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 243^rd day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 122 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 18, 2025 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 487,944 hours 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 ‘dihectatetracontatrigon’ 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 170 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 4,636 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

August 31 Historical Events

• 1907 –
  Count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson sign the St. Petersburg Convention, which results in the Triple Entente alliance.
• 1936 –
  Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air.
• 1939 –
  Nazi Germany mounts a staged 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.
• 1943 –
  The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.
• 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.
• 1999 –
  A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including two on the ground.
• 1999 –
  The first of a series of bombings in Moscow kills one person and wounds 40 others.

Who were born on August 31?

• 1902 –
  Géza Révész, Hungarian military officer and politician (d. 1977)
• 1905 –
  Sanford Meisner, American actor and teacher (d. 1997)
• 1920 –
  G. D. Spradlin, American actor (d. 2011)
• 1924 –
  Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (d. 2003)
• 1928 –
  Jaime Sin, Philippine cardinal and patriot (d. 2005)
• 1948 –
  Lowell Ganz, American screenwriter
• 1959 –
  Ralph Krueger, Canadian ice hockey coach
• 1979 –
  Mark Johnston, Canadian swimmer
• 1979 –
  Simon Neil, Scottish singer and guitarist (Biffy Clyro)
• 1987 –
  Petros Kravaritis, Greek footballer

Who died on August 31?

• 683 –
  Pacal II, ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque (b. 603)
• 1234 –
  Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (b. 1212)
• 1869 –
  Mary Ward, Irish scientist (b. 1827)
• 1927 –
  William Carver, American sharpshooter & show hoster (b. 1851)
• 1954 –
  Elsa Barker, American writer (b. 1869)
• 1979 –
  Tiger Smith, England cricketer (b. 1886)
• 1984 –
  Audrey Wagner, American baseball player [AAGPBL] (b. 1927)
• 2000 –
  Lucille Fletcher, American screenwriter (b. 1912)
• 2006 –
  Derrick Wayne Frazier, American convicted murderer (b. 1977)
• 2007 –
  Gay Brewer, American golfer (b. 1932)