31 December 641

War in Somalia: Transitional Federal Government forces attacked the last stronghold of the Islamic Courts Union in the town of Jilib.

Taipei 101 (pictured) in Taipei, Taiwan, opened to the public as the world's tallest building.

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin became acting president upon President Boris Yeltsin's unexpected resignation.

In accordance with the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, Panama assumed full control of the Panama Canal Zone from the United States.

The European Exchange Rate Mechanism froze the exchange rates of the legacy currencies in the eurozone, establishing the value of the euro.

Brandon Teena, an American trans man, was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska; his death led to increased lobbying for hate crime laws in the United States.

Three disgruntled employees set fire to the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killing more than 90 people and injuring 140 others, making it the second-deadliest hotel fire in American history.

Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente (pictured) died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to victims of that year's Nicaragua earthquake.

Central African military officers led by Jean-Bédel Bokassa began a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko.

RTÉ, Ireland's first television network, began broadcasting.

Korean War: North Korean troops attacked United Nations forces in the first of two battles at Wonju.

The Manhattan Bridge, connecting Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn and considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges, opened to traffic.

New York City held its first annual ball drop event in Times Square as part of New Year's Eve celebrations.

The Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, began with an engagement in which both sides would suffer their highest casualty rates in the American Civil War.

Queen Victoria announced the choice of Ottawa , then a small logging town, to be the capital of the British colony of Canada.

American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Quebec, British forces repulsed an attempt by the Continental Army to capture Quebec City and enlist French Canadian support.

Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum to the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin and began brewing Guinness.

The World Health Organization issues its first emergency use validation for a COVID-19 vaccine.

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.

Thirty-nine people are killed after a ten-story building collapses in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, Russia.

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.

A New Year's Eve celebration stampede in Shanghai kills at least 36 people and injures 49 others.

NASA succeeds in putting the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon.

Tornadoes touch down in midwestern and southern United States, including Washington County, Arkansas; Greater St. Louis, Sunset Hills, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma, with a few tornadoes in the early hours. A total of 36 tornadoes touched down, resulting in the deaths of nine people and $113 million in damages.