Date·Lore

On This Day · The 243rd day of the year

August 31

From 1218 to 2002, August 31 gathers 784 years of history. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

♍ZodiacVirgo ◈BirthstonePeridot ❀Birth flowerGladiolus

Virgo is the sign for August 31 — read more on the Virgo page, or see August's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on August 31?

August 31 is the 243rd day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1218 and 2002. Famous people born on August 31 include Commodus, James Coburn and Emperor Zhangzong of Jin.

Released on August 31

Movies, games, albums & shows

2023

  • Movie Graphic Desires
  • TV ONE PIECE
  • TV Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

2021

  • Game Song of Iron
  • TV Only Murders in the Building

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1218

    Al-Kamil

  2. 1888

    Mary Ann Nichols

  3. 1918

    World War I

  4. 1941

    World War II

  5. 1959

    Letter bomb

  6. 1962

    Trinidad and Tobago

  7. 1993

    Lithuania

  8. 1994

    Estonia

  9. 1997

    Diana, Princess of Wales

  10. 2002

    Typhoon Rusa

Famous birthday twins

Born on August 31

Commodus

b. 161

James Coburn

b. 1928

Emperor Zhangzong of Jin

b. 1168

Ted Ligety

b. 1984

Rituparno Ghosh

b. 1963

Sara Ramirez

b. 1975

Jeff Hardy

b. 1977

Deaths

  • 2012Sergei Sokolov (marshal)
  • 2010Laurent Fignon
  • 1997Diana, Princess of Wales
  • 1973John Ford
  • 1867Charles Baudelaire
  • 1056Theodora Porphyrogenita

Holidays & observances

  • —Baloch-Pakhtun Unity Day (Balochs and Pashtuns, International observance)
  • —Christian feast day: Aidan of Lindisfarne
  • —Christian feast day: Amatus of Nusco
  • —Christian feast day: Aristides of Athens
  • —Christian feast day: Cuthburh
  • —Christian feast day: Joseph of Arimathea
  • —Christian feast day: Nicodemus
  • —Christian feast day: Paulinus of Trier

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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