TUESDAY, Dec. 31, 2024

1879-Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp

1897-Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898)

1911-Marie Curie receives her second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, for her work with radioactivity

1944-World War II: Hungary declares war on Germany

1945-Ratification of United Nations Charter completed

1958-Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista tells his Cabinet he is fleeing the country

1978-Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with U.S.

1981-CNN Headline News cable TV channel debuts in U.S.

1994-Largest free concert in the world occurs when Rod Stewart performs in front of four million people at Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

1997-More Swedes died than were born in 1997, 1st time since 1809

1999-Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as acting President

1997- Intel cuts price of Pentium II-233 MHz from $401 to $268