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.
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August 31 Historical Events
- 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.
- 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.
- 1864 –During the American Civil War, Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1907 –Count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson sign the St. Petersburg Convention, which results in the Triple Entente alliance.
- 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.
- 1962 –Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.
- 1965 –The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft makes its first flight.
- 1986 –The Soviet passenger liner Ship sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 423.
- 1992 –Pascal Lissouba is inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo.
- 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?
- 1652 –Ferdinand Charles, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (d. 1708)
- 1907 –Augustus F. Hawkins, American politician (d. 2007)
- 1931 –Noble Willingham, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1937 –Warren Berlinger, American actor
- 1945 –Van Morrison, Northern Irish singer-songwriter
- 1963 –Reb Beach, American guitarist (Winger, Whitesnake)
- 1982 –Ian Crocker, American swimmer
- 1983 –Deniz Aydoğdu, Turkish footballer
- 1984 –Ryan Kesler, American ice hockey player
- 1985 –Rolando, Portuguese footballer
Who died on August 31?
- 1372 –Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, English soldier (b. 1301)
- 1422 –King Henry V of England (b. 1387)
- 1772 –William Borlase, English naturalist (b. 1695)
- 1920 –Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (b. 1832)
- 1952 –Henri Bourassa, French-Canadian politician (b. 1868)
- 1969 –Rocky Marciano, American boxer (b. 1923)
- 1979 –Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)
- 1997 –Henri Paul, Deputy Head of Security at Hôtel Ritz Paris (b. 1956)
- 2000 –Dolores Moore, American baseball player (b. 1932)
- 2002 –George Porter, English chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1920)
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