On This Day - What Happened On December 31 | Britannica

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1907 The Ball That Started It All The first ball was dropped at Times Square in New York City to celebrate New Year's Eve on this day in 1907. Made of iron and covered in lightbulbs, the ball was so heavy that it had to be wrangled by six men. It established a tradition that continues today. Read today's edition of Today in History >> © Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Featured Biography

Anthony Hopkins Welsh actor bornDecember 31, 1937 (age 88)Port Talbot, WalesHulton Archive/Getty Images 1977 PSY South Korean singer and rapper 1965 Nicholas Sparks American author 1943 Ben Kingsley British actor 1941 Alex Ferguson Scottish football player and manager 1937 Anthony Hopkins Welsh actor See All Biographies On This Day

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2019 The World Health Organization first learned of “viral pneumonia” cases in Wuhan, China. The disease was later determined to be COVID-19, which became a global pandemic the following year. What was the impact of COVID-19?© Alberto Mihai/Dreamstime.com 2004 Taipei 101 opened in Taipei, Taiwan. At 1,667 feet (508 metres), it was the tallest building in the world until the Burj Khalifa was completed in 2007. Can you match the famous building to its city?© Elwynn/Shutterstock.com 1999 The United States officially handed over control of the Panama Canal to Panama. Take our quiz about canals and straitsEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski 1999 Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin became acting president; Putin was elected to the post the following year. Test your knowledge of Russian history© mark reinstein/Shutterstock.com 1991 The Soviet Union legally ceased to exist, Russia and other former Soviet republics having declared themselves independent and having founded the Commonwealth of Independent States on December 21, 1991. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about RussiaTass/Sovfoto 1972 Baseball great Roberto Clemente died in an airplane crash en route to Nicaragua with relief supplies collected for earthquake survivors. See if Roberto Clemente made our list of the 10 greatest baseball players of all timeUPI/Bettmann Archive 1880 George C. Marshall, the U.S. Army chief of staff during World War II (1939–45), U.S secretary of state (1947–49) and of defense (1950–51), architect of the Marshall Plan for European recovery, and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1953, was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Take our quiz about famous war personalitiesEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1869 Henri Matisse, the artist often regarded as the most important French painter of the 20th century, was born. Take our ultimate art quizThe New York Public Library Digital Collection (483434) 1857 Queen Victoria named Ottawa the national capital of Canada. She was asked to make a selection after political quarrels among rival Canadian cities proved unresolvable. How do countries typically choose their capital cities?© Metalrose/Dreamstime.com 1775 American troops under General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold were defeated by the British in the Battle of Quebec. Test your knowledge of the American RevolutionLibrary of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1600 The East India Company, formed for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, was incorporated by English royal charter. Watch: the rise and fall of the East India CompanyYale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (B1977.14.17466) SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.