Today in History (December 31st)

New Year’s Eve

0192: Deaths: Lucius AA Commodus Emperor of Rome (180-192), murdered at 31.

0406: 80,000 Vandals attacked the Rhine at Mainz. Deaths: Godagisel King of the Vandals, died in battle.

0765: Coffin of Ho-tse Shen-hui interred in a stupa built in China.

0870: Skirmish at Englefield: Ethelred of Wessex beat back Danish invasion army.

1378: Birthdays: Callistus III, [Alfonso the Borgia] Pope (1455-58).

1384: Deaths: John Wycliffe English, Religious Reformer/Bible Translator.

1491: Birthdays: Jacques Cartier, French Explorer.

1492: 100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily.

1502: Cesare Borgia (son of Pope Alexander VI) occupied Urbino.

1514: Birthdays: Andreas Vesalius Brussels, Belgium, Anatomist (Fabrica).

1564: Willem of Orange demanded freedom of conscience/religion.

1600: British East India Company chartered.

1687: First Huguenots departed France to Cape of Good Hope.

1711: Duke of Marlborough was fired as the English army commander.

1720: Birthdays: Charles Edward Stuart, Scotland’s “Bonnie Prince Charlie”, English pretender to throne.

1738: Birthdays: Charles Lord Cornwallis Soldier/Statesman ‘fire when ready Gridley’.

1744: James Bradley announced the discovery of Earth’s motion of nutation, or wobbling.

1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army met with de Esk.

1762: Mozart family moved from Vienna to Salzburg.

1775: The British stronghold in Quebec repulsed an attack by Continental Army General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Quebec. Deaths: Richard Montgomery General, died fighting British in assault on Quebec.

1783: The import of African slaves was banned by all of the Northern states.

1805: End of French Republican calendar; France returned to Gregorianism.

1815: Birthdays: George Gordon Meade Major General (Union Army)/Victor at Gettysburg, died in 1872.

1841: The State of Alabama enacted the first dental legislation in the United States to license dental surgeons.

1857: Britain’s Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the capital of Canada.

1859: Deaths: Luigi Ricci Composer, died at 54.

1862: The Union ironclad ship ‘Monitor’ sank off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill admitting West Virginia to the Union. Battle of Murfreesboro/Stone’s River, Tennessee.

1869: Birthdays: Henri Matisse, French Impressionist Painter (Odalisque).

1877: President Rutherford B. Hayes became the first United States President to celebrate his silver wedding anniversary in the White House. The President and his wife reenacted their marriage ceremony on this, their 25th anniversary.

1879: Inventor Thomas Edison delighted an audience in Menlo Park, New Jersey. He gave his first public demonstration of electric incandescent lighting. The cornerstone was laid for Honolulu’s Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the United States. Gilbert/Sullivan’s ‘Pirates of Penzance,’ premiered in New York City.

1880: Birthdays: George C. Marshall, Uniontown, Pennsylvania, General; Authored Marshall Aid Plan for Europe following World War II (Nobel 1953).

1882: Deaths: Leon Michel Gambetta French, Attorney/Premier (1881-82), died at 44.

1890: Ellis Island, New York City, opened as a United States immigration depot. The misspelling of last names began.

1897: Brooklyn’s last day as a city, it incorporated into New York City on January 1, 1898.

1899: Birthdays: Silvestre Revueltas Santiago, Papasquiaro, Mexico, Composer (Sensemaya) Deaths: Karl Millocker Austrian Conductor/Composer, died at 57.

1904: Birthdays: Nathan Milstein Odessa Russia, Concert Violinist.

1905: Birthdays: Jule Styne, Songwriter (“Three Coins In the Fountain, “Let It Snow”).

1907: Gustav Mahler conducted the Metropolitan Opera. For first time a ball dropped at Times Square to signal the new year.

1908: Birthdays: Simon Wiesenthal Polish/Austrian Nazi hunter.

1909: The Manhattan Bridge opened.

1910: The United States tobacco industry produced 9 billion cigarettes in 1910.

1911: Marie Curie received her second Nobel prize for her work on radioactive elements.

1918: Kid Gleason replaced Pants Rowland as White Sox manager.

1920: Birthdays: Rex Allen, Cowboy Actor/Singer.

