This day in history: 27 december

1703 – Portugal and England signed the Methuen Treaty, granting favorable trade terms for Portuguese wine exports to England.
1822 – Birth of Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist, renowned for his discoveries in vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization.
1923 – Death of Gustave Eiffel, French engineer and architect, best known for designing the Eiffel Tower.
1938 – Death of Osip Mandelstam, Polish-Russian poet and critic, significant in European literary circles.
1949 – The Netherlands officially recognized the independence of Indonesia, marking the end of Dutch colonial rule.
1985 – Coordinated terrorist attacks at Vienna and Rome airports killed 16 people and injured over 100, highlighting the threat of international terrorism in Europe.

1512 – The Spanish Crown issued the Laws of Burgos, the first set of regulations governing the conduct of Spanish settlers toward Indigenous peoples in the New World.
1657 – The Flushing Remonstrance was presented in New Netherland (now New York), articulating for the first time in North American history that freedom of religion is a fundamental right.
1814 – War of 1812: The destruction of the schooner USS Carolina ended Commodore Daniel Patterson’s makeshift fleet, which contributed to Andrew Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
1845 – Dr. Crawford Long used ether anesthesia for childbirth for the first time in Jefferson, Georgia, revolutionizing medical practice.
1845 – Journalist John L. O’Sullivan argued in the New York Morning News that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country, popularizing the concept of “manifest destiny”.
1927 – Show Boat, considered the first true American musical, opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway in New York City.
1932 – Radio City Music Hall, “Showplace of the Nation,” opened in New York City, featuring the world’s largest auditorium at the time.
1938 – The first skimobile course in America opened in North Conway, New Hampshire.
1968 – Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, successfully completing the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon.

1911 – “Jana Gana Mana,” the future national anthem of India, was sung for the first time at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress.
1923 – In Tokyo, the Crown Prince of Japan survived an assassination attempt.
1934 – The Shah of Persia announced the official change of the country’s name from Persia to Iran.
1939 – The devastating Erzincan earthquake struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 32,700 people.
1949 – The Netherlands officially recognized Indonesian independence, marking the end of Dutch colonial rule after years of struggle.
1972 – North Korea’s new constitution came into effect.
1975 – A coal mine disaster in Chasnala, India, resulted in the deaths of 372 people.
1979 – Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin was assassinated during a military coup, marking a pivotal moment in Afghanistan’s political history.
2007 – Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in Rawalpindi, an event that triggered widespread unrest and had a lasting impact on Pakistani politics.

1923 – Lucas Manyane Mangope, who later became president of the former South African homeland Bophuthatswana, was born in Motswedi, near Zeerust, Transvaal.
1932 – South Africa abandoned the gold standard, a significant economic event impacting the country’s financial system.
1988 – The African National Congress (ANC) accused the South African government of ransacking its offices in Maputo, Mozambique, highlighting tensions during the apartheid era.
1997 – Zolani Petelo, a South African mini flyweight boxer, won the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title, marking a notable achievement in African sports.
2022 – In South Africa, December 27 was declared a public holiday by President Cyril Ramaphosa, due to Christmas Day falling on a Sunday and to ensure workers received their full entitlement of public holidays.