BIRTHDAY ATLAS

Birthday facts

Born on December 31.

Everyone born on December 31 is a Capricorn — ruled by Saturn, will outwork you, quietly. The stone is turquoise, the flower narcissus, and the day is shared with Val Kilmer and Henri Matisse.

Capricorn, the Sea-Goat — an engraving
Sun sign
Capricorn ♑︎
the Sea-Goat · ruled by Saturn · will outwork you, quietly
Turquoise, the birthstone for December — an engraving
Birthstone
Turquoise
December
Narcissus, the birth flower for December — an engraving
Birth flower
Narcissus
& holly

Your book

Born on December 31? Add the year.

Then it is a pop-up book: the sky the day you arrived, the No. 1 that week, the president, what a stamp cost, your life in weeks, and who was exactly your age when they did the thing they are known for — and at the end, a birthday poster of the day, engraved, to take home. One field. The date lives after the # in the link, which no server sees — nothing about you leaves your browser.

Making it for someone else? Send it as a pop-up birthday card.

The old books say

Capricorn, December 22 to January 19.

The Sea-Goat, ruled by Saturn, the taskmaster, and the books make it the sign of the long game — the climb, the plan, the thing built to last. An earth sign, credited with discipline, dry humour and an old head on young shoulders that grows into itself around forty. Its people are said to arrive late to their own success and stay. The tradition respects Capricorn the way one respects a well-kept ledger.

Astrology, reported rather than endorsed — the astronomy is the part of the book that is real.

Good company

Also born on December 31.

The names most looked up among everyone who shares the day — leaning on the ones who last.

1959
Val Kilmer
American actor
1869
Henri Matisse
French painter and sculptor
2002
Sophia Laforteza
Filipino-American singer
1933
Edward Bunker
American author and actor
1738
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
English general and politician
1954
Alex Salmond
Scottish economist and politician
1720
Charles Edward Stuart
Scottish claimant to the throne of England
1944
Taylor Hackford
American director and producer

On this day

What December 31 has seen.

It is Saint Sylvester's Day (Western Christianity).

1759Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum to the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin and began brewing Guinness.
1775American 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.
1950Korean War: North Korean troops attacked United Nations forces in the first of two battles at Wonju.
1965Central African military officers led by Jean-Bédel Bokassa began a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko.

The calendar

When December 31 falls.

A Thursday in 2026, a Friday in 2027, a Sunday in 2028, a Monday in 2029, and a Tuesday in 2030.