This Day in History for 27th DecemberFamous Deaths418 - Zosimus, Greek Pope (417-8), dies
975 - Balderik, bishop of Utrecht (918-75), dies
1065 - Ferdinand I, the Great, king of Castile, dies
1076 - Prince Svyatoslav II of Kiev (b. 1027)
1381 - Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, English politician
1548 - Francesco Spiera, Italian Protestant jurist (b. 1502)
1590 - Emmanuel-Philibert of Lalaing, marquis of Renty, dies at 33
1595 - Pietro Pontio, composer, dies at 63
1603 - Thomas Cartwright, English Presbyterian publicist, dies at about 68
1631 - John Pijnas, Dutch painter, buried at about 47
1641 - Francois van d'Aerssen, ruler of Sommelsdijk/diplomat, dies at 69
1707 - Jean Mabillon, French palaeograopher and diplomat (b. 1632)
1737 - William Bowyer, English printer (b. 1663)
1743 - Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (b. 1659)
1771 - Henri Pitot, French engineer (b. 1695)
1782 - Henry Home, Lord Kames, Scottish philosopher (b. 1697)
1800 - Hugh Blair, Scottish preacher and man of letters (b. 1718)
1805 - Belle van Zuylen, Neth/Swiss writer (Trois Femmes), dies at 65
1812 - Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Lithuanian rabbi and founder of Chabad Hasidism (b. 1745)
1812 - Joanna Southcott, an English self-described religious prophetess.
1834 - Charles Lamb, English essayist (b. 1775)
1836 - Stephen Fuller Austin, founder of state of Texas, dies at 43
1858 - Alexandre Pierre Francois Boely, composer, dies at 73
1877 - Nikolai A Nekrasov, Russian poet (Metshty into Zvuki), dies at 56
1880 - Alessandro Nini, composer, dies at 75
1896 - John Brown, British manufacturer (b. 1816)
1900 - William G Armstrong, of Cragside, Brit const (hydr crane), dies at 90
1914 - Charles Martin Hall, American chemist and inventor (b. 1863)
1916 - Nikolay Feopemptovich Solov'yov, composer, dies at 70
1919 - Achilles Alferaki, composer, dies at 73
1919 - Theodoor H de Meester, Dutch lib premier (1905-08), dies at 68
1924 - William Archer, Scottish critic/playwright (Green Goddess), dies at 68
1925 - Louis Dosfel, Flemish lawyer/literary (Assault!), dies at 44
1925 - Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (b. 1895)
1930 - William Courtleigh, actor (Madame X, Eyes of Youth), dies at 63
1931 - Peter Christian Lutkin, composer, dies at 73
1931 - Walter Courvoisier, composer, dies at 56
1936 - Hans von Seeckt, German Gen/advisor of Chiang Kai-shek, dies at 70
1938 - Emile Vandervelde, President (1900–1918) of the International Socialist Bureau and Minister of 3 Belgian governments dies at 72
1938 - O Mandelstam, writer, dies
1938 - Calvin Bridges, American geneticist (b. 1889)
1944 - Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, composer, dies at 77
1950 - Max Beckmann, German painter/graphic artist, dies at 66
1952 - Henri G Winkelman, Dutch supreme commander army/navy 1940, dies at 76
1952 - Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian Roman Catholic priest (b. 1878)
1953 - Julian Tuwim, Polish poet (b. 1894)
1955 - Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, English soldier (b. 1881)
1956 - Lambert McKenna, Irish editor and lexicographer. (b. 1870)
1957 - Alan Bridge, actor (Hail the Conquering Hero), dies at 66
1959 - Alfonso Reyes, Mexican poet/historian/diplomat, dies at 70
1965 - Edgar Ende, German painter (b. 1901)
1966 - Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (b. 1906)
1972 - Lester B Pearson (L), 14th Canadian PM (Nobel 1957), dies at 75
1974 - Amy Vanderbilt, US author (Complete book of etiquette), dies at 66
1974 - Raymond Glenn, actor (Raisin in the Sun, Carmen Jones), dies at 76
1978 - Bob de Lange, Dutch actor/director (Daniel), dies at 62
1978 - Chris Bell, rock guitarist (Big Star), dies at 27 in car crash
1978 - Houari Boumédienne, President of Algeria (b. 1932)
1979 - Hafizullah Amin, president of Afghanistan (1979), murdered
1981 - Hoagy Carmichael, US actor/songwriter (Stardust), dies at 82
1982 - John Leonard Swigert Jr, astronaut (Apollo 13), dies of cancer at 51
1983 - Walter Scott, rocker, dies
1985 - Dian Fossey, US naturalist (Gorillas in Mist), found dead in Rwanda
1986 - Lars-Eric Vilner Larsson, composer, dies at 78
1987 - Priscilla Dean, actress (Outside the Law), dies of injuries at 91
1987 - Rewi Alley, NZ author, pro Chinese communist, dies at 90 in Beijing
1987 - Geoffrey D Lloyd, Chairman of the guild of British Newspaper editors (b. 1933)
1988 - Fox Harris, actor (Alienator, Warlords, Sid & Nancy), dies
1988 - Hall Ashby, US director (Shampoo, 8 Million Ways to Die), dies at 59
1991 - Edward M Love, choreographer/dancer, dies of AIDS at 43
1991 - John Morgan Evans, actor, dies after lengthy illness at 49
1991 - W Hudson, US "strongest man to the world" (540 kg), dies
1992 - Cardew "the Cad" [Douglas] Robinson, Engl comedian (Alfie), dies at 75
1992 - Jan Peeters, Dutch watercolorist/monument artist, dies
1992 - Kay Boyle, American writer (b. 1902)
1993 - Youssef Sebti, Algerian scholar/poet, murdered at 50
1994 - Hans Berghuis, author/poet (Kleitabletten), dies at 70
1994 - Karl AF Schiller, West German economist/SPD-minister, dies at 83
1994 - Peter Barker Howard May, cricket (4537 runs-Eng 1951-61), dies at 64
1994 - Sadi de Gorter, Dutch author/diplomat (Abscess), dies at 82
1994 - J. B. L. Reyes, Filipino jurist (b. 1902)
1995 - Jeremy John Beadle, writer/broadcaster, dies at 39
1995 - Peter Refn, Danish journalist/director (Violets are Blue), dies at 54
1995 - Shura Cherkassky, pianist, dies at 86
1997 - Brendan Gill, journalist, dies at 83
1997 - Dorothy Stroud, garden historian, dies at 87
1997 - Ewart G Abner Jr, president (Motown Records), dies at 74
1997 - Tom Hudson, artist/teacher, dies at 75
1997 - Billy Wright, Irish Protestant paramilitary leader (b. 1960)
2002 - George Roy Hill, American film director (b. 1922)
2003 - Alan Bates, English actor (b. 1934)
2003 - Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1962)
2004 - Hank Garland, American musician (b. 1930)
2005 - William Doody, Canadian politician (b. 1931)
2007 - Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan (assassinated) (b. 1953)
2007 - Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Polish film director (b. 1922)
2007 - Jaan Kross, Estonian writer (b. 1920)
2008 - Delaney Bramlett, American musician (b. 1939)