August 31

August 31 is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 122 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1056 – After a sudden illness a few days previously, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty.
• 1218 – Al-Kamil becomes Sultan of Egypt, Syria and northern Mesopotamia on the death of his father Al-Adil.
• 1314 – King Håkon V Magnusson moves the capital of Norway 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.
• 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.
• 1803 – Lewis and Clark start their expedition to the west by leaving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 11 in the morning.
• 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, Georgia.
• 1876 – Ottoman Sultan Murat V is deposed and succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid II.
• 1886 – An earthquake kills 100 in Charleston, South Carolina.
• 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.
• 1920 – Polish-Bolshevik War: a decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.
• 1920 – The first radio news program is broadcast by 8MK in Detroit, Michigan.
• 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.
• 1941 – World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.
• 1943 – The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.
• 1945 – The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies.
• 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 Ngo Dinh Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
• 1962 – Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.
• 1963 – Sarawak, North Borneo (now Sabah) and Singapore achieve technical independence pending accession to the Federation of Malaysia
• 1965 – The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft makes its first flight.
• 1980 – After two weeks of nationwide strikes, the Polish government was forced to sign the Gdańsk Agreement, allowing for the creation of the trade union Solidarity.
• 1980 – Flood in Ibadan after 12 hours of heavy downpour killed over 300 people and properties worth million destroyed.
• 1982 – Anti-government demonstrations are held in 66 Polish cities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement.
• 1986 – Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 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.
• 1992 – Pascal Lissouba is inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo.
• 1994 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.
• 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.
• 1998 – North Korea reportedly launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1, its first satellite.
• 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 – A stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad kills 1,199 people.
• 2005 – The record for the most number of penalty kicks (40) taken in a Penalty shootout in a football match was set during an FA Cup Preliminary Round Replay match between Tunbridge Wells and Littlehampton Town at the Culverden Stadium in England.
• 2006 – Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.

Births

• 12 – Caligula, Roman emperor (d. 41)
• 161 – Commodus, Roman emperor (d. 192)
• 1569 – Jahangir Mughal emperor (d. 1627)
• 1602 – Amalia of Solms-Braunfels (d. 1675)
• 1652 – Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (d. 1708)
• 1663 – Guillaume Amontons, French physicist and instrument maker (d. 1705)
• 1721 – George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, English statesman (d. 1775)
• 1741 – Jean Paul Egide Martini, French composer (d. 1816)
• 1748 – Jean-Étienne Despréaux, French ballet dancer, choreographer, composer, singer, and playwright (d. 1820)
• 1767 – Henry Joy McCracken, Irish activist, founder of the Society of United Irishmen (d. 1798)
• 1802 – Husein Gradaščević, Bosnian general (d. 1834)
• 1821 – Hermann von Helmholtz, German scientist (d. 1894)
• 1822 – Galusha A. Grow, American politician (d. 1907)
• 1834 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (d. 1886)
• 1842 – Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, American publisher, journalist, and activist (d. 1924)
