December 31st

National Day

• Today is Make Up Your Mind Day, National Champagne Day, New Year’s Eve and Hogmanay.
• Your star sign is Capricorn and your birthstone is Blue Topaz.

Birthdays

• 1937 – Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor (The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon, Meet Joe Black), born in Port Talbot, Wales.
• 1941 – Alex Ferguson, Scottish former football manager (Manchester United from 1986 to 2013), born in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1943 – Ben Kingsley, English actor (Gandhi, Schindler’s List, Lucky Number Slevin, Shutter Island), born in Snainton, North Yorkshire.
• 1964 – Lowri Turner, English former fashion journalist and television presenter (DIY SOS, Celebrity Fit Club), born in London.
• 1976 – Matthew Hoggard, English former cricketer, who played international cricket for the England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, born in Pudsey, West Yorkshire.

On This Day

• 1923 – The chimes of Big Ben were broadcast on BBC radio for the first time on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1923, heralding the start of 1924, a tradition that began with engineers recording the sound from a rooftop across from the Houses of Parliament, marking a historic moment for the BBC and British broadcasting.
• 1948 – Malcolm Campbell, British racing driver, died, after a series of strokes. He was one of the few land speed record holders of his era to die of natural causes. Campbell broke nine land speed records between 1924 and 1935. He set his final land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on 3rd September 1935, becoming the first person to drive an automobile at more than 300mph.
• 1960 – The British coin, the farthing, in use in Britain since the 13th Century, ceased to be legal tender at midnight.
• 1973 – The three-day week began in Britain as a result of power strikes which also led to the downfall of Prime Minister Edward Heath and his government.
• 1987 – A total of 31 people received New Year’s Honours for helping to save an estimated 350 passengers when the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized, near Bruges, on 6th March, claiming 193 lives. The George Medal, one of the highest civilian awards for gallantry, was awarded to head waiter Michael Skippen who died trying to get passengers to safety.
• 1999 – Boris Yeltsin resigned as the President of Russia, which left Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as acting President.
• 2014 – Neil Brittlebank (from Redditch) and Kevin Beresford (from East Ardsley in Yorkshire) won the dubious honour of being two of the dullest men of the year, as awarded by the Dull Men’s Club. Mr Beresford produces books and calendars about roundabouts, while Mr Brittlebank, collects bricks.
• 2017 – More than 1,300 cars were destroyed when the multi-storey car park at the Liverpool Echo Arena burst into flames during the final event of the Liverpool International Horse Show. Fire investigations revealed that a 16-year-old Land Rover that had been converted to a ‘different fuel arrangement’ had caught fire on the third floor. Claims of more than £20m were paid out to insurance customers.
• 2020 – At one minute past midnight, a further 20 million people in England joined the toughest tier of Covid restrictions (tier four). Furthermore, for most pupils, secondary schools across most of England were to remain closed for an extra two weeks after the Christmas holidays. All of Wales had entered a full lockdown on Sunday, 20th December and the majority of Scotland was put into a full lockdown from Boxing Day, 26th December.
• 2021 – Britain had its hottest New Year’s Eve ever, with temperatures reaching 15.8C (60.4F) in the west of England.
• 2022 – Scarborough cancelled its New Year’s Eve fireworks display because a sleepy walrus (named Thor) decided to ‘take a break’ for almost 24 hours on the seaside town’s slipway, on his journey to the Arctic. By the time that the fireworks should have started, Thor had moved on, continuing his journey north!

