August 31
August 31 is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 122 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill, dying suddenly a few days later, without children to succeed the throne, ending the Macedonian dynasty.
- 1142 - With the aid of Hiawatha and Deganawidah, The Great Peacemaker, the Iroquois tribes establish the Confederation of the Haudenosaunee.
- 1422 - Henry VI, becomes King of England at the age of 9 months.
- 1803 - Lewis and Clark start their expedition from Pittsburgh at 11 o clock in the morning.
- 1864 - During the American Civil War, Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1876 - Ottoman sultan Murat V is deposed and succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid II.
- 1886 - Earthquake kills 100 in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1867 - Stricken by paralysis, poet Charles Baudelaire dies in Paris, France, at the age of 46
- 1888 - Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's known victims.
- 1897 - Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.
- 1907 - Count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson sign the St. Petersburg Convention, which results in the Triple Entente alliance.
- 1914 - Ecuador becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1915 - Brazil becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1920 - Polish-Bolshevik War: A decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.
- 1920 - First radio news program broadcast by station 8MK in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1939 - Nazi Germany mounts a staged attack on Gleiwitz radio station, giving them an excuse to attack Poland the following day, starting World War II in Europe.
- 1942 - In Ternopil, western Ukraine, at 4.30 am, German SS organise the first deportation of Jews from Ternopil ghetto to death camp in Belzec, about 5,000 Jews were deported to face death in Belzec. When the Germans captured Ternopil, about 18,000 Jews lived in the city.
- 1943 - The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named for a black person, is commissioned.
- 1945 - The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies.
- 1948 - Actor Robert Mitchum was arrested in a Hollywood drug raid. He would later be found guilty of criminal conspiracy to possess marijuana and was sentenced to 60 days in prison.
- 1957 - The Federation of Malaya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1962 - Trinidad and Tobago become independent.
- 1963 - Walter Cronkite began his stint as anchor of the CBS Evening News.
- 1965 - The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy Aircraft makes its first flight.
- 1968 - Garfield Sobers becomes the first cricketer to hit 6 sixes in one over.
- 1978 - William and Emily Harris, founders of the Symbionese Liberation Army, plead guilty to the 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst.
- 1980 - The Gdańsk Agreement is signed.
- 1986 - Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground.
- 1986 - The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 423.
- 1991 - Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1992 - Pascal Lissouba is inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo .
- 1993 - HMS Mercury closes after 52 years in commission.
- 1994 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.
- 1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales and her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul died as a result of a car crash in Paris.
- 1998 - North Korea reportedly launches Kwangmyongsong, its first satellite.
- 1999 - The first of a series of Russian Apartment Bombings in Moscow, killing one person and wounding 40 others.
- 1999 - A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including 2 on the ground.
- 2005 - A stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad kills 1,199 people.
- 2006 - Stolen on August 22, 2004, Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream was recovered from a raid by Norwegian police. The paintings were said to be in a better-than-expected condition.
Births
- 12 - Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor (d. 41)
- 161 - Commodus, Roman Emperor (d. 192)
- 1569 - Jahangir, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1627)
- 1602 – Amalia von Solms, countess of Solms-Braunfels (d. 1675)
- 1663 - Guillaume Amontons, French physicist and instrument maker (d. 1705)
- 1721 - George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, British statesman (d. 1775)
- 1741 - Jean Paul Egide Martini, French composer (d. 1816)
- 1741 - Husein Gradaščević, Bosniak general (d. 1834)
- 1811 - Theophile Gautier, French poet and novelist (d. 1872)
- 1821 - Hermann von Helmholtz, German physician (d. 1894)
- 1822 - Galusha A. Grow, American politician (d. 1907)
- 1834 - Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (d. 1886)
- 1843 - Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1919)
- 1870 - Maria Montessori, Italian educator (d. 1952)
