Today in History – August 31st

Published August 31, 2012 |

12, Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor (d. 41) was born.

1056, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies without children to succeed the throne, 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 Hakon 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.
1798, Irish Rebellion of 1798: Irish rebels, with French assistance, establish the short-lived Republic of Connaught.
1803, Lewis and Clark start their expedition to the west by leaving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 11 in the morning.
1864, During the American Civil War, Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.
1870, Maria Montessori, Italian educator (d. 1952) was born.
1876, Ottoman Sultan Murat V is deposed and succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid II.
1880, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (d. 1962) was born.
1886, An earthquake kills 100 in Charleston, South Carolina.
1888, Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the 1st of Jack the Ripper’s confirmed victims.
1895, German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his Navigable Balloon.
1897, Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the 1st movie projector.
1920, Polish-Bolshevik War: a decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarow.
1920, The 1st radio news program is broadcast by 8MK in Detroit, Michigan.
1924, Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (d. 2003) was born.
1928, James Coburn, American actor (d. 2002) was born.
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 excuse to attack Poland the following day.
1941, WWII: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.
1943, The USS Harmon, the 1st US Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.
1945, The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies.
1952, Henri Bourassa, French-Canadian politician (b. 1868) died.
1957, The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the UK.
1962, Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.
1963, Sarawak, North Borneo and Singapore achieve technical independence pending accession to the Federation of Malaysia
1965, The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft makes its 1st flight.
1969, Rocky Marciano, American boxer (b. 1923) died.
1973, John Ford, American film director (b. 1894) died.
1986, Henry Moore, English sculptor (b. 1898) died.
1991, Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.
2005, A stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad kills 1,199 people.
2006, Stolen on August 22, 2004, Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.

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Chris Rivait

Chris loves history and hopes that Yesteeyear becomes a place where everyone can share their history knowledge. Chris owns an Internet Marketing company, Arrivait Marketing. He has a wonderful wife and four great children.