What Happened on December 31

Moscow Bureau

1999 — Yeltsin Steps Down; Putin Takes Helm

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin becomes acting president as Boris Yeltsin resigns on New Year's Eve.

Boris Yeltsin resigned on Dec. 31, making Prime Minister Vladimir Putin acting president with full powers but limited authority. Putin cannot dissolve the State Duma, call a referendum, or propose constitutional amendments. The day before, he published a program article warning Russia faced 'the real threat of slipping down to the second, and possibly even third, rank of world states.' A snap election is set for March 2000, with Putin expected to face voters. The former KGB officer, little known months ago, now carries the weight of a nation in transition.

• Prime Minister Vladimir Putin became acting president after Boris Yeltsin resigned on 31 December 1999.
• A snap election was held in March 2000 and was won by Putin, who officially took office on 7 May 2000.
• The day before his appointment, Putin published a program article titled 'Russia at the turn of the millennium' on the government web site.
• Putin's article warned Russia faced 'the real threat of slipping down to the second, and possibly even third, rank of world states.'
• As acting president, Putin could not dissolve the State Duma, call a referendum, or propose constitutional amendments.

Americas Desk

1999 — Panama Takes the Canal; U.S. Era Ends at Noon

At 12:00 today, Panama assumes full control of the canal and all former Canal Zone lands.

The long-promised handover became reality today as Panama assumed full control of the Panama Canal from the United States, a transfer that shifts ownership of a global waterway and ends nearly a century of American presence. At 12:00 on Dec. 31, 1999, Panama took over canal operations and primary responsibility for its defense, with all former Canal Zone parcels coming under exclusive Panamanian jurisdiction just after noon local time. The move fulfilled the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, signed in a ceremony that featured President Jimmy Carter and Omar Torrijos.

• At 12:00 on December 31, 1999, Panama assumed full control of canal operations and primary responsibility for its defense.
• The United States relinquished control of the Panama Canal and all areas in the Panama Canal Zone on that date.
• Just after noon local time on 31 December 1999, all former Canal Zone parcels came under exclusive jurisdiction of Panama.

Sports

1972 — Roberto Clemente Dies in Crash on Aid Mission

Pittsburgh Pirates great, 38, dies aboard a DC-7 carrying earthquake relief for victims of a 6.3-magnitude quake that killed about 5,000 people.

The winter of 1972 closed with a loss that reached beyond the ballpark, as Roberto Clemente, the Pittsburgh Pirates' great right fielder, died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve. Clemente, 38, was aboard a chartered Douglas DC-7 delivering emergency relief for victims of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that devastated Managua, Nicaragua, killing about 5,000 people. The plane was 4,193 pounds over its maximum takeoff weight, according to NTSB estimates. Clemente had chartered it for $4,000.

• Clemente died when his chartered Douglas DC-7 crashed off Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, killing all five aboard.
• The flight was delivering emergency relief goods for survivors of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that devastated Managua, Nicaragua, killing about 5,000 people.
• The aircraft was 4,193 pounds over its maximum takeoff weight of 144,750 pounds, according to NTSB estimates.
• Clemente had chartered the plane for $4,000 from American Air Express Leasing Company, owned by Arthur S. Rivera.
• The DC-7 had suffered a non-fatal taxiway accident 29 days earlier, damaging the No. 2 and No. 3 propeller blades.

City Desk

1907 — Ochs' Electric Ball to Mark New Year in Times Square

A 700-pound illuminated ball will descend a flagpole at midnight in the city's first ball drop.

Adolph Ochs, owner of The New York Times, has arranged for a novel spectacle tonight in Times Square, where an illuminated ball will drop from a seventy-foot flagpole to signal the new year. The ball, designed by Artkraft Strauss and inspired by the Western Union Telegraph Building's time ball, weighs 700 pounds, measures 5 feet in diameter, and is lit by 100 incandescent bulbs. A team of six men will hoist it, lowering it ten seconds before midnight. The event replaces fireworks, which the city banned over safety concerns.

