Historical Events on August 31, Facts & Special Events On This Day - CalendarZ

Historical Events on August 31

1056
After a sudden illness a few days previously, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty.
1057
Abdication of Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas after just one year.
1218
Al-Kamil becomes sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty.
1314
King Haakon V of Norway moves the capital 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.
1776
William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey, begins serving his first term.
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.
1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798: Irish rebels, with French assistance, establish the short-lived Republic of Connacht.
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.
1876
Ottoman Sultan Murad V is deposed and succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid II.
1886
The 7.0 Mw Charleston earthquake affects southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme); 60 people killed with damage estimated at $5-6 million.
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.
1918
World War I: Start of the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, a successful assault by the Australian Corps during the Hundred Days Offensive.
1920
Polish-Soviet War: A decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.
1920
The first radio news program is broadcast by 8MK in Detroit.
1935
In an attempt to stay out of the growing turmoil in Europe, the United States passes the first of its Neutrality Acts.
1936
Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air.
1939
Nazi Germany mounts a false flag 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
USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.
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 Ngô Đình Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
1962
Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.
1963
Crown Colony of North Borneo (now Sabah) achieves self governance.
1986
Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee 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.
1993
Russia completes removing its troops from Lithuania.
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 Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.
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
The 2005 Al-Aaimmah bridge stampede in Baghdad kills 953 people.
2006
Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.
2016
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office.

August 31 Birthdays

August 31 Deaths