Vintage News · Odd history for August 31

What Happened On August 31

Q: What happened on August 31?

1895: German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his navigable balloon. 1897: Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope, a precursor to the modern movie projector. 1897: Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope (pictured), a precursor to the modern movie projector. 1876: Sultan Murad V of the Ottoman Empire was deposed after a reign of 93 days on grounds of mental illness.* 1888 – The body of Mary Ann Nichols, the alleged first victim of an unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper (pictured), was found in Buck's Row, London. 1959: A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. 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. 1776: William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey, begins serving his first term. 2010: The last episode of The Bill, the longest-running police drama in British television history, was broadcast. 1969: On the final day of the Isle of Wight Festival 1969, attended by approximately 150,000 people over three days, Bob Dylan appeared in his first gig in three years. 1959: A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu (pictured), younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm, failed to kill Norodom Sihanouk, Prime Minister of Cambodia.

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August 30 September 1

10 odd things that happened on August 31

1895 Oddly true
German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his navigable balloon.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1897 Oddly true
Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope, a precursor to the modern movie projector.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1897 Oddly true
Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope (pictured), a precursor to the modern movie projector.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1876 First ever
Sultan Murad V of the Ottoman Empire was deposed after a reign of 93 days on grounds of mental illness.* 1888 – The body of Mary Ann Nichols, the alleged first victim of an unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper (pictured), was found in Buck's Row, London.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1959 Weird
A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1795 First ever
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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1776 First ever
William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey, begins serving his first term.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2010 Oddly true
The last episode of The Bill, the longest-running police drama in British television history, was broadcast.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1969 First ever
On the final day of the Isle of Wight Festival 1969, attended by approximately 150,000 people over three days, Bob Dylan appeared in his first gig in three years.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1959 Oddly true
A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu (pictured), younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm, failed to kill Norodom Sihanouk, Prime Minister of Cambodia.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2025A landslide in the Darfur region of Sudan kills over 1000 people. Wikipedia →
2025An earthquake in eastern Afghanistan kills over 1400 people. Wikipedia →
2024A helicopter crashes in Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, killing all 22 occupants. Wikipedia →
2019A sightseeing helicopter crashes in the mountains of Skoddevarre in Alta, Norway, killing all six people on board. Wikipedia →
2016Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office. Wikipedia →
2006Edvard Munch's famous painting, The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police. Wikipedia →
2005The 2005 Al-Aaimmah bridge stampede in Baghdad kills 953 people. Wikipedia →
2002Typhoon Rusa, the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, makes landfall, killing at least 236 people. Wikipedia →
1999The first of a series of bombings in Moscow kills one person and wounds 40 others. Wikipedia →
1999A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including two on the ground. Wikipedia →
1997Diana, Princess of Wales, her partner, Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris. Wikipedia →
1996Saddam Hussein's troops seize Irbil after the Kurdish Masoud Barzani appealed for help to defeat his Kurdish rival PUK. Wikipedia →
1994Russia completes removing its troops from Estonia. Wikipedia →
1994Argentina abolishes conscription after months of social backlash over the murder of a conscript. Wikipedia →
1993Russia completes removing its troops from Lithuania. Wikipedia →
1991Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union. Wikipedia →
1988Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 crashes during takeoff from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, killing 14. Wikipedia →
1988CAAC Flight 301 overshoots the runway at Kai Tak Airport and crashes into Kowloon Bay, killing seven people. Wikipedia →
1987Thai Airways Flight 365 crashes into the ocean near Ko Phuket, Thailand, killing all 83 aboard. Wikipedia →
1986Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground. Wikipedia →
1986The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 423. Wikipedia →
1972Aeroflot Flight 558 crashes in the Abzelilovsky District in Bashkortostan, Russia (then the Soviet Union), killing all 102 people aboard. Wikipedia →
1968Start of the Congress of Carrara, one of the major 20th century anarchist congresses. Wikipedia →
1963Crown Colony of North Borneo (now Sabah) achieves self-governance. Wikipedia →
1962Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent. Wikipedia →
1959A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. Wikipedia →
1957The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom. Wikipedia →
1950TWA Flight 903 crashes near Itay El Barud, Egypt, killing all 55 aboard. Wikipedia →
1949The retreat of the Democratic Army of Greece into Albania after its defeat on Gramos mountain marks the end of the Greek Civil War. Wikipedia →
1943USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned. Wikipedia →
1941World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica. Wikipedia →
1940Pennsylvania 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. Wikipedia →
1939Nazi Germany mounts a false flag attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day, thus starting World War II in Europe. Wikipedia →
1936Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air. Wikipedia →
1935In an attempt to stay out of the growing tensions concerning Germany and Japan, the United States passes the first of its Neutrality Acts. Wikipedia →
1933The Integral Nationalist Group wins the 1933 Andorran parliamentary election, the first election in Andorra held with universal male suffrage. Wikipedia →
1920Polish–Soviet War: A decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów. Wikipedia →
1918World War I: Start of the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, a successful assault by the Australian Corps during the Hundred Days Offensive. Wikipedia →
1907Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Anglo-Russian Convention, by which the UK recognizes Russian preeminence in northern Persia, while Russia recognizes British preeminence in southeastern Persia and Afghanistan. Both powers pledge not to interfere in Tibet. Wikipedia →
1895German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his navigable balloon. Wikipedia →
1888Mary Ann Nichols, the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims, is murdered. Wikipedia →
1886The 7.0 Mw Charleston earthquake strikes southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 60 people and causing damage worth an estimated at $5 to $6 million. Wikipedia →
1876Ottoman Sultan Murad V is deposed and succeeded by his brother, Abdul Hamid II. Wikipedia →
1864American Civil War: The Battle of Jonesborough, the culmination of the Atlanta campaign, begins as Union forces under General William T. Sherman clash with Confederate troops under General William J. Hardee south of Atlanta. Wikipedia →
1813Peninsular War: Spanish troops repel a French attack in the Battle of San Marcial. Wikipedia →
1798Irish Rebellion: Irish rebels, with French assistance, establish the short-lived Republic of Connacht. Wikipedia →
1795War of the First Coalition: The British capture Trincomalee (present-day Sri Lanka) from the Dutch in order to keep it out of French hands. Wikipedia →
1776William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey, begins serving his first term. Wikipedia →
1483Under the influence of the Ottoman government, patriarch Symeon I convenes a synod of the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Constantinople which defines the ritual for admitting Catholics to the Eastern Orthodox Churches and condemns the church union of Ferrara-Florence. Wikipedia →
1422King Henry V of England dies of dysentery while in France and his son, Henry VI, becomes king at the age of nine months. Wikipedia →
1420The 8.8–9.4 Caldera earthquake shakes Chile's Atacama Region causing tsunami in Chile, Hawaii, and Japan. Wikipedia →
1314King Haakon V moves the capital of Norway from Bergen to Oslo. Wikipedia →
1302Frederick III of Aragon and Charles, Count of Valois sign the Peace of Caltabellotta, which ends the War of the Sicilian Vespers and divides the old Kingdom of Sicily into an island portion and a peninsular portion. Wikipedia →
1218Al-Kamil becomes sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty. Wikipedia →
1056After a sudden gastric illness, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.