Today In History. What Happened This Day In History
A Timeline Of Events That Occurred On This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
Today in History
August 31
| 1303 | The War of Vespers in Sicily ends with an agreement between Charles of Valois, who invaded the country, and Frederick, the ruler of Sicily. | |
| 1521 | Cortes captures the city of Tenochtitlan, Mexico, and sets it on fire. | |
| 1756 | The British at Fort William Henry, New York, surrender to Louis Montcalm of France. | |
| 1802 | Captain Merriwether Lewis leaves Pittsburgh to meet up with Captain William Clark and begin their trek to the Pacific Ocean. | |
| 1864 | At the Democratic convention in Chicago, General George B. McClellan is nominated for president. | |
| 1919 | The Communist Labor Party is founded in Chicago, with the motto, "Workers of the world unite!" | |
| 1928 | Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera opens in Berlin. | |
| 1940 | Joseph Avenol steps down as Secretary-General of the League of Nations. | |
| 1942 | The British army under General Bernard Law Montgomery defeats Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps in the Battle of Alam Halfa in Egypt. | |
| 1944 | The British Eighth Army penetrates the German Gothic Line in Italy. | |
| 1949 | Six of the 16 surviving Union veterans of the Civil War attend the last-ever encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. | |
| 1951 | The 1st Marine Division begins its attack on Bloody Ridge in Korea. The four-day battle results in 2,700 Marine casualties. | |
| 1961 | A concrete wall replaces the barbed wire fence that separates East and West Germany, it will be called the Berlin wall. | |
| 1994 | The Irish Republican Army (IRA) announces a "complete cessation of military operations," opening the way to a political settlement in Ireland for the first time in a quarter of a century. | |
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Born on August 31 |
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| 1811 | Théophile Gautier, French poet, novelist and author of Art for Art's Sake. | |
| 1870 | Maria Montessori, educator and founder of the Montessori schools. | |
| 1885 | Duboise Heyward, novelist, poet and dramatist best know for Porgy which was the basis for the opera Porgy and Bess. | |
| 1899 | Lynn Riggs, writer, her book Green Grow the Lilacs was adapted by Rodgers and Hammerstein to become Oklahoma. | |
| 1903 | Arthur Godfrey, radio and television personality. | |
| 1905 | Sanford Meisner, influential acting teacher. | |
| 1907 | Wiliam Shawn, longtime editor of The New Yorker. | |
| 1908 | Wiliam Saroyan, author and playwright (The Human Comedy). | |
| 1918 | Alan Jay Lerner, playwright and lyricist (Brigadoon, Camelot). | |
| 1918 | Daniel Schorr, journalist. | |
| 1935 | Eldridge Cleaver, political activist and author of Soul on Fire. | |
| 1936 | Marva Collins, innovative educator who started Chicago's one-room school, Westside Preparatory. | |
| 1945 | Van Morrison, Irish singer, songwriter. | |
| 1945 | Itzhak Perlman, violinist. | |
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