December 31

### Up to 1900

- 192 – Narcissus murders Roman Emperor Commodus.
- 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning the invasion of Gaul.
- 1225 – The Ly Dynasty in Vietnam ends after 216 years, as Tran Thai Tong, still a boy, becomes Emperor. This is the beginning of the Tran Dynasty.
- 1472 – The throwing of snowballs is banned in Amsterdam.
- 1494 – First Italian War: Troops of King Charles VIII of France enter Rome.
- 1600 – The British East India Company is created.
- 1660 – James II of England is named Duke of Normandy by Louis XIV of France.
- 1687 – The first Huguenots set sail from France for the Cape of Good Hope.
- 1695 – Window tax is introduced in England. As a result, many people brick up their windows in order not to have to pay the tax.
- 1703 – An earthquake and tsunami damage Tokyo, Odawara and several nearby towns, killing around 10,000 people.
- 1720 – A storm flood ravages the North German coast, separating a dune on Heligoland from the main island.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: In the Battle of Quebec, British forces repulse an attack by Continental Army General Richard Montgomery.
- 1790 – Efimeris, the oldest Greek newspaper still in print, is published for the first time.
- 1796 – Baltimore, Maryland, is incorporated as a city.
- 1857 – Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as the capital of Canada.
- 1862 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Act creating the state of West Virginia and thus splitting Virginia in two.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River in Tennessee begins.
- 1862 – The battleship USS _Monitor_ sinks in a storm in heavy seas off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
- 1878 – In Mannheim, Germany, Karl Benz files a patent on his reliable two-stroke gas engine.
- 1879 – Thomas Edison publicly demonstrates incandescent light in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
- 1891 – A new immigration depot is opened on Ellis Island, New York.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1904 – What is now Times Square, New York, holds its first New Year celebration.
- 1909 – The Manhattan Bridge is opened.
- 1917 – British troop transporter _Osmanieh_ hits a mine laid by German U-boat _UC 34_ off Alexandria, Egypt, sinking with 99 deaths.
- 1923 – The BBC broadcasts the chimes of Big Ben in London for the first time.
- 1929 – The Glen Cinema Disaster in Paisley, Scotland, kills 70 children.
- 1944 – World War II: Hungary declares war on Germany.
- 1946 – President of the United States Harry S. Truman officially declares an end to hostilities in World War II.
- 1948 – The 100,000th landing of the Berlin Airlift occurs.
- 1951 – The Marshall Plan expires after giving over $ 13.3 billion to help war-torn parts of Europe.
- 1955 – General Motors becomes the first US Corporation to make over a billion US Dollars in a year.
- 1960 – The farthing coin stops being the legal tender in the United Kingdom.
- 1963 – The Central African Federation officially breaks apart, and eventually becomes Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
- 1964 – A three-day census in East Germany ends, determining the population to be 17,003,632.
- 1965 – Jean-Bedel Bokassa leads a coup against David Dacko in the Central African Republic.
- 1968 – Marien Ngouabi becomes President of the Republic of the Congo.
- 1973 – AC/DC is formed.
- 1981 – In a military coup in Ghana, Jerry Rawlings takes control.
- 1983 – A military coup in Nigeria is led by Muhammadu Buhari.
- 1986 – In San Juan, Puerto Rico a fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel kills 97 people.
- 1987 – Robert Mugabe becomes President of Zimbabwe.
- 1988 – Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux becomes the only NHL player, to this date, to score goals in five different ways – even strength, shorthand, power play, penalty shot and empty net, in an 8–6 win over the New Jersey Devils.
- 1989 – Arved Fuchs and Reinhold Messner reach the South Pole on their cross–Antarctica journey.
- 1990 – Garry Kasparov successfully defends his world chess title against Anatoly Karpov.
- 1991 – The Soviet Union officially comes to an end.
- 1992 – Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolves, splitting into the Czech Republic and Slovakia the next day.
- 1994 – This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati, as the International Date Line is shifted to the east of the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands.
- 1999 – Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia.
- 1999 – The Panama Canal is transferred from US control to Panama's control.

