At A Glance

31 December 1943 at a glance

Day of the week
31 December 1943 was a Friday.
Top Film of 1943
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1943 was For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 1943 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 December 1943 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 31 December

  • 1942 USS Essex, first aircraft carrier of a 24-ship class, is commissioned.
  • 1942 World War II: The Royal Navy defeats the Kriegsmarine at the Battle of the Barents Sea. This leads to the resignation of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder a month later.
  • 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.

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 1943 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1943 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 1 February – The Currency Commission is renamed the Central Bank of Ireland (under terms of the Central Bank Act 1942); it is not, however, given all the powers expected of a central bank.
  • 17 March – Éamon de Valera and his government celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a céilí in the Great Hall of Dublin Castle. de Valera makes the speech "The Ireland That We Dreamed Of", commonly called the "comely maidens" speech.
  • 17 March – A British military aircraft crashes at Templeport, Tullyhaw, County Cavan: the pilot and navigator survive.
More events of 1943 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Famous Faces Born in the 1940s

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

Michael Gambon19 October 1940ActorView their day →Brenda Fricker17 February 1945ActressView their day →Gerry Adams6 October 1948Republican politicianView their day →Phil Lynott20 August 1949Rock musicianView their day →Sinéad Cusack18 February 1948ActressView their day →Rory Gallagher2 March 1948GuitaristView their day →Fionnula Flanagan10 December 1941ActressView their day →Gilbert O'Sullivan1 December 1946Singer-songwriterView their day →

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

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