Historical Events
31 Dec 1229
James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (Palma) consummating Christian conquest of the island of Majorca
31 Dec 1502
Cesare Borgia (son of pope Alexander VI) occupies Urbino
31 Dec 1564
Willem van Orange demands freedom of consciencereligion
31 Dec 1604
Admiral Steven van der Haghens fleet reaches Bantam
31 Dec 1621
Hungarian King Bethlen GaborFerdinand II sign Treaty of Mikulov
31 Dec 1660
James II of England is named Duke of Normandy by Louis XIV of France.
31 Dec 1687
1st Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope
31 Dec 1688
Pro-James II-earl of Devonshire occupies Nottingham [OSDec 21]
31 Dec 1695
A window tax is imposed in England causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax.
31 Dec 1700
Frisia and Groningen adopt Gregorian calendar tomorrow is 1121701
31 Dec 1711
John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough fired as English army commander
31 Dec 1744
English astronomer James Bradley announces discovery of Earths nutation motion (wobble)
31 Dec 1758
British expeditionary army occupies Goree (Dakar) Senegal
31 Dec 1775
Battle of Quebec in American Revolutionary War Americans defeated trying to take British stronghold
31 Dec 1776
Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters 42 cents for tailors
31 Dec 1783
Import of African slaves banned by all of the Northern US states
31 Dec 1805
End of French Republican calendar France returns to Gregorianism
31 Dec 1841
Alabama becomes 1st state to license dental surgeons
31 Dec 1859
Dutch colony in Dutch Indies counts 4800 slaves
31 Dec 1861
22990mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in India in a world record
31 Dec 1862
-Jan 20th) Battle of Stones River (Battle of Murfreesboro) Tennesse in American Civil War
31 Dec 1862
Union ironclad ship Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras North Carolina
31 Dec 1870
J D Schneiter patents rocket mail in France (not done)
31 Dec 1879
Cornerstone laid for Honolulus Iolani Palace (only royal palace in US)
31 Dec 1879
Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp
31 Dec 1879
Gilbert and Sullivans comic opera Pirates of Penzance premieres in NYC
31 Dec 1890
Ellis Island (NYC) opens as a US immigration depot
31 Dec 1897
Brooklyns last day as a city it incorporates into NYC (111898)
31 Dec 1901
In the first election under their new constitution Cuba elects a Congress and their first president Tomas Estrada Palma
31 Dec 1904
First New Years Eve celebration held in Times Square (then Longacre Square) in New York City
31 Dec 1906
French British and Italian treaty concerning rights on Abyssinia
31 Dec 1906
Australasian Championships Mens Tennis Christchurch NZ All-NZ final Antony Wilding beats Francis Fisher 6-0 6-4 6-4
31 Dec 1917
Dutch Social-democratic trade union NVV counts 159450 members
31 Dec 1918
Kid Gleason replaces Pants Rowland as White Sox manager
31 Dec 1920
Roy Park makes 1st-ball duck in only Test Cricket inn v Eng at MCG
31 Dec 1921
Australasian Championships Mens Tennis Perth Australian Rhys Gemmell beats countryman Alf Hedeman 7-5 6-1 6-4
31 Dec 1923
1st transatlantic radio broadcast of a voice Pittsburgh-Manchester
31 Dec 1923
Harry Tierney and Joseph McCarthys musical Kid Boots premieres in New York City
31 Dec 1925
14th congress of CPSU decides to accelerate industry
31 Dec 1927
Ponsford scores 336 against SA giving him 1146 for month
31 Dec 1929
Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Divini illius magistri
31 Dec 1930
Pontifical encyclical Casti connubii against mixed marriages
31 Dec 1930
US tobacco industry produced 123 billion cigarettes in
31 Dec 1934
Helen Richey becomes 1st woman to pilot an airmail transport
31 Dec 1938
Dr R N Hargers drunkometer 1st breath test introduced in Indiana
31 Dec 1941
Young Park (2) in the Bronx named in honor of Samuel Young
31 Dec 1942
Battle of the Barents Sea between British Navy and German Kriegsmarine off North Cape Norway
31 Dec 1944
48 people die in a train accident in Ogden Utah
31 Dec 1944
World War II Hungary declares war on Germany.
