Events on 31 December 51
See all →Year 535
Byzantine general Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Gothic garrison of Palermo (Panormos), and ending his consulship for the year.
Year 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.
Year 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.
Year 1229
James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian reconquest of the island of Majorca.
Year 1757
Empress Elizabeth I of Russia issues her ukase incorporating Königsberg into Russia.
Public Holidays Around The World On This Day 12
Birthdays on 31 December 215
See all →👤
Muhammad bin Qasim
b. 695 – d. 715
Muhammad bin Qasim, Syrian general (d. 715)
👤
Pope Callixtus III
b. 1378 – d. 1458
Pope Callixtus III (d. 1458)
👤
Jacques Cartier
b. 1491 – d. 1557
Jacques Cartier, French navigator and explorer (d. 1557)
👤
Eleonora Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino
b. 1493 – d. 1570
Eleonora Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino (d. 1570)
👤
Beatrice of Portugal, Duchess of Savoy
b. 1504 – d. 1538
Beatrice of Portugal, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1538)
👤
Andreas Vesalius
b. 1514 – d. 1564
Andreas Vesalius, Belgian anatomist, physician, and author (d. 1564)
👤
John Radcliffe (died 1568)
b. 1539 – d. 1568
John Radcliffe, English politician (d. 1568)
👤
Henry I, Duke of Guise
b. 1550 – d. 1588
Henry I, Duke of Guise (d. 1588)
👤
Simon Forman
b. 1552 – d. 1611
Simon Forman, English occultist and astrologer (d. 1611)
👤
Emperor Go-Yōzei
b. 1572 – d. 1617
Emperor Go-Yōzei of Japan, (d. 1617)
👤
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1585-1645)
b. 1585 – d. 1645
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general and politician, 24th Governor of the Duchy of Milan (d. 1645)
👤
Herman Boerhaave
b. 1668 – d. 1738
Herman Boerhaave, Dutch botanist and physician (d. 1738)
Deaths on 31 December 114
See all →👤
Commodus
d. 192 (b. 161)
Commodus, Roman emperor (b. 161)
👤
Pope Sylvester I
d. 335
Pope Sylvester I
👤
Li Shiji
d. 669 (b. 594)
Li Shiji, Chinese general (b. 594)
👤
Emperor Seiwa
d. 878 (b. 850)
Seiwa, Japanese emperor (b. 850)
👤
Ottokar III of Styria
d. 1164 (b. 1124)
Ottokar III of Styria (b. 1124)
👤
Leopold V, Duke of Austria
d. 1194 (b. 1157)
Leopold V, Duke of Austria (b. 1157)
👤
Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford
d. 1298 (b. 1249)
Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, English politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1249)
👤
Margaret, Countess of Anjou
d. 1299 (b. 1273)
Margaret, Countess of Anjou (b. 1273)
👤
Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine
d. 1302 (b. 1238)
Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1238)
👤
John Wycliffe
d. 1384 (b. 1331)
John Wycliffe, English philosopher, theologian, and translator (b. 1331)
👤
Johanna of Bavaria, Queen of Bohemia
d. 1386
Johanna of Bavaria, Queen of Bohemia (b. c. 1362)
👤
Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter
d. 1426 (b. 1377)
Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter (b. 1377)