- 1871 - James E. Ferguson, Texan governor (d. 1944)
- 1878 - Frank Jarvis, American athlete (d. 1933)
- 1879 - Alma Mahler, wife of Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius and Franz Werfel (d. 1964)
- 1880 - Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands (d. 1962)
- 1885 - DuBose Heyward, American playwright (d. 1940)
- 1893 - Lily Laskine, French harpist (d. 1988)
- 1894 - Albert Facey, Australian writer (d. 1982)
- 1896 - Félix-Antoine Savard, French-Canadian priest and novelist (d. 1982)
- 1897 - Fredric March, American actor (d. 1975)
- 1900 - Gino Lucetti, Italian anarchist (d. 1943)
- 1903 - Arthur Godfrey, American television host (d. 1983)
- 1903 - Vladimir Jankélévitch, French philosopher (d. 1985)
- 1905 - Sanford Meisner, American actor and teacher (d. 1997)
- 1907 - Augustus F. Hawkins, American politician and civil rights lawmaker (d. 2007)
- 1907 - Ramon Magsaysay, Filipino politician (d. 1957)
- 1907 - William Shawn, American editor (d. 1992)
- 1907 - Altiero Spinelli, Italian citizen and advocate of European federalism (d. 1986)
- 1908 - William Saroyan, American novelist (d. 1981)
- 1913 - Sir Bernard Lovell, English radio astronomer
- 1914 - Richard Basehart, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1916 - Daniel Schorr, American journalist
- 1918 - Alan Jay Lerner, American lyricist (d. 1986)
- 1919 - Amrita Preetam, Indian poet and author (d. 2005)
- 1921 - Raymond Williams, Welsh academic (d. 1988)
- 1924 - Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (d. 2003)
- 1927 - Bill Daily, American actor and comedian
- 1928 - James Coburn, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1931 - Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1931 - Noble Willingham, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1934 - Nikos Xanthopoulos, Greek actor
- 1935 - Eldridge Cleaver, American political activist (d. 1998)
- 1935 - Frank Robinson, American baseball player and manager
- 1937 - Warren Berlinger, American actor
- 1937 - Bobby Parker, American blues musician/guitarist
- 1938 - Martin Bell, British journalist
- 1938 - Murray Gleeson, Chief Justice of Australia
- 1939 - Jerry Allison, American drummer (The Crickets)
- 1941 - William DeWitt, Jr., American businessman
- 1944 - Roger Dean, English artist
- 1944 - Jos LeDuc, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1999)
- 1945 - Van Morrison, Northern Irish musician
- 1945 - Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist
- 1946 - Jerome Corsi, American writer
- 1947 - Mona Marshall, American voice actress
- 1947 - Luca di Montezemolo, Italian businessman
- 1947 - Yumiko Ōshima, Japanese manga artist
- 1948 - Harald Ertl, Austrian racing driver (d. 1982)
- 1948 - Lowell Ganz, American screenwriter
- 1948 - Holger Osieck, German footballer and coach
- 1948 - Rudolf Schenker, German guitarist (Scorpions)
- 1949 - Richard Gere, American actor
- 1949 - H. David Politzer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1952 - Herbert Reul, German politician
- 1953 - Miguel Ángel Guerra, Argentine racing driver
- 1953 - György Károly, Hungarian author
- 1953 - Pavel Vinogradov, Russian cosmonaut
- 1954 - Julie Brown, American actress, singer-songwriter and screenwriter
- 1954 - Caroline Cossey, English model
- 1955 - Edwin Moses, American athlete
- 1956 - Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer
- 1957 - Gina Schock, American drummer (The Go-Go's)
- 1957 - Glenn Tilbrook, English singer and guitarist (Squeeze)
- 1958 - Serge Blanco, French rugby union footballer
- 1959 - Ralph Krueger, Canadian ice hockey coach
- 1960 - Vali Ionescu, Romanian long jumper
- 1960 - Chris Whitley, American musician (d. 2005)
- 1962 - Dee Bradley Baker, American voice actor
- 1963 - Reb Beach, American guitarist (Winger, Whitesnake)
- 1963 - Todd Carty, Irish actor
- 1963 - Sonny Silooy, Dutch footballer
- 1964 - Raymond P. Hammond, American poet and editor
- 1965 - Daniel Bernhardt, Swiss actor
- 1965 - Céline Bonnier, French Canadian actress
- 1966 - Jan Einar Thorsen, Norwegian Alpine skier
- 1967 - Anita Moen, Norwegian Cross-country skier
- 1968 - Hideo Nomo, Japanese baseball player
- 1969 - Nathalie Bouvier, French alpine skier
- 1969 - Jonathan LaPaglia, Australian actor
- 1970 - Deborah Gibson, American singer
- 1970 - Queen Rania of Jordan
- 1970 - Arie van Lent, Dutch-German footballer
- 1970 - Zack Ward, Canadian actor
- 1971 - Pádraig Harrington, Irish golfer
- 1972 - Chris Tucker, American actor
- 1973 - Scott Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 - Andriy Medvedev, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1975 - John Grahame, American ice hockey player
- 1975 - Daniel Harding, British conductor
- 1975 - Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager
- 1975 - Sara Ramirez, American actress
- 1975 - Takahiro Suwa, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1976 - Vincent Delerm, French singer-songwriter, pianist and composer
- 1976 - Radek Martínek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1976 - Roque Júnior, Brazilian footballer
