Britannica On This Day December 31 2023 * Ottawa made capital of Canada, Anthony Hopkins is featured, and more *

This Day in History: December 31

Featured Event

1857





Ottawa made capital of Canada
Ottawa, located in Ontario at the confluence of the Ottawa, Gatineau, and Rideau rivers and whose area was first described by Samuel de Champlain in 1613, was named the capital of Canada by Queen Victoria this day in 1857.

More Events On This Day

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.Learn about COVID-19 with these 20 questions
:copyright: Alberto Mihai/Dreamstime.com
2004

Taipei 101, then the tallest building in the world, reaching a height of 1,667 feet (508 metres), opened in Taipei, Taiwan.Can you match the famous building to its city?
:copyright: Elwynn/Shutterstock.com
1999

The United States officially handed over control of the Panama Canal to Panama.Take our quiz about canals and straits
U.S Navy
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
:copyright: 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 Russia
Tass/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 time
UPI/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.Take our quiz about famous war personalities
Encyclopædia 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 quiz
The New York Public Library Digital Collection (483434)
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 Revolution
Library 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 our Q&A about the East India Company
Thomas Hosmer Shepherd

Featured Biography

Anthony Hopkins
Welsh actor

BornDecember 31, 1937 (age 86)
Port Talbot, Wales
(Born on this day)




PSY
South Korean singer and rapper



Nicholas Sparks
American author



Ben Kingsley
British actor



Alex Ferguson
Scottish football player and manager



Anthony Hopkins
Welsh actor