August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining, as the final day of August.
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Events
1000-1899
1900-1999
- 1907 - England, Russia and France form the Triple Entente alliance.
- 1920 - First news radio program broadcast in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1931 - Production of Ford Motor Company's Model A ends, with 4.3 million produced.
- 1939 - The staged attack on Gleiwitz radio station occurs, giving Nazi Germany an excuse to attack Poland the following day, starting World War II.
- 1943 - The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named for a black person, is commissioned.
- 1957 - Malaya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1962 - Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.
- 1978 - William and Emily Harris, founders of the Symbionese Liberation Army, plead guilty to the 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst.
- 1980 - The Solidarity trade union is formed in Poland.
- 1985 - Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker" serial killer, is arrested in Los Angeles, California.
- 1986 - An Aeroméxico Douglas DC-9 collides with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground.
- 1989 - Buckingham Palace officials confirms that Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips are to be separated.
- 1991 - Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1992 - Pascal Lissouba was inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo after a multiparty presidential election, ending a long history of one-party oppressive rule under the Congolese Workers Party.
- 1994 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.
- 1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in Paris.
- 1998 - North Korea reportedly launchs Kwangmyongsong, its first satellite.
- 1999 - The first of a series of Russian Apartment Bombings in Moscow, killing one person and wounding 40 others.
2000-2099
Births
1-1899
- 12 - Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor (d. 41)
- 161 - Commodus, Roman Emperor (d. 192)
- 1811 - Theophile Gautier, poet, novelist (d. 1872)
- 1834 - Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer
- 1870 - Maria Montessori, educator (d. 1952)
- 1878 - Frank Jarvis, American athlete (d. 1933)
- 1879 - Alma Mahler, composer (d. 1964)
- 1880 - Queen Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands (d. 1962)
- 1885 - DuBose Heyward, playwright (d. 1940)
- 1897 - Fredric March, actor (d. 1975)
1900-1999
- 1903 - Arthur Godfrey, television host (d. 1983)
- 1907 - William Shawn, editor
- 1907 - Ramon Magsaysay, Philippine president
- 1908 - William Saroyan, novelist, playwright (d. 1981)
- 1914 - Richard Basehart, actor (d. 1984)
- 1916 - Daniel Schorr, journalist
- 1918 - Alan Jay Lerner, composer
- 1924 - Buddy Hackett, actor, comedian
- 1928 - James Coburn, actor (d. 2002)
- 1935 - Frank Robinson, baseball player, manager
- 1935 - Eldridge Cleaver, political activist (d. 1998)
- 1938 - Martin Bell, British journalist and politician
- 1945 - Van Morrison, musician
- 1945 - Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist
- 1948 - Lowell Ganz, screenwriter and TV sitcom creator/writer
- 1949 - Richard Gere, actor
- 1949 - H. David Politzer, physicist
- 1958 - Edwin Moses, Olympic Games gold medalist in track and field
- 1968 - Todd Carty, British actor
- 1970 - Debbie Gibson, singer
- 1972 - Chris Tucker, actor
Deaths
600-1899
1900-1999
2000-2099
Holidays and observances
August 30 - September 1 - July 31 - September 30 -- listing of all days
af:08-31
bg:31 август
be:31 жніўня
ca:31 d'agost
cs:31. srpen
cy:31 Awst
da:31. august
de:31. August
et:31. august
es:31 de agosto
eo:31-a de aŭgusto
fr:31 août
fy:31 augustus
gl:31 de agosto
ko:8월 31일
hr:31. kolovoza
ie:31 august
io:31 di agosto
is:31. ágúst
it:31 agosto
he:31 באוגוסט
ku:31'ê gelawêjê
lt:Rugpjūčio 31
lb:31. August
hu:Augusztus 31
nl:31 augustus
ja:8月31日
no:31. august
oc:31 d'agost
pl:31 sierpnia
pt:31 de Agosto
ro:31 august
ru:31 августа
sl:31. avgust
sr:31. август
fi:31. elokuuta
sv:31 augusti
tr:31 Ağustos
uk:31 серпня
wa:31 d' awousse
zh:8月31日
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