At A Glance

31 December 1971 at a glance

Day of the week
31 December 1971 was a Friday.
Irish Chart Song in 1971
The Irish chart song for 1971 was “Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)” by Benny Hill.
Top Film of 1971
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1971 was The French Connection.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 1971 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 December 1971 was Full Moon.

On this day: 31 December

  • 1961 RTÉ, Ireland's state broadcaster, launches its first national television service.
  • 1963 The Central African Federation officially collapses, subsequently becoming Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
  • 1965 Jean-Bédel Bokassa, leader of the Central African Republic army, and his military officers begin a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko.
  • 1968 The first flight of the Tupolev Tu-144, the first civilian supersonic transport in the world.
  • 1981 A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.

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 1971 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1971 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 4 January – John McQuaid retired after thirty years as Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin. Dermot Ryan was appointed to succeed him on 29 December.
  • 15 February – Decimalisation: Ireland and the United Kingdom both switched to decimal currency.
  • 25 February – A partial eclipse of the sun (magnitude 0.708) darkened the sky across Ireland. In Dublin, the event lasted two hours and seven minutes.
More events of 1971 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in Ireland in 1971

Taoiseach

Jack Lynch

Petrol (per litre)

£0.24/gal

Loaf of Bread

£0.08

Average House

£5,400

Weekly Wage

£12

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Famous Faces Born in the 1970s

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

Cillian Murphy25 May 1976ActorView their day →Michael Fassbender2 April 1977ActorView their day →Andrew Scott21 October 1976ActorView their day →Colin Farrell31 May 1976ActorView their day →Dolores O'Riordan6 September 1971MusicianView their day →Sharon Horgan13 July 1970Actress & writerView their day →Glen Hansard21 April 1970Musician & songwriterView their day →Jimmy Carr15 September 1972Comedian & humouristView their day →

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

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