1999 Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first democratically elected president, resigns and names Vladimir Putin as acting president
December 31, 2022
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535…. The Byzantine general Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, driving out the Ostrogothic garrison at Syracuse.
1492…. 100,000 Jews are expelled from Sicily.
1600…. The British East India Company is founded.
1775…. The Battle of Quebec, Canada, takes place during the American Revolution between American forces and the British defenders of the city. This is the first major defeat of the war for the Americans as British forces push them back.
1781… The first American bank, the “Bank of North America”, is founded.
1790…. The first Greek newspaper with the title “Efimeris”, by the two pioneering Greek printers Poulios and Georgios Markidis-Poulios, is published in Vienna.
1808…. French chemist Louis Gay-Lussac formulates the gas law, which bears his name.
1822…. The first siege of Messolonghi by Omer Bryonis and Kioutachis ends, with significant losses of the enemy in animate and inanimate material.
1836…. A school of architects, named “School of Arts”, is established by royal decree.
…. “During the hours of rest and the days of the interruption, the students engage in gymnastics and other exercises under the supervision of the teachers” states the Royal Decree “on the regulation of Greek Schools and High Schools”.
1841….Alabama becomes the first American state to recognize the dental profession.
1857….Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as the capital of the colony (“Acquisition”) of Canada.
1879… Thomas Edison demonstrates the first incandescent light bulb on a New Jersey street.
1911…. The Venizelians of Chania and Sfakia join the revolutionary movement for the liberation of Crete.
1923…. The sound of Big Ben is first broadcast by BBC radio.
1929… Sixty-nine children, including infants, are killed in Paisley, Scotland, when panic breaks out in a cinema where they were watching a children’s play.
1944… The 22-year-old Iannis Xenakis is injured by a mortar fragment in the face during the Decembriana. The shrapnel disfigures his face, destroying his left eye.
…. On the same day, Archbishop Damascene assumes the duties of regent.
…. On the same day, Soviet-occupied Hungary declares war on Germany.
1946… American President Harry Truman officially declares the end of all hostilities of the Second World War.
1952…. With the number 14374 decision of the Court of First Instance of Athens, the Association of Sports Editors (SAS) is recognized as an official union. In 1971 it will be renamed to SAT and on April 17, 1981 to PSAT.
1957…. The beehive tomb of Niles, father of King Nestor of Pylos, is discovered in Pylos. Also, a wing of Nestor’s palace, 3,000 years old, was discovered.
1958…. In Cuba the combined forces of Ernesto Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos attack Santa Clara. By afternoon, the city falls under the control of the rebels. This victory for Castro’s troops is considered the most decisive moment of the Cuban Revolution, as after this event, Batista would leave Cuba in less than 12 hours.
1961… Official end of the Marshall Plan.
1968…. The first supersonic passenger plane, a “Tupolev 144”, makes its maiden flight.
1970…Chilean President Salvador Allende nationalizes the country’s coal mines.
1987…. One second is subtracted from the year 1987 to smooth out one of the inherent anomalies of the Gregorian Calendar.
1989… The private television station ANT1, owned by Minoas Kyriakou, begins its broadcasts. ANTENNA TV is the second private channel that broadcasts television programs.
1991…. The Red Flag, which has flown for over seventy years in the Kremlin, comes down and is replaced by the tricolor flag of Russia. The USSR formally ceases to exist.
1992…. Czechoslovakia spends its last hours as a unified state. From January 1, 1993, Europe will gain two new states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
1994…. A four-month ceasefire agreement is signed in Bosnia, while the siege of Sarajevo completes a thousand days.
1997… Microsoft buys the Hotmail email service.
1998…. The radio operator (marconi) specialty of the Merchant Navy is abolished by law.
1999… Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first democratically elected president, resigns and names Vladimir Putin as interim president.
…. Last day the white ball is used in A1 Men’s Division in volleyball. From the new year, the ball will have yellow and blue stripes.
2004… The special guard, Charalambos Amanatidis, is murdered outside the house of the British military escort in Kifissia.
2005…. The BBC’s Greek service ceases to exist.
2008… The Foreign Ministers of the European Union call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Israel is negative. More than 370 dead Palestinians, 1700 wounded.
On this day in 1869, the French painter and sculptor, Henri Matisse, the main representative of Fauvism, was born, in 1880, the pioneering educator, Alexandros Delmouzos and the American Secretary of State, George Marshall, in 1923, the director, Giannis Dalianidis, in 1931, the actor, Kostas Voutsas, in 1937 the American actor, Anthony Hopkins, in 1941 the Scottish football coach, Alex Ferguson and in 1963 the actor, Petros Filippidis. On the same day in 1882, the French politician and Philhellenic, Leon Gambetas (Leon Gambetta), in 1905 the Russian physicist, one of the inventors of the radio, Alexander Popov, and in 1936 the Spanish philosopher and poet, Miguel De Unamuno, died.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
