Updated December 31, 2013, 1:28 pm

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On Dec. 31, 1946, President Harry S. Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.

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On Dec. 31, 1869, Henri Matisse, one of the foremost painters of 20th century French art, was born. Following his death on Nov. 3, 1954, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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1857	Britain's Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the capital of Canada.
1862	President Abraham Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia to the Union.
1951	The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid.
1974	Private U.S. citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.
1985	Rock singer Rick Nelson, 45, and six other people were killed when fire broke out aboard a DC-3 that was taking the group to a New Year's Eve performance in Dallas.
1993	Entertainer Barbra Streisand performed her first paid concert in 22 years, singing to a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
1997	Michael Kennedy, 39-year-old son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado.
2006	The death toll for Americans killed in the Iraq war reached 3,000.

Historic Birthdays

88	Jules Styne 12/31/1905 - 9/20/1994 American songwriter
88	Nathan Milstein 12/31/1903 - 12/21/1992 Russian-born American violinist
87	Elizabeth Arden 12/31/1878 - 10/18/1966 Canadian-born American cosmetic executive
78	Ben Jones 12/31/1882 - 6/13/1961 American racehorse trainer
78	George C. Marshall 12/31/1880 - 10/16/1959 U.S. Army general
86	Robert Aitken 12/31/1864 - 10/29/1951 American astronomer
66	Charles Cornwallis 12/31/1738 - 10/5/1805 English soldier and statesman
65	Jacques Cartier 12/31/1491 - 9/1/1557 French explorer