August 31 is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 122 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events[link]

• 1056 – After a sudden illness a few days previous, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies without children to succeed the throne, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty.
• 1218 – Al-Kamil becomes Sultan of Egypt, Syria and northern Mesopotamia on the death of his father Al-Adil.
• 1314 – King Håkon V Magnusson moves the capital of Norway from Bergen to Oslo.
• 1422 – King Henry V of England dies of dysentery while in France. His son, Henry VI becomes King of England at the age of 9 months.
• 1795 – War of the First Coalition: The British capture Trincomalee (present-day Sri Lanka) from the Dutch in order to keep it out of French hands.
• 1803 – Lewis and Clark start their expedition to the west by leaving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 11 in the morning.
• 1813 – At the final stage of the Peninsular War, British-Portuguese troops capture the town of Donostia (now San Sebastián), resulting in a rampage and eventual destruction of the town. Elsewhere, Spanish troops repel a French attack in the Battle of San Marcial.
• 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 – An earthquake kills 100 in Charleston, South Carolina.
• 1888 – Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims.
• 1895 – German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his Navigable Balloon.
• 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.
• 1920 – Polish-Bolshevik War: a decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.
• 1920 – The first radio news program is broadcast by 8MK in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1936 – Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air.
• 1939 – Nazi Germany mounts a staged attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day thus starting World War II in Europe.
• 1940 – Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The CAB investigation of the accident is the first investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938.
• 1941 – World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.
• 1943 – The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.
• 1945 – The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies.
• 1949 – The retreat of the Democratic Army of Greece in Albania after its defeat on Gramos mountain marks the end of the Greek Civil War.
• 1957 – The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1958 – A parcel bomb sent by Ngo Dinh Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
• 1962 – Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.
• 1963 – Sarawak, North Borneo and Singapore achieve technical independence pending accession to the Federation of Malaysia
• 1965 – The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft makes its first flight.
• 1980 – After two weeks of nationwide strikes, the Polish government was forced to sign the Gdańsk Agreement, allowing for the creation of the trade union Solidarity.
• 1980 – Flood in Ibadan after 12 hours of heavy downpour killed over 300 people and properties worth million destroyed.
• 1982 – Anti-government demonstrations are held in 66 Polish cities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement.
• 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.
• 1987 – Thai Airways Flight 365 crashes into the ocean near Ko Phuket, Thailand, killing all 83 aboard.
• 1991 – Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1992 – Pascal Lissouba is inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo.
• 1994 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.
• 1996 – Saddam Hussein's troops seized Irbil after the Kurdish Masoud Barzani appealed for help to defeat his Kurdish rival PUK.
• 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.
• 1998 – North Korea reportedly launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1, its first satellite.
• 1999 – The first of a series of bombings in Moscow kills one person and wounds 40 others.
• 1999 – A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including two 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 is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.

Births[link]

