Summary of the Day ✨ 31 July (31/07)
Gas explosions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan killed at least 20 and injured over 270, while Michael Phelps broke Larisa Latynina’s 1964 Olympic medal record. Elsewhere, East Coast Jets Flight 81 crashed in Minnesota killing all eight aboard, Fidel Castro transferred power to Raúl, and Britain’s longest-running military operation in Northern Ireland concluded.
Historical Events 📜
- 2014: Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.
- 2012: Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
- 2008: East Coast Jets Flight 81 crashes near Owatonna Degner Regional Airport in Owatonna, Minnesota, killing all eight people on board.
- 2007: Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
- 2006: Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl.
- 1999: Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon’s surface.
- 1997: FedEx Express Flight 14 crashes at Newark International Airport, injuring five.
- 1992: The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations.
- 1992: Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.
- 1992: China General Aviation Flight 7552 crashes during takeoff from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, killing 108.
- 1992: Space Shuttle program: Atlantis is launched on STS-46 to deploy the European Retrievable Carrier and the Tethered Satellite System.
- 1991: The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries’ stockpiles.
- 1988: Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.
- 1987: A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people.
- 1975: The Troubles: Three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland.
Famous Births 👶
- 2003: Calvin Ramsay, Scottish footballer
- 2002: João Gomes, Brazilian singer
- 2002: Will Penisini, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
- 2000: Kim Sae-ron, South Korean actress (died 2025)
- 1998: Rico Rodriguez, American actor
- 1997: Bobbi Althoff, American podcaster and influencer
- 1995: Lil Uzi Vert, American hip hop artist
- 1993: Linus Ullmark, Swedish professional hockey player
- 1992: José Fernández, Cuban-American baseball player (died 2016)
- 1992: Ryan Johansen, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992: Kyle Larson, American race car driver
- 1991: Réka Luca Jani, Hungarian tennis player
- 1989: Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player
- 1988: Alex Glenn, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1988: A. J. Green, American football player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Paul Bucha, United States Army Medal of Honor recipient (born 1943)
- 2024: Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian politician, political leader of Hamas (born 1962/1963)
- 2023: Angus Cloud, American actor (born 1998)
- 2022: Fidel V. Ramos, 12th President of the Philippines (born 1928)
- 2022: Bill Russell, NBA Hall of Fame player and coach (born 1934)
- 2020: Alan Parker, English filmmaker (born 1944)
- 2019: Harold Prince, Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (born 1928)
- 2018: Tony Bullimore, British sailor & businessman (born 1939)
- 2017: Jeanne Moreau, French actress (born 1928)
- 2016: Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (born 1955)
- 2016: Seymour Papert, South African mathematician (born 1928)
- 2015: Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (born 1940)
- 2015: Howard W. Jones, American surgeon and academic (born 1910)
- 2015: Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1927)
- 2015: Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor (born 1954)
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) - Martyrdom Day of Shahid Udham Singh (Haryana and Punjab, India)
- Treasury Day (Poland)
- Warriors’ Day (Malaysia)