December 31st, 1579

Born on December 31st, 1579

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 162,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 646 days, exactly on April 11th, 2026, people who were born on December 31st, 1579 will be 163,000 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

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

49

Bas Böttcher

German writer and poetry slam performer

*December 31st, 1974, Bremen

49

Andreas Vesalius

Flemish anatomist, physician and author (1514–1564)

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

96

Simon Wiesenthal

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter

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

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

82

Alex Ferguson

Scottish association football manager and player (born 1941)

*December 31st, 1941, Govan

80

Ben Kingsley

English actor

*December 31st, 1943, Snainton

38

Jan Smit

Dutch singer and TV presenter

*December 31st, 1985, Volendam

Same year
Born in 1579

46

Thomas Dempster

British philologist, historian, poet and etruscologist

*August 23rd, 1579, Aberdeenshire †September 6th, 1625, Bologna

69

Tirso de Molina

Spanish writer c. 1583-c.1648

*March 24th, 1579, Madrid †February 20th, 1649, Almazán

65

Luis Vélez de Guevara

Spanish writer

*August 1st, 1579, Écija †November 10th, 1644, Madrid

72

Jan Cornelisz. Geelvinck

Dutch politician (1579-1651)

*June 11th, 1579, Amsterdam †November 9th, 1651, Amsterdam

61

Friedrich Hortleder

German politician and historian (1579-1640)

*March 22nd, 1579, Ampfurth †June 5th, 1640, Jena

60

Johannes Meursius

Dutch philologist and historian

*February 9th, 1579, Loosduinen district †September 20th, 1639, Sorø

52

Tokugawa Hidetada

Japanese shogun (1579–1632)

*May 2nd, 1579, Hamamatsu †March 14th, 1632, Edo Castle

45

John Fletcher

English Jacobean playwright (1579–1625)

*November 30th, 1579, Rye †August 1st, 1625, London

59

Martin de Porres

Dominican lay brother and saint

*December 9th, 1579, Lima †November 3rd, 1639, Lima

67

François de Bassompierre

French courtier and Marshal of France (1579-1646)

*April 12th, 1579, Haroué †October 12th, 1646, Provins

55

Levin Ludwig Hahn

German soldier

*December 3rd, 1579, Seeburg †May 18th, 1635, Seeburg

64

Hermann Samson

German-Baltic clergyman and pedagogue

*January 1st, 1579, Riga †December 16th, 1643, Riga

75

Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt

German countess (1579-1655)

*November 29th, 1579, Darmstadt †July 17th, 1655, Wehen

70

Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen

German prince

*June 17th, 1579, Dessau †January 17th, 1650, Köthen

41

Janusz Radziwiłł

(1579-1620)

*July 2nd, 1579, Vilnius †December 3rd, 1620, Czarlin

77

Frans Snyders

Flemish painter (1579–1657)

*November 11th, 1579, Antwerp †August 19th, 1657, Antwerp

49

Jens Munk

Danish explorer

*June 3rd, 1579, Arendal †June 28th, 1628, Copenhagen

70

Marie of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

*January 23rd, 1579, Königsberg †February 11th, 1649, Bayreuth

58

Henri II de Rohan

French soldier, writer and leader of the Huguenots

*August 21st, 1579, Château de Blain †April 13th, 1638, former Abbey Königsfelden

73

Federico Baldissera Bartolomeo Cornaro

Catholic cardinal

*November 16th, 1579, Venice †June 5th, 1653, Rome

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

No: With 365 days 1579 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
December 1579