December 27 - Peek

Peek-a-Boo

This Day In History

537

The Hagia Sophia is completed.

1831

Charles Darwin embarks on his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.

1845

Ether anesthetic is used for childbirth for the first time by Dr. Crawford Williamson Long in Jefferson, Georgia.
1892
The foundation is laid for the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York (known locally as 'St. John the Unfinished').

1922

IJN Hōshō becomes the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.

1927

Show Boat, considered to be the first true American musical, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway.

1966

The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, is discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

1978

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in the South Pole recorded temperatures of 7.5 °F (−13.6 °C), making it the highest temperature to ever be recorded in the South Pole.

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.

Famous Birthdays

1571

Johannes Kepler, German astronomer (d. 1630)

1654

Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1705)

1773

George Cayley, English scientist, inventor, and politician (d. 1857)

1822

Louis Pasteur, French scientist (d. 1895)

1879

Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (d. 1954)

1901

Marlene Dietrich, German actress and singer (d. 1992)

1918

John Celardo, American comic strip artist (d. 2012)

1939

John Amos, American actor

1948

Gérard Depardieu, French actor

1960

Maryam d'Abo, British actress

1966

Eva LaRue, American actress

1969

Sarah Vowell, American author and journalist
1974
Masi Oka, Japanese-American actor
1983
Cole Hamels, American baseball player