August 31

It is the last day of the second third of the year.

Events

Up to 1900 
 1056  Byzantine Empress Theodora dies suddenly without children to succeed the throne, ending the Macedonian dynasty.
 1314  Norway's capital is moved from Bergen to Oslo.
 1422  King Henry V of England dies in France from dysentery. Henry VI of England becomes king of England at the age of just under nine months.
 1798  Irish Rebellion of 1798: Irish rebels, with French assistance, establish the short-lived Republic of Connacht.
 1803  Meriwether Lewis and William Clark start their expedition west by leaving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 11 in the morning.
 1812  Troop transporter Salvador runs aground on the Rio de la Plata, between Argentina and Uruguay, killing 470 people, of the 600 on board.
 1813  At the final stage of the Peninsular War, British  and Portuguese forces capture Donostia, now known as San Sebastian, in the Basque Country, resulting in a rampage and eventual destruction of the town.
 1848  Costa Rica becomes independent from the Federal Republic of Central America.
 1864  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 Nicholls is murdered. She is perhaps the first of Jack the Ripper's victims
 1895  John Brallier is paid US$10 plus expenses to play football for the Latrobe, Pennsylvania YMCA, making him the first professional football player.
 1897  Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.
 1897  Initiated by Theodor Herzl, the Zionist World Congress in Basel, Switzerland, calls for the creation of a Jewish state.

1901  2000 
 1907  England, Russia and France form the Triple Entente alliance.
 1914  Ecuador becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires Convention.
 1915  Brazil becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires Convention.
 1920  Polish-Bolshevik War: A decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.
 1920  First news radio program broadcast in Detroit, Michigan.
 1931  Production of Ford Motor Company's Model A ends, with 4.3 million produced.
 1936  Radio Praha, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air.
 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.
 1940  Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia.
 1941  World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat German forces  in the Battle of Loznica.
 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 formed by Robert Menzies.
 1949  The Greek Civil War ends.
 1950  East Germany bans Jehovah's Witnesses from practising their faith.
 1951  The Dominican Republic records its highest-ever temperature, at 43 degrees Celsius.
 1953  The city of Santander in Northern Spain opens its new airport.
 1957  The Federation of Malaya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
 1958  An assassination attempt on King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia fails, when a parcel bomb sent by Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother and advisor to Ngo Dinh Diem, fails to detonate.
 1962  Trinidad and Tobago become independent.
 1963  Sarawak, North Borneo and Singapore achieve technical independence, pending accession to the Federation of Malaya.
 1968  An earthquake in Iran kills at least 12,000 people.
 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.
 1980  Heavy rain causes flooding in Ibadan, Nigeria, killing over 300 people.
 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.
 1986  The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 398.
 1987  Thai Airways Flight 365 crashes into the ocean near Ko Phuket, Thailand, killing all 83 people on board.
 1989  Buckingham Palace officials confirm that Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips are to be separated.
 1990  The plan for German unity is signed in Berlin.
 1991  Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
 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.
 1994  The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.
 1996  Saddam Hussein's troops seize Irbil, Iraq, after Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani had asked for help to defeat the Kurdish PKK.
 1997  Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in Paris.
 1998  North Korea reportedly launches Kwangmyongsong, its first satellite.
 1999  A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during take-off from Jorge Newbury Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 65 people, including 2 on the ground.
 1999  The first of a series of Russian Apartment Bombings in Moscow, killing one person and wounding 40 others.

From 2001 
 2001  PBS airs the final episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with host Fred Rogers retiring.
 2004  Mel Gibson's movie 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.
 2005  A stampede at the Al-Aimmah Bridge in Baghdad kills 1,199 people.
 2005  Football: An early-round FA Cup match in England sets the record for the most penalty kicks taken. It took 40 such kicks to separate Tunbridge Wells and Littlehampton Town.
 2006  Edvard Munch's painting The Scream is recovered in a police raid, more than two years after it was stolen.
 2010  Iraq War officially ends.
 2016  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office; Michel Temer succeeds her as president.
 2018  A six-hour-long funeral takes place for American soul singer Aretha Franklin in Detroit, Michigan.
 2023  A fire in Johannesburg kills 77 people.