### From 2001

- 2004 – The Taipei 101 tower is opened in Taipei, Taiwan.
- 2006 – The total of US troops killed in the Iraq War reaches 3,000.
- 2009 – In Espoo, Finland, Ibrahim Shkupolli shoots his former girlfriend dead, then shoots four people to death at a shopping mall before committing suicide.
- 2009 – The Ignalina power station in Lithuania is shut down.
- 2014 – The first same-sex marriages in Scotland take place.
- 2014 – US and UK forces withdraw from Afghanistan.
- 2014 – Beji Caid Essebsi becomes President of Tunisia.
- 2014 – A crush at a New Year celebration in Shanghai kills 36 people.
- 2015 – Fire breaks out at a hotel near the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
- 2016 – Bomb attacks in Baghdad kill at least 28 people.
- 2017 – A bus crash near Migaa, Kenya, kills at least 36 people.

### Up to 1900

- 695 – Muhammad bin Qasim al-Thaqafi, founded Islam in South Asia (d. 715)
- 1378 – Pope Callixtus III (d. 1458)
- 1491 – Jacques Cartier, French explorer (d. 1557)
- 1499 – Diane de Poitiers (d. 1566)
- 1514 – Andreas Vesalius, Flemish anatomist (d. 1564)
- 1572 – Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan (d. 1617)
- 1585 – Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, Spanish military leader and politician (d. 1645)
- 1668 – Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist and physician (d. 1738)
- 1720 – Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (d. 1788)
- 1738 – Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general (d. 1805)
- 1741 – Isabella Maria of Parma (d. 1763)
- 1798 – Friedrich Robert Faehlmann, Estonian physician, philologist and academic (d. 1850)
- 1815 – George G. Meade, American general and engineer (d. 1872)
- 1830 – Isma'il Pasha, Governor of Egypt (d. 1895)
- 1830 – Alexander Smith, Scottish poet (d. 1861)
- 1838 – Emile Loubet, President of France (d. 1929)
- 1842 – Giovanni Boldini, Italian painter (d. 1931)
- 1844 – Ebe W. Tunnell, Governor of Delaware (d. 1917)
- 1846 – Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, Dutch politician (d. 1919)
- 1855 – Giovanni Pascoli, Italian poet (d. 1912)
- 1857 – King Kelly, American baseball player (d. 1894)
- 1860 – Berthold Lasker, German chess player (d. 1928)
- 1863 – Alfredo Panzini, Italian writer (d. 1939)
- 1864 – Hans am Ende, German painter (d. 1918)
- 1864 – Robert Grant Aitken, American astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1869 – Henri Matisse, French painter (d. 1954)
- 1874 – Julius Meier, German-American politician, 20th Governor of Oregon (d. 1937)
- 1877 – Viktor Dyk, Czech poet, dramatist and politician (d. 1931)
- 1878 – Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman (d. 1966)
- 1878 – Horacio Quiroga, Argentine-Uruguayan writer (d. 1937)
- 1880 – George Marshall, 50th United States Secretary of State (d. 1959)
- 1880 – Fred Beebe, American baseball player (d. 1957)
- 1881 – Max Pechstein, German painter (d. 1955)
- 1884 – Bobby Byrne, American baseball player (d. 1964)
- 1885 – Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1970)
- 1899 – Silvestre Revueltas, Mexican composer (d. 1940)

