31 December History
- 1775 - George Washington orders recruiting officers to accept free blacks into the army.
- 1852 - The richest year of the gold rush ends with $81.3 million in gold produced.
- 1862 - Union General William Rosecrans' army repels two Confederate attacks at the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's River).
- 1910 - John B. Moisant and Arch Hoxsey, two of America's foremost aviators, die in separate plane crashes.
- 1911 - Helene Dutrieu wins the Femina aviation cup in Etampes. She sets a distance record for women at 158 miles.
- 1915 - The Germans torpedo the British liner Persia without any warning killing 335 passengers.
- 1923 - The Sahara is crossed by an automobile for the first time.
- 1930 - Brewery heir Adolphus Busch is kidnapped.
- 1941 - General MacArthur reports that U.S. lines in Manila have been pushed back by the Japanese.
- 1942 - After five months of battle, Emperor Hirohito allows the Japanese commanders at Guadalcanal to retreat.
- 1944 - Hungary declares war on Germany.
- 1965 - California becomes the largest state in population.
- 1977 - Cambodia breaks relations with Vietnam.
31 December Birthdays
- 1720 - Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of James II, known as the Young Pretender and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
- 1815 - George Gordon Meade, Union general who defeated Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg.
- 1869 - Henri Matisse, French artist.
- 1889 - George Catlett Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army during World War II, Secretary of State under Truman, won Nobel Peace Prize for the Marshall Plan.
- 1908 - Simon Wiesenthal, survivor of the Nazi Holocaust who dedicated his life to tracking down former Nazis.