Births

Up to 1900 
 12  Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor (d. 41)
 161  Commodus, Roman Emperor (d. 192)
 1018  Jeongjong II of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 1046)
 1168  Emperor Zhangzong of Jin (d. 1208)
 1542  Isabella de' Medici, Italian princess (d. 1576)
 1569  Jahangir, Indian Mughal Emperor (d. 1627)
 1602  Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, wife of Frederick, Prince of Orange (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  John Houstoun, American politician, Governor of Georgia (d. 1796)
 1748  Jean Etienne Despreaux, French dancer, choreographer, composer, singer and playwright (d. 1820)
 1749  Alexander Radishchev, Russian philosopher and writer (d. 1802)
 1760  Peter Joseph Triest, Belgian canon of the Roman Catholic Church (d. 1836)
 1767  Henry Joy McCracken, Irish activist (d. 1798)
 1786  Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist (d. 1889)
 1797  James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer and engineer (d. 1867)
 1811  Theophile Gautier, French poet and novelist (d. 1872)
 1821  Hermann von Helmholtz, German scientist (d. 1894)
 1822  Galusha M. Grow, 28th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1907)
 1834  Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (d. 1886)
 1837  Frederick Walter Pikin, Governor of Colorado (d. 1886)
 1842  Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, American publisher, journalist and activist (d. 1924)
 1843  Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1919)
 1853  Alexei Alekseyevich Brusilov, Russian general (d. 1926)
 1866  Elizabeth von Arnim, Australian-English writer (d. 1941)
 1870  Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator (d. 1952)
 1871  James E. Ferguson, 26th Governor of Texas (d. 1944)
 1871  Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (d. 1955)
 1874  Edward Thorndike, American psychologist (d. 1949)
 1878  Frank Jarvis, American athlete (d. 1933)
 1879  Alma Mahler, wife of Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius, and Franz Werfel (d. 1964)
 1879  Emperor Taisho, Emperor of Japan (d. 1926)
 1880  Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (d. 1962)
 1882  Harry Porter, American high jumper (d. 1965)
 1885  DuBose Heyward, American playwright (d. 1940)
 1891  Martin Sennet Conner, 44th Governor of Mississippi (d. 1950)
 1893  Raymond E. Baldwin, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1986)
 1897  Fredric March, American actor (d. 1975)
 1900  Gino Lucetti, Italian anarchist, attempted assassin of Benito Mussolini (d. 1943)

1901  1950 
 1903  Vladimir Jankelevitch, French philosopher and musicologist (d. 1985)
 1903  Arthur Godfrey, American television host (d. 1983)
 1907  William Shawn, American editor (d. 1992)
 1907  Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines (d. 1957)
 1907  Altiero Spinelli, Italian politician (d. 1986)
 1908  William Saroyan, American novelist and playwright (d. 1981)
 1909  Ferenc Fejto, Hungarian-French journalist and political scientist (d. 2008)
 1913  Bernard Lovell, English radio astronomer and physicist (d. 2012)
 1913  Helen Levitt, American photographer (d. 2009)
 1914  Richard Basehart, American actor (d. 1984)
 1916  Robert Hanbury Brown, English astronomer and physicist (d. 2002)
 1916  Daniel Schorr, American journalist (d. 2010)
 1918  Alan Jay Lerner, American composer (d. 1986)
 1924  Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (d. 2003)
 1925  Katyna Ranieri, Italian actress and singer (d. 2018)
 1928  James Coburn, American actor (d. 2002)
 1928  Jaime Sin, Filipino cardinal (d. 2005)
 1931  Jean Beliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2014)
 1931  Brita Koivunen, Finnish singer (d. 2014)
 1931  Noble Willingham, American actor (d. 2004)
 1932  Roy Castle, English actor, singer and dancer (d. 1994)
 1935  Frank Robinson, American baseball player and manager
 1935  Eldridge Cleaver, American political activist (d. 1998)
 1936  Vladimir Orlov, Russian author (d. 2014)
 1937  Gilles Latulippe, Canadian comedian, author and theatre manager (d. 2014)
 1937  Warren Berlinger, American actor
 1937  Bobby Parker, American guitarist
 1938  Martin Bell, British journalist and politician
 1940  Wilton Felder, American jazz saxophonist (d. 2015)
 1940  Alain Calmat, French figure skater
 1942  Isao Aoki, Japanese golfer
 1944  Roger Denn, English artist, designer, architect and publisher
 1945  Bob Welch, American musician (d. 2012)
 1945  Van Morrison, Northern Irish musician
 1945  Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist
 1945  Leonid Popov, Soviet-Ukrainian cosmonaut
 1946  Ann Coffey, Scottish politician
 1947  Somchai Wongsawat, former Prime Minister of Thailand
 1947  Mona Marshall, American voice actress
 1948  Holger Osieck, German football coach
 1948  Harald Ertl, Austrian racing driver (d. 1982)
 1948  Lowell Ganz, screenwriter
 1948  Rudolf Schenker, German musician (Scorpions)
 1949  Richard Gere, American actor
 1949  Hugh David Politzer, American physicist

