December 31st, 1596

Born on December 31st, 1596

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 156,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 922 days, exactly on November 7th, 2026, people who were born on December 31st, 1596 will be 157,000 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 City

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

78

George Marshall

American army officer and statesman (1880–1959)

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

65

Bebe Neuwirth

American actress

*December 31st, 1958, Newark

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

38

Jan Smit

Dutch singer and TV presenter

*December 31st, 1985, Volendam

93

Francesco Alberoni

Italian journalist and professor of sociology (1929–2023)

*December 31st, 1929, Borgonovo Val Tidone †August 14th, 2023, Milan

Same year
Born in 1596

53

René Descartes

French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist

*March 31st, 1596, Descartes †February 11th, 1650, Stockholm City

49

Michael I of Russia

Russian Tsar

*July 12th, 1596, Moscow †July 13th, 1645, Moscow

70

James Shirley

English writer (1596–1666)

*September 1st, 1596, London †October 1st, 1666, London

64

John Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau

Prince of Anhalf-Dessau

*September 7th, 1596, Dessau †September 15th, 1660, Dessau

90

Constantijn Huygens

Dutch writer, poet and composer (1596-1687)

*September 4th, 1596, The Hague †March 28th, 1687, The Hague

61

Bertuccio Valiero

Doge of Venice (1596-1658)

*July 1st, 1596, Venice †March 29th, 1658, Venice

65

Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

Electress consort of the Palatine and Queen of Bohemia (1596-1662)

*August 19th, 1596, Fife †February 13th, 1662, London

72

Pietro da Cortona

Italian painter and architect of the High Baroque (1596-1669)

*November 1st, 1596, Cortona †May 16th, 1669, Rome

84

Emperor Go-Mizunoo

Emperor of Japan from 1611 to 1629

*June 29th, 1596, Kyoto †September 11th, 1680, Kyoto

36

Frederick V of the Palatinate

Elector Palatine (1610–23), and King of Bohemia (1619–20), the Winter King

*August 26th, 1596, Deinschwang †November 29th, 1632, Mainz

87

Nicola Amati

Italian luthier from Cremona

*December 3rd, 1596, Cremona †August 12th, 1684, Cremona

77

Joachim Carstens

German judge

*August 3rd, 1596, Salzwedel †November 11th, 1673, Lübeck

44

Johan Banér

Swedish Field Marshal (1596-1641)

*June 23rd, 1596, Djursholm †May 10th, 1641, Halberstadt

77

Joan Blaeu

Dutch cartographer (1596-1673)

*September 23rd, 1596, Alkmaar †December 28th, 1673, Amsterdam

77

Ebba Brahe

Swedish noble

*March 16th, 1596, Västergötland †January 5th, 1674, Stockholm

61

Jacob van Campen

Painter and architect from the Northern Netherlands (1596-1657)

*February 2nd, 1596, Haarlem †September 13th, 1657, Amersfoort

63

Peter Wtewael

Dutch painter (1596-1660)

*June 5th, 1596, Utrecht †January 16th, 1660, Utrecht

77

Leonaert Bramer

17th century Dutch artist known primarily for genre, religious, and history paintings (1596-1674)

*December 24th, 1596, Delft †January 31st, 1674, Delft

29

Elizabeth of Hesse-Kassel, Duchess of Mecklenburg

Duchess of Mecklenburg-Gütsrow

*March 23rd, 1596, Kassel †December 16th, 1625, Güstrow

69

Jean Bolland

Belgian Jesuit and hagiographer

*August 18th, 1596, Julémont †September 12th, 1665, Antwerp

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: 1596 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 1596