Today In History

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 27, the 361st day of 2017. There are four days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1927: The musical play “Show Boat,” with music by Jerome Kern and libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II, opened at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York, beginning a run of 572 performances.

ON THIS DATE

› 1831: Naturalist Charles Darwin set out on a round-the-world voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.

› 1904: James Barrie’s play “Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” opened at the Duke of York’s Theater in London.

› 1932: New York City’s Radio City Music Hall first opened.

› 1945: The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were formally established.

› 1947: The original version of the puppet character Howdy Doody made his TV debut on NBC’s “Puppet Playhouse.”

› 1968: Apollo 8 and its three astronauts made a safe, nighttime splashdown in the Pacific.

› 1970: The musical play “Hello, Dolly!” closed on Broadway after a run of 2,844 performances.

› 1979: Soviet forces seized control of Afghanistan. President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, was replaced by Babrak Karmal.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor John Amos is 78. ABC News correspondent Cokie Roberts is

74. Rock musician Mick Jones (Foreigner) is 73. Singer Tracy Nelson is 73. Actor Gerard Depardieu is 69. Jazz singer-musician T.S. Monk is 68. Singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff is 66. Rock musician David Knopfler (Dire Straits) is 65. Actress Tovah Feldshuh is 64. Journalist-turned-politician Arthur Kent is 64. Actress Maryam D’Abo is 57. Country musician Jeff Bryant is 55. Actor Ian Gomez is 53. Actress Theresa Randle is 53. Actress Eva LaRue is 51. Wrestler and actor Bill Goldberg is 51. Actress Tracey Cherelle Jones is

48. Bluegrass singer-musician Darrin Vincent (Dailey & Vincent) is 48. Rock musician Guthrie Govan is 46. Musician Matt Slocum is 45. Actor Wilson Cruz is 44. Singer Olu is 44. Actress Emilie de Ravin is 36. Christian rock musician James Mead (Kutless) is 35. Rock singer Hayley Williams (Paramore) is 29. Country singer Shay Mooney (Dan & Shay) is 26.