Date·Lore

On This Day · The 243rd day of the year

August 31

August 31 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1218 and 2002. Al-Kamil becomes sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty.

♍ZodiacVirgo ◈BirthstonePeridot ❀Birth flowerGladiolus

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 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.

The shape of the day

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.

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

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

    Al-Kamil becomes sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty.

  2. 1888

    Mary Ann Nichols

    Mary Ann Nichols, the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims, is murdered.

  3. 1918

    World War I

    World War I: Start of the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, a successful assault by the Australian Corps during the Hundred Days Offensive.

  4. 1941

    World War II

    World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.

  5. 1959

    Letter bomb

    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.

  6. 1962

    Trinidad and Tobago

    Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.

  7. 1993

    Lithuania

    Russia completes removing its troops from Lithuania.

  8. 1994

    Estonia

    Russia completes removing its troops from Estonia.

  9. 1997

    Diana, Princess of Wales

    Diana, Princess of Wales, her partner, Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.

  10. 2002

    Typhoon Rusa

    Typhoon Rusa, the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, made landfall, killing at least 236 people.

Famous birthday twins

Born on August 31

Commodus

b. 161

Roman emperor

James Coburn

b. 1928

American actor

Emperor Zhangzong of Jin

b. 1168

Chinese emperor

Ted Ligety

b. 1984

American skier

Rituparno Ghosh

b. 1963

Indian actor, director, and screenwriter

Sara Ramirez

b. 1975

Mexican-American actor and musician

Jeff Hardy

b. 1977

American wrestler and singer

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

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted 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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