December 31
1775 - During the Revolutionary War, the British repulsed an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at Quebec; Montgomery was killed.
1857 - Britain's Queen Victoria declared Ottawa the capital of Canada.
1862 - President Abraham Lincoln signed an enabling act paving the way for Virginia’s western counties to become the state of West Virginia, which took place in June 1863.
1879 - Thomas Edison gave the first public demonstration of an electric incandescent lamp.
1904 - New York’s Times Square saw its first New Year’s Eve celebration, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance.
1938 - The first breath test for drivers, the "drunkometer," was introduced in Indianapolis.
1946 - President Harry S. Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.
1961 - The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid.
1963 - The Central African Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was formally dissolved.
1964 - The al-Fatah guerrillas of Yasser Arafat launched their first terrorist raid on Israel.
1974 - Private U.S. citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.
1978 - Taiwanese diplomats struck their colors for the final time from the embassy flagpole in Washington, D.C., marking the end of diplomatic relations with the United States.
1985 - Rock singer Rick Nelson, 45, and six other people were killed when fire broke out aboard a DC-3 that was taking the group to a New Year's Eve performance in Dallas.
1987 - Robert Mugabe was sworn in as president of Zimbabwe.
1993 - Entertainer Barbra Streisand performed her first paid concert in 22 years, singing to a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
1997 - Michael Kennedy, 39-year-old son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado.
1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation (he was succeeded by Vladimir Putin).
2006 - The death toll for Americans killed in the Iraq war reached 3,000.
2010 - Tornadoes fueled by unusually warm air pummeled the South and Midwest, killing a total of eight people in Arkansas and Missouri.
2019 - The health commission in the central Chinese city of Wuhan announced that experts were investigating the outbreak of respiratory illness and that most of the victims had visited a seafood market in the city; the statement said 27 people had become ill with a strain of viral pneumonia and that seven were in serious condition.
2019 - Pope Francis slapped the hand of a well-wisher who had grabbed him and yanked him toward her as he strolled in St. Peter’s Square to admire the Vatican’s Nativity scene; the pontiff apologized a day later for his “bad example.”
2019 - Wall Street finished its best year since 2013; the S&P 500 soared 28.9 percent during 2019, with technology stocks leading the gains.
Birthdays
21 - Hunter Schafer (actress)
25 - Gabby Douglas (gymnast)
25 - Nadia Parkes (actress)
30 - Sam Faiers (model)
35 - Erich Bergen (actor/singer)
41 - Ricky Whittle (actor)
43 - PSY (rapper)
43 - Donald Trump Jr. (son of President Donald Trump)
48 - Joe McIntyre (singer)
51 - Lance Reddick (actor)
58 - Don Diamont (actor)
61 - Val Kilmer (actor)
62 - Bebe Nuewirth (actress)
67 - James Remar (actor)
72 - Joe Dallesandro (actor)
73 - Tim Matheson (actor)
77 - Ben Kingsley (actor)
79 - Barbara Carrera (actress)
79 - Sarah Miles (actress)
80 - Tim Considine (actor)
83 - Anthony Hopkins (actor)
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Today in Sports History - December 31
1961 - The Green Bay Packers defeated the New York Giants 37-0 to win the NFL championship.
1962 - The American Basketball League announces the suspension of operations.
1967 - The Oakland Raiders defeated the Houston Oilers 40-7 to win the AFL championship.
1967 - The Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in the NFL championship game that was dubbed the "Ice Bowl" as the game was played in a wind chill of 40 degrees below zero.
1971 - The NHL announced a new franchise in the New York Islanders.
1972 - Major League baseball player Roberto Clemente, 38, was killed when a plane he chartered and was traveling on to bring relief supplies to earthquake-devastated Nicaragua crashed shortly after takeoff from Puerto Rico.
1974 - #8 Nebraska defeats #18 Florida 13-10 to win the Sugar Bowl. Nebraska ends the season with a 9-3 record and ranked #7 (UPI) and #9 (AP) in the final polls.
1976 - #13 Nebraska defeats #9 Texas Tech 27-24 to win the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. NU ends the season at 9-3-1 and ranked #7 (UPI) and #9 (AP) in the final polls.
1996 - #6 Nebraska defeats #10 Virginia Tech 41-21 to win the Orange Bowl and end the season with a 11-2 record and ranked #6 in the final polls.
2017 - The Cleveland Browns lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-24 to become the second team in NFL history to finish a season at 0-16.
2018 - Houston Rockets guard James Harden scores 43 points in a 113-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to record his fourth straight NBA game with 40+ points and eighth straight with 35+. He joined Oscar Robertson as the only players with at least 35 points and five assists in eight straight games.
