History of 27th December

418 - [Etalius] begins his reign as Catholic Pope
537 - St Sofia-church in Constantinople, initiated
537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed.
1437 - Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes king of Bohemia
1503 - Battle at Garigliano] Spanish army under G Cordoba beats France
1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regards to native Indians in the New World.
1521 - "Zwickauer profeten" appear in Wittenberg
1657 - The Flushing Remonstrance is signed.
1679 - Dutch troops capture Madurees prince Trunudjojo in Java
1703 - England & Portugal sign Methuen-Asiento-trade agreement
1741 - Prussian forces took Olmutz, Czechoslovakia
1814 - Destruction of schooner Carolina, the last of Commodore Daniel Patterson's make-shift fleet that fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
1825 - 1st public railroad using steam locomotive completed in England
1831 - Darwin begins his voyage on board HMS Beagle
1831 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin departs England for South America
1836 - Worst English avalanche kills 8 of 15 buried (Lewes Sussex)
1845 - Ether 1st used in childbirth in US, Jefferson, Ga
1850 - Hawaiian Fire Dept established
1862 - Battle of Chickasaw Bluffs, MS (Chickasaw Bayou)
1862 - Battle of Elizabethtown, KY
1867 - Ontario & Quebec legislatures hold 1st meeting
1871 - World's 1st cat show (Crystal Palace, London)
1884 - Netherlands recognizes king Leopold II's Congo Free State
1887 - Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Blue Carbuncle" (BG)
1892 - Foundation Stone of Cathedral of St John laid (NYC)
1892 - N C Biddle beats Livingston 4-0 in 1st black college football game
1897 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Victorias beat Ottawa Capitals, 15-2
1900 - Carrie Nation's 1st public smashing of a bar (Carey Hotel, Wichita KS)
1903 - "Sweet Adaline," a barbershop quartet favorite, is 1st sung
1904 - Duke of York Theatre opens in London (1st musical Peter Pan)
1904 - W B Yeats/Lady Gregory's "On Baile's Strand," premieres in Dublin
1905 - M A Noble scores 281 (369 mins, 21 fours) NSW v Victoria
1906 - 1st annual meeting of American Sociological Society, Providence, RI
1918 - The Great Poland Uprising against the Germans begins.
1919 - Red Sox owner Harry Frazee announces they will deal any player except Harry Hooper, Hooper is sent to the White Sox after 1920 season
1923 - Unsuccessful attempt on prince-regent Hirohito of Japan
1926 - Depot Square in Bronx renamed Botanical Square
1926 - Latkin Square in Bronx named for 1st US Jewish soldier to die in WW I
1927 - Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II's "Show Boat," premieres in NYC
1927 - Philip Barry's "Paris Bound," premieres in NYC
1927 - Stalin's faction wins All-Union Congress in USSR, Trotsky expelled
1932 - Radio City Music Hall opens (NYC)
1934 - 1st youth hostel in US opens (Northfield, Mass)
1934 - Shah of Persia declares Persia now Iran
1934 - Vernon Duke & James Hanley's musical premieres in NYC
1937 - Bradman scores 246 SA v Queensland, 364 mins, 20 fours
1937 - German immigration officials with no explanation bar Juan Carlos Zabala (Arg), 1932 Olympic marathon champion, from entering Germany
1937 - Mae West performs Adam & Eve skit that gets her banned from NBC radio
1939 - 1st American skimobiles (North Conway, NH)
1939 - Between 20,000 & 40,000 die in magnitude 8 quake (Erzincam Turkey)
1939 - Earthquake in Turkey, about 50,000 die
1941 - Japan bombs Manila even though it was declared an "open city"
1941 - Siberia: Dmitri Sjostakovitsj completes his 7th Symphony
1942 - 1st Japanese women camp (Ambarawa) goes into use
1942 - NFL Pro Bowl: NFL All-Stars beats Washington 17-14
1942 - The Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia is founded.
1943 - France transfers most of her powers in Lebanon to Lebanese govt
1943 - German warship "Scharnhorst" sinks in Barents Sea
1943 - Montgomery discusses Overlord with Eisenhower & Bedell Smith
1944 - Greece: British premier Churchill flies back to London
1945 - Arthur Laurent's "Home of the Brave," premieres in NYC
1945 - International Monetary Fund established-World Bank founded
1945 - The World Bank was created with the signing of an agreement by 28 nations.
