On this day: 31 December

Selected events and births on 31 December, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 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. Read more: Arthur Guinness Guinness Brewery Dublin
• 1857 – Queen Victoria announced the choice of Ottawa , then a small logging town, to be the capital of the British colony of Canada. Read more: Queen Victoria Ottawa Province of Canada
• 1907 – New York City held its first annual ball drop event in Times Square as part of New Year's Eve celebrations. Read more: Times Square Ball Times Square New Year's Eve
• 1909 – The Manhattan Bridge, connecting Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn and considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges, opened to traffic. Read more: Manhattan Bridge Lower Manhattan Downtown Brooklyn
• 1961 – RTÉ, Ireland's first television network, began broadcasting. Read more: RTÉ Ireland
• 1983 – Two Australian biologists published an article titled "A Synopsis of the Class Reptilia in Australia", initiating the Wells and Wellington affair. Read more: Wells and Wellington affair
• 1999 – Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin became acting president upon President Boris Yeltsin's unexpected resignation. Read more: Vladimir Putin Acting President of Russia Boris Yeltsin
• 1999 – In accordance with the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, Panama assumed full control of the Panama Canal Zone from the United States. Read more: Torrijos–Carter Treaties Panama Canal Zone

Born on this day

• 1995 – Gabby Douglas, American gymnast Read more: Gabby Douglas
• 1996 – J. J. Arcega-Whiteside, Spanish-American football player Read more: J. J. Arcega-Whiteside
• 1997 – Ludovic Blas, French footballer Read more: Ludovic Blas
• 1997 – Cameron Carter-Vickers, English-American soccer player Read more: Cameron Carter-Vickers
• 1997 – Bright Osayi-Samuel, Nigerian footballer Read more: Bright Osayi-Samuel
• 1999 – Calvin Bassey, Italian-Nigerian footballer Read more: Calvin Bassey
• 1999 – Leif Davis, English footballer Read more: Leif Davis
• 2000 – Alycia Parks, American tennis player Read more: Alycia Parks
• 2001 – Katie Volynets, American tennis player Read more: Katie Volynets
• 2002 – Ryan Flamingo, Dutch footballer Read more: Ryan Flamingo
• 2002 – Sophia Laforteza, Filipino-American singer Read more: Sophia Laforteza
• 2002 – Joe Scally, American soccer player Read more: Joe Scally

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / December 31 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.