Calendar date · December

What happened on December 31

On December 31, 406: Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul.

Events

62

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Capricorn

Featured moment · 406

Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul.

The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first mentioned in the written records as the inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the 5th century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal kingdoms, first within the Iberian Peninsula, and then in the western Mediterranean islands and North Africa.

People

Born on December 31

Ryan Flamingo 2002– Dutch footballer (born 2002)
Sophia Laforteza 2002– Filipino and American singer (born 2002)
Joe Scally 2002– American soccer player (born 2002)
Katie Volynets 2001– American tennis player (born 2001)
Alycia Parks 2000– American tennis player (born 2000)
Calvin Bassey 1999– Nigerian footballer (born 1999)
Leif Davis 1999– English footballer (born 1999)
Ludovic Blas 1997– French footballer (born 1997)
Cameron Carter-Vickers 1997– Professional soccer player (born 1997)
Show 9 more — notable births on December 31
Bright Osayi-Samuel 1997– Nigerian footballer (born 1997)
J. J. Arcega-Whiteside 1996– Spanish gridiron football player (born 1996)
Gabby Douglas 1995– American artistic gymnast (born 1995)
Edmond Sumner 1995– American basketball player (born 1995)
Amy Cure 1992– Australian cyclist (born 1992)
Karl Kruuda 1992– Estonian rally driver (born 1992)
Dennis Everberg 1991– Swedish ice hockey player (born 1991)
Djené 1991– Togolese footballer
ND Stevenson 1991– American cartoonist and producer (born 1991)

People

Died on December 31

Arnold Rüütel President of Estonia from 2001 to 2006 (1928–2024)
Johnnie Walker British radio DJ (1945–2024)
Cale Yarborough American racing driver (1939–2023)
Pope Benedict XVI Head of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013
Barry Lane English professional golfer (1960–2022)
Betty White American actress and comedian (1922–2021)
Kader Khan Indian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer (1937–2018)
William Christopher American actor (1932–2016)
Natalie Cole American singer (1950–2015)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on December 31
Wayne Rogers American actor (1933–2015)
Edward Herrmann American actor (1943–2014)
Abdullah Hussain Malaysian novelist and writer
Norm Phelps American animal rights activist (1939–2014)
S. Arthur Spiegel American judge (1920–2014)
Valerian Wellesley British peer and army officer (1915–2014)
James Avery American actor (1945–2013)
Roberto Ciotti Italian blues musician and composer
Bob Grant American radio host (1929–2013)

Timeline

Every December 31 on record

  1. 406 Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul.

    East Germanic tribe

    The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first mentioned in the written records as the inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the 5th century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal kingdoms, first within the Iberian Peninsula, and then in the western Mediterranean islands and North Africa.

  2. 535 Byzantine general Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Gothic garrison of Palermo (Panormos), and ending his consulship for the year.

    Continuation of the Roman Empire (330–1453)

    The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'.

  3. 870 Battle of Englefield: The Vikings clash with ealdorman Æthelwulf of Berkshire. The invaders are driven back to Reading (East Anglia); many Danes are killed.

    Part of the Viking invasions of England (870)

    The Battle of Englefield was a West Saxon victory against a Danish Viking army on about 31 December 870 at Englefield, near Reading in Berkshire. It was the first of a series of battles that took place following an invasion of Wessex by the Danish army in December 870.

  4. 1105 Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV is forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Henry V, in Ingelheim.

    Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 800 to 1806

    The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period, was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire. The title was held in conjunction with the title of King of Italy from the 8th to the 16th century, and, almost without interruption, with the title of King of Germany throughout the 12th to 18th centuries.

  5. 1225 The Lý dynasty of Vietnam ends after 216 years by the enthronement of the boy emperor Trần Thái Tông, husband of the last Lý monarch, Lý Chiêu Hoàng, starting the Trần dynasty.[citation needed]

    Imperial dynasty that ruled Vietnam from 1009 to 1225

    The Lý dynasty, officially Đại Cồ Việt from 1009 to 1054 and Đại Việt from 1054 to 1225, was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed from 1009 to 1225. It was established by Lý Công Uẩn when he overthrew the Anterior Lê dynasty. The dynasty ended when empress regnant Lý Chiêu Hoàng was pressured to abdicate the throne in favor of her husband, Trần Cảnh in 1225, the dynasty lasted for 216 years.

  6. 1229 James I the Conqueror, King of Aragon, enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma de Mallorca, Spain), thus consummating the Christian reconquest of the island of Mallorca.
  7. 1501 The First Battle of Cannanore commences, seeing the first use of the naval line of battle.[citation needed]
  8. 1600 The British East India Company is chartered.
  9. 1660 James, Duke of York is named Duke of Normandy by Louis XIV of France.
  10. 1670 The expedition of John Narborough leaves Corral Bay, having surveyed the coast and lost four hostages to the Spanish.
  11. 1687 The first Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope.
  12. 1757 Empress Elizabeth I of Russia issues her ukase incorporating Königsberg into Russia.
  13. 1759 Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum and starts brewing Guinness.
  14. 1775 American Revolutionary War: Battle of Quebec: British forces under General Guy Carleton repulse an attack by Continental Army General Richard Montgomery in a snowstorm.
  15. 1790 Efimeris, the oldest Greek newspaper of which issues have survived till today, is published for the first time.
Show 15 earlier entries from December 31
  1. 1796 The incorporation of Baltimore as a city.
  2. 1831 Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.
  3. 1844 The Philippines skipped this date in order to align the country with the rest of Asia, as the trading interest switched to China, Dutch East Indies and neighboring territories after Mexico gained independence from Spain on 27 September 1821. In the islands, Monday, 30 December 1844 was immediately followed by Wednesday, 1 January 1845.
  4. 1853 A dinner party is held inside a life-size model of an iguanodon created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in south London, England.
  5. 1857 Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, then a small logging town, as the capital of the Province of Canada.
  6. 1862 American Civil War: The three-day Battle of Stones River begins near Murfreesboro, Tennessee between the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg and the Union Army of the Cumberland under General William S. Rosecrans.
  7. 1862 American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signs an enabling act that would admit West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two.
  8. 1878 Karl Benz, working in Mannheim, Germany, files for a patent on his first reliable two-stroke gas engine. He was granted the patent in 1879.
  9. 1879 Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time, in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
  10. 1906 Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar signs the Persian Constitution of 1906.
  11. 1907 The first ever ball drop in Times Square.
  12. 1942 USS Essex, first aircraft carrier of a 24-ship class, is commissioned.
  13. 1942 World War II: The Royal Navy defeats the Kriegsmarine at the Battle of the Barents Sea. This leads to the resignation of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder a month later.
  14. 1944 World War II: Operation Nordwind, the last major Wehrmacht offensive on the Western Front, begins.
  15. 1946 President Harry S. Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II.

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