Births on December 31

Mihály Fekete, Hungarian actor, screenwriter, and film director (d. 1960)

Mihály Fekete (31 December 1884 – 16 April 1960) was a Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director.

27 Mar

Cincinnati riots of 1884
A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and eventually destroy the courthouse.
20 Apr

Humanum genus
Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum genus.
14 Oct

Photographic film
American inventor George Eastman receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film.
22 Oct

Prime meridian (Greenwich)
The Royal Observatory in Britain is adopted as the prime meridian of longitude by the International Meridian Conference.
10 Dec

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published.