- 1977 - Jeff Hardy, American professional wrestler
- 1977 - Ian Harte, Irish footballer
- 1977 - Craig Nicholls, Australian musician (The Vines)
- 1978 - Philippe Christanval, French footballer
- 1978 - Phina Oruche, British actress
- 1979 - Clay Hensley, American baseball player
- 1979 - Mickie James, American professional wrestler
- 1979 - Mark Johnston, Canadian swimmer
- 1979 - Simon Neil, Scottish musician (Biffy Clyro)
- 1979 - Ramón Santiago, Dominican baseball player
- 1980 - Joe Budden, American rapper
- 1981 - 40 Cal, American rapper
- 1981 - Dwayne Peel, Welsh rugby union footballer
- 1981 - Steve Saviano, American ice hockey player
- 1981 - Joe Swanberg, American filmmaker
- 1982 - Ian Crocker, American swimmer
- 1982 - Chris Duhon, American basketball player
- 1982 - Lien Huyghebaert, Belgian athlete
- 1982 - Josh Kroeger, American baseball player
- 1982 - Alexei Mikhnov, Ukrainian-born ice hockey player
- 1982 - José Reina, Spanish footballer
- 1982 - Michele Rugolo, Italian racing driver
- 1982 - Patrick Nuo, Swiss singer
- 1982 - G. Willow Wilson, American journalist and comic book writer
- 1983 - Larry Fitzgerald, American football player
- 1984 - Matti Breschel, Danish road bicycle racer
- 1984 - Ted Ligety, American alpine skier
- 1984 - Charl Schwartzel, South African golfer
- 1986 - Feng Tianwei, Singaporean table tennis player
- 1987 - Petros Kravaritis, Greek footballer
Deaths
- 651 - Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Irish bishop and missionary
- 683 - Pacal II ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque
- 1056 - Theodora, Byzantine Empress (b. 981)
- 1234 - Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (b. 1212)
- 1372 - Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, English soldier (b. 1301)
- 1422 - King Henry V of England (b. 1387)
- 1645 - Francesco Bracciolini, Italian poet (b. 1566)
- 1654 - Ole Worm, Danish physician (b. 1588)
- 1688 - John Bunyan, English writer (b. 1628)
- 1730 - Gottfried Finger, Czech composer (b. 1660?)
- 1741 - Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist (b. 1681)
- 1772 - William Borlase, English naturalist (b. 1695)
- 1795 - François-André Danican Philidor, French chess player (b. 1726)
- 1799 - Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect (b. 1720)
- 1814 - Arthur Phillip, British admiral, first Governor of New South Wales (b. 1738)
- 1867 - Charles Baudelaire, French poet (b. 1821)
- 1869 - Mary Ward, Irish scientist, first automobile accident victim (b. 1827)
- 1888 - Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols, widely believed to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1845)
- 1920 - Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (b. 1832)
- 1940 - Georges Gauthier, French Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop of Montreal (b. 1871)
- 1941 - Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (b. 1892)
- 1948 - Billy Laughlin, American actor (b. 1932)
- 1952 - Henri Bourassa, French Canadian political leader (b. 1868)
- 1963 - Georges Braque, French painter (b. 1882)
- 1967 - Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer (b. 1891)
- 1969 - Rocky Marciano, American boxer (b. 1923)
- 1973 - John Ford, American film director (b. 1894)
- 1974 - William Pershing Benedict, American pilot
- 1974 - Norman Kirk, New Zealand prime minister (b. 1923)
- 1978 - John Wrathall, President of Rhodesia (b. 1913)
- 1979 - Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)
- 1985 - Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1899)
- 1986 - Henry Moore, English sculptor (b. 1898)
- 1986 - Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland (b. 1900)
- 1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales (b. 1961)
- 1997 - Dodi Al-Fayed, film producer (b. 1955)
- 2000 - Patricia Owens, Canadian actress (b. 1925)
- 2002 - Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player (b. 1908)
- 2002 - George Porter, English chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1920)
- 2004 - Carl Wayne, English singer (b. 1943)
- 2005 - Joseph Rotblat, Polish-British physicist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1908)
- 2005 - Michael Sheard, British actor (b. 1940)
- 2006 - Mohamed Abdelwahab, Egyptian footballer (b. 1983)
- 2006 - Tom Delaney, British racing driver (b. 1911)
- 2007 - Gay Brewer, American golfer (b. 1932)
- 2007 - Karloff Lagarde, Mexican professional wrestler (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances
- Roman Catholic Saints - Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Saint Abundius, Saint Raymond Nonnatus
- Poland, Europe - Day of Solidarity and Freedom, on the anniversary of August Agreement from 1980
- Moldova: Day of Our Language (Limba Noastra).
- Malaysia - Hari Merdeka, a National Day (independence within the Commonwealth, 1957).
- Kyrgyzstan - Independence Day (from USSR, 1991).
- Trinidad and Tobago - Independence Day (from United Kingdom, 1962).