1923: The first transatlantic radio broadcast of a voice occurred between Pittsburgh and Manchester, England. Singer Eddie Cantor opened in the lead role of ‘Kid Boots.’ Broadway critics called the production, ‘A smash musical hit!’ Eddie made several of the songs from that show into smash hits also, like, ‘Alabamy Bound’ and ‘If You Knew Susie.’ Three years later, ‘If You Knew Susie’ became the title song for a movie starring Cantor. BBC begins using Big Ben chime identification.

1924: Hubble announced the existence of distant galaxies.

1929: Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians’ performed their first New Year’s Eve broadcast from the Roosevelt Grill in New York City, which became an annual event and was heard over the CBS network. Scottish poet Robert Burns said he heard an old man singing the words, and wrote them down; but Burns is considered the original author. The literal translation means ‘old long since’ which less literally meant ‘days gone by’.

1930: The United States tobacco industry produced 123 billion cigarettes in 1930. Pontifical encyclical Casti connubial against mixed marriages. Birthdays: Odetta, [Holmes], Birmingham, Alabama, Folk/Blues Singer (Sanctuary).

1935: Charles Darrow of Pennsylvania patented the game of Monopoly.

1937: Birthdays: Sir Anthony Hopkins Wales, Actor (Elephant Man, QB VII, Magic, Bounty, Silence of the Lambs).

1938: Doctor R. N. Harger’s ‘drunkometer,’ the first breath test for car drivers, was officially introduced in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1939: 25 U boats sunk this month (81,000 ton).

1940: As a result of a dispute between the radio networks and ASCAP (the American Society of Composers and Publishers), the radio industry was prevented from playing any ASCAP-licensed music. The ban lasted for 10 months. An ASCAP competitor, BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) made giant strides, expanding to include 36,000 copyrights. Many radio stations had to resort to playing public domain songs, such as marches and operas, to keep their stations on the air. Even kids songs were played over and over again until the ban was lifted. One of the most popular songs to be played was ‘Happy Birthday to You’; which was performed in many different languages just to get past the ban. 37 U boats sunk this month (213,000 ton).

1941: Birthdays: Sarah Miles, Actress.

1942: 60 U boats sunk this month (330,000 ton). Birthdays: Sarah Miles Actress; Andy Summers Rock Musician/Guitarist (The Police).

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1943: Birthdays: John Denver, New Mexico, Singer (Rocky Mountain High); Ben Kingsley, Scarborough, England, Actor (Gandhi, Betrayal, Maurice).

1944: Birthdays: Taylor Hackford Film Producer/Director (The Devil’s Advocate).

1945: Ratification of United Nations Charter completed. Birthdays: Barbara Carrera, Actress (Never Say Never Again); Diane von Furstenberg, Fashion Designer.

1946: President Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.

1947: America’s favorite Western movie couple, singing cowboy Roy Rogers, ‘the King of the Cowboys,’ and co-star Dale Evans, were married. Birthdays: Tim Matheson, Actor (Animal House).

1948: Birthdays: Burton Cummings, Pop Singer (The Guess Who); Donna Summer, Singer.

1949: Birthdays: Joe Dallesandro Actor; Donna Summer Singer.

1950: Willie Shoemaker and Joe Culmone, both 19 years of age, became the first jockeys to ride 388 winners in a single year.

1951: First battery to convert radioactive energy to electrical announced. Because of the success of the TV version of ‘Wild Bill Hickok’ (April 1951 – 1958), the series came to radio. Guy Madison (Wild Bill) and Andy Devine (sidekick, Jingles) starred on the Mutual Network show (as well as in the syndicated TV version). The western remained on the radio for five years.

1952: Birthdays: Tom Hamilton Rock Musician/Bassist (Aerosmith). Chart Toppers: Why Don’t You Believe Me Joni James; Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes Skeets McDonald; Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes Perry Como; Because You’re Mine Mario Lanza.

1953: Willie Shoemaker broke his own record as he won his 485th race of the year. Willie got his horse’s nose out in front at Santa Anita racetrack in Southern California. Birthdays: Jane Badler Actress (V); James Remar Actor (Boys on the Side).

1955: General Motors became the first United States corporation to earn more than $1 billion in a single year. The company’s annual report to stockholders listed a net income of $1,189,477,082 in revenues.

