What Happened On
Soviet War in Afghanistan
December 27, 1979
Russia invades Kabul, Afghanistan at the start of the nearly 10-year conflict between the Soviet Army and rebels in Afghanistan.
Howdy Doody
December 27, 1947
The children's TV show Howdy Doody debuts on NBC. "Say, kids, what time is it?" It was the first nationally-broadcast TV program for children.
Howdy Doody was originally a "voice only" character and there was no puppet. But, the response was so great to the character that they hastily had puppeteer Frank Paris create a puppet for the character. As popularity for the character and demand for merchandising increased, a battle ensued since Buffalo Bob Smith owned the character, but Paris owned the puppet. Feeling he was being cheated out of revenues, Paris took off with the puppet during a live broadcast of the show. The producers then concocted a story where Howdy Doody decided to have plastic surgery to make him more handsome for the electorate while he was running for "President Of All Kids Of the United States". A new puppet was created to replace Paris' puppet. This is the puppet most people associate with the show.
Photo Credit: N/A (Jewish Women's Library)
First Ordained Female Rabbi
December 27, 1935
Regina Jonas is ordained, making her the first female ordained as a rabbi. Her 1930 thesis argued that there was no law forbidding women from becoming rabbis, and that there were many biblical and historical examples of women teaching and arbitrating Jewish law.
She died in the Auschwitz concentration camp during WWII. After being arrested by the Nazis in 1942 and sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, she continued her rabbinic work and provided counseling to new arrivals until she and her mother were sent to Auschwitz where they were killed.
She was almost forgotten to history. After the war, she and her work were ignored by her male colleagues, even by those who worked with her in Theresienstadt. However, in 1991 a researcher discovered her ordination papers, seminary dissertation, and other personal documents.
Photo Credit: skvidal
Radio City Music Hall
December 27, 1932
Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City, featuring the high-kicking Rockettes.
Show Boat
December 27, 1927
Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern's musical Show Boat premieres at the Ziegfield Theater on Broadway. It is considered the first true American musical play and features the classic number, Ol' Man River. It was based on the Edna Ferber novel of the same name.
Terrorist Attacks in Rome and Vienna
December 27, 1985
Palestinian terrorists kill 20 civilians at airport ticket counters in Rome and Vienna.
World Bank
December 27, 1945
The World Bank is established at a meeting in Washington, D.C.
First Black Intercollegiate Football Game
December 27, 1892
Livingstone College and Biddle College, (now Johnson C. Smith University) played in Salisbury, North Carolina. They played two 45-minute halves with Biddle wining 5-0.
Manifest Destiny
December 27, 1845
The term "Manifest Destiny" is coined by John L. O'Sullivan, in his newspaper the New York Morning News, writing that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country, "…that claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given to us".
Birthdays
Heather O'Rourke
Born December 27, 1975 d. 1988
American child actress. Film: Poltergeist (1982, Carol Anne), Poltergeist II (1986), and Poltergeist III (1988).
In 1987, 12-year-old O'Rourke became ill with giardiasis and was diagnosed as having Crohn's disease. She was treated for the disease during the filming of Poltergeist III. On January 31, 1988, she began vomiting and the next morning she collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest en route to the hospital where she died later that day during surgery to repair an acute bowel obstruction caused by congenital stenosis of the intestine.
John Amos (John Allen Amos Jr.)
Born December 27, 1939 d. 2024
American actor. Known for his portrayal of patriarch James Evans on the TV show Good Times (1974-76). He claims he was kicked off the television show Good Times because he didn't agree with the shucking and jiving of his character's son J.J. Evans. Amos, at age 34 when the show began, was only eight years older than the actor who played his oldest son and 19 years younger than the actress who played his wife.
Amos signed as a free agent with the American Football League's Denver Broncos, but was released on the second day of training camp. He went on to play in the United Football League, the Continental Football League, and the Atlantic Coast Football League.
TV: Good Times (1974-76, James Evans, Sr.), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-73, Gordy Howard the weatherman), Roots (1977, adult Kunta Kinte), and The West Wing (1999-2004, Admiral Percy Fitzwallace). Film: The World's Greatest Athlete (1973) and Coming to America (1988, Cleo McDowell).
