Notable Historical Events on December 31st
December 31st Historical Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
406 |
80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine at Mainz, beginning an invasion of Gallia. |
535 |
Byzantine General Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Ostrogothic garrison of Syracuse, and ending his consulship for the year. |
765 |
Coffin of Ho-tse Shen-hui interred in a stupa built in China |
870 |
Skirmish at Englefield: Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army |
1229 |
James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian conquest of the island of Majorca. |
1492 |
100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily |
1502 |
Cesare Borgia (son of pope Alexander VI) occupies Urbino |
1564 |
Willem van Orange demands freedom of conscience/religion |
1600 |
British East India Company chartered |
1604 |
Admiral Steven van der Haghen's fleet reaches Bantam |
1621 |
Hungarian King Bethlen Gabor/Ferdinand II sign Treaty of Mikulov |
1660 |
James II of England is named Duke of Normandy by Louis XIV of France. |
1669 |
France & Brandenburg sign secret treaty |
1670 |
France & England sign Boyne-treaty |
1680 |
Amsterdam opera at Leidsegracht opens |
1687 |
1st Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope |
1688 |
Pro-James II-earl of Devonshire occupies Nottingham [OS=Dec 21] |
1695 |
A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax. |
1700 |
Frisia/Groningen adopt Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is 1/12/1701 |
1708 |
Great Alliance captures Bridge |
1711 |
Duke of Marlborough fired as English army commander |
1744 |
English astronomer James Bradley announces discovery of Earth's nutation motion (wobble) |
1745 |
Bonnie Prince Charlies army meets with de Esk |
1756 |
Russia joins the Alliance of Versailles |
1758 |
British expeditionary army occupies Goree (Dakar) Senegal |
1775 |
Battle of Quebec in American Revolutionary War; Americans defeated trying to take British stronghold |
1776 |
Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors |
1779 |
English fleet beat Dutch Merchant vessels |
1781 |
Bank of North America, 1st US bank opens |
1783 |
Import of African slaves banned by all of the Northern states |
1805 |
End of French Republican calendar; France returns to Gregorianism |
1831 |
Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City. |
1841 |
Alabama becomes 1st state to license dental surgeons |
1857 |
Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada |
1859 |
Dutch colony in Dutch Indies counts 4,800 slaves |
1861 |
22,990mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in India in 1861, a world record |
1862 |
-Jan 20th) Battle of Stone's River/Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennesse in American Civil War |
1862 |
President Lincoln signs act admitting West Virginia to the Union |
1862 |
Skirmish at Parker Cross Roads, Tennessee |
1862 |
Union ironclad ship "Monitor" sank off Cape Hatteras, NC |
1870 |
J D Schneiter patents rocket mail in France, (not done) |
1879 |
Cornerstone laid for Honolulu's Iolani Palace (only royal palace in US) |
1879 |
Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp |
1879 |
Gilbert and Sullivan's Opera "Pirates of Penzance," premieres in NYC |
1890 |
Ellis Island (NYC) opens as a US immigration depot |
1896 |
25th auto built in US |
1897 |
Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898) |
1901 |
In the first election under their new constitution, Cuba elects a Congress and their first president, Tomas Estrada Palma |
1902 |
Boers & British army sign peace treaty |
1904 |
The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square, then known as Longacre Square, in New York, New York. |
1906 |
French/British/Italian treaty concerning rights on Abyssinia |
1907 |
For 1st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal new year |
1907 |
G Mahler conducts the Metropolitan Opera |
1910 |
US tobacco industry produced 9 billion cigarettes in 1910 |
1911 |
Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize |
1914 |
Colonel Jacob Ruppert & Cap Huston purchase NY Yankees for $460,000 |