1958: Cubans dictator Juan Batista fled as Rebels under Fidel Castro march into Havana. Birthdays: Bebe Neuwirth, Actress.

1959: Birthdays: Val Kilmer Actor (The Saint); Paul Westerberg Singer (The Replacements); Bebe Neuwirth Princeton, New Jersey, Actress (Lilith-Cheers, Damn Yankees).

1960: After playing California nightclubs as The Pendletones, Kenny and the Cadets, and Carl and the Passions, a new group emerged: The Beach Boys. The group’s first national hit, ‘Surfin’ Safari,’ was soon to be. They recorded for local (Los Angeles) Colpix Records and at the height of their popularity, Capitol Records. The Beach Boys also recorded awhile under the Reprise Records banner. The Beach Boys were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

1960: Chart Toppers: Wonderland by Night Bert Kaempfert; Wings of a Dove Ferlin Husky; Exodus Ferrante and Teicher; Are You Lonesome To-night? Elvis Presley.

1961: The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid. The Beach Boys played their debut gig under that name at a Ritchie Valens memorial concert in California. ‘lrma La Douce’ closed at Plymouth Theater in New York City after 527 performances. Birthdays: Rick Aguilera MLB Pitcher.

1962: California Govenor Edmund G. Brown announced that his state was now the most populous of the 50 United States. New York’s governor, Nelson Rockefeller, disagreed and refused to concede. New York and California have been feuding ever since. ‘The Match Game’ debuted on NBC with host Gene Rayburn.

1963: Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir played music together for the first time. Birthdays: Scott Ian Rock Singer/Musician (Anthrax).

1965: Criswell made a TV appearance to announce his annual predictions for the coming year. Included in these predictions was one concerning Ronald Reagan. Criswell said Reagan would be the next governor of California. Criswell was right.

1966: Birthdays: Paula Barbieri Actress/Model.

1967: Playing in a wind chill of 40 degrees below zero, the Green Bay Packers won the National Football League championship game by defeating Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys, 21-17. The game, played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis, was called the Ice Bowl. During the game, the whistles of the referees actually froze to their lips. It turned out to be the coldest championship game ever.

1968: Chart Toppers: Wichita Lineman Glen Campbell; Stormy Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost; I Heard It Through the Grapevine Marvin Gaye; For Once in My Life Stevie Wonder.

1969: Deaths: Salvatore Baccaloni Opera Basso Buffa/Actor (Full of Life), died at 69.

1970: President Allende nationalized Chilean coal mines. Congress authorized the Eisenhower dollar coin. Six months after release of their Let It Be album, Paul McCartney filed suit in London seeking the legal dissolution of the Beatles’ partnership.

1972: Deaths: Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirates star outfielder, killed in a plane crash near Puerto Rico while flying relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

1973: Birthdays: Joe McIntyre Pop Singer (New Kids on the Block).

1974: Private United States citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac.

1975: Elvis Presley performed before 60,000 fans at the Silverdome, in Pontiac, Michigan He earned $800,000 for the concert – a world record for a single concert by a single artist.

1976: The Cars played their first gig. Chart Toppers: You Make Me Feel Like Dancing Leo Sayer; You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show) Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr; Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright) Rod Stewart; Sweet Dreams Emmylou Harris.

1977: Ted Bundy escaped from jail in Colorado. ‘Bubbling Brown Sugar’ closed at ANTA Theater in New York City after 766 perfs.

1978: Taiwanese diplomats struck their colors for the last time from the embassy flagpole in Washington, marking the end of diplomatic relations with the United States.

1980: Deaths: Marshall McLuhan Canadian, Cultural Philosopher, died at 69.

1981: CNN Headline News debuted.

1982: NBC radio canceled almost all of its network daily features.

1983: The court-ordered breakup of the American Telephone and Telegraph Co. took effect at midnight.

1984: The United States’ first mandatory seat belt law went into effect in the state of New York at midnight. Rajiv Gandhi took office as India’s sixth Prime Minister succeeding his assassinated mother, Indira. New York City subway gunman Bernhard Goetz surrendered to police in New Hampshire. Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was involved in a serious motor accident that tore off his left arm. Chart Toppers: Why Not Me The Judds; The Wild Boys Duran Duran; Sea of Love The Honeydrippers; Like a Virgin Madonna.

