August, 31st in History

[Spiritus Temporis]

Events

Tuesday 31, 2004:
Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ is released on DVD and VHS in stores across the United States, selling approximately 4.1 million copies by the end of the day.

Tuesday 31, 1999:
The first of a series of Russian Apartment Bombings in Moscow, killing one person and wounding 40 others.

Monday 31, 1998:
North Korea reportedly launchs Kwangmyongsong, its first satellite.

Sunday 31, 1997:
Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in Paris.

Wednesday 31, 1994:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.

Monday 31, 1992:
Pascal Lissouba is 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.

Saturday 31, 1991:
Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

Thursday 31, 1989:
Buckingham Palace officials confirm that Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips are to be separated.

Sunday 31, 1986:
The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 398.

Saturday 31, 1985:
Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker" serial killer, is arrested in Los Angeles, California.

Sunday 31, 1980:
The Solidarity trade union is formed in Poland.

Thursday 31, 1978:
William and Emily Harris, founders of the Symbionese Liberation Army, plead guilty to the 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst.

Friday 31, 1962:
Trinidad and Tobago become independent.

Saturday 31, 1957:
The Federation of Malaya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

Tuesday 31, 1943:
The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named for a black person, is commissioned.

Thursday 31, 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.

Monday 31, 1931:
Production of Ford Motor Company's Model A ends, with 4.3 million produced.

Tuesday 31, 1920:
First news radio program broadcast in Detroit, Michigan.

Tuesday 31, 1915:
Brazil becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

Monday 31, 1914:
Ecuador becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

Saturday 31, 1907:
England, Russia and France form the Triple Entente alliance.

Tuesday 31, 1897:
Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.

Saturday 31, 1895:
John Brallier is paid US$10 plus expenses to play football for the Latrobe, Pennsylvania YMCA, making him the first professional football player.

Friday 31, 1888:
Mary Ann Nicholls is murdered. She is perhaps the first of Jack the Ripper's victims

Tuesday 31, 1886:
Earthquake kills 100 in Charleston, South Carolina

Thursday 31, 1876:
Ottoman sultan Murat V is deposed and succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid II.

Wednesday 31, 1864:
American Civil War: Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.

Sunday 31, 1056:
Byzantine Empress Theodora dies suddenly without children to succeed the throne, ending the Macedonian dynasty

Source: http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/31-august/on-this-day.html


People born on August 31

1977:
Craig Nicholls, Australian singer, songwriter, and guitarist (The Vines) (b: August 31, 1977) (Biography of Craig Nicholls)
Jeff Hardy, American professional wrestler (b: August 31, 1977) (Biography of Jeff Hardy)

1972:
Chris Tucker, American actor (b: August 31, 1972) (Biography of Chris Tucker)

1970:
Deborah Gibson, American singer (b: August 31, 1970) (Biography of Deborah Gibson)

1968:
Todd Carty, British actor (b: August 31, 1968) (Biography of Todd Carty)

1961:
Anri, Japanese Singer (b: August 31, 1961) (Biography of Anri)

1958:
Edwin Moses, American athlete (b: August 31, 1958) (Biography of Edwin Moses)

1956:
Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer (b: August 31, 1956) (Biography of Masashi Tashiro)

1953:
György Károly, Hungarian author (b: August 31, 1953) (Biography of György Károly)

1949:
Richard Gere, American actor (b: August 31, 1949) (Biography of Richard Gere)
H. David Politzer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b: August 31, 1949) (Biography of H. David Politzer)

1948:
Lowell Ganz, American screenwriter (b: August 31, 1948) (Biography of Lowell Ganz)
Rudolf Schenker, German guitarist (Scorpions) (b: August 31, 1948) (Biography of Rudolf Schenker)

1945:
Van Morrison, Irish musician (b: August 31, 1945) (Biography of Van Morrison)
Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist (b: August 31, 1945) (Biography of Itzhak Perlman)

1938:
Martin Bell, British journalist and politician (b: August 31, 1938) (Biography of Martin Bell)

1935:
Eldridge Cleaver, American political activist (b: August 31, 1935 ; d: May 1, 1998) (Biography of Eldridge Cleaver)
Frank Robinson, baseball player and manager (b: August 31, 1935) (Biography of Frank Robinson)

1931:
Noble Willingham, American actor (b: August 31, 1931 ; d: January 17, 2004) (Biography of Noble Willingham)

1928:
James Coburn, American actor (b: August 31, 1928 ; d: November 18, 2002) (Biography of James Coburn)

1924:
Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (b: August 31, 1924 ; d: June 30, 2003) (Biography of Buddy Hackett)

1918:
Alan Jay Lerner, American composer (b: August 31, 1918 ; d: June 14, 1986) (Biography of Alan Jay Lerner)

1916:
Daniel Schorr, American journalist (b: August 31, 1916) (Biography of Daniel Schorr)

1914:
Richard Basehart, American actor (b: August 31, 1914 ; d: September 17, 1984) (Biography of Richard Basehart)

1913:
Sir Bernard Lovell, British radio astronomer (b: August 31, 1913) (Biography of Bernard Lovell)

1908:
William Saroyan, American novelist and playwright (b: August 31, 1908 ; d: May 18, 1981) (Biography of William Saroyan)

1907:
Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines (b: August 31, 1907 ; d: March 17, 1957) (Biography of Ramon Magsaysay)
William Shawn, American editor (b: August 31, 1907 ; d: December 8, 1992) (Biography of William Shawn)

1903:
Arthur Godfrey, American television host (b: August 31, 1903 ; d: March 16, 1983) (Biography of Arthur Godfrey)

1897:
Fredric March, American actor (b: August 31, 1897 ; d: April 14, 1975) (Biography of Fredric March)

1885:
DuBose Heyward, American playwright (b: August 31, 1885 ; d: June 16, 1940) (Biography of DuBose Heyward)

1880:
Queen Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands (b: August 31, 1880) (Biography of Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands)

1879:
Alma Mahler, wife of Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius, and Franz Werfel (b: August 31, 1879) (Biography of Alma Mahler)

1878:
Frank Jarvis, American athlete (b: August 31, 1878 ; d: June 2, 1933) (Biography of Frank Jarvis)

1870:
Maria Montessori, Italian educator (b: August 31, 1870 ; d: May 6, 1952) (Biography of Maria Montessori)

1834:
Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (b: August 31, 1834 ; d: January 17, 1886) (Biography of Amilcare Ponchielli)

1811:
Theophile Gautier, French poet and novelist (b: August 31, 1811 ; d: December 23, 1872) (Biography of Theophile Gautier)

1663:
Guillaume Amontons, French physicist and instrument maker (b: August 31, 1663 ; d: October 11, 1705) (Biography of Guillaume Amontons)

1569:
Jahangir, Mughal Emperor of India (b: August 31, 1569 ; d: October 28, 1627) (Biography of Jahangir)

161:
Commodus, Roman Emperor (b: August 31, 161 ; d: December 31, 192) (Biography of Commodus)

12:
Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor (b: August 31, 12 ; d: January 24, 41) (Biography of Caligula)

Source: http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/31-august/births.html