At A Glance

31 December 1951 at a glance

Day of the week
31 December 1951 was a Monday.
Top Film of 1951
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1951 was Quo Vadis.
Bestselling Novel of 1951
“From Here to Eternity” by James Jones was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1951.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1951–52 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 1951 fell in the Year of the Rabbit.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 December 1951 was Waxing Crescent.

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 December 31

  • 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 1951 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1951 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • February 21 – The Jack in the Box fast-food restaurant chain is founded by Robert O. Peterson in San Diego, California.
  • March 29 – The 23rd Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Fred Astaire, is held at RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve wins six awards, including Best Motion Picture and Mankiewicz's second consecutive Best Director win.
  • April 27 – RKO releases the Howard Hawks sci-fi film The Thing from Another World.
More events of 1951 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 1951

President

Harry S. Truman

Gas (per gallon)

$0.27

Loaf of Bread

$0.16

Average House

$7,800

Weekly Wage

$58

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Famous Faces Born in the 1950s

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

Michael Jackson29 August 1958Singer & songwriterView their day →Anthony Bourdain25 June 1956Chef & television personalityView their day →Bruce Willis19 March 1955ActorView their day →Madonna16 August 1958SingerView their day →Annette Bening29 May 1958ActressView their day →Robin Williams21 July 1951Actor & comedianView their day →Steve Jobs24 February 1955Entrepreneur & co-founder of Apple Inc.View their day →Prince7 June 1958MusicianView their day →

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

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