1914 |
As the year ends, the world finds itself engulfed in a war that would have seemed like and unimaginable nightmare only six months before |
1917 |
Dutch Social-democratic trade union NVV counts 159,450 members |
1918 |
Kid Gleason replaces Pants Rowland as White Sox manager |
1920 |
Roy Park makes 1st-ball duck in only Test Cricket inn, v Eng at MCG |
1921 |
Last San Francisco firehorses retired |
1923 |
1st transatlantic radio broadcast of a voice, Pittsburgh-Manchester |
1923 |
BBC begins using Big Ben chime ID |
1923 |
H Tierney/J McCarthy's musical "Kid Boots," premieres in NYC |
1925 |
14th congress of CPSU decides to accelerate industry |
1927 |
Ponsford scores 336 against SA, giving him 1146 for month |
1929 |
Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Divini illius magistri |
1930 |
Pontifical encyclical Casti connubii against mixed marriages |
1930 |
US tobacco industry produced 123 billion cigarettes in 1930 |
1932 |
John P O'Brien sworn-in as mayor of NYC |
1934 |
Helen Richey becomes 1st woman to pilot an airmail transport |
1935 |
CPH becomes Dutch Communist Party |
1935 |
Charles Darrow patents Monopoly |
1938 |
Dr R N Harger's "drunkometer," 1st breath test, introduced in Indiana |
1938 |
Dutch national debt hits ƒ3,986,629,805.70 |
1939 |
25 U boats sunk this month (81,000 ton) |
1939 |
Dutch national debt hits ƒ4,218,553,180.99 |
1940 |
37 U boats sunk this month (213,000 ton) |
1941 |
Young Park (2) in the Bronx named in honor of Samuel Young |
1942 |
60 U boats sunk this month (330,000 ton) |
1942 |
Battle in Barents Sea |
1942 |
Potatoes rationed in Holland |
1943 |
NYC's Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at Paramount Theater |
1944 |
48 people die in a train accident in Ogden, Utah |
1944 |
Japanese army evacuates harbor city Akyab |
1944 |
World War II: Hungary declares war on Germany. |
1945 |
Bradman scores 112, his 1st post-War century, SA v Aust Services |
1945 |
Ratification of UN Charter completed |
1946 |
French troops leave Lebanon |
1946 |
Pres Harry Truman officially proclaims end of WW II |
1948 |
Dutch police actions up Java gone on strike |
1949 |
18 countries recognize Republic Indonesia |
1950 |
Jockeys W Shoemaker & Joe Culmone set record of 388 wins in a year |
1951 |
1st battery to convert radioactive energy to electrical announced |
1952 |
41st Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Adelaide (4-1) |
1953 |
Hulan Jack sworn in as Manhattan Borough president |
1953 |
WFBC (now WYFF) TV channel 4 in G'ville-Spartanburg, SC (NBC) begins |
1953 |
Willie Shoemaker shatters record, riding 485 winners in a year |
1953 |
42nd Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Melbourne (3-2) |
1955 |
"Vamp" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 60 performances |
1955 |
The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over $1 billion USD in a year. |
1957 |
AAU awards Bobby Morrow, James Sullivan Memorial Trophy |
1958 |
47th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Brisbane (3-2) |
1958 |
Cuban dictator Batista tells his Cabinet he is fleeing the country |
1958 |
International Geophyscial Year ends |
1958 |
Willie Shoemaker 1st jockey to win national riding championship 4X |
1961 |
"lrma La Douce" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 527 performances |
1961 |
Beach Boys play their debut gig under that name |
1961 |
Failed coup by Syrian group in Lebanon |
1961 |
Green Bay Packers shutout NY Giants 37-0 in NFL championship game |
1961 |
Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $12 billion |
1962 |
"Match Game" debuts on NBC with host Gene Rayburn |
1962 |
American Basketball League announces suspension of operation |
1962 |
Dutch leave New Guinea |
1962 |
Katanga becomes part of Democratic Republic of Congo |
1962 |
Ohio ends suit against Reds when they agree to stay in Cin for 10 yrs |
1963 |
Chicago Bears win NFL championship |
1963 |
Dear Abby show premieres on CBS radio (runs 11 years) |
1963 |
Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir played music together for the 1st time |
1964 |