1951  1975 
 1952  Kim Kashkashian, Armenian-American violist
 1953  Pavel Vingradov, Russian cosmonaut
 1954  Robert Kocharian, former President of Armenia
 1955  Edwin Moses, American athlete
 1956  Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China
 1956  Mark Mangini, American sound editor
 1956  Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer
 1959  Ralph Krueger, Canadian ice hockey coach
 1960  Chris Whitley, American musician
 1960  Vali Ionescu, Romanian long jumper
 1960  Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanese leader of Hezbollah
 1962  Dee Bradley Baker, American actor
 1963  Todd Carty, Irish actor
 1965  Zsolt Borkai, Hungarian gymnast
 1966  Jan Einar Thorsen, Norwegian alpine skier
 1967  Anna Moen, Norwegian skier
 1968  Valdon Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician
 1968  Derek Whyte, Scottish footballer
 1969  Jonathan LaPaglia, Australian actor
 1969  Andrew Cunanan, American serial killer (d. 1997)
 1970  Debbie Gibson, American singer
 1970  Queen Rania of Jordan, Jordanian Queen
 1970  Nikola Gruevski, Macedonian politician
 1970  Arie van Lent, Dutch-German footballer
 1971  Padraig Harrington, Irish golfer
 1971  Junior Jack, Italian music producer and DJ
 1972  Chris Tucker, American actor

From 1976 
 1976  Roque Junior, Brazilian footballer
 1976  Radek Martinek, Czech ice hockey player
 1976  Lucy Speed, British actress
 1977  Craig Nicholls, American  singer, songwriter, and guitarist (The Vines)
 1977  Jeff Hardy, American professional wrestler
 1979  Simon Neil, Scottish singer and guitarist (Biffy Clyro)
 1980  Joe Budden, American rapper
 1981  Dwayne Peel, Welsh rugby player
 1982  Christopher Katongo, Zambian footballer
 1982  José Manuel Reina, Spanish footballer
 1982  Alexei Mikhnov, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
 1982  Chris Duhon, American basketball player
 1984  Ted Ligety, American skier
 1984  Ryan Kesler, American ice hockey player
 1985  Rolando, Portuguese footballer
 1985  Ashley Hartman, American actress and model
 1985  Mohammad bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
 1986  Ryan Kelley, American actor
 1987  Ondrej Pavelec, Czech ice hockey player
 1988  David Ospina, Colombian footballer
 1990  Gary Mackay-Steven, Scottish footballer
 1991  Shi Tingmao, Chinese diver
 1998  Saya Kawamoto, Japanese idol and singer
 2017  Prince Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna, Swedish royal

