Agreement signature of Gdansk, Poland In August, 1980-

1980

Polish government signs accord with Gdansk shipyard workers

Born on This Day

Fredric March

Fredric March

1897 - 1975

Versatile actor known for roles in "The Best Years of Our Lives," "A Star is Born" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Chris Tucker

Chris Tucker

1971 -

Stand-up comedian and actor best known for his roles in the "Rush Hour" series alongside co-star Jackie Chan.

Portrait

Van Morrison

1945 -

Northern Irish singer-songwriiter whose hits "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Into the Mystic" blended blues, jazz and Celtic music.

1798

AUG

31

America's first bank robbery takes place at the Bank of Philadelphia, an inside job that netted the enormous sum of $162,821. In a bonehead move, the culprit began depositing the missing money in the very bank he had robbed.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on August 31st

1886

Earthquake shakes Charleston, South Carolina

An earthquake near Charleston, South Carolina, on August 31, 1886 leaves more than 100 people dead and hundreds of buildings destroyed. This was the largest recorded earthquake in the history of the southeastern United States. The earthquake was preceded by foreshocks felt in Summerville, South Carolina, on August 27 and 28 but, still, no one […]

1888

Jack the Ripper’s first victim murdered

Prostitute Mary Ann Nichols, the first known victim of London serial killer “Jack the Ripper,” is found murdered and mutilated in the city’s Whitechapel district. London saw four more victims of the murderer during the next few months, but no suspect was ever found. In Victorian England, London’s East End was a teeming slum occupied […]

1897

Thomas Edison patents the Kinetograph

Thomas Edison receives a patent for his movie camera, the Kinetograph. Edison had developed the camera and its viewer in the early 1890s and staged several demonstrations. The camera was based on photographic principles discovered by still-photograph pioneers Joseph Nicephone Niepce and Louis Daguerre of France. In 1877, inventor Edward Muybridge developed a primitive form […]

1916

American soldier Harry Butters killed in the Battle of the Somme

On August 31, 1916, Harry Butters, an American soldier serving in the British army during World War I, is killed by a German shell during the Battle of the Somme, while fighting to secure the town of Guillemont, France. The son of a prominent San Francisco industrialist, Butters was raised partially in England and schooled […]

1928

Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera” premieres in Berlin

Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) receives its world premiere in Berlin on August 31, 1928. “I think I’ve written a good piece and that several numbers in it, at least musically, have the best prospects for becoming popular very quickly.” This was the assessment offered by the German composer Kurt Weill in a letter to […]

1935

FDR signs Neutrality Act

On August 31, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act, or Senate Joint Resolution No. 173, which he calls an “expression of the desire…to avoid any action which might involve [the U.S.] in war.” The signing came at a time when newly installed fascist governments in Europe were beginning to beat the drums […]

1955

General Motors demonstrates first solar-powered car

On August 31, 1955, William G. Cobb of the General Motors Corp. (GM) demonstrates his “Sunmobile,” the world’s first solar-powered automobile, at the General Motors Powerama auto show held in Chicago, Illinois. The vehicle was 15 inches long. Cobb’s Sunmobile introduced, however briefly, the field of photovoltaics—the process by which the sun’s rays are converted […]

1985

Los Angeles mob attacks “Night Stalker” serial killer

Richard Ramirez, the notorious “Night Stalker,” is captured and nearly killed by a mob in East Los Angeles, California, after being recognized from a photograph shown both on television and in newspapers. Recently identified as the serial killer, Ramirez was pulled from the enraged mob by police officers. During the summer of 1985, the city […]

1997

Princess Diana dies in a car crash

Diana, Princess of Wales—affectionately known as "the People’s Princess"—dies in a car crash in Paris. She was 36. Her boyfriend, the Egyptian-born socialite Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the car, Henri Paul, died as well.

This Day In History: Princess Diana dies in a car crash

2015

Angela Merkel says “Wir schaffen das” on accepting refugees

Igniting a heated debate within her nation and across the globe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declares “Wir schaffen das” (“We can do this”) on August 31, 2015, as she commits to accepting a mass influx of refugees amid Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Merkel’s controversial stance involved providing humanitarian support to approximately […]

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