December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years ) in the Gregorian Calendar . It is the final day of the Gregorian year.
Events 406 - Vandals , Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine , beginning an invasion of Gallia 1600 - British East India Company is chartered1687 - The first Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope .1695 - A window tax is imposed in England , causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax .1775 - American Revolutionary War : British forces repulse an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Quebec .1857 - Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, Ontario , as the capital of Canada 1862 - American Civil War : Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union (thus dividing Virginia in two); meanwhile, the Battle of Stones River is fought near Murfreesboro, Tennessee .1879 - Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time (Menlo Park, New Jersey ).1904 - The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square , then known as Longacre Square, in New York, New York .1916 - The Hampton Terrace Hotel in North Augusta, South Carolina , one of the largest and most luxurious hotels in the USA at the time, burns to the ground.1929 - Guy Lombardo plays Auld Lang Syne 1944 - World War II : Hungary declares war on Germany 1946 - President Harry Truman officially proclaims an end of hostilities in World War II .1955 - General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make over USD $1 billion in a year.1960 - The farthing coin , used in Britain since the 13th century , ceases to be legal tender .1961 - The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than USD $12 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Europe .1963 - Zambia , Malawi and Rhodesia .1968 - Marien Ngouabi assumed the presidency of the Republic of the Congo .1972 - Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua .1983 - The last day that the AT&T Bell System exists before being broken up by the United States Government.1986 - A fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico , kills 97 and injures 140.1990 - Russian Garry Kasparov holds his title by winning the World Chess Championship match against his countryman Anatoly Karpov .1991 - The Soviet Union officially dissolves.1992 - Thames Television ceases broadcasting. Carlton Television takes over its London weekday franchise.1995 - The publication of the last new Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strip.1999 - Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia , to be replaced by Vladimir Putin 1999 - Five hijackers , who had been holding 155 hostages on an Indian Airlines plane, leave the plane with two Islamic clerics that they had demanded be freed.1999 - The Panama Canal comes completely under Panama 's jurisdiction.
Births 1378 - Pope Callixtus III (d. 1458 )1514 - Andreas Vesal , physician (d. 1564 )1790 - Antoine Adamberger, actress (d. 1867 )1869 - Henri Matisse , painter and graphic artist (d. 1954 )1880 - George Marshall , recipient of Nobel Prize in Peace 1953 for the Marshall Plan (d. 1959 )1881 - Max Pechstein, painter and graphic artist (d. 1955 )1894 - Pola Negri , Polish actress (d. 1987 )1903 - Nathan Milstein , Ukrainian violinist (d. 1992 )1905 - Jule Styne , composer (d. 1994 )1908 - Simon Wiesenthal , concentration camp survivor, activist1910 - Carl Dudley , American movie director (died 1973 )1919 - Tommy Byrne , Major League Baseball player1920 - Rex Allen , actor, singer (d. 1999 )1930 - Odetta , singer1932 - Mildred Scheel, physician, founder of Deutsche Krebshilfe (d. 1985 )1932 - George Schlatter, television producer1937 - Anthony Hopkins , actor1941 - Alex Ferguson , football player and manager1943 - John Denver , country/pop musician (d. 1997 )1943 - Ben Kingsley , actor1945 - Taylor Hackford , producer, director1945 - Diane von Fürstenberg, fashion designer1947 - Burton Cummings , musician ("The Guess Who ")1947 - Tim Matheson , actor 1948 - Donna Summer , singer1951 - George Thorogood , musician1958 - Bebe Neuwirth , actress1959 - Val Kilmer , actor1960 - John Allen Muhammad , convicted Beltway sniper 1963 - Scott Ian , lead singer of Anthrax 1971 - Brent Barry , NBA basketball player
Deaths 192 - Commodus , Roman Emperor (b. 161 )1164 - Margrave Ottokar III of Styria 1194 - Leopold V of Austria , killed at a tournament in Graz 1384 - John Wyclif , theologian (b. 1328 )1510 - Bianca Maria Sforza , daughter of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan and wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor 1568 - Shimazu Tadayoshi , Japanese daimyo (b. 1493 )1888 - Samson Raphael Hirsch , rabbi (b. 1888 )1936 - Miguel de Unamuno , Spanish writer, philosopher1948 - Malcolm Campbell , Grand Prix race car driver (b. 1885 )1969 - George Lewis , jazz musician (b. 1900 )1972 - Roberto Clemente , Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1934 )1980 - Marshall McLuhan , one of the founders of media studies (b. 1911 )1980 _ Raoul Walsh , film director 1985 - Rick Nelson , singer (b. 1940 )1990 - Vasili Lazarev , cosmonaut (b. 1928 )1993 - Zviad Gamsakhurdia , scientist and writer, first President of the Republic of Georgia (b. 1939 )1993 - Brandon Teena , murder victim (b. 1972 ) 1997 - Floyd Cramer, musician1997 - Michael Kennedy , son of Robert F. Kennedy , killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado . 1999 - Sarah Knauss , dies at the age of 119 years - at death, the world's oldest person alive. (b. 1880 ).1999 - Elliot Richardson , U.S. politician (b. 1920 ) 2000 - Alan Cranston , U.S. politician2000 - José Greco, Spanish Flamenco dance 2003 - Arthur R. von Hippel German-born American scientist and professor at MIT
Holidays and observances December 30 - January 1 - November 30 - January 31 -- listing of all days
Results from FactBites:
Today in History: December 31 (848 words)
On December 31, 1837, Democrat Amasa J. Parker, Congressman from New York, sat down at his quarters in Mrs. Parker's letter of December 31 includes a seating chart indicating Mrs. On December 31, 1881 , Charles Guiteau, the assassin of President James Garfield, wrote a New Year's greeting to his jailer.
More results at FactBites »
Feeds |
Contact