GMT

Today in History December 31

406
80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine at Mainz, beginning invasion of Gallia

1695
A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax.

1775
George Washington orders recruiting officers to accept free blacks into the army.

1852
The richest year of the gold rush ends with $81.3 million in gold produced.

1930
Brewery heir Adolphus Busch is kidnapped.

1965
California becomes the largest state in population.

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 (Bears win 20-12)

2004
Official opening of Taipei 101, then the tallest skyscraper in the world, at a height of 509 metres (1,670 feet)

2020
WHO grants the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine emergency authorization, paving the way for worldwide distribution

2023
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (83) announces her plan to abdicate the throne on her 52nd anniversary of ascension on January 14

Born on December 31

1908 Simon Wiesenthal, survivor of the Nazi Holocaust who dedicated his life to tracking down former Nazis.

JOTD

Texan: “Where are you from?” Harvard graduate: “I come from a place where we do not end our sentences with prepositions.” Texan: “Ok, where are you from, jackass?”