On this day: 31 August
Events, births and deaths on 31 August. Every date is checked against Wikidata.
Years ago today
1 year ago2025
- Events · August 2025 Afghanistan earthquake
- Events · 2025 Tarasin landslide
10 years ago2016
Nothing recorded for that year.
100 years ago1926
Within 10 years of that
- 1920 · Deaths · Wilhelm Wundt
- 1928 · Births · James Coburn
- 1919 · Births · Amrita Pritam
1000 years ago1026
Within 100 years of that
- 1056 · Deaths · Theodora Porphyrogenita
- 1018 · Births · Jeongjong
Events · 29
- 1302Peace of Caltabellotta — peace treaty
- 1420(Julian date)1420 Caldera earthquake — 1420 earthquake and tsunami centered in northern Chile
- 1776Governor of New Jersey — head of state and of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey
- 1813Battle of San Marcial — 1813 battle during the Peninsular War
- 1864Battle of Jonesborough — 1864 battle of the American Civil War
- 1907Anglo-Russian Entente — treaty between the British and Russian Empires, signed on 1907 in St. Petersburg, ending their rivalry in Central Asia to unite against Germany, in which southern Persia, Tibet, and Afghanistan were acknowledged as British sphere of influence
- 1907British-Russian Convention — treaty between the British and Russian Empires, signed on 1907 in St. Petersburg, ending their rivalry in Central Asia to unite against Germany, in which southern Persia, Tibet, and Afghanistan were acknowledged as British sphere of influence
- 1918Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin — 1918 battle on the Western Front during World War I
- 1933
- 1936Radio Prague International — international radio service of the Czech Republic
- 1939Gleiwitz incident — 1939 staged attack by Nazi forces
- 1940Lovettsville air disaster — 1940 aviation accident
- 1941Battle of Loznica — 1941 battle
- 1945Liberal Party of Australia — Australian political party
- 1950TWA Flight 903 — 1950 plane crash of a TWA Lockheed L-749A Constellation 'The Star of Maryland' near Ityei el Barud, Western Desert, Egypt
- 1962Trinidad and Tobago — island sovereign state in the Caribbean
- 1972Aeroflot Flight 558 — aviation accident
- 1986Aeroméxico Flight 498 — mid-air collision
- 1987Thai Airways Flight 365 — 1987 aviation accident
- 1988Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 — aviation accident
- 1988CAAC Flight 301 — 1988 aviaton accident
- 1997death of Diana, Princess of Wales — road accident causing the death of the British princess
- 1999LAPA Flight 3142 — aviation accident
- 20052005 Baghdad bridge stampede — Crowd crush incident
- 2007Hatsune Miku — Vocaloid character
- 202380 Albert Street Fire — deadly blaze in Johannesburg, South Africa
- 20242024 Kamchatka Mil Mi-8 crash — mil Mi-8T helicopter crash at Kamchatka, Russia
- 2025August 2025 Afghanistan earthquake — earthquake in Kunar Province, Afghanistan
- 20252025 Tarasin landslide — landslide in western Sudan
Births · 60
- 12(Julian date)Caligula — third Roman emperor (37–41)
- 161(Julian date)Commodus — 17th Roman Emperor (180–192)
- 1569(Julian date)Jahangir I — the fourth Mughal Emperor from 1605 to 1627
- 1811Théophile Gautier — French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic (1811–1872)
- 1821Hermann von Helmholtz — German physicist and physiologist (1821-1894)
- 1834Amilcare Ponchielli — Italian composer (1834-1886)
- 1843Georg von Hertling — German chancellor (1843–1919)
- 1870Maria Montessori — Italian physician and educator (1870-1952)
- 1878Frank Jarvis — American athlete, Olympic medalist (1878–1933)
- 1879Emperor Taishō — Emperor of Japan from 1912 until 1926
- 1879Alma Mahler — Austrian composer, art collector, author, editor, and socialite (1879-1964)
- 1880Wilhelmina of the Netherlands — Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948 (1880-1962)
- 1883Ramón Fonst — Cuban fencer (1883–1959)
- 1897Fredric March — American actor (1897–1975)
- 1907Ramon Magsaysay — president of the Philippines from 1953 to 1957
- 1907Altiero Spinelli — Italian politician (1907-1986)
- 1908William Saroyan — Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (1908-1981)
- 1913Bernard Lovell — English physicist and radio astronomer
- 1914Richard Basehart — American actor (1914–1984)
- 1919Amrita Pritam — Indian novelist, poet, and essayist (in Hindi and Punjabi languages) (1919–2005)
- 1921Raymond Williams — Welsh scholar, author, and Marxist literary critic (1921–1988)
- 1924Buddy Hackett — American actor and comedian (1924–2003)
- 1925Maurice Pialat — French filmmaker (1925-2003)
- 1928James Coburn — American actor (1928–2002)
- 1928Jaime Sin — Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila
Deaths · 60
- 318(Julian date)Liu Cong — emperor of Han Zhao
- 577(Julian date)John Scholasticus — Patriarch of Constantinople
- 651(Julian date)Aidan of Lindisfarne — 7th-century Irish monk and missionary bishop, Catholic and Orthodox saint, first bishop of Lindisfarne and Apostle of Northumbria
- 731(Julian date)Ōtomo no Tabito — Japanese poet and writer
- 1056(Julian date)Theodora Porphyrogenita — Byzantine empress regnant (984-1056)
- 1158Sancho III of Castile — King of Castile
- 1234(Julian date)Go-Horikawa — Emperor of Japan
- 1287(Julian date)Konrad von Würzburg — German poet
- 1324(Julian date)Henry II of Jerusalem — King of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1270-1324)
- 1422(Julian date)Henry V of England — King of England from 1413 to 1422
- 1528(Julian date)Matthias Grünewald — German Renaissance painter (c.1480–1528)
- 1654(Julian date)Ole Worm — Danish scientist (1588–1654)
- 1688John Bunyan — English Christian writer and preacher (1628-1688)
- 1724Louis I of Spain — king of Spain
- 1762Momozono — emperor of Japan
- 1795François-André Danican Philidor — French composer and chess player (1726-1795)
- 1811Louis-Antoine de Bougainville — French admiral and explorer (1729–1811)
- 1814Arthur Phillip — British naval officer and first Governor of New South Wales (1738-1814)
- 1818Arthur St. Clair — American soldier and politician (1737-1818)
- 1864Ferdinand Lassalle — German jurist and socialist (1825–1864)
- 1867Charles Baudelaire — French poet and critic (1821–1867)
- 1869Mary Ward — Anglo-Irish scientist and writer (1827-1869)
- 1910Emīls Dārziņš — Latvian composer (1875–1910)
- 1920Wilhelm Wundt — German physician, physiologist, philosopher and professor (1832–1920)
- 1927Andranik Ozanian — Armenian politician and military personnel (1865-1927)
Dates verified against Wikidata (CC0). Titles and descriptions come from Wikidata.