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 577  John Scholasticus, Patriarch of Constantinople 
 651  Aidan of Lindisfarne, Irish bishop and missionary
 683  Pacal II, Mayan ruler (b. 603)
 1056  Byzantine Empress Theodora (b. 981)
 1158  Sancho I of Castile (b. 1134)
 1234  Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (b. 1212)
 1422  King Henry V of England (b. 1387)
 1654  Ole Worm, Danish physician (b. 1588)
 1688  John Bunyan, English writer (b. 1628)
 1724  Louis I of Spain (b. 1707)
 1741  Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist (b. 1681)
 1762  Emperor Momozono of Japan (b. 1741)
 1772  William Borlase, English naturalist (b. 1695)
 1799  Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect (b. 1720)
 1811  Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (b. 1729)
 1814  Arthur Phillip, British admiral, first Governor of New South Wales (b. 1738)
 1864  Ferdinand Lassalle, German writer and politician (b. 1825)
 1867  Charles Baudelaire, French poet (b. 1821)
 1888  Mary Ann Nichols, victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1845)

1901  2000 
 1920  Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (b. 1832)
 1920  Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese law student (b. 1896)
 1924  Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1881)
 1927  William Frank Carver, American target shooter and showman (b. 1851)
 1941  Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (b. 1892)
 1948  Billy Laughlin, American actor (b. 1932)
 1948  Andrei Zhdanov, Soviet politician (b. 1896)
 1963  Georges Braque, French painter (b. 1882)
 1967  Ilya Ehrenburg, Soviet writer, journalist and translator (b. 1891)
 1969  Rocky Marciano, American boxer (b. 1923)
 1973  John Ford, American movie director (b. 1894)
 1974  Norman Kirk, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1923)
 1978  John Wrathall, Rhodesian politician (b. 1913)
 1979  Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)
 1985  Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian biologist (b. 1899)
 1986  Henry Moore, English sculptor (b. 1898)
 1986  Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland (b. 1900)
 1986  Jorge Alessandri, President of Chile (b. 1896)
 1990  Nathaniel Clifton, American basketball player (b. 1922)
 1991  Cliff Lumsden, Canadian marathon swimmer (b. 1931)
 1997  Diana, Princess of Wales (car accident) (b. 1961)
 1997  Dodi Fayed, Egyptian-born movie producer (car accident) (b. 1955)
 1997  Henri Paul, French security guard (car accident) (b. 1956)

From 2001 
 2002  Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player (b. 1908)
 2002  George Porter, English chemist (b. 1920)
 2004  Carl Wayne, English singer (b. 1943)
 2005  Joseph Rotblat, Polish-British physicist (b. 1908)
 2006  Mohamed Abdelwahab, Egyptian footballer (b. 1983)
 2010  Laurent Fignon, French cyclist (b. 1960)
 2011  Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1976)
 2011  Valery Rozhdestvensky, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1939)
 2012  Sergey Leonidovich Sokolov, Soviet-Russian military commander (b. 1911)
 2012  Carlo Maria Martini, Italian cardinal (b. 1927)
 2012  Max Bygraves, British entertainer (b. 1922)
 2013  David Frost, British broadcaster (b. 1939)
 2014  Stefan Andrei, Romanian Communist politician (b. 1931)
 2014  Stan Goldberg, American comic author (b. 1932)
 2014  Jimi Jamison, American rock music singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
 2014  Carol Vadnais, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1945)
 2014  Bapu, Indian movie director (b. 1933)
 2014  Yves Carcelle, French businessman (b. 1948)
 2015  Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, English politician (b. 1926)
 2017  Richard Anderson, American actor (b. 1926)
 2017  Janne Carlsson, Swedish actor and musician (b. 1937)
 2017  Mike Cockerill, Australian soccer journalist (b. 1960)
 2017  Egon Günther, German film director and screenwriter (b. 1927)
 2017  Tamara Tchinarova, Romanian ballet dancer and writer (b. 1919)
 2018  Susan Brown, American actress (b. 1932)
 2018  Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Italian geneticist (b. 1922)
 2018  Alexander Zakharenko, Ukrainian separatist leader (b. 1976)

Observances 
 Independence Day (Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, Kyrgyzstan)
 Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
 National Language Day (Moldova)
 Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne

Days of the year