Summary of the Day ✨ 27 December (27/12)
Major events included a bank heist in Germany where €30 million was stolen, and a plane crash in Kazakhstan that killed 13 people. Political violence also marked the day with Iranian security forces firing on protesters, Israel launching military operations in Gaza, and the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: An estimated €30 million were stolen from a Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
- 2019: Bek Air Flight 2100 crashes during takeoff from Almaty International Airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan, killing 13.
- 2009: Iranian election protests: On the Day of Ashura in Tehran, Iran, government security forces fire upon demonstrators.
- 2008: Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches three-week operation on Gaza.
- 2007: Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a shooting incident.
- 2007: Riots erupt in Mombasa, Kenya, after Mwai Kibaki is declared the winner of the presidential election, triggering a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis.
- 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.
- 2002: Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia.
- 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.
- 1997: Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
- 1996: Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan.
- 1991: Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 crashes in Gottröra in the Norrtälje Municipality in Sweden, injuring 92.
- 1989: The Romanian Revolution concludes, as the last minor street confrontations and stray shootings abruptly end in the country’s capital, Bucharest.
- 1985: Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside the airports of Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria.
- 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.
Famous Births 👶
- 2001: Ander Barrenetxea, Spanish footballer
- 1999: Brock Purdy, American football player
- 1998: Luka Garza, American basketball player
- 1997: Mads Juel Andersen, Danish footballer
- 1997: Vachirawit Chivaaree, Thai actor and singer
- 1997: Ana Konjuh, Croatian tennis player
- 1997: Jang Gyu-ri, South Korean actress
- 1995: Timothée Chalamet, French-American actor
- 1995: Nick Chubb, American football player
- 1995: Ghislain Konan, Ivorian footballer
- 1995: Mark Lapidus, Estonian chess player
- 1994: Isi Palazón, Spanish footballer
- 1993: Olivia Cooke, English actress
- 1992: Joel Indermitte, Estonian footballer
- 1992: Maicel Uibo, Estonian decathlete
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Greg Gumbel, American sportscaster (born 1946)
- 2024: Olivia Hussey, Argentinian-English actress (born 1951)
- 2024: Charles Shyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1941)
- 2023: Lee Sun-kyun, South Korean actor (born 1975)
- 2023: Gaston Glock, Austrian firearm engineer and founder of Glock (born 1929)
- 2019: Maria Creveling, American League of Legends player (born 1995)
- 2018: Frank Blaichman, Polish resistance fighter (born 1922)
- 2016: Carrie Fisher, American actress, screenwriter, author, producer, and speaker (born 1956)
- 2016: Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sri Lankan politician (born 1933)
- 2015: Stein Eriksen, Norwegian-American skier (born 1927)
- 2015: Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1958)
- 2015: Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (born 1923)
- 2015: Meadowlark Lemon, American basketball player and minister (born 1932)
- 2015: Alfredo Pacheco, Salvadoran footballer (born 1982)
- 2015: Stevie Wright, English-Australian singer-songwriter (born 1947)
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 - Christian feast day:
Nicarete - Christian feast day:
Theodorus and Theophanes - Christian feast day:
December 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Constitution Day (North Korea)
- Emergency Rescuer’s Day (Russia)
- Saint Stephen’s Day (Eastern Orthodox Church; a public holiday in Romania)
- The third of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)