December 31st, 1908

Born on December 31st, 1908

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 42,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 880 days, exactly on September 23rd, 2026, people who were born on December 31st, 1908 will be 43,000 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, 1908

96

Simon Wiesenthal

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter

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

Same Day
Who's birthday is on December 31st?

78

Vernon Wells

Australian actor

*December 31st, 1945, Rushworth

69

Guy Mollet

French politician (1905-1975)

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

84

Henri Matisse

French artist (1869–1954)

*December 31st, 1869, Le Cateau-Cambrésis †November 3rd, 1954, Nice

86

Anthony Hopkins

Welsh actor and director (born 1937)

*December 31st, 1937, Port Talbot

31

Manu Attri

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1992, Meerut

88

Jule Styne

British-born American songwriter (1905-1994)

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

65

Ferdinand Noack

German classical archaeologist and classical philologist (1865-1931)

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

69

Charles Lederer

American film director and screenwriter

*December 31st, 1906, New York City †March 5th, 1976, Los Angeles

57

Rudy Gunawan

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1966, Surakarta City

76

Umm Kulthum

Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress

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

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

93

Francesco Alberoni

Italian journalist and professor of sociology (1929–2023)

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

78

George Marshall

American army officer and statesman (1880–1959)

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

76

Giuseppe Addobbati

Italian actor (1909-1986)

*December 31st, 1909, Makarska †January 4th, 1986, Rome

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

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

Same year
Born in 1908

78

Simone de Beauvoir

French philosopher, social theorist and activist (1908–1986)

*January 9th, 1908, Paris †April 14th, 1986, 14th arrondissement of Paris

64

Lyndon B. Johnson

President of the United States from 1963 to 1969

*August 27th, 1908, Stonewall †January 22nd, 1973, Stonewall

78

Arnaldo Momigliano

Italian historian of classical antiquity (1908–1987)

*September 5th, 1908, Caraglio †September 1st, 1987, London

88

Wolfram von Soden

German Assyriologist

*June 19th, 1908, Berlin †October 6th, 1996, Münster

97

Myron Waldman

American animator (1908-2006)

*April 23rd, 1908, Brooklyn †February 4th, 2006, Bethpage

100

Claude Lévi-Strauss

French anthropologist and ethnologist (1908–2009)

*November 28th, 1908, City of Brussels †October 30th, 2009, 16th arrondissement of Paris

66

Louis Jordan

American jazz, blues and rhythm and blues musician, songwriter and bandleader (1908–1975)

*July 8th, 1908, Arkansas †February 4th, 1975, Los Angeles

65

Salvador Allende

28th president of Chile (1908–1973)

*June 26th, 1908, Valparaíso †September 11th, 1973, Santiago

52

Richard Wright

American writer (1908-1960)

*September 4th, 1908, Natchez †November 28th, 1960, Paris

83

Olivier Messiaen

French composer, organist and ornithologist (1908–1992)

*December 10th, 1908, Avignon †April 27th, 1992, Clichy

89

James Stewart

American actor (1908–1997)

*May 20th, 1908, Indiana †July 2nd, 1997, Beverly Hills

81

Bette Davis

American actress (1908–1989)

*April 5th, 1908, Lowell †October 6th, 1989, Neuilly-sur-Seine

76

Ethel Merman

American actress and singer (1908-1984)

*January 16th, 1908, Astoria †February 15th, 1984, Manhattan

97

John Mills

English actor (1908-2005)

*February 22nd, 1908, Felixstowe †April 23rd, 2005, Denham

91

Amintore Fanfani

Italian politician statesman (1908–1999)

*February 6th, 1908, Pieve Santo Stefano †November 20th, 1999, Rome

84

Robert Morley

British actor (1908–1992)

*May 26th, 1908, Semley †June 3rd, 1992, Reading

82

Robert Cummings

American actor (1910–1990)

*June 9th, 1908, Joplin †December 2nd, 1990, Woodland Hills

85

Raymond Scott

American composer, bandleader, pianist, record producer and inventor (1908-1994)

*September 10th, 1908, Brooklyn †February 8th, 1994, North Hills

82

Jill Esmond

British actress (1908–1990)

*January 26th, 1908, London †July 28th, 1990, Wimbledon

92

Imogene Coca

American comic actress (1908–2001)

*November 18th, 1908, Philadelphia †June 2nd, 2001, Westport

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: 1908 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 1908