On This Day December 31st

 

OTD

December 31st is the 365th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 0 days remain until the end of the year.

 Events

406 – Vandals, Alans, and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul.

870 – Battle of Englefield: The Vikings clash with Ealdorman Æthelwulf of Berkshire. The invaders are driven back to Reading (East Anglia); many Danes are killed.

1600 – The British East India Company is chartered.

1687 – The first Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope.

1759 – Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum and starts brewing Guinness.

1790 – Efimeris, the oldest Greek newspaper of which issues have survived till today, is published for the first time.

1796 – The incorporation of Baltimore as a city.

1831 – Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.

1862 – American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signed an act that admitted West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two.

1907 – The first-ever ball drop-in Times Square.

1946 – President Harry S. Truman officially proclaimed the end of World War II hostilities.

1955 – General Motors becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion annually.

1983 – The United States Government breaks up the AT&T Bell System.

2011 – NASA successfully put the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon.

 

Birthdays

695 – Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, Umayyad general (d. 715)

1514 – Andreas Vesalius, Belgian anatomist, physician, and author (d. 1564)

1668 – Herman Boerhaave, Dutch botanist and physician (d. 1738)

1720 – Charles Edward Stuart, Scottish claimant to the throne of England (d. 1788)

1834 – Queen Kapiolani of Hawaii (d. 1899)

1857 – King Kelly, American baseball player and manager (d. 1894)

1878 – Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman, founded Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (d. 1966)

1880 – George Marshall, American general and politician, 50th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)

1905 – Jule Styne, English American composer (d. 1994)

1908 – Simon Wiesenthal, Ukrainian-Austrian Nazi hunter and author (d. 2005)

1937 – Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor, director, and composer

1946 – Diane von Fürstenberg, Belgian-American fashion designer

1961 – Jeremy Heywood, English economist and civil servant (d. 2018)

1971 – Heath Shuler, American football player and politician

1981 – Margaret Simpson, Ghanaian heptathlete

 

Holiday Spotlight

Unlucky Day

  The last day of the year, December 31, is the day known as Unlucky Day. It is the last day of the year, which means it is time to forget about the bad things that have happened throughout the year. It is a day to shed, unburden, and forget about all the things we did not want to happen. It is a day to remind us that the year is about to end. It indicates that it was probably a lousy season or even a bad year, but it is not a bad life. Unlucky Day is the last day to get all the reluctance and uncertainty out of our lives and recognize that the next year is full of ambition, anticipation, hope, and promise. That is why we create achievable plans and goals for the year to come. It is not wrong that this day is unlucky since things will fall into place for the succeeding days.

 Whether you believe in luck or not, do not give up when it seems like you are faced with trials and challenges — you can always choose to move forward and bring your A-game for the upcoming year. Anything can happen if you strive for it. Whether it be luck or your own doing, what matters is that you keep looking ahead to what is to come. This day also reminds everyone that life goes on, whether bad or good. This day looks forward to what is in store for the future and allows the negativity to stay in the past. Next year will contain prosperity, health, and happiness if you believe in it.

 

Other Include

Hogmanay

International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis

Leap Second Time Adjustment Day

Make Up Your Mind Day

National Champagne Day

New Years Eve

Restoration Day in Geneva

Universal Hour of Peace Day

World Peace Meditation Day

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