31 Dec 1950
Jockeys Bill Shoemaker & Joe Culmone set record of 388 wins in a year
31 Dec 1951
1st battery to convert radioactive energy to electricity announced
31 Dec 1952
41st Davis Cup Australia beats USA in Adelaide (4-1)
31 Dec 1953
Hulan Jack sworn in as Manhattan Borough president
31 Dec 1953
WFBC (now WYFF) TV channel 4 in Gville-Spartanburg SC (NBC) begins
31 Dec 1953
Bill Shoemaker shatters record riding 485 winners in a year
31 Dec 1953
42nd Davis Cup Australia beats USA in Melbourne (3-2)
31 Dec 1955
Vamp closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 60 performances
31 Dec 1907
For 1st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the New Year
31 Dec 1910
US tobacco industry produced 9 billion cigarettes in
31 Dec 1914
Colonel Jacob Ruppert & Captain Huston purchase NY Yankees for 460000
31 Dec 1955
The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over 1 billion USD in a year.
31 Dec 1957
AAU awards Bobby Morrow James Sullivan Memorial Trophy
31 Dec 1958
47th Davis Cup USA beats Australia in Brisbane (3-2)
31 Dec 1958
Bill Shoemaker 1st jockey to win national riding championship 4X
31 Dec 1961
lrma La Douce closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 527 performances
31 Dec 1961
The Beach Boys play their debut gig under that name
31 Dec 1961
Green Bay Packers shutout NY Giants 37-0 in NFL championship game
31 Dec 1961
Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than 12 billion
31 Dec 1962
Match Game debuts on NBC with host Gene Rayburn
31 Dec 1962
American Basketball League announces suspension of operation
31 Dec 1962
Katanga becomes part of Democratic Republic of Congo
31 Dec 1962
Ohio ends suit against Reds when they agree to stay in Cin for 10 yrs
31 Dec 1963
Dear Abby show premieres on CBS radio (runs 11 years)
31 Dec 1963
Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir play music together for the 1st time
31 Dec 1964
Donald Campbell (UK) sets world water speed record (276.33 mph)
31 Dec 1966
Monkees Im a Believer hits 1 & stays there for 7 weeks
31 Dec 1966
Pirate Radio 390 (Radio Invicata) off England resumes transmitting
31 Dec 1966
Test Cricket debut of Bishen Singh Bedi India v WI Calcutta 2-92
31 Dec 1966
Toboggan Chutes begin operation in Cleveland Metroparks
31 Dec 1967
Henry Sweet Henry closes at Palace Theater NYC after 80 performances
31 Dec 1967
1st NBA game at Great Western Forum LA Lakers beat Houston 147-118
31 Dec 1967
The Ice Bowl Packers beat Cowboys 21-17 in NFL championship game (-13F)
31 Dec 1968
1st supersonic airliner flown (Russian TU-144)
31 Dec 1969
Congo-Brazzaville becomes Peoples republic under major Ngouabi
31 Dec 1970
Paul McCartney files a lawsuit to disolve The Beatles
31 Dec 1970
President Allende nationalizes Chilean coal mines
31 Dec 1970
Would have been start of AustEng Test Cricket at MCG washed out
31 Dec 1971
KAID TV channel 4 in Boise ID (PBS) begins broadcasting
31 Dec 1971
Lt Gen Robert E Cushman Jr USMC ends term as deputy director of CIA
31 Dec 1971
Edmund Compton then Northern Ireland Ombudsman is replaced by John Benn
31 Dec 1972
AFC Championship Game Miami Dolphins beat Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7
31 Dec 1972
Martin McGuinness is arrested and held under the new Republic of Ireland legislation
31 Dec 1972
Australian Open Womens Tennis Margaret Court beats Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6-4 7-5 for her record 11th and final Australian singles crown
31 Dec 1972
NFC Championship Game Washington Redskins beat Dallas Cowboys 26-3
31 Dec 1973
Johan Cruyff chosen European Football Player of theYear
31 Dec 1974
Gold legal in US Franklin Mint strikes Panamas Gold 100 balboa coin
31 Dec 1974
Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac
31 Dec 1974
NY Yankees sign Jim Catfish Hunter for 5 yrs for a record 3.75 million
31 Dec 1974
Popular Electronics displays Altair 8800 computer
31 Dec 1974
Australian Open Womens Tennis Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley retains her title beats Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia 6-3 6-2
31 Dec 1974
Ballon dOr Ajax forward Johan Cruyff wins back-to-back awards and his 3rd overall for best European football player ahead of Bayern Munich defender Franz Beckenbauer and Legia Warsaw midfielder Kazimierz Deyna
31 Dec 1977
Bubbling Brown Sugar closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 766 performances
31 Dec 1977
Man of La Mancha closes at Palace Theater NYC after 124 performances
31 Dec 1977
Amir Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah becomes leader of Kuwait
31 Dec 1977
