The first Roman emperor Augustus, officially adopts his stepson Tiberius, as his son and heir in 4 CE. The decision came after the deaths of Augustus's two grandsons, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, who were initially considered his successors. Tiberius would later succeed Augustus as emperor in 14 CE.
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On This Day in History: December 27
Chrysaphius, a eunuch in the Eastern Roman court who became the chief minister of Theodosius II, dies. He played a controversial role in the court, pursuing a policy of appeasement towards the Huns, which cost the empire far more gold than any military campaign, while he amassed a vast fortune in bribes. He is typically depicted as a sinister figure.
The Gothic War, fought between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths, sees a significant battle at Taginae, resulting in a Byzantine victory.
British naturalist Charles Darwin sets out from Plymouth, England, aboard the HMS Beagle on a five-year voyage to the Pacific Ocean, including the Galapagos Island in South America and New Zealand. He was 22 years old.
Darwin's discoveries while visiting such diverse places gave him the basis to develop his theory of evolution which was published in 1859, "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection." More
President Franklin Roosevelt, asserting wartime emergency powers, orders his secretary of commerce to seize the plants and facilities of Montgomery Ward which was in the middle of a labor strike affecting the flow of war supplies. Montgomery Ward appealed the government action in Federal Court, but lost. More
The United States Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, on December 21, 2020 providing economic relief amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act was sign on December 27, 2020