August 31
August 31 is the 244th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 122 days remain until the year's end. It falls in summer (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Virgo.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On August 31 the Sun's declination is approximately +7.7°. At this latitude the Sun is north of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere longer days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a August 31.
Position in the year
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
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2025 — A landslide in the Darfur region of Sudan kills over 1000 people. 26 ↗(1 years ago)more
On 31 August 2025, a landslide destroyed the village of Tarasin in the Marrah Mountains in Central Darfur, western Sudan, killing between 375 and 1,500 people.
- 2025 — An earthquake in eastern Afghanistan kills over 1400 people. 25 ↗(1 years ago)
more
On 31 August 2025, at 23:47 AFT, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw ) struck eastern Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan. The epicenter of the quake was located in Nurgal District, Kunar Province.
2024 — A helicopter crashes in Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, killing all 22 occupants. ↗(2 years ago)more
On 31 August 2024, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter operating a scheduled charter flight crashed in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, killing all 22 people on board. The aircraft, which was operated by Vityaz-Aero on a sightseeing tour over the Vachkazhets volcano, crashed in poor weather shortly after take-off.
2016 — Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office. ↗(10 years ago)more
Dilma Vana Rousseff known mononymously as Dilma, is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the Brazilian presidency to date. Since March 2023, she has been the chair of the New Development Bank.
2006 — Edvard Munch's famous painting, The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police. ↗(20 years ago)more
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work The Scream has become one of the most iconic and acclaimed images in all of Western art.
2005 — The 2005 Al-Aaimmah bridge stampede in Baghdad kills 953 people. ↗(21 years ago)more
The Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster occurred on August 31, 2005 when 965 people died following a panic, and subsequent crowd crush, on the Al-Aaimmah Bridge, which crosses the Tigris river in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
2002 — Typhoon Rusa, the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, made landfall, killing at least 236 people. ↗(24 years ago)more
Typhoon Rusa was a deadly and destructive typhoon that severely affected South Korea in 2002. The twenty-first tropical depression, the fifteenth named storm, and the tenth typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season, Rusa developed on August 22 from a monsoon trough in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, to the southeast of Japan.
1999 — The first of a series of bombings in Moscow kills one person and wounds 40 others. ↗(27 years ago)more
In September 1999, a series of explosions hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk, killing more than 300, injuring more than 1,000, and spreading a wave of fear across the country. The bombings, together with the 1999 war of Dagestan, triggered the Second Chechen War.
1999 — A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including two on the ground. ↗(27 years ago)more
Líneas Aéreas Privadas Argentinas, more commonly known by the acronym LAPA, was an airline based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At its heyday, the carrier operated international services to the United States and Uruguay, as well as an extensive domestic network within Argentina. Additionally, the company also operated charter services.
1997 — Diana, Princess of Wales, her partner, Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris. ↗(29 years ago)more
Diana, Princess of Wales was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her enduring popularity.
1996 — Saddam Hussein's troops seized Irbil after the Kurdish Masoud Barzani appealed for help to defeat his Kurdish rival PUK. ↗(30 years ago)more
Saddam Hussein was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until his overthrow in 2003 during the United States-led invasion of Iraq. He previously served as the vice president from 1968 to 1979 and also as the prime minister from 1979 to 1991 and later from 1994 to 2003.
1994 — Russia completes removing its troops from Estonia. ↗(32 years ago)more
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Russia.
Notable births
2004 — Jang Won-young, South Korean singer and model ↗(22 years ago)more
Jang Won-young, also known mononymously as Wonyoung, is a South Korean singer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Ive under Starship Entertainment and former member of project girl group Iz*One, having finished first in Mnet's girl group survival reality television show Produce 48 in 2018.
2001 — Amanda Anisimova, American tennis player ↗(25 years ago)more
Amanda Kay Victoria Anisimova is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 3, achieved in January 2026. Anisimova is a two-time major finalist, at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships and at the 2025 US Open. She has won four WTA Tour titles, including two WTA 1000 events.
2000 — Sauce Gardner, American football player ↗(26 years ago)more
Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner is an American professional football cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was selected fourth overall by the New York Jets in the 2022 NFL draft.
1998 — BossMan Dlow, American rapper ↗(28 years ago)more
Devante Milan McCreary, known professionally as BossMan Dlow, is an American rapper. He started rapping while serving time in county jail in 2019 and soon became popular in the Florida rap scene. After releasing the mixtape Too Slippery and its Alamo Records re-release 2 Slippery in 2023, his 2024 breakout single "Get in with Me" became popular on TikTok ...
- 1997 — Jaylen Barron, American actress ↗(29 years ago)
more
Jaylen Barron is an American actress, known for her roles as Dominique Winslow in the Showtime series Shameless and Zoe Phillips in the Netflix drama series Free Rein. In 2021, she began starring in the Starz series Blindspotting.
1996 — Jalen Brunson, American basketball player ↗(30 years ago)more
Jalen Marquis Brunson is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The son of former NBA guard Rick Brunson, he was drafted with the 33rd overall selection of the 2018 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played his first four seasons in the NBA with them.
Notable deaths
2024 — Sol Bamba, Ivorian-French footballer (born 1985) ↗(2 years ago)more
Souleymane "Sol" Bamba was a professional football player and manager. As a player, he was a centre-back. Born in France, he played for the Ivory Coast national team.
2021 — Mahal, Filipino comedian and actress (born 1974) ↗(5 years ago)more
Noemi Tesorero, known professionally as Mahal, was a Filipino actress, comedian, and vlogger. Noted for her childlike roles, she had dwarfism and was said to have a very giggly personality.
2021 — Francesco Morini, Italian footballer (born 1944) ↗(5 years ago)more
Francesco Morini was an Italian professional footballer who played as a defender. He competed for the Italy national team in the 1974 FIFA World Cup and earned a total of 11 caps. He played for clubs such as Sampdoria and, most notably, Juventus, with which he achieved great success.
2021 — Michael Constantine, Greek-American actor (born 1927) ↗(5 years ago)more
Michael Constantine was a Greek-American actor. He is most widely recognized for his portrayal of Kostas "Gus" Portokalos, the stubborn Greek father of Toula Portokalos, in the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002). For his performance, Constantine won a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Musical or Comedy.
2021 — Geronimo, British alpaca (born 2013) ↗(5 years ago)more
Geronimo was a stud alpaca that resided at Shepherds Close Farm in Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, England. After Geronimo tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB), a highly publicised controversy erupted surrounding his fate and the British government's policy of euthanising any animal that tested positive for bTB.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (244) | 2^2 × 61 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (122) | 2 × 61 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 31082026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | +7.72° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 72 days |