1775 - During the Revolutionary War, the British repulsed an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at Quebec; Montgomery was killed.
1857 - Britain's Queen Victoria declared Ottawa the capital of Canada.
1862 - President Abraham Lincoln signed an enabling act paving the way for Virginia’s western counties to become the state of West Virginia, which took place in June 1863.
1879 - Thomas Edison gave the first public demonstration of an electric incandescent lamp.
1904 - New York’s Times Square saw its first New Year’s Eve celebration, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance.
1938 - The first breath test for drivers, the "drunkometer," was introduced in Indianapolis.
1946 - President Harry S. Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.
1961 - The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid.
1963 - The Central African Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was formally dissolved.
1964 - The al-Fatah guerrillas of Yasser Arafat launched their first terrorist raid on Israel.
1974 - Private U.S. citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.
1978 - Taiwanese diplomats struck their colors for the final time from the embassy flagpole in Washington, D.C., marking the end of diplomatic relations with the United States.
1985 - Rock singer Rick Nelson, 45, and six other people were killed when fire broke out aboard a DC-3 that was taking the group to a New Year's Eve performance in Dallas.
1987 - Robert Mugabe was sworn in as president of Zimbabwe.
1993 - Entertainer Barbra Streisand performed her first paid concert in 22 years, singing to a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
1997 - Michael Kennedy, 39-year-old son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado.
1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation (he was succeeded by Vladimir Putin).
2006 - The death toll for Americans killed in the Iraq war reached 3,000.
2010 - Tornadoes fueled by unusually warm air pummeled the South and Midwest, killing a total of eight people in Arkansas and Missouri.
2019 - The health commission in the central Chinese city of Wuhan announced that experts were investigating the outbreak of respiratory illness and that most of the victims had visited a seafood market in the city; the statement said 27 people had become ill with a strain of viral pneumonia and that seven were in serious condition.
2019 - Pope Francis slapped the hand of a well-wisher who had grabbed him and yanked him toward her as he strolled in St. Peter’s Square to admire the Vatican’s Nativity scene; the pontiff apologized a day later for his “bad example.”
2019 - Wall Street finished its best year since 2013; the S&P 500 soared 28.9 percent during 2019, with technology stocks leading the gains.
Birthdays
21 - Hunter Schafer (actress)
25 - Gabby Douglas (gymnast)
25 - Nadia Parkes (actress)
30 - Sam Faiers (model)
35 - Erich Bergen (actor/singer)
41 - Ricky Whittle (actor)
43 - PSY (rapper)
43 - Donald Trump Jr. (son of President Donald Trump)
48 - Joe McIntyre (singer)
51 - Lance Reddick (actor)
58 - Don Diamont (actor)
61 - Val Kilmer (actor)
62 - Bebe Nuewirth (actress)
67 - James Remar (actor)
72 - Joe Dallesandro (actor)
73 - Tim Matheson (actor)
77 - Ben Kingsley (actor)
79 - Barbara Carrera (actress)
79 - Sarah Miles (actress)
80 - Tim Considine (actor)
83 - Anthony Hopkins (actor)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - December 31
1961 - The Green Bay Packers defeated the New York Giants 37-0 to win the NFL championship.
1962 - The American Basketball League announces the suspension of operations.
1967 - The Oakland Raiders defeated the Houston Oilers 40-7 to win the AFL championship.
1967 - The Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in the NFL championship game that was dubbed the "Ice Bowl" as the game was played in a wind chill of 40 degrees below zero.
1971 - The NHL announced a new franchise in the New York Islanders.
1972 - Major League baseball player Roberto Clemente, 38, was killed when a plane he chartered and was traveling on to bring relief supplies to earthquake-devastated Nicaragua crashed shortly after takeoff from Puerto Rico.
1974 - #8 Nebraska defeats #18 Florida 13-10 to win the Sugar Bowl. Nebraska ends the season with a 9-3 record and ranked #7 (UPI) and #9 (AP) in the final polls.
1976 - #13 Nebraska defeats #9 Texas Tech 27-24 to win the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. NU ends the season at 9-3-1 and ranked #7 (UPI) and #9 (AP) in the final polls.
1996 - #6 Nebraska defeats #10 Virginia Tech 41-21 to win the Orange Bowl and end the season with a 11-2 record and ranked #6 in the final polls.
2017 - The Cleveland Browns lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-24 to become the second team in NFL history to finish a season at 0-16.
2018 - Houston Rockets guard James Harden scores 43 points in a 113-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to record his fourth straight NBA game with 40+ points and eighth straight with 35+. He joined Oscar Robertson as the only players with at least 35 points and five assists in eight straight games.