March 31 in History

58 events 307 – 2023

March 31 spans 58 recorded events across recorded history — from 307 – 2023. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

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A historic tornado outbreak occurs in the American Midwest and South.

2023 — A historic tornado outbreak occurs in the American Midwest and South

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The Storm Prediction Center issued a rare high risk for severe weather on March 31, 2023, the first high risk issuance since March 25, 2021.

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The tornado outbreak affected the Little Rock, St. Louis, Chicago, and Memphis metropolitan areas, causing multiple rounds of severe squall lines and supercell thunderstorms.

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An EF4 tornado swept away homes on the west side of Keota, Iowa, marking the strongest tornado of the outbreak.

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The Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois collapsed during a concert due to an EF1 tornado, injuring up to 40 concertgoers and killing one on March 31, 2023.

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A total of 175 tornado warnings were issued on March 31, with an additional 51 issued on April 1, resulting in over 20 simultaneous tornado warnings at certain points.


After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian.
Wife or concubine of Constantine I
Minervina was either the first wife or concubine of Constantine I, and the mother of his eldest son and future caesar Crispus. Little is known of her life. Her birth and death dates are unknown.
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307
Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade.
Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade.
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist., venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercian Order.
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1146
A conspiracy against Saladin, aiming to restore the Fatimid Caliphate, is revealed in Cairo, involving senior figures of the former Fatimid regime and the poet Umara al-Yamani.
Modern historians doubt the extent and danger of the conspiracy reported in official sources, but its ringleaders will be publicly executed over the following weeks.
In 1173–1174, a conspiracy took place in Cairo in favour of restoring the Isma'ili Shi'a Fatimid Caliphate, which had been abolished in 1171 by Saladin, the first Ayyubid ruler of Egypt. The conspiracy, which is known only from sources favourable to Saladin, was led by elites of the fallen Fatimid regime, and aimed to seize control over Cairo by taking advantage of Saladin's absence from the city on campaign. To this end, they are alleged to have contacted the Crusaders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, inviting them to invade Egypt in order to lure Saladin away. The conspirators are also said to have contacted the Nizari Isma'ili Order of Assassins to assassinate Saladin. The veracity of these claims is disputed by modern historians, who consider them inventions aimed to discredit the conspirators. In the event, the conspiracy was betrayed to Saladin, although the sources differ on how exactly. Some even hold that the conspiracy was precipitated by Saladin as a political purge, or as a means of demonstrating to his increasingly hostile nominal master, the emir of Aleppo and Damascus, Nur al-Din Zengi, that Egypt was still unruly and that Saladin was indispensable to keep the opposition in check. The Ayyubid ruler struck on 31 March 1174 and arrested the ringleaders, among them the celebrated poet Umara al-Yamani. The chief conspirators were executed at the Bayn al-Qasrayn square from 6 April until 23 May, while others were exiled. A pro-Fatimid revolt in Upper Egypt followed, but was suppressed in September by Saladin's brother, al-Adil.
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1174
Pope Gregory X calls for a General Church Council to discuss reunion of Churches, Crusade to the Holy Land and Church reform.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1271 to 1276
Pope Gregory X was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. He was elected at the conclusion of a papal election that ran from 1268 to 1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Catholic Church.
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1272
Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile sign the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews from Spain, ordering all Jews in their kingdoms to either convert to Christianity or leave the country.
King of Aragon from 1479 to 1516
Ferdinand II was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of Castile, he was also King of Castile from 1475 to 1504. He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain; together, they are known as the Catholic Monarchs. Ferdinand is considered the de facto first king of Spain, and was described as such during his reign, even though, legally, Castile and Aragon remained two separate kingdoms until they were formally united by the Nueva Planta decrees issued between 1707 and 1716.
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1492
Ferdinand Magellan and fifty of his men came ashore to present-day Limasawa to participate in the first Catholic mass in the Philippines.
Portuguese explorer (1480–1521)
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer best known for planning and leading the 1519–1522 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he discovered the Strait of Magellan, performed the first European crossing of the Pacific Ocean, and made the first known European contact with the Philippines. Magellan himself was killed in battle in the Philippines in 1521, but his crew, commanded by Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano, completed the return trip to Spain in 1522, achieving the first circumnavigation of Earth in history.
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1521
The Long Parliament presents the Humble Petition and Advice offering Oliver Cromwell the British throne, which he eventually declines.
English Parliament from 1640 to 1660
The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which nominally lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In September 1640, King Charles I issued writs summoning a parliament to convene on 3 November 1640. He intended it to pass financial bills, a step made necessary by the costs of the Bishops' Wars against Scotland. The Long Parliament received its name from the fact that, by an act of Parliament, the Parliament Act 1640, it stipulated it could be dissolved only with agreement of the members; and those members did not agree to its dissolution until 16 March 1660, after the English Civil War and near the close of the Interregnum.
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1657
The last session of history of the Catalan Courts, the parliament of the Principality of Catalonia, ends.
Catalonia's constitutional modernisation passed by the Courts aims to improve the guarantee of individual, political and economic rights (such as the secrecy of correspondence).
The Catalan Courts or General Court of Catalonia were the parliamentary body of the Principality of Catalonia from the 13th to the 18th century. The Catalan Courts were the result of the territorial and institutional evolution of the Comital Court of Barcelona, and took its definitive institutional form in 1283, according to historian Thomas Bisson.
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1706
A sermon on "The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ" by Benjamin Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, preached in the presence of King George I of Great Britain, provokes the Bangorian Controversy.
English bishop (1676–1761); instigator of the Bangorian controversy
Benjamin Hoadly was an English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, of Hereford, of Salisbury, and finally of Winchester. He is best known as the initiator of the Bangorian Controversy.
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1717
The 1761 Lisbon earthquake strikes off the Iberian Peninsula with an estimated magnitude of 8.5, six years after another quake destroyed the city.
Earthquake and tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean
The 1761 Lisbon earthquake and its subsequent tsunami occurred in the north Atlantic Ocean and south of the Iberian Peninsula. This violent shock which struck just after noon on 31 March 1761, was felt across many parts of Western Europe and in Morocco. Its direct effects were observed even far north in Scotland and Amsterdam, and to the south in the Canary Islands of Spain. The estimated surface-wave magnitude 8.5 event was the largest in the region, and the most significant earthquake in Europe since the Great Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
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1761
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Born on March 31