1985: Singer Rick Nelson, his fiance and five band members died in a fire aboard a chartered DC-3 enroute to Dallas for a New Year’s Eve performance. The DC-3 crashed in northeastern Texas. Over 54,500 people played kazoos in downtown Rochester, New York. The assembled multitude played, ‘A Bicycle Built for Two.’ Any idea why? Well, they felt it was appropriate for the last day of the year – and it got the crowd listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for ‘Most Kazoo-ers’. Deaths: Rick Nelson, Rock Singer/Actor (Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), died at 45

1986: The State of Florida passed Illinois to become the fifth most populous state in the country. In the lead: California, New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Fire killed 97 people in the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Three hotel workers later pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the blaze.

1989: President Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev exchanged New Year’s messages in which both leaders expressed optimism about future superpower relations. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir fired Science Minister Ezer Weizman, accusing him of meeting with officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Fog Bowl: Heavy fog rolled in on Bears 20-12 victory over Eagles. ‘Me and My Girl’ closed at Marquis Theater in New York City after 1420 performances.

1990: The Sci-Fi Channel cable television began transmitting. Deaths: George Allen, United States Football Coach (Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins).

1991: Last day of existence for the USSR.

1994: Russian ground forces launched a ferocious assault on the rebel republic of Chechen capital of Grozny. Entertainer Barbra Streisand performed her first paid live concert in 22 years, singing to a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. Bosnian government officials and Bosnian Serb leaders signed a United Nations-brokered cease-fire agreement.

1995: Cartoonist Bill Watterson ended his popular ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ comic strip after 10 years.

1997: The Algerian government announced that more than 400 people had been massacred by Islamic extremists during the last nine days of December. Microsoft bought Hotmail E-mail service. Intel cut price of Pentium II-233 MHz from $401 to $268. Deaths: Michael Kennedy 39-year-old son of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado.

1998: In Sorocaba, Brazil, riot troops stormed a prison where inmates held hundreds of hostages, quickly ending a three-day rebellion without any deaths. Europe’s leaders proclaimed a new era as 11 nations merged currencies to create the euro, a shared money they said would boost business, underpin unity and strengthen their role in world affairs.

1999: Full control of the Panama Canal reverted to Panama.

2004: Authorities in Buenos reported at least 175 deaths in a fire at a crowded nightclub. About 600 more were injured in a rush for exits. A government official said, Only two exits were open; the others were tied up with wire. These young people were doomed in a death trap. A bus slammed into an oil tanker in Pakistan, killing at least 31 people and seriously injuring 11.

2006: The toll of U.S. troops killed in Iraq passed the 3,000 mark. Pentagon figures indicated more than 22,000 others had been wounded. Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union putting the number of countries to 27 and the number of citizens to 489 million.

2007: The death toll in Kenya’s post-election violence reached at least 140. Tribal uprisings were triggered after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki narrowly won re-election over Raila Odinga despite trailing by a wide margin earlier.

2009: With the U.S. economy still slow and unemployment high, U.S. stock indexes had their best year since 2003. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 10,428.05, up 18.8 percent from the end of 2008. The Nasdaq Composite flourished with a one-year increase of 43.9 percent and the Standard and Poor’s 500 showed a 23.4 percent gain for the 12-month period. Year-end statistics reported 149 U.S. military fatalities in Iraq for an overall toll of 4,370 troop deaths since the war began in 2003. In Afghanistan, the death count was 317 in 2009 for a cumulative total of 947.

2010: The second storm of a one-two blizzard punch targeted the Dakotas and western Minnesota with heavy, wind-whipped snow on New Year’s Eve, causing a 100-vehicle accident on Interstate 94 near Fargo, N.D. Mexican soldiers seized more than 4 tons of marijuana over a week in Tijuana, bringing the 2010 total in Baja California to a record 300 tons.

2011: Reversing a veto threat, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law a measure authorizing $662 billion in military spending but again stated opposition to indefinite military detention without trial of terrorist suspects who were U.S. citizens.

2013: Croatia became the 28th European Union member. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 16,576.66, up 26.5 percent for the year, the biggest gain in nearly two decades.


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