December 31st, 1685

Born on December 31st, 1685

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 123,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 429 days, exactly on July 2nd, 2025, people who were born on December 31st, 1685 will be 124,000 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

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

65

Jacques Cartier

Breton maritime explorer of North America (1491–1557)

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

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

96

Simon Wiesenthal

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter

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

78

George Marshall

American army officer and statesman (1880–1959)

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

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

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

69

Herman Boerhaave

Dutch botanist, chemist, humanist, and physician (1668–1738)

*December 31st, 1668, Voorhout †September 23rd, 1738, Leiden

80

Ben Kingsley

English actor

*December 31st, 1943, Snainton

93

Francesco Alberoni

Italian journalist and professor of sociology (1929–2023)

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

38

Jan Smit

Dutch singer and TV presenter

*December 31st, 1985, Volendam

Same year
Born in 1685

65

Johann Sebastian Bach

German composer (1685–1750)

*March 21st, 1685, Eisenach †July 28th, 1750, Leipzig

74

George Frideric Handel

German-British Baroque composer (1685–1759)

*February 23rd, 1685, Halle (Saale) †April 14th, 1759, London

47

John Gay

English poet and playwright (1685–1732)

*June 30th, 1685, Barnstaple †December 4th, 1732, London

67

George Berkeley

Irish idealist philosopher and Anglican bishop (1685–1753)

*March 12th, 1685, Kilkenny †January 14th, 1753, Oxford

55

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor

18th century Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor

*October 1st, 1685, Vienna †October 20th, 1740, Vienna

71

Domenico Scarlatti

Italian composer, son of Alessandro Scarlatti

*October 26th, 1685, Kingdom of Naples †July 23rd, 1757, Madrid

85

Charles-Jean-François Hénault

French writer and historian (1685-1770)

*February 8th, 1685, Paris †November 24th, 1770, Paris

46

Brook Taylor

English mathematician (1685-1731)

*August 18th, 1685, Edmonton †November 30th, 1731, London

54

Thomas Tickell

English poet and man of letters (1685-1740)

*December 17th, 1685, Bridekirk †April 21st, 1740, Bath

63

Balthasar Denner

German painter (1685-1749)

*November 15th, 1685, Hamburg †April 14th, 1749, Rostock

80

Johann Maria Farina

Italian perfumer and inventor

*December 8th, 1685, Santa Maria Maggiore †November 25th, 1766, Cologne

26

Marie Adélaïde of Savoy

Dauphine of France

*December 6th, 1685, Turin †February 12th, 1712, Palace of Versailles

90

Christian Reichart

German gardener and botanist (1685-1775)

*July 4th, 1685, Erfurt †July 30th, 1775, Erfurt

53

Jean-Pierre Nicéron

French encyclopedist

*March 11th, 1685, Paris †July 8th, 1738, Paris

66

Claude Joseph Geoffroy

French scientist (1685-1752)

*August 8th, 1685, Paris †March 9th, 1752, Paris

60

Jacques Duhan de Jandun

German educator (1685-1746)

*March 14th, 1685, Jandun †January 3rd, 1746, Berlin

76

Christiane Charlotte of Nassau-Ottweiler

Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken, later Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg

*September 2nd, 1685, Ottweiler †November 6th, 1761, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe

74

Sebastián de Eslava

Viceroy of New Grenada (1685-1759)

*January 19th, 1685, Enériz/Eneritz †June 21st, 1759, Madrid

60

Gottfried Kirchoff

German composer (1685-1746)

*September 15th, 1685, Mühlbeck †January 21st, 1746, Halle (Saale)

81

Tiberius Hemsterhuis

Dutch linguist (1685-1766)

*January 9th, 1685, Groningen †April 7th, 1766, Leiden

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 1685 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
December 1685