31 December: On This Day In History | What Special Day Is Today?

31 December: In a year, the 31^st of December is the 365^th day as per the Georgian Calendar. In a leap year, it is the 366^th day of the year.

What special day is today?

On this day, the WHO got reports of first cases of COVID 19 in Wuhan; The first public demonstration of incandescent lighting by Thomas Edison and the British East India Company was incorporated by the (official) royal charter.

Famous birthdays include PSY, Anthony Hopkins, and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.

December 31 also marks New Year’s Eve (International).

Let’s explore what happened today.

31 December: On This Day In History | What Special Day Is Today?

What Happened Today? On This Day in History: 31 December

Art & Artists

1978 – The opening of the stage version of The Point opened in London. It was musician Harry Nilsson’s sixth studio album.
1984 – Announcement made by CBS Records regarding the release of She’s the Boss, the first upcoming solo album from Mick Jagger.

Science & Technology

1879 – The first public demonstration of incandescent lighting by Thomas Edison in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

2019 – The World Health Organization got reports of cases of pneumonia with a strange cause was detected in Wuhan. The cause was none other than COVID-19 virus.

Leaders & Politics

1600 – The British East India Company was incorporated by the (official) royal charter.
1999 – Resignation of Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first President that led Vladimir Putin (the then Prime Minister) as the acting President and heir.

People & Society

1759 – Arthur Guinness started brewing Guinness after putting his signature on a 9,000-year lease agreement. The compensation amount was fixed at £45 per annum.
1999 – The high drama involving the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 ended after a week. One hundred and ninety survivors were released at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan.

Disasters: Natural & Man-made

1968 – Crash of Flight 1750 of MacRobertson Miller Airlines near Port Hedland, Western Australia killed 26 people.
2018 – Collapse of a ten-story building in Magnitogorsk (an industrial city), Russia left 39 dead.

Discoveries & Explorations

1968 – The first supersonic-capable airliner the Russian Tupolev TU-144 (prototype 00-1) flew for the first time.

Leisure & Sports

1906 – Antony Wilding clinched the Australasian Championships Men’s Tennis title by beating Francis Fisher with 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 points.
1990 – Titleholder Gary Kasparov of the U.S.S.R won the world chess championship beating compatriot Anatoly Karpov.