# What happened on July 31 in history?

**Date:** July 31  
**Events recorded:** 51  
**Years spanned:** 30 BC – 2014  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/july/31/

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## Featured Event

**2012** — Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps)

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## Events on this date

- **30 BC** — Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alexandria_(30_BC)))
- **781** — The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: Sixth day of the seventh month of the first year of the Ten'o (天応) era). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Fuji))
- **1009** — Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sergius_IV))
- **1201** — Attempted usurpation by John Komnenos the Fat for the throne of Alexios III Angelos. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Komnenos_the_Fat))
- **1423** — Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant: A Franco-Scottish army is defeated by the Anglo-Burgundians at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years'_War))
- **1451** — Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_C%C5%93ur))
- **1492** — All remaining Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra_Decree))
- **1498** — On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus))
- **1618** — Maurice, Prince of Orange disbands the waardgelders militia in Utrecht, a pivotal event in the Remonstrant/Counter-Remonstrant tensions. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice%2C_Prince_of_Orange))
- **1655** — Russo-Polish War (1654–67): The Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Russian_War_(1654%E2%80%931667)))
- **1658** — Aurangzeb is proclaimed Mughal emperor of India. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurangzeb))
- **1703** — Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Defoe))
- **1715** — Seven days after a Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left Havana, Cuba for Spain, 11 of them sink in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure is salvaged from these wrecks. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1715_Treasure_Fleet))
- **1741** — Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VII%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor))
- **1763** — Odawa Chief Pontiac's forces defeat British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac's War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odawa))
- **1777** — The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier, 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." ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Continental_Congress))
- **1790** — The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent))
- **1856** — Christchurch, New Zealand, is chartered as a city. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch))
- **1865** — The first narrow-gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrow-gauge_railway))
- **1874** — Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Francis_Healy))
- **1904** — Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Japanese_War))
- **1917** — World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I))
- **1932** — The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party))
- **1938** — Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria))
- **1938** — Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold))
- **1941** — The Holocaust: 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." ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust))
- **1941** — World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1945** — Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Laval))
- **1948** — At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_International_Airport))
- **1948** — USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_(BB-36)))
- **1964** — Ranger 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_program))
- **1966** — The pleasure cruiser MV Darlwyne disappeared off the Cornwall coast with the loss of all 31 aboard. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_of_MV_Darlwyne))
- **1970** — Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_ration))
- **1971** — Apollo program: the Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program))
- **1972** — The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles))
- **1973** — A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Air_Lines))
- **1975** — The Troubles: Three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Showband_killings))
- **1987** — A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_tornado))
- **1988** — Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Abdul_Halim_ferry_terminal_bridge_collapse))
- **1991** — The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union))
- **1992** — The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)))
- **1992** — Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_Airways_International_Flight_311))
- **1992** — China General Aviation Flight 7552 crashes during takeoff from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, killing 108. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_General_Aviation_Flight_7552))
- **1992** — Space Shuttle program: Atlantis is launched on STS-46 to deploy the European Retrievable Carrier and the Tethered Satellite System. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_program))
- **1997** — FedEx Express Flight 14 crashes at Newark International Airport, injuring five. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedEx_Express_Flight_14))
- **1999** — Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon's surface. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Program))
- **2006** — Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro))
- **2007** — Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Banner))
- **2008** — East Coast Jets Flight 81 crashes near Owatonna Degner Regional Airport in Owatonna, Minnesota, killing all eight people on board. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast_Jets_Flight_81))
- **2012** — Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps))
- **2014** — Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kaohsiung_gas_explosions))

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## Notable births on July 31

- **2003** — **Calvin Ramsay** — Scottish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Ramsay))
- **2002** — **João Gomes** — Brazilian singer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%A3o_Gomes_(singer)))
- **2002** — **Will Penisini** — Australian-Tongan rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Penisini))
- **2000** — **Kim Sae-ron** — South Korean actress (died 2025) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Sae-ron))
- **1998** — **Rico Rodriguez** — American actor ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rico_Rodriguez_(actor)))
- **1997** — **Bobbi Althoff** — American podcaster and influencer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbi_Althoff))
- **1995** — **Lil Uzi Vert** — American hip hop artist ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lil_Uzi_Vert))
- **1993** — **Linus Ullmark** — Swedish professional hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Ullmark))
- **1992** — **José Fernández** — Cuban-American baseball player (died 2016) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Fern%C3%A1ndez_(right-handed_pitcher)))
- **1992** — **Ryan Johansen** — Canadian ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Johansen))

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## Notable deaths on July 31

- **2024** — **Paul Bucha** — United States Army Medal of Honor recipient (born 1943) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bucha))
- **2024** — **Ismail Haniyeh** — Palestinian politician, political leader of Hamas (born 1962/1963) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Haniyeh))
- **2023** — **Angus Cloud** — American actor (born 1998) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Cloud))
- **2022** — **Fidel V. Ramos** — 12th President of the Philippines (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_V._Ramos))
- **2022** — **Bill Russell** — NBA Hall of Fame player and coach (born 1934) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Russell))
- **2020** — **Alan Parker** — English filmmaker (born 1944) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Parker))
- **2019** — **Harold Prince** — Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Prince))
- **2018** — **Tony Bullimore** — British sailor & businessman (born 1939) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Bullimore))
- **2017** — **Jeanne Moreau** — French actress (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Moreau))
- **2016** — **Chiyonofuji Mitsugu** — Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (born 1955) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiyonofuji_Mitsugu))

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## About this page

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