December 31st, 1556

Born on December 31st, 1556

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 170,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 312 days, exactly on March 7th, 2025, people who were born on December 31st, 1556 will be 171,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on December 31st?

December 31st, 1950

Korean War: North Korean troops attacked United Nations forces in the first of two battles at Wonju.

December 31st, 2010

28 tornadoes (one depicted) touched down in midwestern and southern United States, part of an outbreak that led to the deaths of nine people and large property damage.

December 31st, 1999

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin became acting president upon President Boris Yeltsin's unexpected resignation.

December 31st, 1998

The European Exchange Rate Mechanism froze the exchange rates of the legacy currencies in the eurozone, establishing the value of the euro.

December 31st, 1993

Brandon 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.

December 31st, 1986

Three 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 United States history.

December 31st, 1972

Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to victims of that year's Nicaragua earthquake.

December 31st, 1965

Central African military officers led by Jean-Bédel Bokassa began a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko.

December 31st, 1961

RTÉ, Ireland's first television network, began broadcasting.

December 31st, 1909

The Manhattan Bridge, connecting Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn and considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges, opened to traffic.

December 31st, 1907

New York City held its first annual ball drop event in Times Square as part of New Year's Eve celebrations.

December 31st, 1862

The 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.

December 31st, 1857

Queen Victoria announced the choice of Ottawa (pictured), then a small logging town, to be the capital of the British colony of Canada.

December 31st, 1775

American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Quebec, British forces repulsed an attack by the Continental Army to capture Quebec City and enlist French Canadian support.

December 31st, 1759

Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum to the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin and began brewing Guinness.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on December 31st

Same Day
Who's birthday is on December 31st?

78

Vernon Wells

Australian actor

*December 31st, 1945, Rushworth

65

Jacques Cartier

Breton maritime explorer of North America (1491–1557)

*December 31st, 1491, Saint-Malo †September 1st, 1557, Saint-Malo

84

Henri Matisse

French artist (1869–1954)

*December 31st, 1869, Le Cateau-Cambrésis †November 3rd, 1954, Nice

31

Manu Attri

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1992, Meerut

86

Anthony Hopkins

Welsh actor and director (born 1937)

*December 31st, 1937, Port Talbot

49

Andreas Vesalius

Flemish anatomist, physician and author (1514–1564)

*December 31st, 1514, Mont aux Potences - Galgenberg †October 16th, 1564, Zakynthos

65

Ferdinand Noack

German classical archaeologist and classical philologist (1865-1931)

*December 31st, 1865, Burgholzhausen vor der Höhe †September 21st, 1931, Berlin

57

Rudy Gunawan

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1966, Surakarta City

49

Bas Böttcher

German writer and poetry slam performer

*December 31st, 1974, Bremen

58

Simon Forman

English astrologer, occultist and herbalist

*December 31st, 1552, Quidhampton †September 12th, 1611, River Thames

96

Simon Wiesenthal

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter

*December 31st, 1908, Buchach †September 20th, 2005, Vienna

46

Ernest II

Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

*December 31st, 1564, Celle †March 2nd, 1611, Celle

67

Vaughan Jones

New Zealand mathematician and Fields Medalist

*December 31st, 1952, Gisborne †September 6th, 2020, Nashville

70

James Remar

American actor

*December 31st, 1953, Boston

88

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

King of Saudi Arabia since 2015

*December 31st, 1935, Riyadh

65

Bebe Neuwirth

American actress

*December 31st, 1958, Newark

78

George Marshall

American army officer and statesman (1880–1959)

*December 31st, 1880, Uniontown †October 16th, 1959, Washington, D.C.

51

Grégory Coupet

French association football player

*December 31st, 1972, Le Puy-en-Velay

87

Elizabeth Arden

Canadian American businesswoman

*December 31st, 1878, Woodbridge †October 18th, 1966, New York City

80

Ben Kingsley

English actor

*December 31st, 1943, Snainton

Same year
Born in 1556

86

Sophia Brahe

Danish horticulturalist

*September 22nd, 1556, Knutstorp Castle †January 1st, 1643, Helsingør

43

Jerzy Radziwiłł

Catholic cardinal

*May 31st, 1556, Lukiškės †January 21st, 1600, Rome

69

Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana

Mughal court poet and minister (1556–1627)

*December 17th, 1556, Lahore †October 1st, 1626, Agra

83

Jeanne de Lestonnac

French saint

*December 27th, 1556, Bordeaux †February 2nd, 1640, Bordeaux

52

Philipp Nicolai

German Lutheran pastor, hymnwriter

*August 10th, 1556, Bad Arolsen †October 2nd, 1608, Hamburg

25

Alexander Briant

Jesuit martyr

*August 17th, 1556, Somerset †December 1st, 1581, Tyburn

70

Ahmad Baba al Massufi

Malian academic (1556-1627)

*October 26th, 1556, Araouane †April 22nd, 1627, Timbuktu

69

François Béroalde de Verville

French writer

*April 27th, 1556, Paris †January 1st, 1626, Tours

37

Andreas von Auersperg

Carniolan noble and military commander in the battle of Sisak

*April 9th, 1556, Žužemberk †September 5th, 1593, Karlovac

49

Nyaungyan Min

King of Burma

*March 6th, 1556, Bago †March 3rd, 1606, Hsipaw

60

Countess Maria of Nassau

Countess of Nassau (1556-1616)

*February 7th, 1556, Breda †October 10th, 1616, Buren

91

Joseph Calasanz

Spanish writer and saint

*September 11th, 1556, Peralta de la Sal †August 25th, 1648, Rome

65

Aurelio Lomi

Italian painter (1556-1622)

*February 29th, 1556, Pisa †January 1st, 1622, Pisa

59

Sethus Calvisius

German music theorist, composer, chronologer, astronomer, and teacher

*February 21st, 1556, Gorsleben †November 24th, 1615, Leipzig

67

Uesugi Kagekatsu

Daimyo during the Sengoku and Edo periods

*January 8th, 1556, Echigo Province †April 19th, 1623, Yonezawa

29

Kunigunde Jakobäa of Simmern

(1556-1586)

*October 9th, 1556, Simmern †January 26th, 1586, Dillenburg

57

Matthaeus Entzlin

German university teacher (1556-1613)

*May 16th, 1556, Stuttgart †November 22nd, 1613, Bad Urach

40

George Peele

English poet and dramatist (1556-1596)

*January 1st, 1556, London †November 7th, 1596, London

65

Guillaume du Vair

French bishop

*March 7th, 1556, Paris †August 3rd, 1621, Tonneins

61

David Hoeschel

Librarian (1556-1617)

*April 8th, 1556, Augsburg †October 19th, 1617, Augsburg

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on December 31st

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day, New Year's Eve) which are celebrated on December 31st.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

Yes: 1556 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
December 1556