• 1843 – Georg von Hertling, Bavarian politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (d. 1919)
• 1860 – Alfred Grütter, Swiss target shooter (d. 1937)
• 1866 – Gilbert Bougnol, French fencer (d. 1947)
• 1870 – George Eyser, German-American gymnast
• 1870 – Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator (d. 1952)
• 1871 – James E. Ferguson, American politician, 26th Governor of Texas (d. 1944)
• 1878 – Frank Jarvis, American sprinter (d. 1933)
• 1879 – Alma Mahler, Austrian-American socialite (d. 1964)
• 1879 – Emperor Taishō of Japan (d. 1926)
• 1880 – Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (d. 1962)
• 1883 – Leo O'Connell, American soccer player (d. 1934)
• 1885 – DuBose Heyward, American playwright (d. 1940)
• 1893 – Lily Laskine, French harpist (d. 1988)
• 1894 – Albert Facey, Australian soldier and author (d. 1982)
• 1896 – Félix-Antoine Savard, Canadian priest and novelist (d. 1982)
• 1897 – Fredric March, American actor (d. 1975)
• 1900 – Gino Lucetti, Italian anarchist, attempted assassin of Benito Mussolini (d. 1943)
• 1902 – Géza Révész, Hungarian military officer and politician (d. 1977)
• 1903 – Arthur Godfrey, American radio and television host (d. 1983)
• 1903 – Vladimir Jankélévitch, French philosopher (d. 1985)
• 1905 – Robert Bacher, American nuclear physicist (d. 2004)
• 1905 – Sanford Meisner, American actor (d. 1997)
• 1907 – Augustus F. Hawkins, American politician (d. 2007)
• 1907 – Ramon Magsaysay, Filipino politician, 7th President of the Philippines (d. 1957)
• 1907 – William Shawn, American writer and editor (d. 1992)
• 1907 – Altiero Spinelli, Italian theorist (d. 1986)
• 1908 – William Saroyan, American novelist (d. 1981)
• 1909 – Ferenc Fejtő, Hungarian-French journalist (d. 2008)
• 1911 – Edward Brongersma, Dutch politician, writer and activist (d. 1998)
• 1913 – Helen Levitt, American photographer (d. 2009)
• 1913 – Bernard Lovell, English astronomer (d. 2012)
• 1914 – Richard Basehart, American actor (d. 1984)
• 1916 – Danny Litwhiler, American baseball player and coach (d. 2011)
• 1916 – Daniel Schorr, American journalist (d. 2010)
• 1916 – John S. Wold, American politician
• 1918 – Alan Jay Lerner, American songwriter and composer (d. 1986)
• 1919 – Amrita Preetam, Indian poet and author (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Gustavo Adolfo Palma, Guatemalan tenor and actor (d. 2010)
• 1920 – G. D. Spradlin, American actor (d. 2011)
• 1921 – Raymond Williams, Welsh academic and author (d. 1988)
• 1924 – John Davidson, American politician (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Moran Campbell, Canadian physician, inventor of the venturi mask and founding chairman of the McMaster University medical school. (d. 2004)
• 1928 – James Coburn, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Jaime Sin, Filipino cardinal (d. 2005)
• 1930 – Big Tiny Little, American pianist (d. 2010)
• 1931 – Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1931 – Noble Willingham, American actor (d. 2004)
• 1932 – Roy Castle, English actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1994)
• 1934 – Nikos Xanthopoulos, Greek actor
• 1935 – Eldridge Cleaver, American writer and activist (d. 1998)
• 1935 – Frank Robinson, American baseball player and manager
• 1937 – Warren Berlinger, American actor
• 1937 – Bobby Parker, American guitarist
• 1938 – Martin Bell, English journalist and politician
• 1938 – Murray Gleeson, Australian judge, 11th Chief Justice of Australia
• 1939 – J.I. Allison, American drummer and songwriter (The Crickets)
• 1940 – Wilton Felder, American saxophonist (The Crusaders)
• 1940 – Roger Newman, English-American actor and writer (d. 2010)
• 1940 – Jack Thompson, Australian actor
• 1941 – William DeWitt, Jr., American businessman
• 1941 – Emmanuel Nunes, Portuguese composer (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Leonid Ivashov, Russian general
• 1944 – Roger Dean, English graphic designer and publisher
• 1944 – Clive Lloyd, Guyanese cricketer
• 1944 – Jos LeDuc, Canadian wrestler (d. 1999)