• The first ball drop on Dec 31, 1907, was organized by New York Times owner Adolph Ochs.
• The ball was designed by sign company Artkraft Strauss, inspired by the Western Union Telegraph Building's time ball.
• The original ball weighed 700 pounds, measured 5 feet in diameter, and was lit by 100 incandescent bulbs.
• The ball was hoisted on a seventy-foot flagpole by a team of six men and dropped ten seconds before midnight.
• Waiters at nearby hotels wore top hats with battery-powered lights spelling '1908' to promote the event.

Dublin Commerce

1759 — Guinness Signs 9,000-Year Lease on St. James's Gate

Brewer Arthur Guinness pays £100 down and £45 yearly for a 9,000-year lease on the abandoned Dublin brewery.

NINE THOUSAND years, at £45 per annum, is the term of the lease Arthur Guinness hath this day taken upon the abandoned St. James's Gate brewery, in Dublin, from the Rainsford family. The brewer hath paid £100 down, and the four-acre site, with its brewhouse, gristmill, two malt houses, and stables, hath stood idle these nine years past. Guinness now begins his brewing.

• Arthur Guinness leased the abandoned St. James's Gate brewery from the Rainsford family on 31 December 1759.
• The lease required a £100 downpayment and an additional £45 annual payment for 9,000 years.
• The 4-acre site included a brewhouse, a gristmill, two malt houses, and stables.
• The brewery had been abandoned nine years before Guinness signed the lease.

War Department

1862 — Bragg's Assault Overruns Union Right at Murfreesboro

Bragg's Dec. 31 assault overruns McCook's wing, but Sheridan's stand prevents collapse; armies suffer 23,515 casualties before Bragg withdraws on Jan. 3.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn., Dec. 31. — Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg this morning ordered a massive assault that overran the Union right wing under Maj. Gen. Alexander M. McCook, opening the Battle of Stones River with the highest casualty rates of any major engagement in the war.

Union Brig. Gen. Philip Sheridan's division held the right center, preventing total collapse. Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans had marched from Nashville on December 26 with three columns to challenge Bragg.

The rival armies have suffered 23,515 casualties. Bragg, deceived by false information planted by Union officers, withdrew to Tullahoma on January 3.

• The Battle of Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties of any major Civil War battle.
• Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg ordered a massive assault on December 31, 1862, that overran the Union right wing under Maj. Gen. Alexander M. McCook.
• Union Brig. Gen. Philip Sheridan's division prevented a total collapse with a stout defense in the right center of the line.
• Bragg withdrew his army to Tullahoma, Tennessee, on January 3, 1863, after being fooled by false information planted by Union officers.
• The rival armies suffered a combined total of 23,515 casualties between December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863.

Bridge News

1909 — Manhattan Bridge Opens; Crowds Cross at Midnight

The $26 million span opened with unfinished work, allowing only empty commercial wagons on its wood-block pavement.

At the stroke of midnight, the first vehicles rolled across the new Manhattan Bridge, linking Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn. The $26 million span, hailed as the forerunner of modern suspension bridges, opened with work still incomplete. Only empty commercial wagons were permitted; full trucks were diverted to the Brooklyn Bridge because of the new structure's wood-block pavement. One hundred prominent Brooklyn citizens had walked the bridge on December 4, and outgoing Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. toured it on December 24. Transit lines, however, were not ready, as Chief Engineer Steven Stevenson had warned in late November.

• The Manhattan Bridge opened on December 31, 1909, at a final cost of $26 million, though work remained incomplete.
• One hundred prominent Brooklyn citizens walked over the bridge on December 4, 1909, before its official opening.
• Outgoing mayor George B. McClellan Jr. toured the bridge on December 24, 1909.
• Empty commercial vehicles used the Manhattan Bridge, while full trucks used the Brooklyn Bridge due to the Manhattan Bridge's wood-block pavement.
• Steven Stevenson announced in late November 1909 that the bridge's roadways would likely open by December 24, but transit lines were not ready.

Midwest Desk

1993 — Nebraska Slayings of Trans Man Spur Hate-Crime Push

Around 1 a.m. on Dec. 31, John Lotter and Tom Nissen broke into Lisa Lambert's home and shot Brandon Teena.

The brutal killing of a trans man in Nebraska is giving new urgency to federal hate crime legislation. Around 1 a.m. on Dec. 31, John Lotter and Tom Nissen broke into Lisa Lambert's home in Humboldt and shot Brandon Teena in the stomach as he hid under a blanket. Nissen testified that he asked for a knife and stabbed Teena in the chest to ensure death.

