On this day: December 31

POSTED: 02:25 AM PST Dec 29, 2012    UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Dec 30, 2012 

Times Square holds its first New Year's Eve celebration, the board game Monopoly is patented, "Calvin and Hobbes" say goodbye, and the U.S. relinquishes control of the Panama Canal, all on this day.

OTD December 31 - Boris Yeltsin
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Russian Presidential Press and Information Office

1999: Boris Yeltsin, the first president of Russia, makes a surprise announcement of his resignation, leaving his chosen successor, then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as acting president, with elections due to take place on 26 March 2000.

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