1947 - 1st "Howdy Doody Show," (Puppet Playhouse), telecast on NBC
1949 - Queen Juliana (Netherlands) grants sovereignty to Indonesia
1949 - United States of Indonesia gains independence from Netherlands
1951 - 40th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Sydney (3-2)
1953 - Detroit Lions beat Cleveland Browns 17-16 in NFL championship game
1954 - "Saint of Bleecker Street" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 92 perfs
1954 - Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "Saint," premieres in NYC
1956 - 45th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Adelaide (5-0)
1956 - Bill Sharman (Boston) ends NBA free throw streak of 55 games
1959 - Balt Colts beat NY Giants 31-16 in NFL championship game
1960 - France performs nuclear test
1961 - "Subways Are for Sleeping" opens at St James Theater NYC for 205 perfs
1961 - Belgium & Congo resume diplomatic relations
1961 - Styne/Comden/Green's musical "Subways are for Sleeping," premieres
1962 - 28th Heisman Trophy Award: Terry Baker, Oregon State (QB)
1964 - Cleveland Browns beat Balt Colts 27-0 in NFL championship game
1966 - "At the Drop of Another Hat" opens at Booth Theater NYC for 105 perfs
1968 - Apollo 8 returns to Earth
1968 - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
1970 - "Hello, Dolly!" closes at St James Theater NYC after 2844 performances
1972 - "Purlie" opens at Billy Rose Theater NYC for 14 performances
1972 - Belgium recognizes German DR
1972 - LA Kings start Islanders on 12 game losing streak
1972 - New North Korean constitution comes into effect
1973 - LA Dodgers announce night games will start at 7:30 instead of 8
1974 - 40th Heisman Trophy Award: Archie Griffin, Ohio State (RB)
1974 - Dear Abby show ends run on CBS radio after 11 years
1974 - FSLN seizes government hostages at a private Managua party
1974 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1975 - Explosion at Chasnala Colliery collapses drowning 350 (Dhanbad India)
1976 - Albania constitution goes into effect
1978 - King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's 1st democratic constitution
1978 - Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
1979 - "Knots Landing," premieres on CBS-TV
1979 - Red Army beats NY Rangers 5-2 at MSG
1979 - Soviet troops invade Afghanistan, Pres Hafizullah Amin overthrown
1980 - Calvin Murphy (Rockets) begins longest NBA free throw streak of 78

1981 - Lillee becomes the leading wicket-taker in Test Crickets with 310
1981 - Oiler Wayne Gretzky becomes fastest NHLer to get 100 pts (38th game)
1981 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1982 - Imran Khan 8-60 to bring innings victory v India at Karachi
1983 - Pope John Paul II pardons man who shot him (Mehmet Ali Agca)
1983 - Propane gas fire devastated 16 blocks of Buffalo
1984 - Padres' free agent pitcher Ed Whitson signs with NY Yankees
1985 - Terrorists kill 20 & wound 110 attacking El Al at Rome & Vienna airports, President Reagan blames Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi
1986 - "Les Miserables" opens at Kennedy Center, Wash DC
1986 - 10th Soap Opera Digest Poll Awards - Young & Restless wins
1987 - Steve Largent sets all-time NFL record for career catches when he catches his 752nd pass
1987 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1988 - Bulgaria stops jamming Radio Free Europe after more than 3 decades
1989 - Oregon begins taking bids on NBA games
1991 - "Carol Burnett Show" last airs on CBS-TV
1991 - Bengals hire Dave Shula as youngest NFL coach (32)
1991 - Chuck Knox retires as Seattle Seahawk coach
1992 - "3 From Brooklyn" closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 45 perfs
1992 - "Les Miserables" opens at Ostregaswerks, Copenhagen
1992 - "Tommy Tune Tonite! Song & Dance Act" opens at Gershwin NYC for 10 per
1992 - 13th United Negro College Fund raises $11,000,000
1992 - Harry Connick Jr is caught with 9mm gun in NY's JFK airport
1992 - Nancy Sheehan wins LPGA Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge Golf Tournament
1993 - "Candles, Snow, & Mistletoe" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 7 perfs
1993 - Actress Teri Garr (44) weds John O'Neil (42)
1993 - Dow-Jones hits record 3792.93
1995 - Boon completes his 21st Test Cricket century (110 v SL, MCG)
1996 - Carquest Bowl 7: Miami beats Virginia, 31-21
1996 - Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.
1997 - Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland.
2001 - The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States.
2002 - Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya.
2004 - Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet.
2007 - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated by a suicide bomber.