• 1945 – Van Morrison, Irish singer-songwriter (Them)
• 1945 – Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist and conductor
• 1945 – Bob Welch, American singer and guitarist (Fleetwood Mac and Paris) (d. 2012)
• 1946 – Jerome Corsi, American conspiracy theorist
• 1946 – Tom Coughlin, American football player and coach
• 1947 – Mona Marshall, American voice actress
• 1947 – Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Italian businessman
• 1947 – Yumiko Ōshima, Japanese illustrator and writer
• 1947 – Somchai Wongsawat, Thai politician, 26th Prime Minister of Thailand
• 1948 – Harald Ertl, Austrian race car driver (d. 1982)
• 1948 – Lowell Ganz, American screenwriter
• 1948 – Ken McMullen, English director
• 1948 – Holger Osieck, German footballer and coach
• 1948 – Rudolf Schenker, German guitarist and songwriter (Scorpions)
• 1949 – Richard Gere, American actor
• 1949 – H. David Politzer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1952 – Herbert Reul, German politician
• 1953 – Miguel Ángel Guerra, Argentine race car driver
• 1953 – György Károly, Hungarian author
• 1953 – Pavel Vinogradov, Russian astronaut
• 1954 – Julie Brown, American actress, singer, writer, and director
• 1955 – Olek Krupa, Polish actor
• 1955 – Edwin Moses, American hurdler
• 1955 – Anthony Thistlethwaite, English saxophonist (The Waterboys and The Saw Doctors)
• 1955 – Gary Webb, American journalist (d. 2004)
• 1956 – Maria Balazova, Slovak painter
• 1956 – Masashi Tashiro, Japanese singer, actor, and director (Rats & Star)
• 1957 – Colm O'Rourke, Irish footballer and sportscaster
• 1957 – Gina Schock, American drummer, songwriter, and actress (The Go-Go's and Edie and the Eggs)
• 1957 – Glenn Tilbrook, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Squeeze and Difford & Tilbrook)
• 1958 – Serge Blanco, French rugby player
• 1959 – Ralph Krueger, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1959 – Jessica Upshaw, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
• 1960 – Vali Ionescu, Romanian long jumper
• 1960 – Chris Whitley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
• 1962 – Dee Bradley Baker, American voice actor and singer
• 1962 – Thomas Suozzi, American politician
• 1963 – Reb Beach, American guitarist (Winger and Whitesnake)
• 1963 – Todd Carty, Irish actor
• 1963 – Sonny Silooy, Dutch footballer
• 1963 – Rituparno Ghosh, Indian Filmmaker
• 1964 – Ramón Arellano Félix, Mexican drug trafficker (d. 2002)
• 1964 – Raymond P. Hammond, American poet and editor
• 1965 – Céline Bonnier, Canadian actress
• 1965 – Zsolt Borkai, Hungarian gymnast
• 1965 – Willie Watson, New Zealand cricketer
• 1966 – Jan Einar Thorsen, Norwegian skier
• 1967 – Nigel Avery, New Zealand weightlifter
• 1967 – Jonathan Cake, English actor
• 1967 – Gene Hoglan, American drummer (Tenet, Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Fear Factory, and Dethklok)
• 1967 – Anita Moen, Norwegian skier
• 1968 – Valdon Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician
• 1968 – Hideo Nomo, Japanese baseball player
• 1969 – Nathalie Bouvier, French skier
• 1969 – Andrew Cunanan, American spree killer (d. 1997)
• 1969 – Jonathan LaPaglia, Australian actor
• 1969 – Javagal Srinath, Indian cricketer
• 1970 – Debbie Gibson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1970 – Nikola Gruevski, Macedonian politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia
• 1970 – Queen Rania of Jordan
• 1970 – Amy Stein, American photographer
• 1970 – Arie van Lent, Dutch-German footballer
• 1970 – Zack Ward, Canadian actor
• 1971 – Pádraig Harrington, Irish golfer
• 1972 – Chris Tucker, American actor and comedian
• 1973 – Scott Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Andriy Medvedev, Ukrainian tennis player
• 1975 – Craig Cumming, New Zealand cricketer
• 1975 – John Grahame, American ice hockey player
• 1975 – Daniel Harding, English conductor
• 1975 – Sara Ramirez, American actress
• 1975 – Takahiro Suwa, Japanese wrestler
• 1976 – Vincent Delerm, French singer-songwriter, pianist, and composer
• 1976 – Roque Júnior, Brazilian footballer
• 1976 – Radek Martínek, Czech ice hockey player
