On This Day

[Altobelli]

31 December

31st December - (New Year’s Eve, and Hogmanay in Scotland)

406 80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine at Mainz, beginning invasion of Gallia

1384 The death of John Wycliffe, the first translator of the Bible into the English language. He was rector of St. Mary's Church, Lutterworth for the 10 years prior to his death. This monument to him is in the church.

1695 The window tax was imposed in Britain. It resulted in many being bricked up, evidence which remains to this day. An example is here at the house in Market Weighton where William Bradley, the world's tallest Englishman was born -. The story goes that Bradley, a typicaly frugal Yorkshireman, did not want to pay extra window tax, so he had the windows painted on the outside of the building. As for the house, it was specially built for Bradley, with extra high rooms and doorways.

1720 The birth, in Rome, of Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart), also known as the ‘Young Pretender’. He landed in Scotland, with his followers, in 1745, capturing Edinburgh and setting up court at the Palace of Holyrood. His decision to march on London brought him head on with an army led by the Duke of Cumberland, and defeat at Culloden.

1738 The birth of Charles Cornwallis, the British soldier whose surrender to George Washington (1781) ended the War of Independence.

1744 English astronomer James Bradley announces discovery of Earth's nutation motion (wobble)

1759 Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum and started brewing Guinness at the St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin. Ten years later Guinness exported his ale for the first time, when six and a half barrels were shipped to Britain.

1775 Battle of Quebec in American Revolutionary War; Americans defeated trying to take British stronghold

1781 Bank of North America, 1st US bank opens

1783 Import of African slaves banned by all of the Northern US states

1857 Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada

1861 22,990mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in India in 1861, a world record

1890 Ellis Island (NYC) opens as a US immigration depot

1892 The first hostel for homeless men, Rowton House, opened in Bond Street, Vauxhall. There was strict discipline, with rules against cooking, card playing, etc.

1897 Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898)

1904 First New Year's Eve celebration held in Times Square (then Longacre Square), in New York City

1911 Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize

1923 The chimes of Big Ben were broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC.

1937 Sir Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor, was born. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for services to the arts.

1938 Dutch national debt hits ƒ3,986,629,805.70

1939 Dutch national debt hits ƒ4,218,553,180.99

1942 Football manager Alex Ferguson was born, in Glasgow. With 25 years as manager of Manchester United, he was the longest serving manager in their history and also the longest serving of all the current League managers. He stepped down as manager of Manchester United on 8th May 2013 after 27 seasons. Under his leadership the team won 38 trophies, including 13 league titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups and four League Cups.

1948 Malcolm Campbell, British racing driver, died, after a series of strokes. He was one of the few land speed record holders of his era to die of natural causes. Campbell broke nine land speed records between 1924 and 1935. He set his final land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on 3rd September 1935, becoming the first person to drive an automobile at more than 300mph.

1955 The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over $1 billion USD in a year.

1958 Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista tells his Cabinet he is fleeing the country

1960 The British coin, the farthing, in use in Britain since the 13th Century, ceased to be legal tender at midnight.

1961 Beach Boys play their debut gig under that name

1964 Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record, (at Dumbleyung Lake, Western Australia, 276.33 mph), the only man to break both land and water speed records in the same year. He remains the world's most prolific breaker of water speed records.

1970 Paul McCartney files a lawsuit to disolve The Beatles

1973 The three-day week began in Britain as a result of power strikes. It led to the downfall of Prime Minister Edward Heath and his government.

1973 Johan Cruyff chosen European Football Player of theYear

1974 Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac

1977 Ted Bundy escapes from jail in Colorado

1984 Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car crash

1987 A total of 31 people received New Year's Honours for helping to save an estimated 350 passengers when the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized, near Bruges, on 6th March, claiming 193 lives. The George Medal, one of the highest civilian awards for gallantry, was awarded to head waiter Michael Skippen who died trying to get passengers to safety.

1999 Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as acting President

2014 Neil Brittlebank (from Redditch) and Kevin Beresford (from East Ardsley in Yorkshire) won the dubious honour of being two of the dullest men of the year, as awarded by the Dull Men's Club. Mr Beresford produces books and calendars about roundabouts, while Mr Brittlebank, collects bricks.

2014 Same *** marriage came into effect in Scotland earlier in December and the first weddings were held at 00:01 on Hogmanay. (Note:- Following the usual 15-day notice period for marriages, Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) was the first day that same-*** weddings could take place.)

2014 The death (aged 99) of Arthur Valerian Wellesley, the 8th Duke of Wellington, whose ancestor won the Battle of Waterloo. His death came a day before the bicentenary year of the Battle of Waterloo.

Famous Birthday's

Jacques Cartier
(1491 - 1557)

George Marshall
(1880 - 1959)

1892 Jason Robards Sr, American actor (Acapulco, Isle of the Dead), born in Hillsdale, Michigan (d. 1963)

1929 Peter May, English cricketer (dashing batsman of 50's), born in Reading (d. 1994)



John Denver
(1943 - 1997)



1948 Donna Summer, singer (Love to Love You Baby, On the Radio), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2012)

Anthony Hopkins
80th Birthday

Alex Ferguson
76th Birthday

Andy Summers, English rock guitarist (Police-Roxanne), born in Blackpool, Lancashire
75th Birthday

Ben Kingsley
74th Birthday

Alex Salmond
63rd Birthday

Val Kilmer
58th Birthday

Heather McCartney, British artist and daughter of Paul McCartney
55th Birthday

Donald Trump Jr., American businessman and son of Donald Trump and Ivana Trump, born in NYC, New York
40th Birthday

Famous Deaths

Commodus
(161 - 192)

Roberto Clemente
(1934 - 1972)

1948 Malcolm Campbell, English race driver, dies at 63



Natalie Cole
(1950 - 2015)

Famous Weddings

1910 Editor Maxwell Perkins (26) weds Louise Saunders at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in North Plainfield, New Jersey

1940 Actress Bette Davis (32) weds New England innkeeper Arthur Farnsworth at 15,000-acre ranch in Lake Montezuma, Arizona

1950 Heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Marciano (27) weds Barbara Cousins in Brockton

1955 Actor Gregory Peck (39) weds philanthropist Veronique Passani (23)

1973 MLB executive Tony La Russa (29) weds Elaine Coker



My 62nd Birthday