Major Charles Sweeney
Born December 27, 1919 d. 2004
American pilot. He flew the plane which dropped the "Fat Man" atom bomb on Nagasaki (1945). Sixty percent of the city was destroyed and approximately 70,000 people were killed in the initial blast. This was the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan, after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Louis Pasteur
Born December 27, 1822 d. 1895
French chemist, bacteriologist. He discovered a vaccination for rabies (1885) and food preservation by heating (pasteurization). Pasteur refuted the theory of spontaneous generation and supported the germ theory of disease. His theory that many diseases are caused by tiny organisms was met with skepticism by many scientists of the day.
Father of Aerodynamics
Sir George Cayley
Born December 27, 1773 d. 1857
English inventor, "Father of Aerodynamics." He built the first manned glider (c1849). By 1799 he had developed the concept of the modern airplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control.
He was also the inventor of the hot air engine (1807). In 1837 he developed a hot air engine in which the products of combustion acted directly on a piston, making it the forerunner of the modern internal combustion engine.
Father of Modern Astronomy
Johannes Kepler
Born December 27, 1571 d. 1630
German mathematician, astronomer. "Father of Modern Astronomy." He discovered that planetary orbits are elliptical (1609), and invented the astronomical telescope (1611).
John Celardo
Born December 27, 1918 d. 2012
American cartoonist. Artist for Tarzan (1958-68).
William Howell Masters
Born December 27, 1915 d. 2001
American physician, obstetrician, sex therapist. He and his wife formed the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team.
Mary Kornman
Born December 27, 1915 d. 1973
American actress. She appeared in 41 Our Gang films.
Benjamin Eisenstadt
Born December 27, 1906 d. 1996
American inventor. He originated the idea of individual-sized sugar packets for use in restaurants and he and his son Marvin invented "Sweet'N Low" artificial sweetener (1957). The musical-scale logo for Sweet'N Low received Federal Trademark Registration No. 1,000,000.
Marlene Dietrich (Maria Magdalene Dietrich)
Born December 27, 1901 d. 1992
German-born American actress, singer. Film: The Blue Angel (1930). She was awarded the Medal of Freedom for her efforts during World War II.
Arch Ward
Born December 27, 1896 d. 1955
American sports editor for the Chicago Tribune. He originated the idea of major-league all-star baseball (1933) and football games (1934). He also created the Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament.
Deaths
Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here
Jack Swigert (John Leonard Swigert, Jr.)
Died December 27, 1982 b. 1931
American astronaut. During the Apollo 13 mission he proclaimed, "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here." Jim Lovell repeated the sentiment a few seconds later.
Note: The actual phrase was "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here", spoken by Swigert. After being asked to repeat the transmission Jim Lovell responded with "Uh, Houston, we've had a problem". In the 1995 movie Apollo 13, the line was shortened to the more dramatic, "Houston, we have a problem".
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
Died December 27, 1923 b. 1832
French civil engineer. Eiffel designed the framework for the Statue of Liberty (1885) and the Eiffel Tower in Paris (1889).
Carrie Fisher
Died December 27, 2016 b. 1956
American actress. Film: Star Wars (Princess Leia) and When Harry Met Sally… (1989, Marie). She is the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher and is the author of Postcards From the Edge.
Meadowlark Lemon
Died December 27, 2015 b. 1932
American basketball player. With the Harlem Globetrotters.
Sir Alan Arthur Bates
Died December 27, 2003 b. 1934
British actor. Film: The Fixer (1968).
Creator of Pace Picante Sauce
David Pace
Died December 27, 1993 b. 1914
American businessman. Creator of Pace Picante Sauce (1947). He played in the first Sugar Bowl (1937), while on a football scholarship to Tulane University.
Hal Ashby
Died December 27, 1988 b. 1929
American Oscar-winning editor, director. Film: In the Heat of the Night (1967, Oscar for Film Editing), Harold and Maude (1971), and Shampoo (1975).
Ham Fisher (Hammond Edward Fisher)
Died December 27, 1955 b. 1900
American cartoonist. Created Joe Palooka (1927).
Stephen Fuller Austin
Died December 27, 1836 b. 1793
American pioneer, "Father of Texas." He established the first American settlement in Texas (Austin, 1822).