UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
31 December 1949 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 31 December 1949 was a Saturday.
- Australian No. 1 (Kent retrospective)
- “Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)” recorded by Burl Ives and Dinah Shore was No. 1 on David Kent's retrospective Australian chart. This chart was compiled later by David Kent from radio station charts.
- Top Film of 1949
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1949 was Samson and Delilah.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 1949 fell in the Year of the Ox.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 31 December 1949 was Waxing Gibbous.
On this day: 31 December
- 1944 World War II: Operation Nordwind, the last major Wehrmacht offensive on the Western Front, begins.
- 1946 President Harry S. Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II.
- 1951 Cold War: The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than US$13.3 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Western Europe.
- 1955 General Motors becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion in a year.
- 1956 The Romanian Television network begins its first broadcast in Bucharest.
Famous people born on 31 December
- Val Kilmer, American actor (1959–2025)
- Sophia Laforteza, Filipino-American singer (born 2002)
- Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1941)
- Charles Edward Stuart, Scottish claimant to the throne of England (1720–1788)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
Events of 1949 in Australia
A selection from Wikipedia's '1949 in Australia'. Not a complete list.
- 26 January – The Nationality and Citizenship Act is passed. Rather than being identified as subjects of Britain, the Act established Australian citizenship for people who met eligibility requirements.
- 2 March – A cyclone crosses the Central Queensland coast impacting Gladstone and Rockhampton.
- 16 March – Australia's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is established, by order of the Directive for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Security Service.
Life in Australia in 1949
Prime Minister
Robert Menzies
Monarch
King George VI
Petrol (per litre)
$0.02
Loaf of Bread
$0.08
Average House
$2,200
Weekly Wage
$5.50
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Famous Faces Born in the 1940s
Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.
Olivia Newton-John26 September 1948SingerView their day →Angry Anderson5 August 1947Rock singerView their day →Rick Springfield23 August 1949Musician & singer-songwriterView their day →Bon Scott9 July 1946SingerView their day →Miriam Margolyes18 May 1941ActressView their day →John Farnham1 July 1949SingerView their day →Cassandra Harris15 December 1948ActressView their day →Helen Reddy25 October 1941Singer & actressView their day →Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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