### 1901 – 1950

- 1901 – Karl-August Fagerholm, Prime Minister of Finland (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian–born violinist (d. 1992)
- 1904 – Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (d. 1975)
- 1905 – Jules Styne, American songwriter (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Guido Mollet, Prime Minister of France (d. 1975)
- 1908 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor (d. 2005)
- 1909 – Jonah Jones, American jazz trumpeter (d. 2000)
- 1910 – Archie M. Gubbrud, Governor of South Dakota (d. 1987)
- 1914 – Yrjö Nikkanen, Finnish javelin thrower (d. 1985)
- 1918 – Ray Graves, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1919 – Recy Taylor, American rape victim and civil rights activist (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Kjell Arnljot Wig, Norwegian media personality (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Taylor Mead, American actor (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Hugh McElhenny, American football player
- 1928 – Amarillo Slim, American professional poker player (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Veijo Meri, Finnish writer (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Siné, French cartoonist (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Mies Bouwman, Dutch entertainer (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Odetta, American singer (d. 2008)
- 1931 – George Ardisson, Italian actor (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Tom Rolf, Swedish-American film editor (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Mildred Scheel, German physician, cancer campaigner and First Lady (d. 1985)
- 1934 – Michael Bonallack, English golfer
- 1935 – Peter Herbolzheimer, German musician (d. 2010)
- 1935 – King Salman of Saudi Arabia
- 1936 – Siw Malmkvist, Swedish singer
- 1936 – Umaru Dikko, Nigerian politician (d. 2014)
- 1937 – Avram Hershko, Israeli biologist
- 1937 – Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor
- 1937 – Carl Emil Christiansen, Danish footballer (d. 2018)
- 1938 – Rosalind Cash, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Marien Ngouabi, Congolese politician (d. 1977)
- 1939 – Peter Camejo, American politician (d. 2008)
- 1940 – Tim Considine, American actor
- 1941 – Alex Ferguson, Scottish football manager
- 1941 – Sean S. Cunningham, American movie director and writer
- 1941 – Sarah Miles, English actress
- 1942 – Taufiq Kiemas, First Gentleman of Indonesia (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Andy Summers, British guitarist
- 1943 – Ben Kingsley, British actor
- 1943 – John Denver, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1943 – Pete Quaife, British musician (d. 2010)
- 1944 – Neil Ross, American voice actor
- 1944 – Taylor Hackford, American director and producer
- 1945 – Diane von Fürstenberg, Belgian-American fashion designer
- 1946 – Lyudmila Pakhamova, Soviet ice dancer (d. 1986)
- 1946 – Boris Dubin, Russian sociologist and translator (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Burton Cummings, Canadian keyboardist
- 1947 – Tim Matheson, American actor
- 1948 – Donna Summer, American disco singer (d. 2012)
- 1948 – Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer (d. 2014)
- 1948 – Joe Dallesandro, American actor
- 1948 – Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasyev, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Tom Hamilton, American bassist (Aerosmith)
- 1954 – Alex Salmond, Scottish politician, 4th First Minister of Scotland
- 1954 – Hermann Tilke, German racing circuit designer
- 1954 – Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, Icelandic politician
- 1956 – Robert Goodwill, English politician
- 1958 – Bebe Neuwirth, American actress
- 1959 – Baron Waqa, Nauruan musician and politician, President of Nauru
- 1959 – Val Kilmer, American actor (d. 2025)
- 1959 – Paul Westerberg, American musician
- 1960 – Steve Bruce, English footballer
- 1960 – John Allen Muhammad, American spree killer (d. 2009)
- 1961 – Rick Aguilera, American baseball player
- 1961 – Jeremy Heywood, English economist and civil servant
- 1963 – Scott Ian, American guitarist
- 1964 – Michael McDonald, American actor and comedian
- 1965 – Gong Li, Chinese actress
- 1965 – Nicholas Sparks, American writer
- 1966 – Lisa Joyner, American journalist and actress
- 1970 – Bryon Russell, American basketball player
- 1972 – Grégory Coupet, French footballer
- 1974 – Mario Aerts, Belgian cyclist

### From 1976

- 1976 – Matthew Hoggard, English cricketer
- 1977 – Psy, South Korean rapper
- 1977 – Donald Trump Jr., son of Donald Trump
- 1979 – Bob Bryar, drummer in My Chemical Romance
- 1980 – Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player
- 1980 – Fumie Suguri, Japanese figure skater
- 1981 – Margaret Simpson, Ghanaian athlete
- 1981 – Nathan Robinson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Craig Gordon, Scottish footballer
- 1984 – Corey Crawford, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- 1984 – Calvin Zola, Congolese footballer
- 1986 – Bronson Pelletier, Canadian actor
- 1987 – Javaris Crittenton, American basketball player
- 1987 – Emilie Le Pennec, French gymnast
- 1990 – Patrick Chan, Canadian figure skater
- 1991 – Camila Giorgi, Italian tennis player
- 1995 – Gabrielle Douglas, American gymnast

