On This Day: 31 December

31 December in Indian history

• 1999Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking ends after seven days with the release of 190 survivors at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan.India
• 1600The British East India Company is chartered.India

31 December in world history

• 2011NASA succeeds in putting the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon.
• 2010Tornadoes touch down in midwestern and southern United States, including Washington County, Arkansas; Greater St. Louis, Sunset Hills, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma, with a few tornadoes in the early hours. A total of 36 tornadoes touched down, resulting in
• 2006War in Somalia: Transitional Federal Government forces attacked the last stronghold of the Islamic Courts Union in the town of Jilib.
• 1999The U.S. government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.
• 1994This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC−11:00 to UTC+13:00 and UTC−10:00 to UTC+14:00, respectively.
• 1993Brandon Teena, an American trans man, was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska; his death led to increased lobbying for hate crime laws in the United States.
• 1986Three disgruntled employees set fire to the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killing more than 90 people and injuring 140 others, making it the second-deadliest hotel fire in American history.
• 1983Two Australian biologists published an article titled "A Synopsis of the Class Reptilia in Australia", initiating the Wells and Wellington affair.
• 1981A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.
• 1972Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to victims of that year's Nicaragua earthquake.
• 1942World War II: The Royal Navy defeats the Kriegsmarine at the Battle of the Barents Sea. This leads to the resignation of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder a month later.
• 1909The Manhattan Bridge, connecting Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn and considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges, opened to traffic.
• 1862The Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, began with an engagement in which both sides would suffer their highest casualty rates in the American Civil War.
• 1853A dinner party is held inside a life-size model of an iguanodon created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in south London, England.
• 1775American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Quebec, British forces repulsed an attempt by the Continental Army to capture Quebec City and enlist French Canadian support.
• 1225The Lý dynasty of Vietnam ends after 216 years by the enthronement of the boy emperor Trần Thái Tông, husband of the last Lý monarch, Lý Chiêu Hoàng, starting the Trần dynasty.[citation needed]

Born on 31 December

• 1946Raphael Kaplinsky, South African international development academic
• 1927Vishnudevananda Saraswati, Indian yoga guru (died 1993)India
• 1918Ray Graves, American football player and coach (died 2015)
• 1912John Frost, Indian-English general (died 1993)India
• 1857King Kelly, American baseball player and manager (died 1894)
• 1738Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, English general and politician, 3rd Governor-General of India (died 1805)India

Died on 31 December

• 2023Cale Yarborough, American Hall of Fame racing driver and founder of Cale Yarborough Motorsports, NASCAR Cup Series champion (1976, 1977, 1978) (born 1939)
• 2018Kader Khan, Indian actor (born 1937)India
• 1999Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, Indian Muslim scholar and author (born 1914)India
• 1460Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (born 1400)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 31 December in history?

2011: NASA succeeds in putting the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon. 2010: Tornadoes touch down in midwestern and southern United States, including Washington County, Arkansas; Greater St. Louis, Sunset Hills, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma, with a few tornadoes in the early hours. A total of 36 tornadoes touched down, resulting in. 2006: War in Somalia: Transitional Federal Government forces attacked the last stronghold of the Islamic Courts Union in the town of Jilib. 1999: Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking ends after seven days with the release of 190 survivors at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan.

What happened on 31 December in Indian history?

1999: Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking ends after seven days with the release of 190 survivors at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan. 1600: The British East India Company is chartered.

Which famous people were born on 31 December?

Raphael Kaplinsky, South African international development academic (1946); Vishnudevananda Saraswati, Indian yoga guru (died 1993) (1927); Ray Graves, American football player and coach (died 2015) (1918); John Frost, Indian-English general (died 1993) (1912).

Which day is observed on 31 December?

International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis (Azerbaijan); New Year's Eve (International observance), and its related observances: First Night (United States); New Year's Eve (International observance), and its related observances: Last Day of the Year or Bisperás ng Bagong Taón, special holiday bet; New Year's Eve (International observance), and its related observances: Novy God Eve (Russia); New Year's Eve (International observance), and its related observances: Ōmisoka (Japan).