December 27
December 27 is the 362nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 4 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Capricorn.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On December 27 the Sun's declination is approximately -23.3°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a December 27.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Christian feast day: Blessed Francesco Spoto
- Christian feast day: Blessed Sára Salkaházi
- Christian feast day: Fabiola
- Christian feast day: John the Apostle
- Christian feast day: Pope Maximus of Alexandria
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2025 — An estimated €30 million were stolen from a Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. ↗(1 years ago)more
In December 2025, items worth an estimated €30 million were stolen from a Sparkasse bank in Buer, a suburb of Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The thieves used a large drill to break into the bank's underground vault and proceeded to crack over 3,000 safe deposit boxes.
2019 — Bek Air Flight 2100 crashes during takeoff from Almaty International Airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan, killing 13. ↗(7 years ago)more
Bek Air Flight 2100 was a domestic passenger flight from Almaty to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, operated by a Fokker 100 that crashed on 27 December 2019 while taking off from Almaty International Airport. Of the 98 people on board, 13 died in the crash and 66 were injured. The Kazakh government started investigations on the same day.
2009 — Iranian election protests: On the Day of Ashura in Tehran, Iran, government security forces fire upon demonstrators. ↗(17 years ago)more
After incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in the 2009 Iranian presidential election, protests broke out in major cities across Iran in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
2008 — Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches three-week operation on Gaza. ↗(18 years ago)more
The Gaza War, also known as the First Gaza War, Operation Cast Lead, or the Gaza Massacre, and referred to as the Battle of al-Furqan by Hamas, was a three-week armed conflict between Gaza Strip Palestinian paramilitary groups and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that began on 27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January 2009 with a unilateral ceasefire.
2007 — Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a shooting incident. ↗(19 years ago)more
A prime minister, also known as a chief of cabinet, chief minister, first minister, minister-president or premier, is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system.
2007 — Riots erupt in Mombasa, Kenya, after Mwai Kibaki is declared the winner of the presidential election, triggering a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis. ↗(19 years ago)more
Mombasa is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. Buildings in the Central Business District are blue and white, representing the Indian Ocean.
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. ↗(22 years ago)more
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes:electromagnetic radiation consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma radiation (γ) particle radiation consisting of particles of non-zero re...
2002 — Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. ↗(24 years ago)more
The Grozny truck bombing occurred on 27 December 2002, when three Chechen suicide bombers ran vehicles into the heavily guarded republic's government headquarters in the regional capital Grozny.
1999 — Burger King and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission order a recall of plastic Poké Ball containers after they are determined to be a choking hazard. ↗(27 years ago)more
Burger King Corporation is an American fast food chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The company was founded on July 23, 1953, as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant chain.
- 1997 — Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. ↗(29 years ago)
more
William Stephen Wright, known as King Rat, was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader who founded the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) during The Troubles. Wright had joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in his home town of Portadown around 1975. After spending several years in prison, he became a Protestant fundamentalist preacher.
1996 — Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan. ↗(30 years ago)more
The Taliban, officially known as the Islamic Movement of Taliban, also referring to themselves by their state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is an Afghan political and militant organization with an ideology comprising elements of the Deobandi movement of Islamic fundamentalism and Pashtun nationalism.
1991 — Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 crashes in Gottröra in the Norrtälje Municipality in Sweden, injuring 92. ↗(35 years ago)more
Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 was a regularly scheduled Scandinavian Airlines passenger flight from Stockholm, Sweden, to Warsaw, Poland, via Copenhagen, Denmark. On 27 December 1991, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81 operating the flight, registration OY-KHO, piloted by Danish Captain Stefan G.
Notable births
2001 — Ander Barrenetxea, Spanish footballer ↗(25 years ago)more
Ander Barrenetxea Muguruza, commonly known mononymously as Barrene, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for Real Sociedad and the Spain national team.
1999 — Brock Purdy, American football player ↗(27 years ago)more
Brock Richard Purdy is an American professional football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and was selected by the 49ers with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft, becoming that year's Mr. Irrelevant.
1998 — Luka Garza, American basketball player ↗(28 years ago)more
Luka Hudson Garza is a Bosnian-American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
1997 — Mads Juel Andersen, Danish footballer ↗(29 years ago)more
Mads Juel Andersen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL League One club Luton Town.
1997 — Vachirawit Chivaaree, Thai actor and singer ↗(29 years ago)more
Vachirawit Chivaaree, also known as Bright Vachirawit or simply Bright, is a Thai actor, singer, and entrepreneur. He is known for his role in the 2gether (2020) series franchise and F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers (2021), for the films Congrats My Ex! (2023) and Love You To Debt (2024), for show Toe Laew, for album Adolescent, and for song "Lost & Found".
Notable deaths
2024 — Greg Gumbel, American sportscaster (born 1946) ↗(2 years ago)more
Gregory Girard Gumbel was an American television sportscaster. He was best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports. Gumbel became the first African-American announcer to call play-by-play of a major sports championship in the United States when he announced Super Bowl XXXV for the CBS network in 2001.
2024 — Olivia Hussey, Argentinian-English actress (born 1951) ↗(2 years ago)more
Olivia Hussey was an Argentine and British actress. The daughter of Argentine singer Osvaldo Ribó, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires and spent most of her early life in her mother's native England. She aspired to become an actress at a young age and studied drama at London's Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
2024 — Charles Shyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1941) ↗(2 years ago)more
Charles Richard Shyer was an American filmmaker. Shyer's films are mainly comedies, often with a romcom overtone. His writing-directing credits include Private Benjamin (1980), Irreconcilable Differences (1984), Baby Boom (1987), Father of the Bride (1991), The Parent Trap (1998), The Affair of the Necklace (2001), and Alfie (2004).
2023 — Lee Sun-kyun, South Korean actor (born 1975) ↗(3 years ago)more
Lee Sun-kyun was a South Korean actor. Internationally, he was best known for his role in Bong Joon-ho's Academy Award–winning film Parasite (2019), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award along with his castmates. He received several other awards, including a nomination for an International Emmy Award.
2023 — Gaston Glock, Austrian firearm engineer and founder of Glock (born 1929) ↗(3 years ago)more
Gaston Glock was an Austrian engineer and businessman. He founded the company Glock in 1963. When he entered the 1980 competition for a new Austrian service pistol, he hired two engineers who had worked on the development of HK's first two polymer-frame pistols, the VP70 and P9 models.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (362) | 2 × 181 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (4) | 2^2 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 27122026 · next palindrome year: 2172 |
| Sun declination | -23.26° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 7 days |