### Up to 1900

- 192 – Commodus, Roman Emperor (b. 161)
- 335 – Saint Silvester, Pope and Saint whose day is marked on December 31
- 669 – Li Shiji, Chinese chancellor (b. 594)
- 1164 – Margrave Ottokar III of Styria (b. 1124)
- 1194 – Leopold V of Austria (killed at a tournament) (b. 1157)
- 1302 – Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1238)
- 1384 – John Wyclif, English theologian (b. 1328)
- 1460 – Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (b. 1400)
- 1510 – Bianca Maria Sforza, wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1472)
- 1568 – Shimazu Tadayoshi, Japanese daimyo (b. 1493)
- 1650 – Dorgon, Emperor of China (b. 1612)
- 1679 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (b. 1608)
- 1705 – Catherine of Braganza (b. 1638)
- 1719 – John Flamsteed, English astronomer (b. 1646)
- 1742 – Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine (b. 1661)
- 1830 – Stéphanie Félicité, comtesse de Genlis, French writer (b. 1746)
- 1857 – Edward Williams Clay, American artist (b. 1799)
- 1865 – Fredrika Bremer, Swedish writer (b. 1801)
- 1872 – Aleksis Kivi, Finnish writer (b. 1834)
- 1876 – Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (b. 1806)
- 1877 – Gustave Courbet, French painter (b. 1819)
- 1882 – Léon Gambetta, French politician (b. 1838)
- 1888 – Samson Raphael Hirsch, rabbi (b. 1808)
- 1894 – Thomas Joannes Stieltjes, Dutch mathematician (b. 1856)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1905 – Alexander Popov, Russian physicist (b. 1859)
- 1936 – Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish writer, philosopher (b. 1864)
- 1948 – Malcolm Campbell, English Grand Prix race car driver (b. 1885)
- 1950 – Karl Renner, President of Austria (b. 1870)
- 1964 – Olafur Thors, five-time Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1892)
- 1964 – Bobby Byrne, American baseball player (b. 1884)
- 1969 – George Lewis, jazz musician (b. 1900)
- 1972 – Roberto Clemente, Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1934)
- 1972 – Henry Gerber, German-American activist (b. 1892)
- 1977 – Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1924)
- 1980 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian writer (b. 1911)
- 1980 – Raoul Walsh, movie director (b. 1887)
- 1985 – Ricky Nelson, American singer (b. 1940)
- 1989 – Gerhard Schröder, German politician (b. 1910)
- 1990 – Vasili Lazarev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1928)
- 1993 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia, scientist and writer, first President of the Republic of Georgia (b. 1939)
- 1993 – Brandon Teena, American murder victim (b. 1972)
- 1994 – Bruno Pezzey, Austrian footballer (b. 1955)
- 1997 – Floyd Cramer, musician (b. 1933)
- 1997 – Michael Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy, killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado (b. 1958).
- 1999 – Elliot Richardson, American politician (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Alan Cranston, American politician (b. 1914)
- 2000 – José Greco, Spanish Flamenco dancer (b. 1918)

### From 2001

- 2003 – Arthur R. von Hippel, German-born American scientist and professor at MIT (b. 1898)
- 2004 – Gérard Debreu, French economist (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Liese Prokop, Austrian politician (b. 1941)
- 2007 – Ettore Sottsass, Italian architect (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Donald E. Westlake, American writer (b. 1933)
- 2009 – Rashidi Kawawa, former Prime Minister of Tanzania (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Cahal Daly, Irish cardinal and archbishop (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Syd Ward, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1907)
- 2013 – John Fortune, English comedian (b. 1939)
- 2013 – Johnny Orr, American basketball player and coach (b. 1927)
- 2013 – James Avery, American actor (b. 1945)
- 2014 – Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, English aristocrat and army officer (b. 1915)
- 2014 – Edward Herrmann, American actor (b. 1943)
- 2015 – Marvin Panch, American racing driver (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Dal Richards, Canadian big band leader (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Wayne Rogers, American actor (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Natalie Cole, American singer (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Beth Howland, American actress (b. 1941)
- 2016 – William Christopher, American actor (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Prince Dimitri Romanov, Russian prince (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Henning Christophersen, Danish politician (b. 1939)
- 2017 – Prince François, Count of Clermont, French nobleman, self-styled Dauphin of France (b. 1961)
- 2021 – Betty White, American actress and comedian (b. 1922)

## Holidays

- New Year's Eve, including Hogmanay (Scotland) and Calennig (Wales)
- St. Sylvester's Day
- Ōmisoka (Japan)