• 12 – Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor (d. 41)
• 161 – Commodus, Roman Emperor (d. 192)
• 1569 – Emperor Jahangir of India (d. 1627)
• 1602 – Countess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, wife of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1675)
• 1652 – Ferdinand Charles, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (d. 1708)
• 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)
• 1748 – Jean-Étienne Despréaux, French ballet dancer, choreographer, composer, singer and playwright (d. 1820)
• 1767 – Henry Joy McCracken, Irish political activist, founder of the Society of United Irishmen (d. 1798)
• 1802 – Husein Gradaščević, Bosnian general (d. 1834)
• 1821 – Hermann von Helmholtz, German scientist (d. 1894)
• 1822 – Galusha A. Grow, American politician (d. 1907)
• 1834 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (d. 1886)
• 1842 – Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, American publisher, journalist, suffragist and civil rights leader (d. 1924)
• 1843 – Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1919)
• 1870 – Maria Montessori, Italian educator (d. 1952)
• 1871 – James E. Ferguson, American politician, 26th Governor of Texas (d. 1944)
• 1878 – Frank Jarvis, American sprinter (d. 1933)
• 1879 – Alma Mahler, Austrian socialite, wife of composer Gustav Mahler (d. 1964)
• 1879 – Emperor Taishō of Japan (d. 1926)
• 1880 – Queen Wilhelmina 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, Canadian priest and novelist (d. 1982)
• 1897 – Fredric March, American actor (d. 1975)
• 1900 – Gino Lucetti, Italian anarchist (d. 1943)
• 1902 – Géza Révész, Hungarian military officer and politician (d. 1977)
• 1903 – Arthur Godfrey, American radio and 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 (d. 2007)
• 1907 – Ramon Magsaysay, 7th President of the Philippines (d. 1957)
• 1907 – William Shawn, American editor (d. 1992)
• 1907 – Altiero Spinelli, Italian advocate of European federalism (d. 1986)
• 1908 – William Saroyan, American novelist (d. 1981)
• 1909 – Ferenc Fejtő, Hungarian-born journalist and political scientist (d. 2008)
• 1911 – Edward Brongersma, Dutch politician, writer and political activist (d. 1998)
• 1913 – Sir Bernard Lovell, English radio astronomer
• 1913 – Helen Levitt, American photographer (d. 2009)
• 1914 – Richard Basehart, American actor (d. 1984)
• 1916 – Danny Litwhiler, American baseball player and coach
• 1916 – Daniel Schorr, American journalist (d. 2010)
• 1916 – John S. Wold, American politician
• 1918 – Alan Jay Lerner, American lyricist (d. 1986)
• 1919 – Amrita Preetam, Indian poet and author (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Gustavo Adolfo Palma, Guatemalan singer (d. 2010)
• 1920 – G. D. Spradlin, American actor (d. 2011)
• 1921 – Raymond Williams, Welsh academic (d. 1988)
• 1924 – Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (d. 2003)
• 1928 – James Coburn, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Jaime Sin, Philippine cardinal and patriot (d. 2005)
• 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-rock guitarist
• 1938 – Martin Bell, British journalist
• 1938 – Murray Gleeson, Chief Justice of Australia
• 1939 – Jerry Allison, American drummer (The Crickets)
• 1940 – Wilton Felder, American musician
• 1940 – Roger Newman, British-born American television actor and writer (d. 2010)
• 1940 – Jack Thompson, Australian actor
• 1941 – William DeWitt, Jr., American businessman
• 1943 – Leonid Ivashov, Russian general
• 1944 – Roger Dean, English artist
• 1944 – Clive Lloyd, Guyanese West Indies cricketer
• 1944 – Jos LeDuc, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1999)
• 1945 – Van Morrison, Northern Irish singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist
• 1946 – Jerome Corsi, American writer
• 1946 – Tom Coughlin, American football coach
• 1947 – Mona Marshall, American voice actress
• 1947 – Luca di Montezemolo, Italian businessman
• 1947 – Yumiko Ōshima, Japanese manga artist
• 1947 – Somchai Wongsawat, 26th Prime Minister of Thailand
• 1948 – Harald Ertl, Austrian racing driver (d. 1982)
• 1948 – Lowell Ganz, American screenwriter
• 1948 – Ken McMullen, English film director
• 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 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
• 1955 – Olek Krupa, Polish actor
• 1955 – Edwin Moses, American hurdler
• 1955 – Anthony Thistlethwaite, musician, member of The Waterboys and The Saw Doctors
• 1955 – Gary Webb, American journalist (d. 2004)
• 1956 – Maria Balazova, Slovak painter
• 1956 – Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer
• 1957 – Colm O'Rourke, Irish footballer and commentator
• 1957 – Gina Schock, American drummer (The Go-Go's)
• 1957 – Glenn Tilbrook, English singer and guitarist (Squeeze)
• 1958 – Serge Blanco, French rugby union footballer
• 1958 – Julie Brown, American actress
• 1959 – Ralph Krueger, Canadian ice hockey coach
• 1960 – Vali Ionescu, Romanian long jumper
• 1960 – Chris Whitley, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (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 – Céline Bonnier, French-Canadian actress
• 1965 – Zsolt Borkai, Hungarian gymnast
• 1965 – Willie Watson, New Zealand cricketer
• 1966 – Jan Einar Thorsen, Norwegian alpine skier
• 1967 – Nigel Avery, New Zealand weightlifter
• 1967 – Jonathan Cake, British actor
• 1967 – Gene Hoglan, American drummer (Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Fear Factory)
• 1967 – Anita Moen, Norwegian cross-country skier
• 1968 – Valdon Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician and Australian football player
• 1968 – Hideo Nomo, Japanese baseball player
• 1969 – Nathalie Bouvier, French alpine skier
• 1969 – Andrew Cunanan, American spree killer (d. 1997)
• 1969 – Jonathan LaPaglia, Australian actor
• 1969 – Javagal Srinath, Indian cricketer
• 1970 – Deborah Gibson, American singer
• 1970 – Nikola Gruevski, 6th Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia
• 1970 – Arie van Lent, Dutch-born German footballer
• 1970 – Queen Rania of Jordan
• 1970 – Amy Stein, American photographer
• 1970 – Zack Ward, Canadian actor
• 1971 – Pádraig Harrington, Irish golfer
• 1972 – Chris Tucker, American actor and comedian
• 1973 – Scott Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Andriy Medvedev, Ukrainian tennis player
• 1975 – Craig Cumming, New Zealand cricketer
• 1975 – John Grahame, American ice hockey player
• 1975 – Daniel Harding, British conductor
• 1975 – Sara Ramírez, American actress
• 1975 – Takahiro Suwa, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1976 – Vincent Delerm, French singer-songwriter, pianist and composer
• 1976 – Roque Júnior, Brazilian footballer
• 1976 – Radek Martínek, Czech ice hockey player
• 1977 – Jeff Hardy, American wrestler
• 1977 – Ian Harte, Irish footballer
• 1977 – Craig Nicholls, Australian singer and guitarist (The Vines)
• 1978 – Philippe Christanval, French footballer
• 1979 – Clay Hensley, American baseball player
• 1979 – Mickie James, American professional wrestler
• 1979 – Mark Johnston, Canadian swimmer
• 1979 – Simon Neil, Scottish singer and guitarist (Biffy Clyro)
• 1979 – Yuvan Shankar Raja, Indian film music composer
• 1979 – Ramón Santiago, Dominican baseball player
• 1980 – Joe Budden, American rapper
• 1981 – Dwayne Peel, Welsh rugby union footballer
• 1981 – Mawnia Al-Kuwaitia, Kuwaiti singer
• 1981 – Steve Saviano, American ice hockey player
• 1982 – Ian Crocker, American swimmer
• 1982 – Chris Duhon, American basketball player
• 1982 – Lien Huyghebaert, Belgian sprinter
• 1982 – Josh Kroeger, American baseball player
• 1982 – Alexei Mikhnov, Ukrainian-born Russian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Pepe Reina, Spanish footballer
• 1982 – Michele Rugolo, Italian racing driver
• 1983 – Deniz Aydoğdu, Turkish footballer
• 1983 – Larry Fitzgerald, American football player
• 1984 – Matti Breschel, Danish road bicycle racer
• 1984 – Ryan Kesler, American ice hockey player
• 1984 – Ted Ligety, American alpine skier
• 1984 – Charl Schwartzel, South African golfer
• 1985 – Andrew Foster, Australian rules footballer
• 1985 – Rolando, Portuguese footballer
• 1986 – Feng Tianwei, Singaporean table tennis player
• 1986 – Ryan Kelley, American actor
• 1987 – Petros Kravaritis, Greek footballer
• 1987 – Ondřej Pavelec, Czech ice hockey player
• 1989 – Dezmon Briscoe, American football player
• 1995 – Ceallach Spellman, Actor and presenter

