31 December History


Month:                           Date:     

  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 1908    -    Simon Wiesenthal, survivor of the Nazi Holocaust who dedicated his life to tracking down former Nazis.