Today in history: New Year's Eve

Governor General Lord Bledisloe and Lady Bledisoe of New Zealand were escorted over the Jacob Ruppert when Byrd's Antarctic expedition reached Wellington en route to the Antarctic on Dec. 31, 1933. Left to right: Dr. Shirey, Captain Verlger, Admiral Richard Byrd, Lord Bledisoe, Lady Bledisoe.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill, British statesman, with his family on board the S. S. Majestic in New York City on Dec. 31, 1931 when he left for the Bahamas for a vacation, and complete recovery from the results of an accident during a lecture tour in the U.S. Churchill intends to return to complete the tour. Left to right: Mrs. Clementine Churchill, Winston Churchill, and Miss Diana Churchill, their daughter.

First female commercial pilot

Helen Richey, Pittsburgh aviatrix, is shown in the cockpit of a Central Airlines plane during a stop at Cleveland, Ohio, Dec. 31, 1934.

Richey is the first woman pilot to gain a seat in the cockpit of a commercial airliner.

First AP wirephoto

The wreckage of a small plane lies in a wooded area near Morehousville, New York, Dec. 31, 1934 after a crash landing three days earlier. The four people aboard were reportedly not seriously injured.

This photo is believed to be the first photo transmitted to Associated Press members on the AP wirephoto network, Jan. 1, 1935.

Stan Laurel with bride-to-be

Stan Laurel, 43-year-old film comedian, with his bride-to-be, a Russian singer known only as Illeana, as they left Hollywood on Dec. 31, 1937 for Yuma.

Their wedding will be the film colony's first for the new year. Laurel became 'maritally free' the previous week when the divorce degree obtained by Mrs. Myrtle Laurel became final. He met his bride-to-be five weeks prior.

Times Square - 1940

In this view looking north from the New York Times building in New York, a crowd estimated at 500,000 gathers to usher in the new year, Dec. 31, 1940.

Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh speak at the Rainbow Corner in London, Dec. 31, 1942. At right, leaning sideways in the chair, is Diana Wynyard who with Miss Leigh held a half-hour show for the U.S. soldiers.

Bugler plays taps - Guadalcanal

A bugler plays taps as all the Marines on Guadalcanal island, not on the fighting front, pay their last respects to fallen comrades buried in Flanders Field on Dec. 31, 1942, a half mile east of Henderson Field - the strategic air base of the island. Fourteen chaplains of the Army, Navy, and Marines participated in the services.

Ice Follies 1943

There soon will be a Flying Fortress known as Ice Follies of 1943, named for these women and their fellow skaters.

More than $300,000 in war bonds, enough to buy the bomber, was purchased by those attending one of their performances in Philadelphia on Dec. 31, 1942. The War Savings Staff of the Treasury Department said the Follies' name would be given to the bomber. Left to right: Ruth Stanton, Rita Carey, Patsy Callan and Mary Jean Curle.

WWII France

Children of Drancy, France on Dec. 31, 1945, wait patiently as American Red Cross Relief workers prepare to distribute new shoes to replace the worn and torn ones they have been wearing.

Drancy was chosen for the distribution after the ARC consulted with the Croix Rouge Francaise to determine where 300 pairs of children's shoes were most urgently needed.

TImes Square shooting

A man inspects the gun which was used in the shooting in the Times Square subway station of Olga Rocco, 30, on New Years Eve, Dec. 31, 1946.

Pearl Lusk told police she thought she was making a photo of the victim with a camouflaged camera given to her by the victim's ex-husband and gangster Alphonse Rocco, who told her he was an insurance investigator. The Christmas-wrapped package contained this sawed-off shotgun instead of a camera. Mrs. Rocco was wounded in the left hip.

Times Square 1949

Three quarters of a million people crowd into Times Square in New York, Dec. 31, 1949, to welcome in the New Year.

Frank Sinatra & Ava Gardner

Crooner Frankie Sinatra and Actress Ava Gardner, back together again, toasted in the New Year at the fashionable Rome restaurant Hostaria dell Orso in Rome on Dec. 31, 1953.

It was their first time out since they arrived in Rome from Madrid two days earlier. Since Gardner's cold, caught in Spain, has kept her confined to her Rome apartment, where Sinatra is staying with her.

"Treason Trial"

Crowds cheer as a police van brings prisoners to the Drill Hall, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dec. 31, 1956, for the start of the "Treason Trial."

One man has climbed onto the step of the van top shout encouragement to the inmates. Nelson Mandela was among the people arrested and standing trial.

Joe Louis & Castro 1959

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, left, and Cuban President Osvaldo Dorticos, right, smile with American boxing great Joe Louis between them, in the "sky room" of the Havana Hilton where New Year's festivities were underway, Dec. 31, 1959.

Princess Grace & Prince Rainier III

Princess Grace laughs as her husband, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, dons a fez-like paper hat during the New Year's Eve gala party at the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo, Monaco on Dec. 31, 1960. Many celebrities were among the New Year revelers.

John Glenn

Marine Col. John Glenn, America's first astronaut to orbit the earth, chats with his son, David, on Dec. 31, 1963, about plans for a goose hunting trip in Houston, Texas.

Glenn's military flying career spanned 23 years, two wars, 149 combat missions and his famed three orbits around the earth. He left NASA Jan. 16, 1964 to run for the U.S. Senate from Ohio.

Prince Charles

Charles, the Prince of Wales, grins as he poses for photographers at Malbun, Liechtenstein, Dec. 31, 1964, where he is on a skiing vacation.

Shortly after the photo session, the prince fell flat on his face in the snows of Diesenberg Mountain. The prince and his family are spending ten days as guests of the principality's rulers.

"Ice Bowl"

Dallas Cowboys defensive end George Andrie picks up a Bart Starr fumble and is about to follow teammate Jethro Pugh (75) into the end zone to score in the NFL Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, Dec. 31, 1967.

The game took place in Green Bay, Wis. played in sub-zero temperatures. The contest was later dubbed "The Ice Bowl."