Donald Campbell (UK) sets world water speed record (276.33 mph) |
1964 |
Indonesia proclaims expelled from the UN |
1966 |
Monkee's "I'm a Believer" hits #1 & stays there for 7 weeks |
1966 |
Pirate Radio 390 (Radio Invicata) off England, resumes transmitting |
1966 |
Test Cricket debut of Bishen Singh Bedi, India v WI Calcutta, 2-92 |
1966 |
Toboggan Chutes begin operation in Cleveland Metroparks |
1967 |
"Henry, Sweet Henry" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 80 perfs |
1967 |
1st NBA game at Great Western Forum, LA Lakers beat Houston 147-118 |
1967 |
Oakland Raiders beat Houston Oilers 40-7 in AFL championship game |
1967 |
"The Ice Bowl", Packers beat Cowboys 21-17 in NFL championship game (-13°F) |
1968 |
1st supersonic airliner flown (Russian TU-144) |
1968 |
1st test flight of Tupolev TU 144 |
1968 |
NY Jets win AFL championship |
1969 |
Congo-Brazzaville becomes People's republic, under major Ngouabi |
1970 |
Congress authorizes Eisenhower dollar coin |
1970 |
Paul McCartney files a lawsuit to disolve the Beatles |
1970 |
President Allende nationalizes Chilean coal mines |
1970 |
Would have been start of Aust/Eng Test Cricket at MCG, washed out |
1971 |
KAID TV channel 4 in Boise, ID (PBS) begins broadcasting |
1971 |
Lt Gen Robert E Cushman, Jr, USMC, ends term as deputy director of CIA |
1971 |
Edmund Compton, then Northern Ireland Ombudsman, is replaced by John Benn |
1972 |
39th Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma 14 beats Penn State 0 |
1972 |
Leap second day; also in 1973-79, 1987 |
1972 |
Miami Dolphins beat Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7 in AFC championship game |
1972 |
Washington Redskins beat Dallas Cowboys 26-3 in NFC championship game |
1972 |
Martin McGuinness is arrested and held under the new Republic of Ireland legislation |
1973 |
40th Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame 24 beats Alabama 23 |
1973 |
61st Australian Mens Tennis: John Newcombe beats O Parun (63 67 75 61) |
1973 |
Johan Cruyff chosen European soccer Player of year |
1974 |
41st Sugar Bowl: Nebraska 13 beats Florida 10 |
1974 |
Gold legal in US, Franklin Mint strikes Panama's Gold 100 balboa coin |
1974 |
Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac |
1974 |
NY Yankees sign Jim "Catfish" Hunter for 5 yrs for a record $3.75 million |
1974 |
Popular Electronics displays Altair 8800 computer |
1975 |
42nd Sugar Bowl: Alabama 13 beats Penn State 6 |
1976 |
TV soap "Somerset" ends 6 year run |
1976 |
The Cars played their 1st gig |
1977 |
"Bubbling Brown Sugar" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 766 perfs |
1977 |
"Man of La Mancha" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 124 performances |
1977 |
Amir Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah becomes leader of Kuwait |
1977 |
Cambodia drops diplomatic relations with Vietnam |
1977 |
Donald Woods, a banned white editor flees South Africa |
1977 |
Ted Bundy escapes from jail in Colorado |
1977 |
WFAT (Brooklyn New York pirate radio station) begins broadcasting on 1620 AM |
1978 |
"Magic Show" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 1859 performances |
1978 |
"Runaways" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 199 performances |
1978 |
CIA director, Admiral Stansfield Turner retires from the Navy |
1978 |
Iran shah names Chapour Bakhtiar premier |
1978 |
Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with US |
1979 |
Winterland Rock Concert Hall in SF closes after 556 concerts |
1980 |
A Jewish owned hotel in Nairobi Kenya is bombed killing 18 |
1980 |
NY Islanders greatest shutout margin (9-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks |
1980 |
Senegal president Leopold Senghor resigns |
1981 |
CNN Headline News debuts |
1981 |
Lt Jerry Rawlings becomes head of Ghana, suspends constitution |
1981 |
Netherlands unemployment stands at record 475,000 |
1982 |
CBS Mystery Theater final episode on radio after 8 years |
1982 |
NBC radio cancels almost all of its network daily features |
1982 |
TV soap "Doctors" ends 19 year run |
1983 |
Brunei gains complete independence from Britain |
1983 |
