December 31st has been the last day of each year, in some places at some times, since 153 B.C.E., and more formally since the Julian calendar in 45 B.C.E. Under the influence of the Christian Church in the Middle Ages the year was sometimes instead centered on a religious festival, but the institution on the Gregorian calendar (1582 in Catholic countries, 1752 in Britain and her colonies) settled on December 31st as the last day of the year.
Today is the birthday
… of Sir Anthony Hopkins. The Oscar winner is 74. Hopkins has been nominated for Best Actor three times, winning for The Silence of the Lambs. He was also nominated as Best Supporting Actor for Amistad.
… of Tim Considine. Spin of “Spin and Marty” is 71. Considine was also the oldest of “My Three Sons” and played the soldier slapped by General Patton in the film Patton.
… of Sarah Miles. The Oscar nominee (best actress for Ryan’s Daughter) is 70.
… of Ben Kingsley. The Oscar winner is 68. He won Best Actor for his portrayal of Gandhi. He was also nominated for Best Actor for House of Sand and Fog and twice for Best Supporting Actor.
… of Diane Von Fürstenberg. The fashion designer is 66.
… of Tim Matheson. Animal House’s “Otter,” better known more recently as Vice President John Hoynes on “West Wing,” is 64.
… of Donna Summer. The Bad Girl is 63.
… of Bebe Neuwirth. Lilith is 53. Ms. Neuwirth won the Emmy twice for this role on Cheers.
… of Val Kilmer. He’s 52.
… of Gong Li. The actress is 46. So is author Nicholas Sparks.
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. was born in Roswell, New Mexico, on this date in 1943. His grandmother gave him a guitar while he lived in Tucson and eventually he became John Denver. Denver died in 1997 when his experimental plane crashed into Monterey Bay.
George C. Marshall was born on this date in 1880.
Few Americans in the twentieth century have left a greater legacy to world peace than George C. Marshall (1880-1959). As chief of staff of the United States Army during World War II, it fell to Marshall to raise, train, and equip an army of several million men. It was Marshall who selected the officer corps and it was Marshall who played a leading role in planning military operations on a global scale. In the end, it was Marshall whom British Prime Minister Winston Churchill hailed as “the true organizer of victory.”
Yet history will associate Marshall foremost as the author of the Marshall Plan. The idea of extending billions of American dollars for European economic recovery was not his alone. He was only one of many Western leaders who realized the tragic consequences of doing nothing for those war-shattered countries in which basic living conditions were deplorable and still deteriorating two years after the end of the fighting. But Marshall, more than anyone else, led the way. In an address at Harvard University on June 5, 1947, Marshall, in his capacity as secretary of state, articulated the general principles of the Marshall Plan.
Marshall won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.
Henri Matisse was born on this date in 1869. With Picasso, Matisse is considered the pinnacle of 20th century painting.
The WebMuseum has details of the life and works of Matisse including several examples.
Matisse died in 1954.