December 31st, 1896

Born on December 31st, 1896

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 46,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 498 days, exactly on September 6th, 2025, people who were born on December 31st, 1896 will be 47,000 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

Born on December 31st, 1896

82

Ronald Adam

British RAF officer, actor and theatre manager (1896-1979)

*December 31st, 1896, Worcestershire †March 28th, 1979, London

84

Carl Ludwig Siegel

German mathematician (1896-1981)

*December 31st, 1896, Berlin †April 4th, 1981, Göttingen

71

Gladys Egbert

Canadian pianist and music educator (1896-1968)

*December 31st, 1896, Rapid City †March 7th, 1968, Calgary

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

76

Umm Kulthum

Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress

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

96

Simon Wiesenthal

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter

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

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

31

Manu Attri

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1992, Meerut

69

Guy Mollet

French politician (1905-1975)

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

78

George Marshall

American army officer and statesman (1880–1959)

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

57

Rudy Gunawan

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1966, Surakarta City

87

Elizabeth Arden

Canadian American businesswoman

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

49

Bas Böttcher

German writer and poetry slam performer

*December 31st, 1974, Bremen

88

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

King of Saudi Arabia since 2015

*December 31st, 1935, Riyadh

88

Jule Styne

British-born American songwriter (1905-1994)

*December 31st, 1905, London †September 20th, 1994, New York City

93

Francesco Alberoni

Italian journalist and professor of sociology (1929–2023)

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

71

Rhys Williams

Welsh actor (1897-1969)

*December 31st, 1897, Merionethshire †May 28th, 1969, Santa Monica

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

82

Alex Ferguson

Scottish association football manager and player (born 1941)

*December 31st, 1941, Govan

Same year
Born in 1896

96

Kathleen McKane Godfree

English badminton and tennis player (1896-1992)

*May 7th, 1896, Bayswater †June 19th, 1992, London

90

Bruno Snell

German classical philologist

*June 18th, 1896, Hildesheim †October 31st, 1986, Hamburg

49

Marianne Grunthal

German teacher

*January 31st, 1896, Zehdenick †May 2nd, 1945, Schwerin

83

Helmut Berve

German historian of classical antiquity

*January 22nd, 1896, Wrocław †April 6th, 1979, Hechendorf am Pilsensee

84

Maria

Swiss psychologist, biologist, logician, philosopher and academic (1896-1980)

*August 9th, 1896, Neuchâtel †September 16th, 1980, Geneva

84

A. J. Cronin

Scottish novelist

*July 19th, 1896, Cardross †January 6th, 1981, Montreux

44

F. Scott Fitzgerald

American writer (1896–1940)

*September 24th, 1896, Saint Paul †December 21st, 1940, Hollywood

75

Betty Smith

American author (1896–1972)

*December 15th, 1896, Brooklyn †January 17th, 1972, Shelton

84

Eugenio Montale

Italian poet (1896-1981)

*October 12th, 1896, Genoa †September 12th, 1981, Milan

72

Trygve Lie

1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (1896–1968)

*July 16th, 1896, Grünerløkka †December 30th, 1968, Geilo

77

David Alfaro Siqueiros

Mexican social realist painter (1896–1974)

*December 29th, 1896, Mexico City †January 6th, 1974, Cuernavaca

92

Virgil Thomson

American composer and critic

*November 25th, 1896, Kansas City †September 30th, 1989, New York City

45

Ernst Udet

German flying ace (1896–1941)

*April 26th, 1896, Frankfurt †November 17th, 1941, Berlin

91

Karl August Wittfogel

German-American academic (1896–1988)

*September 6th, 1896, Woltersdorf †May 25th, 1988, New York City

50

Erich Sichting

German politician (1896-1946)

*March 13th, 1896, Magdeburg †September 6th, 1946, Magdeburg

61

Gerty Cori

Austro-Hungarian-American biochemist (1896–1957)

*August 15th, 1896, Prague †October 26th, 1957, Glendale

89

Elisabeth Selbert

German politician (1896-1986)

*September 22nd, 1896, Kassel †June 9th, 1986, Kassel

74

John Dos Passos

American novelist (1896–1970)

*January 14th, 1896, Chicago †September 28th, 1970, Baltimore

93

Sandro Pertini

Former President of the Italian Republic, President of Italy from 1978 to 1985

*September 25th, 1896, San Giovanni †February 24th, 1990, Rome

89

Wallis Simpson

American socialite and wife of the Duke of Windsor (1896-1986)

*June 19th, 1896, Blue Ridge Summit †April 24th, 1986, Villa Windsor

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: 1896 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 1896