Cambodia drops diplomatic relations with Vietnam
31 Dec 1977
Donald Woods a banned anti-Apartheid white editor flees South Africa
31 Dec 1977
WFAT (Brooklyn New York pirate radio station) begins broadcasting on 1620 AM
31 Dec 1977
Australian Open Mens Tennis American Vitas Gerulaitis wins his first and only Grand Slam event beats Englishman John Lloyd 6-3 7-6 5-7 3-6 6-2
31 Dec 1977
Kenyan writer Ngg wa Thiongo is imprisoned for co-writing a play critical of the Kenyan government
31 Dec 1978
Magic Show closes at Cort Theater NYC after 1859 performances
31 Dec 1978
Runaways closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 199 performances
31 Dec 1978
CIA director Admiral Stansfield Turner retires from the Navy
31 Dec 1978
Taiwans final day of diplomatic relations with US
31 Dec 1978
The Runaways bands last ever concert at Daly City CA.s Cow Palace
31 Dec 1979
Winterland Rock Concert Hall in San Francisco closes after 556 concerts
31 Dec 1980
A Jewish owned hotel in Nairobi Kenya is bombed killing 18
31 Dec 1980
NY Islanders greatest shutout margin (9-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks
31 Dec 1981
Lt Jerry Rawlings becomes head of Ghana suspends constitution
31 Dec 1981
Netherlands unemployment stands at record 475000
31 Dec 1982
CBS Mystery Theater final episode on radio after 8 years
31 Dec 1982
NBC radio cancels almost all of its network daily features
31 Dec 1983
Brunei gains complete independence from Britain
31 Dec 1983
Jose Happart installed as mayor of Voeren Belgium
31 Dec 1983
Nigerias National Assembly dissolves after military coup
31 Dec 1983
Benjamin Ward appointed 1st African American NY City Police Commissioner by Mayor Ed Koch
31 Dec 1984
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car crash
31 Dec 1984
NYC subway gunman Bernhard Goetz surrenders to police in NH
31 Dec 1984
Rajiv Gandhi takes office as Indias 7th Prime Minister succeeding his mother Indira Gandhi
31 Dec 1984
Test Cricket debut of Mohammad Azharuddin v England at Calcutta
31 Dec 1986
Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in San Juan Puerto Rico kills 97
31 Dec 1986
Russian TU-144 flies for 1st time faster than sound
31 Dec 1986
WIS-AM in Columbia SC changes call letters to WVOC (now WOMG)
31 Dec 1988
Pittsburgh NHL center Mario Lemieux accounts for all his teams goals in Penguins 8-6 win over the NJ Devils famously scores 5 goals each in a different way even strength power play shorthanded penalty shot and empty net also 3 assists
31 Dec 1989
Me & My Girl closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 1420 performances
31 Dec 1989
Threepenny Opera closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 65 performances
31 Dec 1989
Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets record with 598 wins in a year
31 Dec 1990
Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting
31 Dec 1990
United Somali Congress seizes Presidential Palace
31 Dec 1991
CPN Communist Party of Netherland last day of existence
31 Dec 1991
Daniel R McCarthy elected NY Yankee managing general partner
31 Dec 1967
NFL Championship Lambeau Field Green Bay Green Bay Packers beat Dallas Cowboys 21-17 The Ice Bowl -13F
31 Dec 1972
AFC Championship Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh Miami Dolphins beat Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7
31 Dec 1972
NFC Championship RFK Stadium Washington D.C. Washington Redskins beat Dallas Cowboys 26-3
31 Dec 1980
After being struck by an orange thrown from the crowd West Indian fast bowler Sylvester Clarke knocks out a spectator with a brick during 4th Test against Pakistan in Multan
31 Dec 1862
-Jan 20th) Battle of Stones River (Battle of Murfreesboro) Tennessee in US Civil War
31 Dec 1920
International Lawn Tennis Challenge Auckland NZ Bill Johnson & Bill Tilden (US) beat Norman Brookes & Gerald Patterson (Australasia) 6-4 4-6 6-0 6-4 for an unassailable 3-0 lead ends 5-0
31 Dec 1935
Charles Darrow patents the board game Monopoly goes on to be the 1st millionaire game designer
31 Dec 1974
New York Yankees sign Cy Young Award winner Jim Catfish Hunter for 5 years for a record 3.75 million from the Oakland As
31 Dec 1983
Jose Happart installed as mayor of Voeren Belgium
31 Dec 1904
First New Years Eve celebration held in Times Square New York City
31 Dec 1907
For 1st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the New Year
31 Dec 1907
Gustav Mahler conducts the Metropolitan Opera in New York City
31 Dec 1918
Kid Gleason replaces Pants Rowland as Chicago White Sox manager reach World Series but lose in the Black Sox betting scandal Gleason not involved
31 Dec 1920
