August 31
August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining.
Events
Births
- 12 - Caligula, Roman Emperor
- 1811 - Theophile Gautier, poet, novelist († 1872)
- 1834 - Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer
- 1870 - Maria Montessori, educator († 1952)
- 1879 - Alma Mahler, composer († 1969)
- 1880 - Queen Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands († 1962)
- 1885 - DuBose Heyward, playwright († 1940)
- 1897 - Fredric March, actor († 1975)
- 1903 - Arthur Godfrey, television host († 1983)
- 1907 - William Shawn, editor
- 1907 - Ramon Magsaysay, Philippine president
- 1908 - William Saroyan, novelist, playwright († 1981)
- 1914 - Richard Basehart, actor († 1984)
- 1916 - Daniel Schorr, journalist
- 1918 - Alan Jay Lerner, composer
- 1924 - Buddy Hackett, actor, comedian
- 1928 - James Coburn, actor († 2002)
- 1935 - Frank Robinson, baseball player, manager
- 1935 - Eldridge Cleaver, political activist († 1998)
- 1938 - Martin Bell, British journalist and politician
- 1945 - Van Morrison, musician
- 1945 - Itzhak Perlman, musician
- 1949 - Richard Gere, actor
- 1958 - Edwin Moses, Olympic Games gold medalist in track and field
- 1970 - Debbie Gibson, singer
- 1971 - Chris Tucker, actor
Deaths
- 1688 - John Bunyan, poet
- 1867 - Charles Baudelaire, writer
- 1941 - Marina Tsvetaeva, poet
- 1969 - Rocky Marciano, boxer
- 1973 - John Ford, film director
- 1979 - Sally Rand, stripper
- 1986 - Henry Moore, sculptor
- 1986 - Urho Kekkonen, president of Finland
- 1997 - Princess Diana of Wales
- 1997 - Dodi Fayed, film producer
- 2002 - Lionel Hampton, vibraphone virtuoso
Holidays and observances
See Also:
August 30 - September 1 - July 31 - September 30 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December\n
