December 31st, 1888

Born on December 31st, 1888

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 49,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 573 days, exactly on November 23rd, 2025, people who were born on December 31st, 1888 will be 50,000 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

65

Ferdinand Noack

German classical archaeologist and classical philologist (1865-1931)

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

78

George Marshall

American army officer and statesman (1880–1959)

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

86

Anthony Hopkins

Welsh actor and director (born 1937)

*December 31st, 1937, Port Talbot

31

Manu Attri

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1992, Meerut

87

Elizabeth Arden

Canadian American businesswoman

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

96

Simon Wiesenthal

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter

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

73

Adolf Grimme

German politician, Lower Saxony Landtag member (1889-1963)

*December 31st, 1889, Goslar †August 27th, 1963, Brannenburg

76

Umm Kulthum

Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress

*December 31st, 1898, Tamay Ez-Zahayra †February 3rd, 1975, Cairo

57

Rudy Gunawan

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1966, Surakarta City

69

Guy Mollet

French politician (1905-1975)

*December 31st, 1905, Flers †October 3rd, 1975, 7th arrondissement of Paris

49

Bas Böttcher

German writer and poetry slam performer

*December 31st, 1974, Bremen

86

Daryl Lindsay

Australian artist (1889-1976)

*December 31st, 1889, Creswick †December 25th, 1976, Mornington

88

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

King of Saudi Arabia since 2015

*December 31st, 1935, Riyadh

93

Francesco Alberoni

Italian journalist and professor of sociology (1929–2023)

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

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

80

Ben Kingsley

English actor

*December 31st, 1943, Snainton

65

Bebe Neuwirth

American actress

*December 31st, 1958, Newark

Same year
Born in 1888

85

Oswald Menghin

Austrian prehistorian

*April 19th, 1888, Merano †November 29th, 1973, Buenos Aires

81

Mary Barratt Due

Norwegian pianist

*April 9th, 1888, Bergen †December 24th, 1969, Oslo

76

T. S. Eliot

US-born British poet (1888–1965)

*September 26th, 1888, St. Louis †January 4th, 1965, Kensington

101

Irving Berlin

American composer and lyricist (1888–1989)

*May 11th, 1888, Talačyn †September 22nd, 1989, New York City

65

Eugene O'Neill

American playwright (1888–1953)

*October 16th, 1888, New York City †November 27th, 1953, Boston

88

Edith Evans

British actress (1888–1976)

*February 8th, 1888, London †October 14th, 1976, Cranbrook

77

Clemence Dane

English novelist (1888-1965)

*February 21st, 1888, London Borough of Lewisham †March 28th, 1965, London

58

Antoinette Perry

American actress, stage director and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing

*June 27th, 1888, Denver †June 28th, 1946, Manhattan

81

Otto Stern

German-American physicist (1888–1969)

*February 17th, 1888, Żory †August 17th, 1969, Berkeley

57

John Logie Baird

Scottish inventor, demonstrating the world's first working television

*August 14th, 1888, Helensburgh †June 14th, 1946, Bexhill-on-Sea

85

Sol Hurok

Ukraine-born American impresario

*April 9th, 1888, Pogar †March 5th, 1974, New York City

88

Hermann Pünder

German politician (1888-1976)

*April 1st, 1888, Trier †October 3rd, 1976, Fulda

87

Hans Thirring

Austrian physicist (1888-1976)

*March 23rd, 1888, Vienna †March 22nd, 1976, Vienna

53

José Raúl Capablanca

Cuban chess player (1888-1942)

*November 6th, 1888, Havana †March 8th, 1942, New York City

72

George Relph

British stage and film actor (1888-1960)

*January 27th, 1888, Cullercoats †April 24th, 1960, London

88

Paul Morand

French writer (1888-1976)

*March 13th, 1888, 8th arrondissement of Paris †July 23rd, 1976, Paris

83

Maurice Chevalier

French singer, actor, and entertainer (1888–1972)

*September 12th, 1888, Paris †January 1st, 1972, Paris

73

Werner Jaeger

German-american classical philologist (1888-1961)

*July 30th, 1888, Lobberich †October 19th, 1961, Cambridge

90

Giorgio de Chirico

Italian artist (1888–1978)

*July 10th, 1888, Volos †November 20th, 1978, Rome

70

Maxwell Anderson

American playwright and writer (1888–1959)

*December 15th, 1888, Atlantic †February 28th, 1959, Stamford

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: 1888 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 1888