World’s History

27 December 1831 Charles Darwin begins his journey on the HMS Beagle

It was during this 5-year long voyage that the English naturalist worked on his Theory of Evolution. He published the evidence supporting it in his 1859 book, On the Origin of Species.

27 December 2007 Benazir Bhutto assassinated

The former Prime Minister of Pakistan was killed after a shooting and the detonation of a suicide bomb while campaigning for the upcoming elections in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

27 December 1918 Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919 begins

The revolt against the Germans began in Poznań after a speech by the Polish Prime Minster, Ignacy Paderewski. The uprising led to newer territory being added to Poland in the Treaty of Versailles.

27 December 1949 Indonesia gains independence from the Dutch

The Southeast Asian country's independence came after 4 years of revolution and struggle. In August 1945, Sukarno signed the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, which was formally accepted and recognized by the Dutch in 1949.

Two children around a Christmas tree, Washington, D.C., 1920.

Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and his cousin Gustavo Gaviria, portraying the old gangsters of the West in a staged photo in Las Vegas, 1984.

Carla Bruni at a nightclub in Paris, 1991.

26 December 2004 Massive tsunami causes damage and kills thousands in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand

The tsunami was precipitated by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake was the third strongest earthquake ever measured using the Richter scale in recorded history. The other two were the Valdivia earthquake in Chile in 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5 and the Prince William Sound earthquake in Alaska in 1964, with a magnitude of 9.2. The Indian Ocean earthquake killed about 200,000 people and is considered one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent history.

26 December 1982 The December issue of Times magazine proclaimed the personal computer as the "Man of the Year"

The Man of the Year tradition began in 1927 at Time magazine as a way to identify and showcase those that influenced the year and its events significantly. In 1999, the feature was renamed Person of the Year.

26 December 1966 First Kwanzaa celebrations

The week-long cultural holiday is celebrated among African diaspora in the United States and was created by Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana Studies and a key figure in the Black Power movement. The holiday is celebrated annually from December 26 to January 1, and it is a recognition of African culture and heritage.

26 December 1941 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill, making the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day into federal law

The holiday has been celebrated officially in the United States since 1863. The first Thanksgiving is thought to have been observed by early settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony after their first harvest in 1621.

26 December 1898 Nobel Prize winners Marie and Pierre Curie announce the existence of Radium

The radioactive element has an atomic number of 88 and is known by the symbol Ra. In its pure form, it is a highly toxic element and is not used extensively for scientific purposes.

25 December 1643 East India Company's Captain William Mynors becomes the first European to sail by Christmas Island

Captain William Mynors on the East India Company ship Royal Mary did not stop at the Australian island, which owes its name to the date of its discovery by Europeans. It was not until 44 years later that the first Europeans stepped on the Island. Sparsely populated, the Indian Ocean island is rich in phosphate, which is mined from the guano – bird droppings.

25 December 1809 First abdominal surgery performed

American physician Ephraim McDowell became the first person in recorded history to successfully remove an ovarian tumor. He is known as the father of ovariotomy and abdominal surgery. The procedure took about 30 minutes and was performed without any anesthesia.

25 December 1926 Hirohito becomes the 124th emperor of Japan

Michinomiya Hirohito, known as Emporor Shōwa after his death, becomes the 124th emperor of Japan after the death of his father, Emperor Yoshihito. Hirohito was the Emperor of Japan for 62 years, making him the longest reigning Emperor of Japan.

25 December 1979 USSR invades Afghanistan

The airlift of Soviet troops into Afghanistan started a 9 year long war. The anti-Soviet insurgents, the mujahideen, received support from the United States and other western allies.

25 December 1989 Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu and wife Elena executed

The communist leader and his wife were deposed after a revolution. Their trial lasted for about an hour and then they were summarily executed by a firing squad.

Chuck Mangione ~ 1982

Egyptian man smoking at the top of the Pyramid of Giza, Egypt, 1981.

24 December 1826 Eggnog riots begin at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York

Also known as the Grog Mutiny, these riots began on Christmas Eve after cadets consumed copious amounts of eggnog made with smuggled whiskey. The riots lasted until December 25.