July 31 facts for kids

July 31 is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 153 days remain until the end of the year.

Every day is packed with history, and July 31st is no exception! From ancient battles to space missions and famous birthdays, this day has seen many important moments. Let's explore some of the exciting things that have happened on July 31st throughout history.

Events

Ancient Times and Middle Ages (Before 1600)

• 30 BC – In the Battle of Alexandria, Mark Antony won a small fight against Octavian's army. However, most of his soldiers then left him.
• 781 – The earliest known eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan was recorded.
• 1009 – Pope Sergius IV became the 142nd pope.
• 1492 – All remaining Jewish people were asked to leave Spain because of the Alhambra Decree.
• 1498 – On his third trip to the Americas, Christopher Columbus was the first European to find the island of Trinidad.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1618 – Maurice, Prince of Orange ended a local army in Utrecht, which was a big moment in the religious tensions of the time.
• 1655 – During the Russo-Polish War, the Russian army took over Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and held it for six years.
• 1658 – Aurangzeb was declared the Mughal emperor of India.
• 1703 – Writer Daniel Defoe was put in a pillory (a device for public punishment) for writing something that criticized the government. But instead of being hit with rotten food, people threw flowers at him!
• 1715 – A Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left Havana, Cuba for Spain. Seven days later, 11 of them sank in a storm off the coast of Florida. Hundreds of years later, some of this treasure was found.
• 1763 – Odawa Chief Pontiac's forces defeated British troops in the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac's War.
• 1777 – The U.S. Second Continental Congress made Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette a major-general in the United States army because of his strong support and important family.
• 1790 – The first U.S. patent (a special right given to an inventor) was given to Samuel Hopkins for a way to make potash.
• 1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand, was officially made a city.
• 1865 – The world's first narrow-gauge main railway line opened in Grandchester, Queensland, Australia.
• 1874 – Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American president of a mostly white university, Georgetown University.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• 1904 – In the Russo-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army defeated the Imperial Russian Army in the Battle of Hsimucheng.
• 1917 – During World War I, the terrible Battle of Passchendaele began near Ypres in Belgium.
• 1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) won more than 38% of the votes in German elections.
• 1938 – Archaeologists found engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
• 1941 – During World War II, the Battle of Smolensk ended with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army soldiers.
• 1945 – Pierre Laval, who used to lead Vichy France, gave himself up to Allied soldiers in Austria.
• 1948 – New York International Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) was officially opened.
• 1948 – The USS Nevada battleship was sunk by a torpedo. It had already survived hits from two powerful bombs in tests and target practice from other ships.
• 1964 – The Ranger 7 spacecraft sent back the first close-up photos of the moon. These images were 1,000 times clearer than anything seen from Earth before.
• 1970 – Black Tot Day: This was the last day the Royal Navy officially gave out rum rations to its sailors.
• 1971 – Apollo program: The Apollo 15 astronauts were the first to drive a lunar rover on the Moon.
• 1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723, crashed while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, killing 89 people.
• 1987 – A tornado hit Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, killing 27 people.
• 1991 – The United States and the Soviet Union signed the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. This was the first agreement to reduce both countries' nuclear weapons with checks to make sure it happened.
• 1992 – The country of Georgia joined the United Nations.
• 1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashed into a mountain near Kathmandu, Nepal, killing all 113 people on board.
• 1992 – China General Aviation Flight 7552 crashed during takeoff from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, killing 108 people.
• 1999 – Discovery Program: NASA intentionally crashed the Lunar Prospector spacecraft into the Moon. This ended its mission to find frozen water on the Moon's surface.
• 2006 – Fidel Castro gave power to his brother, Raúl, in Cuba.
• 2007 – Operation Banner, the British Army's longest-running operation ever, ended in Northern Ireland.
• 2012 – Michael Phelps broke the record set by Larisa Latynina in 1964 for the most medals won at the Olympics.
• 2014 – Gas explosions in the city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, killed at least 20 people and injured more than 270.

Births

Famous People Born Before 1900

• 1396 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, an important ruler in Europe.
• 1527 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, a powerful emperor.
• 1598 – Alessandro Algardi, a famous Italian sculptor.
• 1704 – Gabriel Cramer, a Swiss mathematician and physicist.
• 1784 – Denis Diderot, a French philosopher and writer who helped create the first encyclopedia.
• 1800 – Friedrich Wöhler, a German chemist.
• 1803 – John Ericsson, a Swedish-American engineer who helped design important ships and locomotives.
• 1816 – George Henry Thomas, an American general.
• 1835 – Paul Du Chaillu, a French-American explorer and anthropologist.
• 1854 – José Canalejas, a Spanish politician who became Prime Minister of Spain.
• 1858 – Richard Dixon Oldham, an English scientist who studied earthquakes.
• 1867 – S. S. Kresge, an American businessman who started Kmart stores.
• 1875 – Jacques Villon, a French painter.
• 1880 – Premchand, a famous Indian author.
• 1886 – Fred Quimby, an American animation producer known for Tom and Jerry.
• 1892 – Herbert W. Armstrong, an American religious leader.