• 1977 – Jeff Hardy, American wrestler, singer, painter, and writer
• 1977 – Ian Harte, Irish footballer
• 1977 – Craig Nicholls, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Vines)
• 1978 – Philippe Christanval, French footballer
• 1978 – Ido Pariente, Israeli mixed martial artist
• 1979 – Clay Hensley, American baseball player
• 1979 – Mickie James, American wrestler and singer
• 1979 – Mark Johnston, Canadian swimmer
• 1979 – Simon Neil, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Biffy Clyro and Marmaduke Duke)
• 1979 – Yuvan Shankar Raja, Indian composer
• 1979 – Ramón Santiago, Dominican baseball player
• 1980 – Joe Budden, American rapper (Slaughterhouse)
• 1981 – Mawnia Al-Kuwaitia, Kuwaiti singer and actress
• 1981 – Dwayne Peel, Welsh rugby player
• 1981 – Steve Saviano, American ice hockey player
• 1982 – Ian Crocker, American swimmer
• 1982 – Chris Duhon, American basketball player
• 1982 – Lien Huyghebaert, Belgian sprinter
• 1982 – Christopher Katongo, Zambian footballer
• 1982 – Josh Kroeger, American baseball player
• 1982 – Alexei Mikhnov, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Pepe Reina, Spanish footballer
• 1982 – Michele Rugolo, Italian race car driver
• 1983 – Deniz Aydoğdu, Turkish footballer
• 1983 – Milan Biševac, Serbian footballer
• 1983 – Larry Fitzgerald, American football player
• 1984 – Matti Breschel, Danish cyclist
• 1984 – Ryan Kesler, American ice hockey player
• 1984 – Ted Ligety, American skier
• 1984 – Raj Kumar Yadav , Indian Actor
• 1984 – Charl Schwartzel, South African golfer
• 1985 – Rolando, Portuguese footballer
• 1985 – Andrew Foster, Australian rules footballer
• 1986 – Ryan Kelley, American actor
• 1986 – Feng Tianwei, Singaporean table tennis player
• 1987 – Xavi Annunziata, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Petros Kravaritis, Greek footballer
• 1987 – Ondřej Pavelec, Czech ice hockey player
• 1989 – Dezmon Briscoe, American football player
• 1990 – Oliver Adams, American actor
• 1990 – Tadeja Majerič, Slovenian tennis player
• 1991 – António Félix da Costa, Portuguese race car driver
• 1992 – Holly Earl, English actress
• 1995 – Ceallach Spellman, English actor

Deaths

• 577 – John Scholasticus, patriarch of Constantinople
• 651 – Aidan of Lindisfarne, Irish bishop and missionary
• 1158 – Sancho III of Castile (b. 1134)
• 1218 – Al-Adil I, Egyptian general and sultan (b. 1145)
• 1234 – Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (b. 1212)
• 1372 – Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, English soldier (b. 1301)
• 1422 – Henry V of England (b. 1386)
• 1645 – Francesco Bracciolini, Italian poet (b. 1566)
• 1654 – Ole Worm, Danish physician (b. 1588)
• 1688 – John Bunyan, English writer and preacher (b. 1628)
• 1730 – Gottfried Finger, Czech composer (b. 1660)
• 1741 – Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist (b. 1681)
• 1772 – William Borlase, English geologist and naturalist (b. 1695)
• 1795 – François-André Danican Philidor, French chess player (b. 1726)
• 1799 – Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect, desighned the Bernstorff Palace and Marienlyst Castle (b. 1720)
• 1811 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French admiral and explorer (b. 1729)
• 1814 – Arthur Phillip, English admiral, 1st Governor of New South Wales (b. 1738)
• 1817 – Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet, English navy admiral (b. 1747)
• 1867 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet (b. 1821)
• 1869 – Mary Ward, Irish scientist (b. 1827)
• 1888 – Mary Ann Nichols, English victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1845)
• 1912 – Jean, duc Decazes, French sailor (b. 1864)
• 1920 – Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese designer of the Flag of the Faroe Islands (b. 1896)
• 1920 – Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (b. 1832)
• 1924 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian freedom fighter (b. 1881)
• 1927 – William Frank Carver, American target shooter and showman (b. 1851)
• 1927 – Andranik Ozanian, Armenian military commander (b. 1865)
