Date·Lore

On This Day · The 212th day of the year

July 31

July 31 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1009 and 2006. Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.

♌ZodiacLeo ◈BirthstoneRuby ❀Birth flowerLarkspur

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on July 31?

July 31 is the 212th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1009 and 2006. Famous people born on July 31 include Louis de Funès, Stephanie Kwolek and Victoria Azarenka.

The shape of the day

July 31's record stretches 997 years, from 1009 to 2006. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

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

Released on July 31

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Dead Take
  • Game Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
  • Game Atomic Owl
  • Game Time Flies

2024

  • Game Minds Beneath Us
  • TV Slay the Gods

2023

  • Game Disney Speedstorm

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1009

    Pope Sergius IV

    Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.

  2. 1777

    Second Continental Congress

    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."

  3. 1874

    Patrick Francis Healy

    Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University.

  4. 1917

    World War I

    World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.

  5. 1938

    Bulgaria

    Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).

  6. 1941

    The Holocaust

    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."

  7. 1966

    Loss of MV Darlwyne

    The pleasure cruiser MV Darlwyne disappeared off the Cornwall coast with the loss of all 31 aboard.

  8. 1972

    The Troubles

    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.

  9. 1992

    Georgia (country)

    The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations.

  10. 2006

    Fidel Castro

    Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl.

Famous birthday twins

Born on July 31

Louis de Funès

b. 1914

French actor and screenwriter

Stephanie Kwolek

b. 1923

American chemist and engineer, invented Kevlar

Victoria Azarenka

b. 1989

Belarusian tennis player

Deval Patrick

b. 1956

American lawyer and politician, 71st Governor of Massachusetts

Jonathan Ogden

b. 1974

American football player

Antonio Conte

b. 1969

Italian footballer and manager

Fred Keenor

b. 1894

Welsh footballer

J. K. Rowling

b. 1965

English author and film producer

Deaths

  • 1993Baudouin of Belgium
  • 1944Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
  • 1914Jean Jaurès
  • 1875Andrew Johnson
  • 1784Denis Diderot
  • 1693Willem Kalf

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Abanoub
  • —Christian feast day: Germanus of Auxerre
  • —Christian feast day: Ignatius of Loyola
  • —Christian feast day: Neot
  • —Christian feast day: July 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —Earliest day on which the Feast of Kamál (Perfection) can fall, while August 1 is the latest; observed on the first day of the eighth month of the Baháʼí calendar. (Baháʼí Faith)
  • —End of the Trinity term (sitting of the High Court of Justice of England)
  • —Lā Hae Hawaiʻi Day (Hawaii, United States), and its related observance: Sovereignty Restoration Day (Hawaiian sovereignty movement)

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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