Victorian all-rounder Roy Park makes Test cricket debut for Australia v England in 2nd Test in Melbourne bowled by Harry Howell for a first ball golden duck in his first and only Test innings
31 Dec 1950
American thoroughbred jockeys Bill Shoemaker and Joe Culmone end the year tied leading the nation with record 388 wins
31 Dec 1952
Davis Cup Mens Tennis Memorial Drive Adelaide Vic Seixas beats Ken McGregor in 4 sets but Australia retains title for third straight year beats US 4-1 in Adelaide
31 Dec 1604
Dutch East India Company Admiral Steven van der Haghens fleet reaches Bantam Indonesia
31 Dec 1775
Battle of Quebec American Continental Army led by Richard Montgomery is defeated trying to take the British stronghold of Quebec City in the American Revolutionary War General Montgomery is killed and Benedict Arnold is injured
31 Dec 1938
Daniel Sternefeld conducts premiere of his ballet Pierlala at the Royal Flemish Opera of Antwerp choreographer Wladimir Karnetzky also danced the title role
31 Dec 1978
The Runaways bands last ever concert at the Cow Plalce in Daly City California
31 Dec 1978
Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco California closes after 556 concerts Final show is the Grateful Dead New Riders of the Purple Sage and The Blues Brothers program lasts for over 8 hours with the Grateful Dead playing for nearly 6 hours concert broadcast on local PBS TV station KQED and simulcast by radio station KSAN-FM after the show the crowd was treated to a hot buffet-style breakfast.
31 Dec 1991
CPN Communist Party of Netherland - last day of existence
31 Dec 1991
Daniel R. McCarthy elected NY Yankee managing general partner
31 Dec 1703
Genroku earthquake off the coast of Japan near Edo (modern-day Tokyo) kills thousands and triggers a large tsunami killing thousands more
31 Dec 1861
A then world record 22990mm of rain falls in a single year in Cherrapunji Assam in India
31 Dec 1961
Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Brefforts musical lrma La Douce closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 527 performances
31 Dec 1973
Australian Open Womens Tennis Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley beats Chris Evert 7-6 4-6 6-0 for her first of 4 home singles titles
31 Dec 1981
CNN Headline News cable TV channel debuts in US
31 Dec 1680
De Italiaanse Opera (The Italian Opera) theater opens on the Leidsegracht in Amsterdam with La Fatiche dErcole per Deianira by PA Ziani
31 Dec 1703
Genroku earthquake off the coast of Japan near Edo (modern-day Tokyo) kills thousands and triggers a large tsunami killing thousands more
31 Dec 1861
A world record 22990 mm of rain falls in a single year in Cherrapunji Assam India
31 Dec 1931
City of Paris accepts donation of the writings gathered by feminist publisher Marguerite Durand and establishes a library (Bibliothque Marguerite Durand) for the collection
31 Dec 1968
Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb 32 inches) recorded at Agata in Siberia Soviet Union
31 Dec 1968
Soviet TU-144 makes its maiden flight the first by a commercial supersonic airliner
31 Dec 1978
Iran shah names Shapour Bakhtiar as Prime Minister
31 Dec 1978
The Runaways bands last ever concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City California
31 Dec 1991
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at record high 3168.83
31 Dec 1994
Anti Apartheid Group of Netherlands (AABN) disbands
31 Dec 1994
Date skipped in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC-11 to UTC13 and UTC-10 to UTC14 respectively
31 Dec 1994
First snowless December in Baltimore Maryland
31 Dec 1995
Cartoonist Bill Watterson ends his Calvin & Hobbes comic strip after 10 years believing he had achieved all he could in the medium
31 Dec 1995
Matthew Elliott scores separate cricket century same day for Victoria
31 Dec 1997
72 year-old Marv Levy retires as coach of the NFL Buffalo Bills after 12 seasons including 4 consecutive losing Super Bowl appearances
31 Dec 1997
Buffalos Czech NHL goalie Dominik Hasek stops 36 shots for his 27th career shutout in Sabres 3-0 win over Ottawa Senators his 6th shutout in month of December first since George Hainsworth in 1928-29 to achieve the feat
31 Dec 1997
Microsoft buys Hotmail email service for 400 million and re-launches it as MSN Hotmail
31 Dec 1997
More Swedes died than were born in 1st time since 1809
31 Dec 1997
Orlando Hernandez half-brother of pitcher Livan defects from Cuba
31 Dec 1997
South African & US surgeons separate Zambian Siamese twins joined at the head
31 Dec 1998
Exchange rates between the euro and legacy currencies in the Eurozone become fixed.
