917) Wikipedia
• 1832 Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tretyakov Gallery (died 1897) Wikipedia
• 1896 Carl Zuckmayer, German author and playwright (died 1977) Wikipedia
• 1901 Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (died 1992) Wikipedia
• 1925 Michel Piccoli, French actor, singer, director, and producer (died 2020) Wikipedia
• 1934 Larisa Latynina, Ukrainian gymnast and coach Wikipedia
• 1948 Gérard Depardieu, French-Russian actor Wikipedia
• 1951 Ernesto Zedillo, Mexican economist and politician, 54th President of Mexico Wikipedia
• 1961 Guido Westerwelle, German lawyer and politician, 15th Vice-Chancellor of Germany (died 2016) Wikipedia
• 1965 Salman Khan, Indian film actor and producer Wikipedia
• 1981 Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress Wikipedia
• 1984 Gilles Simon, French tennis player Wikipedia
• 1985 Adil Rami, French footballer Wikipedia
• 1986 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaican sprinter Wikipedia
• 1988 Hayley Williams, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia
• 1990 Milos Raonic, Canadian tennis player Wikipedia
• 1995 Timothée Chalamet, French-American actor Wikipedia

Died on December 27

• 683 Gaozong of Tang, 3rd emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty (born 628) Wikipedia
• 1672 Jacques Rohault, French philosopher (born 1618) Wikipedia
• 1834 Charles Lamb, English essayist and poet (born 1775) Wikipedia
• 1923 Gustave Eiffel, French architect and engineer, co-designed the Eiffel Tower (born 1832) Wikipedia
• 1938 Osip Mandelstam, Polish-Russian poet and critic (born 1891) Wikipedia
• 1950 Max Beckmann, German-American painter and sculptor (born 1884) Wikipedia
• 1953 Julian Tuwim, Polish poet and author (born 1894) Wikipedia
• 1972 Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1897) Wikipedia
• 1978 Houari Boumediene, Algerian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Algeria (born 1932) Wikipedia
• 1979 Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, 2nd General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (born 1929) Wikipedia
• 2007 Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani politician, Prime Minister of Pakistan (born 1953) Wikipedia
• 2012 Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general and engineer (born 1934) Wikipedia
• 2016 Carrie Fisher, American actress, screenwriter, author, producer, and speaker (born 1956) Wikipedia
• 2024 Olivia Hussey, Argentinian-English actress (born 1951) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Blessed Francesco Spoto Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Sára Salkaházi Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Fabiola Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: John the Apostle Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Pope Maximus of Alexandria Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Nicarete Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Theodorus and Theophanes Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: December 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Constitution Day (North Korea) Wikipedia
• Emergency Rescuer's Day (Russia) Wikipedia
• Saint Stephen's Day (Eastern Orthodox Church; a public holiday in Romania) Wikipedia
• The third of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “December 27” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.