What Happened in December 1927

Historical Events

Dec 2 1st Model A Ford sold, for only $385

Peking Man

Dec 2 Paleoanthropologist Davidson Black announces to the Geological Society of China that ancient human fossils from Zhoukoudian, China are a new species which he names 'Sinanthropus Pekinensis' (Peking Man), now known as Homo Erectus

Shostakovich's 2nd Symphony

Dec 4 Dmitri Shostakovich's 2nd Symphony premieres in Moscow

Ellington at the Cotton Club

Dec 4 Duke Ellington opens at the Cotton Club in Harlem, NYC

Jazz Musician and Composer Duke Ellington

Dec 4 Pittsburgh Pirates future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Paul Waner wins NL MVP
Dec 10 "Grand Ole Opry" first named as such during Barn Dance radio broadcast, in Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 14 Iraq gains independence from Britain, but British troops remain
Dec 15 William Edward Hickman kidnaps 12 year-old Marion Parker in Los Angeles, whom he later kills

Bradman Ist Class Debut

Dec 16 Australian cricket's batting maestro Don Bradman makes his 1st-class debut for NSW v South Australia at the Adelaide Oval finishing Day 1 on 65 not out

Dec 17 Australian cricketing prodigy Don Bradman scores 118 in his 1st-class debut for NSW against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval
Dec 17 US submarine S-4 sinks after collision killing all 34 aboard

Victoria Score 793

Dec 17 Victoria score 793 against Queensland, Bill Ponsford 437

Dec 19 National Football League Championship: New York Giants (11-1-1) win first past the post title
Dec 24 Test Cricket debut of Walter Hammond, who scored 51 & took 5-36 v S Af

"Show Boat"

Dec 27 Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's landmark musical "Show Boat", based on Edna Ferber's novel, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre, NYC; runs for 572 performances

Dec 27 Philip Barry's play "Paris Bound" premieres in NYC

"Antigone"

Dec 28 Arthur Honegger's opera "Antigone" premieres with a libretto by Jean Cocteau, sets by Pablo Picasso and costumes by Coco Chanel at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels

"Royal Family"

Dec 28 George Kaufman & Moss Hart's play "Royal Family" premieres in NYC

Dec 30 Japan dedicates 1st subway in Orient (route under 2 miles long)
Dec 31 Ponsford scores 336 against SA, giving him 1146 for month

Events in 1927

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Grant Beglarian, Armenian-American composer (Of Fables, Foibles, and Fancies), educator (University of Southern California, 1969-86), and arts administrator, born in Tiflis, Georgia (d. 2002)
Dec 2 Jim David, American NFL defensive back (Pro Bowl 1954-59; NFL Champion 1952-53, 57; Detroit Lions), born in Florence, South Carolina (d. 2007)
Dec 2 Ralph Beard, American basketball guard (Olympic gold 1948; NBA All-Star 1951; life ban point shaving scandal 1951), born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky (d. 2007)

Andy Williams (1927-2012)

Dec 3 American pop singer ("Moon River"; "Days of Wine and Roses"; "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"), born in Wall Lake, Iowa

Dec 3 Isabelle Harriet Lucas, Canadian-born British actress and singer (Outland, Comics), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1997)
Dec 4 John Jeffreys, Welsh-English classical composer, and pianist, born in Isle of Thanet, England (d. 2010)

Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927-2016)