31 Dec 1998
US movie box office hits record 6.24 billion for year
31 Dec 2004
Official opening of Taipei 101 then the tallest skyscraper in the world at a height of 509 metres (1670 feet)
31 Dec 2006
The final contest at the old Lansdowne Road Stadium in Dublin is a rugby match with Leinster beating Ulster 20-12 in a Celtic League game
31 Dec 2007
Bocaue Fire. Seven people injured when a fire razed several fireworks stores in the Municipality of Bocaue Bulacan Philippines.
31 Dec 2007
The Massive Big Dig construction project in Boston Massachusetts ends.
31 Dec 2014
36 die and 47 are wounded during a stampede of New Year revellers on Shanghais Bund riverfront
31 Dec 1670
France and England conclude the formal Treaty of Dover omitting any mention of religion
31 Dec 1687
First Huguenots depart France for the Cape of Good Hope
31 Dec 1695
A window tax is imposed in England prompting many homeowners and shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid paying it
31 Dec 1703
Genroku earthquake off the coast of Japan near Edo (modern-day Tokyo) kills thousands and triggers a large tsunami that kills thousands more
31 Dec 1795
The Dutch East Indies Company is formally dissolved taken over by the Batavian Republic [1]
31 Dec 1904
First New Years Eve celebration is held in Times Square New York City
31 Dec 1923
BBC begins using Big Bens chimes as an interval signal
31 Dec 1935
Charles Darrow patents the board game Monopoly and becomes the first millionaire game designer
31 Dec 1952
Danny Nardico stops former world middleweight champion Jake LaMotta in 7 rounds in a light heavyweight non-title bout in Coral Gables Florida LaMotta is knocked down for the only time in his career his corner stopping fight after the round
31 Dec 1957
Amateur Athletic Union awards American sprinter Bobby Morrow the James E. Sullivan Award
31 Dec 1958
Bill Shoemaker 1st jockey to win national riding championship 4 times
31 Dec 1958
International Geophysical Year scientific project ends after 18 months
31 Dec 1968
Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb 32 inches) recorded at Agata in Siberia Soviet Union eclipsed in December 2001
31 Dec 1972
DDT first of the modern insecticides used against malaria and typhus is banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency after evidence of adverse environmental side effects [1]
31 Dec 1975
US 1st class postage stamp rate rises from 10 cents to 13 cents
31 Dec 1984
The United States withdraws from UNESCO citing perceived politicization anti-Western bias and management and budget issues
31 Dec 1986
WIS-AM in Columbia South Carolina changes call letters to WVOC (now WOMG)
31 Dec 1994
Date is skipped in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC-11 to UTC13 and from UTC-10 to UTC14 respectively
31 Dec 1997
More Swedes die than are born in for the first time since 1809
31 Dec 1997
Orlando Hernndez half-brother of pitcher Livn Hernndez defects from Cuba
31 Dec 1997
South African and US surgeons separate Zambian conjoined twins joined at the head
31 Dec 2007
Seven people are injured when a fire razes several fireworks stores in the municipality of Bocaue Bulacan Philippines
31 Dec 2015
82nd Orange Bowl 1 Clemson beats 4 Oklahoma 37-17
31 Dec 2015
US law enforcement kills 1134 in young black men 9 times more likely to be victims
31 Dec 2016
Chris Ofili is appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) in the2017 New Year Honoursfor services to art
31 Dec 2017
Bus crash at Migaa near Molo central Kenya kills at least 30
31 Dec 2017
Cleveland Browns crash to a 28-24 loss to Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field to become only the 2nd team in NFL history to finish season with 0-16 record
31 Dec 2017
Singer Lorde called a bigot in ad in Washington Post after cancelling show in Israel
31 Dec 2018
Houston guard James Harden scores 43 points in Rockets 113-101 win over Memphis Grizzlies 4th straight NBA game with 40 points and 8th straight with 35 joins Oscar Robertson as only player with at least 35 points & 5 assists in 8 straight games
31 Dec 2019
Iraqi militiamen and protesters breach the outer wall of the US embassy in Baghdad following US airstrikes against Kataib Hezbollah an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia on December 29
31 Dec 2020
WHO grants the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine emergency authorization paving the way for worldwide distribution
31 Dec 2024
Trinidad and Tobago declare a state of emergency over gang violence which has resulted in one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America [1]
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