#TodayInHistory – December 31

December 31 – Some important events on this day

192 👉🏼 Roman Emperor Commodus survives poisoning attempt by his mistress only to be strangled in the bath in assassination plot
406 👉🏼 80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine at Mainz, beginning invasion of Gallia
1744 👉🏼 English astronomer James Bradley announces discovery of Earth’s nutation motion (wobble)
1775 👉🏼 Battle of Quebec in American Revolutionary War; Americans defeated trying to take British stronghold
1857 👉🏼 Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada
1861 👉🏼 22,990mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in India in 1861, a world record

1988 👉🏼 “The Fog Bowl”, a heavy, dense fog rolls over Soldier Field in Chicago during second quarter of the Bears vs Eagles NFC Divisional Playoff Game, cuts visibility to 15-20 yards.
It was one of the strangest games ever played in the NFL, the Chicago Bears faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles on New Year’s Eve in a playoff game on Chicago’s Soldier Field in freakish sudden dense fog.
The first half of the game had been clear and sunny then a bank of warm air descended onto the field during the second quarter obscuring much of the game for spectators, commentators and players alike. The Chicago Bears did eventually win 20-12.

1904 👉🏼 First New Year’s Eve celebration held in Times Square (then Longacre Square), in New York City
1958 👉🏼 Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista tells his Cabinet he is fleeing the country
1994 👉🏼 This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC-11 to UTC+13 and UTC-10 to UTC+14, respectively.