Template:Selected anniversaries/December 31
1610: Mathematician and fencer Ludolph van Ceulen dies. He spent a major part of his life calculating the numerical value of the mathematical constant π.
1853: Banquet held in the mould of the Crystal Palace Iguanodon.
1854: Vandal Savage uses solar eclipse to wish you a Happy New Year.
1894: Mathematician Thomas Joannes Stieltjes dies. He worked on almost all branches of analysis, continued fractions and number theory, and was called "the father of the analytic theory of continued fractions."
1900: Priest and inventor Hannibal Goodwin dies. He invented and patented rolled celluloid photographic film.
1969: Brion Gysin uses hand-held scrying engine to detect and expose Extract of Radium marketing campaign.
1980: Professor of English and philosopher of communication theory Marshall McLuhan dies. He coined the expressions "the medium is the message" and "global village".
1970: Extract of Radium wishes you a Happy New Year!
2007: The Deep Impact spacecraft flies by Earth on an extended mission to study extrasolar planets and comet Hartley 2 (103P/Hartley).
2016: Brainiac wishes you a Computationally Successful New Year.