Summary of the Day ✨ 31 August (31/08)
Tragedy struck multiple regions as a landslide in Sudan and an earthquake in Afghanistan claimed over 2,400 lives combined, while a helicopter crash in Russia killed all 22 aboard. In political and cultural news, Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office, and Edvard Munch’s iconic painting ‘The Scream’ was recovered by Norwegian police after being stolen years earlier.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: A landslide in the Darfur region of Sudan kills over 1000 people. 26
- 2025: An earthquake in eastern Afghanistan kills over 1400 people. 25
- 2024: A helicopter crashes in Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, killing all 22 occupants.
- 2016: Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office.
- 2006: Edvard Munch’s famous painting, The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.
- 2005: The 2005 Al-Aaimmah bridge stampede in Baghdad kills 953 people.
- 2002: Typhoon Rusa, the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, made landfall, killing at least 236 people.
- 1999: The first of a series of bombings in Moscow kills one person and wounds 40 others.
- 1999: A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including two on the ground.
- 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales, her partner, Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.
- 1996: Saddam Hussein’s troops seized Irbil after the Kurdish Masoud Barzani appealed for help to defeat his Kurdish rival PUK.
- 1994: Russia completes removing its troops from Estonia.
- 1993: Russia completes removing its troops from Lithuania.
- 1991: Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1988: Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 crashes during takeoff from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, killing 14.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Jang Won-young, South Korean singer and model
- 2001: Amanda Anisimova, American tennis player
- 2000: Sauce Gardner, American football player
- 1998: BossMan Dlow, American rapper
- 1997: Jaylen Barron, American actress
- 1996: Jalen Brunson, American basketball player
- 1995: Brittany Mahomes, American soccer player
- 1994: Alex Harris, Scottish footballer
- 1994: Can Aktav, Turkish football player
- 1993: Pablo Marí, Spanish football player
- 1993: Ilnur Alshin, Russian football player
- 1993: Anna Karnaukh, Russian water polo player
- 1992: Holly Earl, British actress
- 1992: Tyler Randell, Australian rugby league player
- 1992: Ragna Sigurðardóttir, Icelandic politician
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Sol Bamba, Ivorian-French footballer (born 1985)
- 2021: Mahal, Filipino comedian and actress (born 1974)
- 2021: Francesco Morini, Italian footballer (born 1944)
- 2021: Michael Constantine, Greek-American actor (born 1927)
- 2021: Geronimo, British alpaca (born 2013)
- 2020: Pranab Mukherjee, Former President of India (born 1935)
- 2020: Tom Seaver, American baseball player (born 1944)
- 2019: Anthoine Hubert, French race car driver (born 1996)
- 2019: Alec Holowka, Canadian game developer (born 1983)
- 2018: Carole Shelley, British-American actress (born 1939)
- 2015: Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, English politician, founded the National Motor Museum (born 1926)
- 2015: Tom Scott, American football player (born 1930)
- 2014: Bapu, Indian director and screenwriter (born 1933)
- 2014: Ștefan Andrei, Romanian politician, 87th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1931)
- 2014: Stan Goldberg, American illustrator (born 1932)
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 - Christian feast day:
Raymond Nonnatus - Christian feast day:
Wala of Corbie - Christian feast day:
Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria - Christian feast day:
August 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
- Departure Day, celebrates the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union in 1991.