Dec 5 King of Thailand (1946-2016), jazz saxophonist and composer, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dec 6 Akira Miyazawa, Japanese jazz saxophonist, born in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (d. 2000)
Dec 6 Jacques Bondon, French composer, born in Boulbon, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (d. 2008)
Dec 7 Helen Watts, British contralto, born in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales (d. 2009)
Dec 7 Vlastimir Peričić, Serbian composer, born in Vršac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (d. 2000)
Dec 8 Ferdie Pacheco, American physician (cornerman for Mohammad Ali) and boxing analyst (NBC, Showtime), born in Tampa, Florida (d. 2017)
Dec 8 Vladimir Shatalov, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 4, 8, 10), born in Petropavlovsk, Kazakh SSR
Dec 9 Helmut Maucher, German businessman, CEO of Nestlé (1990-97), born in Eisenharz, Germany (d. 2018)
Dec 9 Pierre Henry, French composer (considered pioneer of musique concrète), born in Paris (d. 2017)
Dec 10 Agnes Nixon, American television producer, director and writer (One Life to Live, All My Children), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2016)
Dec 10 Harvey Glatman, American rapist and serial killer, born in The Bronx, New York (d. 1959)
Dec 11 Glen Tuckett American college basbeall coach (Brigham Young University, 1959-76) and administrator (BYU athletic director, 1976-94), born in Murray, Utah (d. 2021)
Dec 11 John Buscema, American comics artist (Conan the Barbarian), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
Dec 11 Stein Eriksen, Norwegian alpine skier (first Olympic giant slalom gold 1952), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 2015)
Dec 12 Robert Noyce, American inventor (co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel Corporation in 1968), born in Burlington, Iowa (d. 1990)
Dec 13 Geneviève Page [Bonjean], French actress (Madame Anais-Belle de Jour, Day & the Hour), born in Paris, France
Dec 13 James Wright, American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (The Branch Will Not Break), born in Martins Ferry, Ohio (d. 1980)
Dec 14 Koss Rietkerk, Dutch internal minister (VVD) (1982-86), born in Boskoop, Netherlands (d. 1986)
Dec 14 Richard Cassilly, American tenor, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1998)
Dec 16 Peter Dickinson, British poet and author (Heartsease; City of Gold), born in Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia (d. 2015)
Dec 16 Randall Garrett, American author (Too Many Magicians; Takeoff!), born in Lexington, Missouri (d. 1987)
Dec 17 Richard Long, American actor (Prof-Nanny and the Professor), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1974)
Dec 17 Robert Robinson, British radio and television presenter, and game show host (Ask the Family: Call My Bluff), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2011)
Dec 18 Ramsey Clark, American lawyer, US Attorney General (1967-69) and activist, born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2021)
Dec 18 Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (1995-99), born in Memramcook, New Brunswick (d. 2009)
Dec 18 Sterling Lanier, American writer (Hiero's Journey), born in New York City (d. 2007)
Dec 19 James Booth [David Geeves], British actor and screenwriter (Zulu, Keeping Mum), born in Croydon, Surrey (d. 2005)
Dec 20 Jim Simpson, American sportscaster, (NBC, ESPN), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2016)
Dec 20 Kim Young-sam, South Korean politician and democratic activist (President of South Korea 1993-98), born in Geojedo, Geoje, South Korea (d. 2015)
Dec 21 Alex d'Arbeloff, Georgian-American entrepreneur who co-founded Teradyne, born in Paris, France (d. 2008) [1]
Dec 21 Michael Carreras, British film producer and director, born in London (d. 1994)
Dec 22 Peggy Castle, American actress (Lily Merrill-Lawman), born in Appalachia, Virginia (d. 1973)
Dec 23 (Cornelius) "Pinocchio" James, American jazz and R&B singer (Lionel Hampton Revue), born in Macon, Georgia
Dec 23 Charlie Williams MBE, English soccer defender (Doncaster Rovers 151 games) and comedian, born in Royston, England (d. 2006)
Dec 23 Joseph Castaldo, American composer, born in New York City (d. 2000)
Dec 24 Mary Higgins Clark, American suspense novelist (Cry in the Night; Stillwatch), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2023)
Dec 24 Teresa Stich-Randall, American soprano (Vienna State Opera), born in New Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2007)
Dec 25 Nellie Fox, American Baseball Hall of Fame infielder (15 x MLB All Star; AL MVP 1959; Chicago White Sox), born in St. Thomas Township, Pennsylvania (d. 1975)
Dec 26 Alan King [Irwin Kniberg], American comedian and actor (Anderson Tapes; Memories of Me), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2004)
Dec 26 Bill Yeoman, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (University of Houston 1962-86; record 160–108–8), born in Elnora, Indiana (d. 2020)
Dec 26 Denis Quilley, British actor (Anything Goes; The Lady's Not For Burning; Masada), born in London, England (d. 2003)
Dec 26 Stu Miller, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1952-68 (St. Louis Cardinals; New York/San Francisco Giants, and 3 other teams), born in Northampton, Massachusetts (d. 2015)
Dec 28 Anne Armstrong, US ambassador and first female counsel to the President, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, (d. 2008)
Dec 28 Norma Whiteman. Australian cricket fast bowler (7 WTests, 22 wickets, BB 4/33; NSWCA), born in Bathurst, Australia (d. 2023)
Dec 28 Oleg Karavaichuk, Russian pianist and composer, born in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR (d. 2016)
Dec 28 Simon Raven, English playwright and critic (Alms for Oblivion)
Dec 29 Andy Stanfield, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1952, silver 200m 1956; WR 200m: 20.60 1952), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1985)
Dec 30 Bernard Barrow, American actor (Ryan's Hope, Louie Slavinsky-Loving), born in New York City (d. 1993)
Dec 30 M Lawrence Antouin, college president (Emeritis)
Dec 31 Dieter Noll, German writer (Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt), born in Riesa, Saxony (d. 2008)

Born in 1927

Famous Weddings

Chiang Kai-shek & Soong Mei-ling

Dec 1 Chinese political and military leader Chiang Kai-shek (40) weds Soong Mei-ling (28) in Shanghai

Famous Deaths

Dec 7 Albert Griffiths ("Young Griffo"), Australian boxer (World Featherweight champion 1890-92), dies of apoplexy at 56
Dec 12 Heinrich Reitsch, composer, dies at 67
Dec 14 Julian Sochocki, Russian-Polish mathematician, dies at 85
Dec 16 Hugh Archibald Clarke, composer, dies at 88
Dec 17 Hubert Harrison, West Indian-American writer and freedom fighter, dies at 44
Dec 18 Harry Barrett, British athlete (WR marathon 2:42:31 1909), dies at 47
Dec 21 Jack Saunders, cricketer (79 wickets-14 Tests for Aust 1902-08), dies
Dec 25 Sergei Sazonov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1910-16), dies in exile in France at 66

On This Day