What are the important events that happened on August 31? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
August 31: Facts & Myths About This Day
August 31 is the 244th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 122 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 18, 2024 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,725,062,400 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectatetracontatetragon’ day.
Virgo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 151 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,271 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
Do people and celebrities interest you? Discover all the August 31 famous birthdays who share your special day. Learn some fun facts about your birthday! (Sponsored link)
August 31 Historical Events
- 1897 –Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.
- 1945 –The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies.
- 1957 –The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1962 –Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.
- 1963 –Sarawak, North Borneo and Singapore achieve technical independence pending accession to the Federation of Malaysia
- 1982 –Anti-government demonstrations are held in 66 Polish cities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement.
- 1991 –Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1992 –Pascal Lissouba is inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo.
- 1996 –Saddam Hussein’s troops seized Irbil after the Kurdish Masoud Barzani appealed for help to defeat his Kurdish rival PUK.
- 2010 –The last episode of The Bill, the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, is aired on ITV1.
Who were born on August 31?
- 1602 –Countess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, wife of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1675)
- 1896 –Félix-Antoine Savard, Canadian priest and novelist (d. 1982)
- 1907 –William Shawn, American editor (d. 1992)
- 1909 –Ferenc Fejtő, Hungarian-born journalist and political scientist (d. 2008)
- 1935 –Eldridge Cleaver, American political activist (d. 1998)
- 1937 –Bobby Parker, American blues-rock guitarist
- 1963 –Sonny Silooy, Dutch footballer
- 1965 –Zsolt Borkai, Hungarian gymnast
- 1972 –Chris Tucker, American actor and comedian
- 1977 –Craig Nicholls, Australian singer and guitarist (The Vines)
Who died on August 31?
- 1234 –Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (b. 1212)
- 1920 –Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese vexillographer (b. 1896)
- 1973 –John Ford, American film director (b. 1894)
- 1979 –Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)
- 2002 –Farhad Mehrad, Persian singer, guitarist and pianist (b. 1944)
- 2002 –Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player (b. 1908)
- 2005 –Michael Sheard, British actor (b. 1940)
- 2006 –Derrick Wayne Frazier, American convicted murderer (b. 1977)
- 2008 –Victor Yates, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1939)
- 2011 –Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1976)
Holy Toledo! Did you know that coffee and word games are an excellent combination to sharpen your vocabulary? Let’s give it a quick spin. Within 30 seconds, how many words can you think of from these letters NVGUWINIAXU? Check your answers here: Word finder NVGUWINIAXU. (Sponsored by WordFinder.Cafe)