Deaths[link]

• 651 – Aidan of Lindisfarne, Irish bishop and missionary (birth date unknown)
• 683 – Pacal II, ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque (b. 603)
• 1218 – Al-Adil I, Sultan of Egypt, Syria and northern Mesopotamia (b. 1145)
• 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
• 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)
• 1811 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (b. 1729)
• 1814 – Arthur Phillip, British admiral (b. 1738)
• 1817 – John Thomas Duckworth, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1747)
• 1867 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet (b. 1821)
• 1869 – Mary Ward, Irish scientist (b. 1827)
• 1888 – Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols, British victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1845)
• 1920 – Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese vexillographer (b. 1896)
• 1920 – Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (b. 1832)
• 1924 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1881)
• 1927 – William Carver, American sharpshooter & show hoster (b. 1851)
• 1940 – Georges Gauthier, French-Canadian religious figure (b. 1871)
• 1941 – Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (b. 1892)
• 1948 – Billy Laughlin, American actor (b. 1932)
• 1952 – Henri Bourassa, French-Canadian politician (b. 1868)
• 1954 – Elsa Barker, American writer (b. 1869)
• 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 (b. 1928)
• 1974 – Norman Kirk, New Zealand prime minister (b. 1923)
• 1978 – John Wrathall, Rhodesian politician (b. 1913)
• 1979 – Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)
• 1979 – Tiger Smith, England cricketer (b. 1886)
• 1984 – Audrey Wagner, American baseball player [AAGPBL] (b. 1927)
• 1985 – Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1899)
• 1986 – Urho Kekkonen, Finnish politician (b. 1900)
• 1986 – Henry Moore, English sculptor (b. 1898)
• 1990 – Nathaniel Clifton, American multi-sport athlete (b. 1922)
• 1995 – Barry Lee Fairchild, American convicted murderer (b. 1954)
• 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales (b. 1961)
• 1997 – Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian film producer (b. 1955)
• 1997 – Henri Paul, Deputy Head of Security at Hôtel Ritz Paris (b. 1956)
• 2000 – Lucille Fletcher, American screenwriter (b. 1912)
• 2000 – Patricia Owens, Canadian actress (b. 1925)
• 2000 – Dolores Moore, American baseball player (b. 1932)
• 2002 – Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player (b. 1908)
• 2002 – Farhad Mehrad, Persian singer, guitarist and pianist (b. 1944)
• 2002 – George Porter, English chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1920)
• 2004 – Carl Wayne, English singer (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Józef Rotblat, Polish-born 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)
• 2006 – Derrick Wayne Frazier, American convicted murderer (b. 1977)
• 2007 – Gay Brewer, American golfer (b. 1932)
• 2007 – Karloff Lagarde, Mexican professional wrestler (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Ike Pappas, American news correspondent (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Jean Jacques Paradis Canadian general (b.1928)
• 2008 – Victor Yates, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Eraño Manalo, Filipino religious figure (b. 1925)
• 2010 – Laurent Fignon, French bicycle racer (b. 1960)
• 2011 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1976)

Holidays and observances[link]

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Aidan of Lindisfarne
  • Raymond Nonnatus
  • August 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
• Day of Our Language or Limba Noastra (Moldova)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union in 1991
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Malaysia from the United Kingdom in 1957.
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Trinidad and Tobago from the United Kingdom in 1962.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: August 31

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada