What happened on July 31? There are more than 283 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About July 31
July 31 is the 213th day of the year 2024. There are 153 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 31st week of the year 2024.
On this day in Richmond, Texas 77406 sunrise will occur at 06:42 AM and sunset will occur at 08:17 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Leo. The modern birthstone for this month is Ruby while the mystical birthstone is Ruby.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 182 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 27 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For July 31
- 30 BCBattle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian’s forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
- 781The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781).
- 904Thessalonica falls to the Arabs, who destroy the city.
- 1009Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.
- 1201Attempted usurpation of John Komnenos the Fat.
- 1423Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Cravant – the French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
- 1451Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France.
- 1492The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect.
- 1498On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
- 1588The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
- 1655Russo-Polish War (1654-1667): the Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years.
- 1658Aurangzeb is proclaimed Moghul emperor of India.
- 1667Second Anglo-Dutch War: Treaty of Breda ends the conflict.
- 1703Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
- 1741Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.
- 1777The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Marquis de Lafayette “be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States.”
- 1790The very first U.S. patent is issued: to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
- 1856Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city.
- 1865The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Australia.
- 1913The Balkan States signs an armistice at Bucharest.
- 1919German national assembly adopts the Weimar Constitution, which comes into force on August 14.
- 1930The radio mystery program The Shadow airs for the first time.
- 1931New York City experimental television station W2XAO (now known as WCBS) begins broadcasts.
- 1932The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections.
- 1938Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
- 1938Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).
- 1940A doodlebug train in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio collides with a multi-car freight train heading in the opposite direction, killing 43 people.
- 1941Holocaust: under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to “submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question.”
- 1945Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
- 1948At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
- 1954First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.
- 1956Jim Laker becomes the first man to take all 10 wickets in a Test match innings as he returns figures of 10/53 in the Australian 2nd innings. This combined with his 9/37 in the first innings gave him match figures of 19/90 in the 4th Test at Old Trafford.
- 1961At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning because of rain.
- 1964Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
- 1970Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
- 1971Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
- 1972Operation Motorman: British troops move into the no-go areas of Belfast and Derry, Northern Ireland. End of Free Derry.
- 1973A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89.
- 1987A rare, class F4 tornado rips through Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage.
- 198832 people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Malaysia.
- 1991The Medininkai Massacre in Lithuania. Soviet OMON attacks Lithuanian customs post in Medininkai, killing 7 officers and severely wounding one other.
- 1991The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries’ stockpiles.
- 1992Georgia joins the United Nations.
- 1992Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.
- 1999Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector – NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon’s surface.
- 2002Hebrew University of Jerusalem is attacked when a bomb explodes in a cafeteria, killing 9.
- 2006Fidel Castro hands over power temporarily to brother Raúl Castro.
- 2007Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
Who Were Born On July 31?
- 1143Emperor Nijo of Japan (d. 1165)
- 1396Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1467)
- 1527Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1576)
- 1598Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1654)
- 1702Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary and painter (d. 1768)
- 1704Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (d. 1752)
- 1718John Canton, English physicist (d. 1772)
- 1724Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer (d. 1801)
- 1737Princess Augusta of Great Britain (d. 1813)
- 1777Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentine statesman and priest (d. 1849)
- 1800Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist and founder of organic chemistry (d. 1882)
- 1803John Ericsson, Swedish inventor and engineer (d. 1889)
- 1816George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
- 1825William S. Clark, American senator and scholar (d. 1886)
- 1835Henri Brisson, French statesman (d. 1912)
- 1835Paul du Chaillu, French explorer (d. 1903)
- 1837William Quantrill, American Civil War rebel guerrilla leader (d. 1865)
- 1843Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet (d. 1918)
- 1847Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (d. 1905)
- 1858Richard Dixon Oldham, British geologist (d. 1936)
- 1860Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist (d. 1940)
- 1867Sebastian S. Kresge, American merchant and philanthropist (d. 1966)
- 1880Munshi Premchand, Indian Author (d. 1936)
- 1884Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician (d. 1945)
- 1886Fred Quimby, American film producer (d. 1965)
- 1886Salvatore Maranzano, Sicilian-born American organized crime figure (d. 1931)
- 1887Hans Freyer, German sociologist (d. 1969)
- 1892Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author and publisher (d. 1986)
- 1892Joseph Charbonneau, French-Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1959)
- 1894Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (d. 1972)
- 1901Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
- 1904Brett Halliday, American writer (d. 1977)
- 1909Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Austrian writer and polyglot (d. 1999)
- 1911George Liberace, American musician (d. 1983)
- 1912Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (d. 2008)
- 1912Irv Kupcinet, American newspaper columnist (d. 2003)
- 1912Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 2006)
- 1913Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
- 1914Louis de Funès, French actor and comedian (d. 1983)
- 1916Bill Todman, American game show producer (d. 1979)
- 1916Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player and official (d. 2006)
- 1916Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist (d. 1986)
- 1918Frank Renouf, New Zealand business tycoon (d. 1998)
- 1918Hank Jones, American pianist (d. 2010)
- 1918Paul D. Boyer, American chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate
- 1919Curt Gowdy, American sports announcer (d. 2006)
- 1919Primo Levi, Italian author and chemist (d. 1987)
- 1920James Esdras Faust, American religious leader (d. 2007)
- 1921Donald Malarkey, American World War II hero
- 1921Peter Benenson, British founder of Amnesty International (d. 2005)
- 1921Whitney Young, American civil rights activist (d. 1971)
- 1922Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
- 1923Ahmet Ertegün, Turkish-born record company executive (d. 2006)
- 1923Jimmy Evert, American tennis coach and father of Chris Evert
- 1926Bernard Nathanson, American abortionist turned pro-life activist (d. 2011)
- 1926Hilary Putnam, American philosopher
- 1929Don Murray, American actor
- 1929Gilles Carle, Canadian film director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1929José Santamaria, Uruguayan footballer
- 1929Lynne Reid Banks, British author
- 1930Oleg Popov, Russian clown
- 1931Ivan Rebroff, German singer (d. 2008)
- 1931Kenny Burrell, American guitarist
- 1931Nick Bollettieri, American tennis coach
- 1932John Searle, American philosopher
- 1932Ted Cassidy, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1933Cees Nooteboom, Dutch writer
- 1935Geoffrey Lewis, American actor
- 1935Yvon Deschamps, French-Canadian author and humorist
- 1936Vic Davalillo, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1939France Nuyen, French actress
- 1940Carol J. Clover, American academic
- 1940Roy Walker, Irish comedian and gameshow host
- 1941Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (d. 2004)
- 1943Lobo, American singer and songwriter
- 1943Sab Shimono, Japanese-American actor
- 1943Susan Flannery, American actress
- 1943William Bennett, 3rd United States Secretary of Education
- 1944Geraldine Chaplin, American actress
- 1944Jonathan Dimbleby, British journalist and television presenter
- 1944Robert C. Merton, American mathematician
- 1945Gary Lewis, American vocalist (Gary Lewis & the Playboys)
- 1945William Weld, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
- 1946Bob Welch, American musician
- 1946Karen Zerby, American religious leader
- 1947Richard Griffiths, British actor
- 1950Lane Davies, American actor
- 1950Steve Miller, American writer
- 1951Barry Van Dyke, American actor
- 1951Evonne Goolagong, Australian tennis player
- 1951Werner Novak, German footballer
- 1952Alan Autry, American football player and politician
- 1952Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player
- 1952Helmuts Balderis, Latvian hockey player
- 1952João Barreiros, Portuguese writer
- 1953James Read, American actor
- 1953Jimmy Cook, South African cricketer
- 1953Ted Baillieu, Australian politician
- 1954Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1955Jakie Quartz, French singer
- 1956Bill Callahan, American football coach
- 1956Deval Patrick, American politician, 71st governor of Massachusetts
- 1956Michael Biehn, American actor
- 1957Daniel Ash, British musician (Bauhaus)
- 1957Dirk Blocker, American actor
- 1957Leon Durham, American baseball player
- 1958Bill Berry, American musician (R.E.M.)
- 1958Wally Kurth, American actor
- 1959Andrew Marr, British journalist and political commentator
- 1959Stanley Jordan, American jazz guitarist
- 1960Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1962John Chiang, American politician
- 1962John Laurinaitis, American professional wrestler
- 1962Kevin Greene, American football player
- 1962Wesley Snipes, American actor
- 1963Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963Norman Cook, British musician (The Housemartins, Freak Power, Beats International, Fatboy Slim)
- 1964Jim Corr, Irish singer and musician (The Corrs)
- 1965J. K. Rowling, British writer
- 1965Julian Richards, British film director
- 1965Scott Brooks, American basketball player
- 1966Dean Cain, American actor
- 1966Kevin Martin, Canadian Curler
- 1966Tatsuya Ishihara, Japanese anime director
- 1967Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress (d. 2005)
- 1967Mitsuo Iwata, Japanese seiyū
- 1967Tim Wright, Welsh composer
- 1967Tony Massenburg, American basketball player
- 1968Mark Cuban, American businessman and basketball team owner
- 1968Saeed-Al-Saffar, Former UAE cricketer
- 1969David Cash, American professional wrestler
- 1969Kenneth D. Schisler, American politician
- 1969Loren Dean, American actor
- 1970Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian writer
- 1970Amanda Stepto, Canadian actress
- 1970Ben Chaplin, English actor
- 1970Dave Wedge, American journalist
- 1970Giorgos Sigalas, Greek basketball player
- 1971Gus Frerotte, American football player
- 1971John Lowery, American guitarist
- 1972Giorgos Kapoutzidis, Greek screenwriter and actor
- 1973Fabulous Flournoy American basketball player and coach Newcastle Eagles
- 1973Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player
- 1974Emilia Fox, English actress
- 1974Jonathan Ogden, American football player
- 1975Allan von Schenkel, American musician
- 1975Andrew Hall, Former South African cricketer
- 1975Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager
- 1975Mike Lincoln, American baseball player
- 1975Poesy Liang, Founder of Helping Angels
- 1975Randy Flores, American baseball player
- 1975Ruben Patterson, American basketball player
- 1975Simon Hirst, British radio DJ
- 1976Joshua Cain, American musician (Motion City Soundtrack)
- 1976Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer
- 1977Tim Couch, American football player
- 1978Justin Wilson, English racing driver
- 1978Nick Sorensen, American football player
- 1978Will Champion, English musician (Coldplay)
- 1978Zeta Makripoulia, Greek actress, model and TV presenter
- 1979B. J. Novak, American actor
- 1979Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer
- 1979J. J. Furmaniak, American baseball player
- 1979Jaco Erasmus, South African-born Italian rugby player
- 1979Jade Kwan, Hong Kong singer
- 1979Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
- 1980Mikko Hirvonen, Finnish Rally driver
- 1980Mils Muliaina, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1981Eric Lively, American actor
- 1981Ira Losco, Maltese singer
- 1981J.Son Dinant, American comedian
- 1981Matthew Sanders, American singer (Avenged Sevenfold)
- 1981Titus Bramble, English footballer
- 1982Blessing Mahwire, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1982DeMarcus Ware, American football player
- 1982Jeff DaRosa, American multi-instrumentalist (Dropkick Murphys)
- 1985Daniel Ciofani, Italian footballer
- 1985Rémy Di Gregorio, French cyclist
- 1986Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1987Brittany Byrnes, Australian Actress
- 1987Michael Bradley, American soccer player
- 1988Krystal Meyers, American Christian singer/songwriter/musician
- 1989Joey Richter, American actor/singer (member of Team StarKid)
- 1989Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player
- 1990Besart Abdurahimi, Croatian football player of Albanian origin.
- 1990Olga Galchenko, Russian juggler
- 1997Barbie Forteza, Filipina child actress
- 1998Rico Rodriguez II, American child actor
Who Died On July 31?
- 855Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim Jurisprudent (b. 780)
- 1396William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1342)
- 1508Na'od, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1494)
- 1556Ignatius Loyola, Spanish priest and founder of the Jesuits (b. 1491)
- 1653Thomas Dudley, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)
- 1726Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1695)
- 1750King John V of Portugal (b. 1689)
- 1784Denis Diderot, French philosopher and encyclopedist (b. 1713)
- 1805Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian Freedom Fighter (b. 1756)
- 1864Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (b. 1800)
- 1875Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
- 1884Emperor Kien Phuc, the 7th emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty (d. 1869)
- 1886Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer (b. 1811)
- 1914Jean Jaurès, French politician (d. 1859)
- 1917Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (b. 1881)
- 1917Hedd Wyn, Welsh poet (b. 1887)
- 1920Ion Dragoumis, Greek diplomat, writer and revolutionary (b. 1878)
- 1940Udham Singh, Indian Extremist Freedom Fighter(b. 1899)
- 1943Hedley Verity, English Test cricketer (b. 1905)
- 1944Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and writer (b. 1900)
- 1953Robert Taft, U.S. Senator from Ohio and Presidential candidate (b. 1889)
- 1954Onofre Marimón, Argentine racing driver (b. 1923)
- 1963Sir Robert Chapman, British soldier and politician (b. 1880)
- 1964Jim Reeves, American singer (b. 1923)
- 1966Bud Powell, American jazz pianist (b. 1924)
- 1970Walter Briggs, Jr., American sports executive (b. 1912)
- 1972Paul-Henri Spaak, Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
- 1973Azumafuji Kin'ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (the 40th Yokozuna) and professional wrestler (b. 1921)
- 1980Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
- 1980Pascual Jordan, German physicist (b. 1902)
- 1981General Omar Torrijos of Panama (b. 1929).
- 1986Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b. 1900)
- 1986Teddy Wilson, American jazz pianist (b. 1912)
- 1987Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b, 1905)
- 1988Trinidad Silva, American actor (b. 1950)
- 1990Albert Leduc, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
- 1993King Baudouin I of Belgium (b. 1930)
- 1996Seagram Miller, American rapper (b. 1970)
- 2001Francisco da Costa Gomes, 16th President of Portugal (b. 1914)
- 2001Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (b. 1910)
- 2001Poul Anderson, American author (b. 1926)
- 2003Guido Crepax, Italian comics artist (b. 1933)
- 2004Laura Betti, Italian actress (b. 1927)
- 2004Virginia Grey, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2005Wim Duisenberg, Dutch banker (b. 1935)
- 2006Paul Eells, American sportscaster (b. 1935)
- 2009Harry Alan Towers, English film producer and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2009Sir Bobby Robson, English professional football player and manager (b. 1933)
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