Jose Happart installed as mayor of Voeren Belgium |
1983 |
Nigeria's National Assembly dissolves after military coup |
1984 |
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car crash |
1984 |
NYC subway gunman Bernhard Goetz surrenders to police in NH |
1984 |
Rajiv Gandhi takes office as India's 6th PM succeeding his mother Indira Gandhi |
1984 |
Test Cricket debut of Mohammad Azharuddin, v England at Calcutta |
1984 |
US leaves UNESCO |
1986 |
Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 97 |
1986 |
Russian TU-144 flies for 1st time faster than sound |
1986 |
WIS-AM in Columbia SC changes call letters to WVOC (now WOMG) |
1988 |
"The Fog Bowl", a heavy, dense fog rolled over Soldier Field in Chicago during the second quarter of the Bears/Eagles NFC Divisional Playoff Game, cutting visibility to about 15-20 yards for the rest of the game (Bears win 20-12) |
1989 |
"Me & My Girl" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 1420 performances |
1989 |
"Threepenny Opera" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 65 perfs |
1989 |
Fog Bowl: Heavy fog rolls in on Bears 20-12 victory over Eagles |
1989 |
Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets record with 598 wins in a year |
1990 |
Iraq begins a military draft of 17 year olds |
1990 |
Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting |
1990 |
United Somali Congress seizes Presidential Palace |
1991 |
CPN, Communist Party of Netherland, last day of existance |
1991 |
Daniel R McCarthy elected NY Yankee managing general partner |
1991 |
Dow Jones closes at record high 3168.83 |
1991 |
J Donald Crump resigned as CFL Commissioner |
1992 |
Target date for Europe's single market |
1993 |
Barbra Striesand does her 1st live public concert in 20 years |
1994 |
1st snowless December in Baltimore Maryland |
1994 |
Anti Apartheid Group of Netherlands (AABN) disbands |
1994 |
This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC-11 to UTC+13 and UTC-10 to UTC+14, respectively. |
1995 |
"Danny Gans on Broadway" closes at Neil Simon NYC |
1995 |
"Having Our Say" closes at Booth Theater NYC after 308 performances |
1995 |
"Heiress" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 340 performances |
1995 |
"Paul Roebson" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 14 performances |
1995 |
"Racing Demon" closes at Vivian Beaumont Theater NYC after 48 perfs |
1995 |
"Tempest" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 71 performances |
1995 |
62nd Sugar Bowl: Virginia Tech beats Texas |
1995 |
Cartoonist Bill Watterson ends his "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip |
1995 |
Matthew Elliott scores separate cricket century same day for Victoria |
1997 |
Intel cuts price of Pentium II-233 MHz from $401 to $268 |
1997 |
Marv Levy, retires as coach of Buffalo Bills |
1997 |
Microsoft buys Hotmail E-mail service |
1997 |
More Swedes died than were born in 1997, 1st time since 1809 |
1997 |
Orlando Hernandez, half-brother of pitcher Livan, defects from Cuba |
1997 |
S Afr & US surgeons separate Zambian Siamese twins joined at the head |
1998 |
US movie box office hits record $6.24 billion for year |
1998 |
Exchange rates between the euro and legacy currencies in the Eurozone become fixed. |
1999 |
Control of Panama Canal reverts to Panama |
1999 |
Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President. |
2004 |
The official opening of Taipei 101, the current tallest skyscraper in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 feet). |
2007 |
Bocaue Fire. Seven people injured when a fire razed several fireworks stores in the Municipality of Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines. |
2007 |
The Massive Big Dig construction project in Boston, Massachusetts ends. |
2015 |
Fire at downtown Dubai's highrise Address hotel |
2016 |
Baghdad Blasts Kill at Least 28 |
2016 |
Sports|Ronda Rousey's UFC Return Ends in 48 Seconds of Punches by Amanda Nunes |
2016 |
Russian hackers penetrated Vermont electric utility: Washington Post |
2016 |
US plane carrying six people goes missing |
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