December 27th in History

1831: HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, sets sail on its world voyage
1927: Leon Trotsky expelled from the Communist Party
1945: International Monetary Fund established
1979: Russia invades Afghanistan
1989: Egypt resumes full diplomatic relations with Syria, after a ten year break

December 27th birthdays

1571: Johannes Kepler, German astronomer who stated that planets circle the Sun
1879: Sydney Greenstreet, American actor
1901: Marlene Dietrich, German actress