Famous People Born After 1900

• 1901 – Jean Dubuffet, a French painter and sculptor.
• 1912 – Milton Friedman, an American economist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1914 – Louis de Funès, a popular French actor.
• 1918 – Paul D. Boyer, an American biochemist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1919 – Primo Levi, an Italian chemist and author.
• 1921 – Peter Benenson, an English lawyer who founded Amnesty International, a human rights organization.
• 1923 – Stephanie Kwolek, an American chemist who invented Kevlar, a very strong material.
• 1929 – J. K. Rowling, the English author who wrote the Harry Potter books.
• 1931 – Nick Bollettieri, a famous American tennis coach.
• 1932 – Ted Cassidy, an American actor known for playing Lurch in The Addams Family.
• 1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, an American actress.
• 1944 – Robert C. Merton, an American economist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1947 – Richard Griffiths, an English actor known for playing Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films.
• 1951 – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, a famous Australian tennis player.
• 1956 – Michael Biehn, an American actor.
• 1958 – Mark Cuban, an American businessman and TV personality.
• 1959 – Stanley Jordan, an American jazz guitarist.
• 1959 – Andrew Marr, a Scottish journalist and author.
• 1962 – Wesley Snipes, an American actor and producer.
• 1963 – Norman Cook, a famous English DJ and musician.
• 1964 – Jim Corr, an Irish singer and guitarist from the band The Corrs.
• 1965 – J. K. Rowling, the English author who wrote the Harry Potter books.
• 1966 – Dean Cain, an American actor known for playing Superman.
• 1969 – Antonio Conte, an Italian footballer and manager.
• 1974 – Emilia Fox, an English actress.
• 1978 – Will Champion, the English drummer for the band Coldplay.
• 1979 – B. J. Novak, an American actor, writer, and producer known for The Office.
• 1986 – Evgeni Malkin, a Russian ice hockey player.
• 1987 – Michael Bradley, an American soccer player.
• 1989 – Victoria Azarenka, a Belarusian tennis player.
• 1995 – Lil Uzi Vert, an American hip hop artist.
• 1998 – Rico Rodriguez, an American actor known for Modern Family.
• 2003 – Calvin Ramsay, a Scottish footballer.

Deaths

Notable People Who Died Before 1900

• 54 BC – Aurelia Cotta, the mother of the famous Roman leader Julius Caesar.
• 1396 – William Courtenay, an English archbishop and politician.
• 1556 – Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish priest who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
• 1653 – Thomas Dudley, an English soldier and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• 1750 – John V, the king of Portugal.
• 1784 – Denis Diderot, a French philosopher and writer.
• 1875 – Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States.
• 1886 – Franz Liszt, a famous Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor.

Notable People Who Died After 1900

• 1914 – Jean Jaurès, a French journalist and politician.
• 1940 – Udham Singh, an Indian activist.
• 1944 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French pilot and writer, famous for The Little Prince.
• 1964 – Jim Reeves, an American country singer.
• 1966 – Bud Powell, an American jazz pianist.
• 1972 – Paul-Henri Spaak, a Belgian politician who was the first President of the United Nations General Assembly.
• 1980 – Mohammed Rafi, a very famous Indian singer.
• 1981 – Omar Torrijos, the military leader of Panama.
• 1986 – Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved many Jewish refugees during World War II.
• 1993 – Baudouin, the King of Belgium.
• 2009 – Bobby Robson, a famous English footballer and manager.
• 2012 – Gore Vidal, an American novelist and writer.
• 2015 – Roddy Piper, a famous Canadian wrestler and actor.
• 2016 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, a Japanese sumo wrestler.
• 2017 – Jeanne Moreau, a French actress.
• 2019 – Harold Prince, a Broadway producer and director who won many Tony Awards.
• 2020 – Alan Parker, an English filmmaker.
• 2022 – Fidel V. Ramos, the 12th President of the Philippines.
• 2022 – Bill Russell, a legendary NBA Hall of Fame player and coach.
• 2023 – Angus Cloud, an American actor.

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Abanoub
  • Germanus of Auxerre
  • Ignatius of Loyola
  • Neot
  • July 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day for the Feast of Kamál (Perfection) in the Baháʼí Faith.
• End of the Trinity term (a period when the High Court of Justice of England is in session).
• Lā Hae Hawaiʻi Day (Hawaii, United States), also known as Sovereignty Restoration Day for the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.
• Martyrdom Day of Shahid Udham Singh (Haryana and Punjab, India).
• Treasury Day (Poland).
• Warriors' Day (Malaysia).

See also

In Spanish: 31 de julio para niños