Today in History for 31st December 2021:
Historical Events
1906 – French, British and Italian treaty concerning rights on Abyssinia
1953 – WFBC (now WYFF) TV channel 4 in G’ville-Spartanburg, SC (NBC) begins
1964 – Indonesia proclaims expelled from the UN
1966 – Toboggan Chutes begin operation in Cleveland Metroparks
1977 – Cambodia drops diplomatic relations with Vietnam
1991 – CPN, Communist Party of Netherland, last day of existence
Famous Birthdays
1869 – Henri Matisse, French impressionist painter (Odalisque), born in Le Cateau-Cambresis, France (d. 1954)
1916 – Suzy Delair, French actress and singer (The Murderer Lives at Number 21, Utopia, White Paws), born in Paris, France (d. 2020)
1941 – Sir Alex Ferguson, Scottish football manager, born in Glasgow, United Kingdom
1948 – Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasieyv, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-11, TM-18)
1962 – Heather McCartney, American-British potter and artist, born in Tucson, Arizona
1978 – Tom Hamilton Jr., American songwriter, guitarist, producer, and singer (Brothers Past; American Babies; Billy and the Kids), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Famous Deaths
1896 – Leland Hone, Irish cricketer (scored 7 and 6 in only England Test 1879), dies
1947 – Franz X Ritter von Epp, German General (SW Africa), dies at 79
1966 – Pieter Geyl, Dutch historian (History of the Dutch Race), dies at 79
1993 – Thomas J. Watson Jr., American businessman and politician (President of IBM, 1952-1971, US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1979-1981), dies of a stroke at 79
2004 – Gérard Debreu, French-American economist (Nobel 1983), dies at 83
2007 – Bill Idelson, American actor (b. 1919)