Today in History in 1904 James Barrie's play Peter Pan begins to be shown in London; and in 1947 Howdy Doody, a children's television program, makes its debut (NBC).

The On This Day In History archives at “Simple English Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia” contains over 200,000 events, birthdays and deaths from 6,000 years of history. Here is a roundup of a few of them:

December 27 is the 361st day of the year (362nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are four days remaining until the end of the year.

EVENTS

537 – The Hagia Sophia is consecrated as a church in Byzantium.

1703 – Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England.

1814 – War of 1812: American schooner (a type of sailing boat) USS Carolina is destroyed.

1831 – Charles Darwin begins his trip on the boat the HMS Beagle, where he will think of the theory of evolution.

1836 – The worst ever avalanche in England happens at Lewes, Sussex, killing 8 people.

1845 – Ether anesthetic is used for childbirth for the first time (Dr. Crawford Williamson Long in Jefferson, Georgia).

1904 – James Barrie's play Peter Pan begins to be shown in London.

1904 – The Abbey Theatre opens.

1911 – Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem of India, is first sung at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress.

1918 – Beginning of Great Poland Uprising. The Poles in Poland beign to fight against the Germans so that they can become free.

1922 – Japanese aircraft carrier Hosho becomes the first purpose–built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.

1923 – Daisuke Namba, Japanese student, tries to assassinate Japan's then–Prince–Regent Hirohito.

1932 – Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City.

1936 – Spanish Civil War: Francisco Franco's forces bomb Santander.

1939 – Erzincan, Turkey, is struck by a major earthquake, killing 30,000 people.

1939 – Winter War: Finland holds off a Soviet Union attack in the Battle of Kelja.

1945 – The World Bank is created with the signing of an agreement by 28 nations.

1945 – Korea is divided (put into two pieces).

1947 – Howdy Doody, a children's television program, makes its debut (NBC).

1949 – Indonesian National Revolution: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands recognises Indonesia as an independent country.

1959 – In a referendum, voters in the Pacific islands of Wallis and Futuna decide that their islands should have the status of a French overseas territory.

1960 – The Beatles play their first performance in Litherland Town Hall, Liverpool.

1966 – The Cave of Swallows, the largest–known cave shaft, is discovered near San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

1968 – Long–time radio show The Breakfast Club ends on ABC radio.

1975 – A mining explosion in Jharkhand, India, causes a flood, in which 372 miners drown.

1978 – Spain becomes a democracy (a place where people vote) after 40 years of dictatorship.

1979 – The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan and Babrak Karmal becomes the new president. The old one, Hafizullah Amin, was killed.

1985 – Palestinian fighters kill twenty people in the Rome and Vienna airports (places where airplanes take off and land).

1985 – American naturalist Dian Fossey is found murdered in Rwanda.

1996 – Taliban fighters take over the Bagram air base. They became safer and stronger in Kabul after they did that.

1997 – Protestant paramilitary (paramilitary is what you call an army that is not legal and part of the government) leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland.

2001 – The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States.

2002 – Two truck bombs in Grozny kill 72 and hurt 200 at the building where the government of Chechnya works.

2004 – Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar "SGR 1806–20" reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar (outside the Solar System) event known to have been witnessed on the planet.

2006 – Space telescope COROT is launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

2007 – Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, is killed in a terrorist attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

2007 – Mwai Kibaki is declared the winner of a disputed Presidential election in Kenya. Riots start, which ultimately lead to a political, economic and humanitarian crisis.

2008 – A three–week war begins in the Gaza Strip, as Israel launches Operation Cast Lead on suspected Hamas militants in Gaza, lasting three weeks.