Date·Lore

On This Day · The 90th day of the year

March 31

March 31 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1492 and 1995. 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.

♈ZodiacAries ◈BirthstoneAquamarine ❀Birth flowerDaffodil

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on March 31?

March 31 is the 90th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1492 and 1995. Famous people born on March 31 include Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn and René Descartes.

The shape of the day

From 1492 to 1995, March 31 gathers 503 years of history. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

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

Released on March 31

Movies, games, albums & shows

2027

  • Game Exodus
  • Game Out of Words

2026

  • Game Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland
  • Game Aether & Iron
  • Game Grime II
  • Game Raccoin: Coin Pusher Roguelike
  • Game Super Meat Boy 3D

2025

  • Movie A Minecraft Movie

2022

  • Game Weird West

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1492

    Ferdinand II of Aragon

    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.

  2. 1521

    Ferdinand Magellan

    Ferdinand Magellan and fifty of his men came ashore to present-day Limasawa to participate in the first Catholic mass in the Philippines.

  3. 1761

    1761 Lisbon earthquake

    The 1761 Lisbon earthquake strikes off the Iberian Peninsula with an estimated magnitude of 8.5, six years after another quake destroyed the city.

  4. 1899

    Philippine–American War

    Philippine–American War: Malolos, capital of the First Philippine Republic, is captured by American forces.

  5. 1921

    Royal Australian Air Force

    The Royal Australian Air Force is formed.

  6. 1942

    World War II

    World War II: Japanese forces invade Christmas Island, then a British possession.

  7. 1986

    Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940

    Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940 crashes into the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range near the Mexican town of Maravatío, killing 167.

  8. 1992

    USS Missouri (BB-63)

    The USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California.

  9. 1995

    Selena

    Selena is murdered by her fan club president Yolanda Saldívar at a Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas.

  10. 1995

    TAROM Flight 371

    TAROM Flight 371, an Airbus A310-300, crashes near Balotesti, Romania, killing all 60 people on board.

Famous birthday twins

Born on March 31

Johann Sebastian Bach

b. 1685

German composer

Joseph Haydn

b. 1732

Austrian pianist and composer

René Descartes

b. 1596

French mathematician and philosopher

Al Gore

b. 1948

American soldier and politician, 45th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Prize laureate

Jérôme Rothen

b. 1978

French footballer

Coenraad Jacob Temminck

b. 1778

Dutch zoologist and ornithologist

Angus Young

b. 1955

Scottish-Australian guitarist and songwriter

Octavio Paz

b. 1914

Mexican poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate

Deaths

  • 2016Imre Kertész
  • 2016Zaha Hadid
  • 1995Selena
  • 1980Jesse Owens
  • 1913J. P. Morgan
  • 1621Philip III of Spain

Holidays & observances

  • —Cesar Chavez Day (California, Washington (state))
  • —Christian feast day Abdas of Susa
  • —Christian feast day Acathius of Melitene (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day Anesius and companions
  • —Christian feast day Benjamin
  • —Christian feast day Balbina
  • —Christian feast day John Donne (Anglican Communion, Lutheran)
  • —Christian feast day Natalia Tułasiewicz

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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