20 people 1999 – 2005
Reed Baker-Whiting
Reed Baker-Whiting
American professional footballer
Reed Baker-Whiting is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right-back, left-back, or midfielder for Major League Soccer club Nashville SC.
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2005
Samson Baidoo
Samson Baidoo
Austrian professional footballer
Samson Baidoo is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 1 club Lens.
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2004
Mateo Sanabria
Argentine professional footballer
Mateo Sanabria is an Argentine footballer currently playing as a winger for Esporte Clube Bahia.
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2004
Alex Luna
Argentine professional footballer
Alex Nahuel Luna is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Instituto, on loan from Atlético de Rafaela.
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2004
Japhet Tanganga
Japhet Tanganga
English footballer
Japhet Manzambi Tanganga is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for and captains EFL Championship club Sheffield United.
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1999
Brooke Scullion
Brooke Scullion
Irish Singer
Brooke Scullion, known professionally as Brooke, is a singer from Northern Ireland. She was a contestant on series 9 of The Voice UK, finishing in third place. She represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022…
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1999
Jens Odgaard
Jens Odgaard
Danish professional footballer
Jens Odgaard is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Bologna.
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1999
Denys Strekalin
Denys Strekalin
Ukrainian-born pair skater
Denys Strekalin is a Ukrainian-born pair skater who competes for France with Megan Wessenberg.
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1999
Adam Chrzanowski
Adam Chrzanowski
Polish professional footballer
Adam Chrzanowski is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a defender for I liga club Odra Opole.
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1999
Santiago Chocobares
Argentine rugby union player
Santiago Chocobares is an Argentine professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Top 14 club Toulouse and the Argentina national team.
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1999
Ballou Tabla
Ballou Tabla
Canadian professional soccer player
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla is a professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Canadian Premier League side Atlético Ottawa. Born in Ivory Coast, he plays for the Canada national team.
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1999
Elžbieta Kropa
Elžbieta Kropa
Lithuanian figure skater
Elžbieta Kropa is a Lithuanian figure skater. She is the 2017 Kaunas Ice Autumn Cup champion and a two-time Lithuanian national champion. She qualified for the final segment at the 2018 European Championships in Moscow,…
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1999
Edon Zhegrova
Edon Zhegrova
professional footballer
Edon Lulzim Zhegrova is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger or right midfielder for Serie A club Juventus. Born in Germany, he plays for the Kosovo national team.
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1999
Shiann Salmon
Jamaican track and field athlete
Shiann Salmon is a Jamaican track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 metres hurdles and 400 metres. She represented Jamaica at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, competing in women's 400 metres hurdles.
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1999
Ben Williams
Welsh professional footballer
Benjamin Joseph Williams is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Morecambe.
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1999
Luca Pizzul
Italian professional footballer
Luca Pizzul is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Serie D club Mestre.
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1999
Sander Raieste
Sander Raieste
Estonian professional basketball player
Sander Raieste is an Estonian professional basketball player for the UCAM Murcia of the Liga ACB. Standing at 2.04 m, he plays at the small forward position. He also represents the Estonian national basketball team…
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1999
Jonas Røndbjerg
Jonas Røndbjerg
Danish ice hockey player
Jonas Røndbjerg is a Danish professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). At the 2017 NHL entry draft, Røndbjerg was selected 65th overall by the Golden…
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1999
Adele Tan
Singaporean sports shooter
Adele Tan Qian Xiu OLY is a Singaporean Olympic shooter. She competed in the women's 10 metre air rifle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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1999
Nuno Pina
Portuguese football player
Nuno Henrique Pina Nunes is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Andorran Primera Divisió club Ordino.
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1999
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Died on March 31