• Around 1 a.m. on December 31, 1993, John Lotter and Tom Nissen broke into Lisa Lambert's house in Humboldt, Nebraska.
• They found Brandon Teena hiding under a blanket at the foot of the bed and shot him in the stomach.
• Nissen testified that, seeing Teena twitching, he asked Lotter for a knife and stabbed Teena in the chest to ensure death.
• The men shot Lisa Lambert multiple times and shot Phillip DeVine twice while he sat on the living room couch.
• After the murders, Lotter and Nissen threw their weapons and gloves onto a frozen river and returned to Falls City.

Currency Markets

1998 — Euro's Value Set as Rates Frozen Across Eurozone

European Currency Unit superseded at par on Dec. 31, fixing the new currency's worth.

The long march toward a single European currency reached its quiet culmination on the last day of 1998, when the exchange rates of the eleven eurozone currencies were frozen and the euro's value was fixed for good. The European Exchange Rate Mechanism locked the legacy monies to the European Currency Unit, which the euro superseded at par on Dec. 31. That act established the euro's worth, ending months of speculation. The new currency will enter circulation in 2002, while banking and financial transactions switch over in January. The fixed rates now define the euro against the dollar and other world currencies.

• On 31 December 1998, the European Currency Unit exchange rates of eurozone countries were frozen.
• The euro superseded the European Currency Unit at par on that date.
• The value of the euro was thus established on 31 December 1998.

Colonial Affairs

1857 — Queen Picks Ottawa for Capital of Canada

Her Majesty selects the small logging town, surprising many who favored larger cities.

Her Majesty the Queen has chosen Ottawa, a modest logging town on the Ottawa River, as the capital of the British colony of Canada, it was announced Dec. 31, 1857. The selection, made personally by Queen Victoria, settles a contentious debate among the provinces. Ottawa's location, safely inland and roughly midway between the major cities, is thought to have weighed in its favour.

• Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as Canada's capital on December 31, 1857.

Broadcasting

1961 — RTÉ Airs First Programs as Ireland Goes Live

Telefís Éireann begins at 19:00 from Kippure with a broadcast.

At 19:00 sharp on New Year's Eve, Telefís Éireann began regular broadcasting from the Kippure transmitter near Dublin, making RTÉ one of the world's oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters.

• Regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961, making RTÉ one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world.
• Telefís Éireann began broadcasting at 19:00 on New Year's Eve in 1961 from the Kippure transmitter site near Dublin.
• The channel was launched with an opening address by then‑president de Valera.
• A live concert from the Gresham Hotel in Dublin followed the opening addresses.
• The launch concert featured tenor Patrick O'Hagan, the Artane Boys' Band, and commentator Michael O'Hehir.

Engineering

2004 — Taipei 101 Opens, Now World's Tallest

Taipei 101, the world's tallest building, opened to the public on Dec. 31, 2004.

Taipei 101, the world's tallest building, opened to the public in Taiwan on Dec. 31, 2004, with President Chen Shui-bian, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng cutting the ribbon.

• Taipei 101 officially opened on 31 December 2004, with President Chen Shui-bian, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng cutting the ribbon.
• The building's high-speed elevators, manufactured by Toshiba, transported passengers from the 5th to the 89th floor in 37 seconds at 60.6 kilometers per hour.
• Taipei 101 surpassed the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur to become the world's tallest building, a title it held until 2009.
• The tower stands 508 meters (1,667 ft) tall with 101 stories, and its design evokes a traditional Asian pagoda.
• A major earthquake on 31 March 2002 sent two construction cranes falling from the 56th floor, crushing vehicles and causing five deaths.

News from the Colonies

1775 — Americans Repulsed at Quebec

British forces hold the city as the Continental Army's assault fails on December 31.

The cannon smoke has cleared from the frozen plains before Quebec, and the British flag still waves. The American assault failed, and Colonel Benedict Arnold’s wounded men withdrew to the village of Beauport for the night.

• After the defeat at the Battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775, the Americans maintained a loose blockade of the city until they retreated on May 6, 1776.