At A Glance

31 December 1949 at a glance

Day of the week
31 December 1949 was a Saturday.
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)

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Events of 1949 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1949 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 4 April – Britain signs the North Atlantic Treaty, creating NATO.
  • 26 April – Ealing comedy film Passport to Pimlico makes its premiere in London.
  • 3 May – Parliament passes the Ireland Act guaranteeing the position of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom as long as a majority of its citizens want it to be. The UK Government also formally recognises the existence of the Republic of Ireland.

Life in 1949

Prime Minister

Clement Attlee

Monarch

George VI

Pint of Beer

6p

Loaf of Bread

3p

Average House

£1,600

Weekly Wage

£6.90

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1940s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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