20 people 2016 – 2026
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis
Canadian politician and diplomat, 14th Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations (born 1937)
Stephen Henry Lewis was a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster and diplomat who served as leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) from 1970 to 1978. Elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario…
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2026
Sian Barbara Allen
Sian Barbara Allen
American television actress (born 1946)
Sian Barbara Allen was an American actress who mainly appeared on television throughout the 1970s. A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Allen studied at the Pasadena Playhouse before appearing in her first screen role on…
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2025
Betty Webb
Betty Webb
English code breaker (born 1923)
Charlotte Elizabeth Webb was an English code breaker who worked at Bletchley Park during World War II from the age of 18. In 1941 she joined the British Auxiliary Territorial Service. She said, of joining the top-secret…
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2025
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
American actress (born 1927)
Barbara Rush was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. In 1954, she won the Golden Globe Award for most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film It Came from Outer…
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2024
Shirley Burkovich
Shirley Burkovich
former American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) player (born 1933)
Shirley Burkovich was an American professional baseball infielder, outfielder and pitcher who played from 1949 through 1951 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)…
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2022
Patrick Demarchelier
Patrick Demarchelier
French fashion photographer (born 1943)
Patrick Demarchelier was a French fashion photographer.
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2022
Moana Jackson
Moana Jackson
New Zealand lawyer specialising in constitutional law (born 1945)
Moana Jackson was a New Zealand lawyer specialising in constitutional law, the Treaty of Waitangi and international indigenous issues. He was an advocate and activist for Māori rights, arguing that the New Zealand…
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2022
Tullio Moneta
Italian mercenary and actor (born 1937)
Tullio Moneta was an Italian actor and mercenary. He acted in 15 films between 1970 and 1990, starring in the feature film The Lion's Share. He also played a role in the Afrikaans language film Aanslag op Kariba in…
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2022
Ken Reitz
Ken Reitz
American baseball player (born 1951)
Kenneth John Reitz was an American baseball third baseman who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Zamboni", he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and…
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2021
Muhammad Wakkas
Muhammad Wakkas
Bangladeshi teacher and parliamentarian (born 1952)
Muhammad Wakkas was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, teacher, former Member of Parliament and State Minister. He was the founder of Jamia Imdadia Madaninagar Madrasa, the largest madrasa in South Bengal, accommodating…
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2021
Gita Ramjee
Ugandan-South African scientist and researcher (born 1956)
Gita Ramjee was a Ugandan-South African scientist and researcher in HIV prevention. In 2018, she was awarded the ‘Outstanding Female Scientist’ award from the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials…
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2020
Nipsey Hussle
Nipsey Hussle
American rapper (born 1985)
Ermias Joseph Asghedom, known professionally as Nipsey Hussle, was an American rapper, activist and entrepreneur. Emerging from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-2000s, Hussle self-released his debut mixtape,…
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2019
Nick Newton
Nick Newton
inventor of the Newton Starting Blocks (born 1933)
Milton "Nick" Newton was the inventor of the Newton Starting Blocks. Newton blocks are considered by many to be the best in the world, used at many major track meets like the Mt. SAC Relays.
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2018
Gilbert Baker
Gilbert Baker
American artist and LGBT rights activist (born 1951)
Gilbert Baker was an American artist, designer, activist, and vexillographer, best known as the creator of the rainbow flag.
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2017
James Rosenquist
James Rosenquist
American artist (born 1933)
James Albert Rosenquist was an American artist and one of the proponents of the pop art movement. Drawing from his background working in sign painting, Rosenquist's pieces often explored the role of advertising and…
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2017
Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Corbett
Scottish comedian, actor and screenwriter (born 1930)
Ronald Balfour Corbett was a Scottish comedian and actor. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC Television comedy sketch show The Two Ronnies (1971–87), becoming known for his meandering chair…
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2016
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
German politician (born 1927)
Hans-Dietrich Genscher was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and…
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2016
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid
Iraqi-born English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (born 1950)
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid was an Iraqi and British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Hadid studied…
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2016
Imre Kertész
Imre Kertész
Hungarian author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1929)
Imre Kertész was a Hungarian author and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history". He was the…
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2016
Denise Robertson
Denise Robertson
British writer and television broadcaster (born 1932)
Denise Robertson was a British writer and television broadcaster. She made her television debut as the presenter of the Junior Advice Line segment of the BBC's Breakfast Time programme in 1985, though she is best known…
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2016
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March 31 in the Blog

Eiffel Tower Inauguration — March 31, 1889
Eiffel Tower Inauguration — March 31, 1889

1889, the Eiffel Tower's grand opening in Paris stunned the world, showcasing a feat of engineering that redefined the city's skyline, with its 324-meter tall structure

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Related questions

More questions about March 31

What happened on March 31?

A featured event on this date is 2023: A historic tornado outbreak occurs in the American Midwest and South. This page also lists 58 events from other years on the same day.

Why is March 31 remembered in history?

March 31 brings together events, births, and deaths across many eras, which makes it useful for seeing how one calendar date connects different historical turning points.

Who was born on March 31?

Notable birthdays on this date include Reed Baker-Whiting, Samson Baidoo, Mateo Sanabria.

See birthdays

Who died on March 31?

Notable deaths on this date include Stephen Lewis, Sian Barbara Allen, Betty Webb.

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Short answer

What happened on March 31 in history?

On March 31, one notable event in history was 2023: A historic tornado outbreak occurs in the American Midwest and South..

This date currently highlights 58 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 307 – 2023.

DateMarch 31
Featured year2023
Locationthe American Midwest and South
Events listed58

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