UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
31 December 2012 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 31 December 2012 was a Monday.
- UK Number One
- The UK Number One single was “Impossible” by James Arthur.
- Top Film of 2012
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 2012 was The Avengers.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 2012 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 31 December 2012 was Waning Gibbous.
On this day: 31 December
- 2009 Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occur.
- 2011 NASA succeeds in putting the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon.
- 2015 A fire breaks out at the Downtown Address Hotel in Downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates, located near the Burj Khalifa, two hours before the fireworks display is due to commence. Sixteen injuries were reported; one had a heart attack, another suffered a major injury, and fourteen others with minor injuries.
- 2019 The World Health Organization is informed of cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause, detected in Wuhan. This later turned out to be COVID-19, the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2020 The World Health Organization issues its first emergency use validation for a COVID-19 vaccine.
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 2012 in the United Kingdom
A selection from Wikipedia's '2012 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.
- 4 February – The Met Office issues a severe weather warning as heavy snow falls across much of the UK, disrupting road and air travel.
- 6 February – Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, marking sixty years on the throne; only the second British monarch to do so.
- 29 March – 2012 Bradford West by-election: Respect Party candidate George Galloway wins, taking the seat from the Labour Party with a majority of 10,140 votes.
Life in 2012
Prime Minister
David Cameron
Monarch
Elizabeth II
Pint of Beer
£3.05
Loaf of Bread
£1.35
Average House
£162,637
Weekly Wage
£723.00
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