Music

• 1963 – The Kinks made their live debut when they played at the Lotus House Restaurant, London. Now recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era, brothers Ray Davies and Dave Davies remained members throughout the group’s 32-year run.
• 1966 – The Monkees started a 7-week run at No.1 on the US singles charts with the Neil Diamond song ‘I’m A Believer’. Also No.1 in the UK in 1967.
• 1970 – Paul McCartney filed a suit against the rest of The Beatles to dissolve their partnership. According to the court documents, McCartney’s main reason for wanting to legally break up the group stemmed from the decision taken by the others to to appoint Rolling Stones manager Allan Klein as their manager. McCartney didn’t trust Klein and had wanted his new in-laws, Lee and John Eastman, to look after their affairs. The suit took more than four years of court hearings, with the group officially disbanding in January 1975.
• 1984 – Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen crashed his Corvette Stingray, on the A57 outside Sheffield, Allen lost his left arm in the accident. Allen was on his way to a New Year’s Eve party at his family’s home when a Jaguar passed him. The driver had been egging Allen on and would not allow him to pass. In his rage to pass this driver, he did not see a turn up ahead and lost control of his car. He was thrown from the car, with his left arm severed due to the seatbelt not being properly fastened.
• 1996 – Paul McCartney became a Sir after he was listed in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. When receiving the award McCartney dedicated his knighthood to fellow Beatles George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon and the people of Liverpool.
• 1999 – The Manic Street Preachers performed to 57,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. The Guinness Book of Records confirmed that the concert set a new record as the biggest indoor show ever staged in Europe, tickets £30.
• 2004 – Pete Waterman was awarded an OBE for his services to music. Once part of the Stock, Aitken & Waterman team he also booked the first ever tour for The Bay City Rollers, signed Musical Youth and Nik Kershaw during the 70’s and was promotion consultant for John Travolta. Waterman had written and produced more than 200 hit singles in 25 years for acts from Kylie Minogue to Steps.
• 2005 – The John Lennon song Imagine was voted the nations favourite song a quarter of a century after his death. A UK radio station conducted the poll of 7,000 listeners. The Beatles were voted into second and third place with ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Let It Be.’
• 2005 – According to official figures singer-songwriter James Blunt’s ‘Back To Bedlam’ was the biggest selling UK album of 2005. The former soldier, who was virtually unknown this time last year, outsold Coldplay’s album ‘X&Y’ which finished second and Robbie Williams came in third place with ‘Intensive Care’ album. The rest of the Top 10: No.4. Kaiser Chiefs – ‘Employment’, 5. Gorillaz – ‘Demon Days’, 6. Westlife – ‘Face To Face’, 7. KT Tunstall – ‘Eye To The Telescope’, 8. Kelly Clarkson – ‘Breakaway’, 9. Faithless – ‘Forever Faithless – The Greatest Hits’ and No.10, Eminem – ‘Curtain Call – The Hits’.
• 2006 – George Michael was paid a reported £1.5m for an hour’s concert at a Russian billionaire’s New Year party. The unnamed businessman paid for Michael to entertain his 300 guests on his private estate 20 miles outside Moscow. Michael had just finished the British leg of his Twentyfive tour which included a free concert for nurses in London.
• 2009 – Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi from Status Quo were both appointed OBEs for services to music and charity.
• 2023 – Taylor Swift surpassed Elvis Presley for the most No.1 weeks of any solo musician in music history. To date, Swift had logged 68 weeks with the No.1 album in America. That number tops Elvis’ previous record of 67 weeks at the top of the charts. Now, Swift sits behind only The Beatles, who spent 132 weeks at No.1 throughout their career.
• 2024 – English radio disc jockey and broadcaster Johnnie Walker died at the age of 79. Walker had pulmonary fibrosis, which is scarring of the lungs, a condition which makes breathing difficult. He began his career in 1966 on pirate radio station Swinging Radio England before joining Radio Caroline. He joined BBC Radio 1 1 in 1969 and BBC Radio 2 in 1998. On his lunchtime Radio 1 show, which launched in 1971, he championed names like Steve Harley, Lou Reed, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles and Steely Dan. From 2009 to 2024, he presented Sounds of the 70s on Radio 2 on Sunday afternoons and The Radio 2 Rock Show on Friday nights from 2018 to 2024.

History

• 1384 – The death of John Wycliffe, the first translator of the Bible into the English language. He was rector of St. Mary’s Church, Lutterworth for the 10 years prior to his death.
• 1600 – The British East India Trading Company was given a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I. The company’s name to which the charter was awarded was the Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies. The initial charter essentially gave the company a monopoly on all trade west of the Americas and east of Africa.
• 1720 – The birth, in Rome, of Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart), also known as the ‘Young Pretender’. He landed in Scotland, with his followers, in 1745, capturing Edinburgh and setting up court at the Palace of Holyrood. His decision to march on London brought him head on with an army led by the Duke of Cumberland, and defeat at Culloden.
• 1759 – Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum and started brewing Guinness at the St. James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin. Ten years later Guinness exported his ale for the first time, when six and a half barrels were shipped to Britain.
• 1892 – The first hostel for homeless men, Rowton House, opened in Bond Street, Vauxhall. There was strict discipline, with rules against cooking, card playing, etc.