• 1940 – Georges Gauthier, Canadian archbishop (b. 1871)
• 1941 – Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (b. 1892)
• 1948 – Billy Laughlin, American actor (b. 1932)
• 1952 – Henri Bourassa, Canadian politician (b. 1868)
• 1954 – Elsa Barker, American author and poet (b. 1869)
• 1963 – Georges Braque, French painter (b. 1882)
• 1967 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer, journalist, and translator (b. 1891)
• 1969 – Rocky Marciano, American boxer (b. 1923)
• 1973 – John Ford, American director (b. 1894)
• 1974 – William Pershing Benedict, American pilot (b. 1928)
• 1974 – Norman Kirk, New Zealand politician, 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1923)
• 1978 – John Wrathall, Rhodesian accountant and politician, 2nd President of Rhodesia (b. 1913)
• 1979 – Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)
• 1979 – Tiger Smith, England cricketer (b. 1886)
• 1984 – Audrey Wagner, American baseball player (b. 1927)
• 1985 – Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1986 – Urho Kekkonen, Finnish politician, 8th President of Finland (b. 1900)
• 1986 – Henry Moore, English sculptor (b. 1898)
• 1990 – Nathaniel Clifton, American basketball player (b. 1922)
• 1992 – Wolfgang Güllich, German climber (b. 1960)
• 1995 – Barry Lee Fairchild, American convicted murderer (b. 1954)
• 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales (b. 1961)
• 1997 – Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (b. 1955)
• 1997 – Henri Paul, French security guard (b. 1956)
• 2000 – Lucille Fletcher, American screenwriter (b. 1912)
• 2000 – Dolores Moore, American baseball player (b. 1932)
• 2000 – Patricia Owens, Canadian actress (b. 1925)
• 2002 – Lionel Hampton, American musician, bandleader, actor, and composer (b. 1908)
• 2002 – Farhad Mehrad, Persian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pianist (b. 1944)
• 2002 – George Porter, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
• 2004 – Carl Wayne, English singer and actor (The Move and The Hollies) (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Joseph Rotblat, Polish-English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
• 2005 – Michael Sheard, Scottish actor (b. 1940)
• 2006 – Mohamed Abdelwahab, Egyptian footballer (b. 1983)
• 2006 – Tom Delaney, English race car driver (b. 1911)
• 2006 – Derrick Wayne Frazier, American convicted murderer (b. 1977)
• 2007 – Gay Brewer, American golfer (b. 1932)
• 2007 – Karloff Lagarde, Mexican wrestler (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Ike Pappas, American journalist (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Jean Jacques Paradis Canadian general (b.1928)
• 2008 – Victor Yates, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Eraño Manalo, Filipino minister (b. 1925)
• 2010 – Laurent Fignon, French cyclist (b. 1960)
• 2011 – Ali Jawad al-Sheikh, Bahraini protester (b. 1997)
• 2011 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1976)
• 2012 – Max Bygraves, English singer and actor (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Joe Lewis, American martial artist and actor (b. 1944)
• 2012 – Carlo Maria Martini, Italian archbishop (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Kashiram Rana, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
• 2012 – John C. Shabaz, American judge (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Sergey Leonidovich Sokolov, Soviet military commander (b. 1911)
• 2012 – Norbert Walter, German economist (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Aidan of Lindisfarne
  • Raymond Nonnatus
  • August 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
• National Language Day or Limba Noastră (Moldova)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union in 1991
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Malaysia from the United Kingdom in 1957.
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Trinidad and Tobago from the United Kingdom in 1962.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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