History of 31 August
1990 – U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar met with the Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz to try and negotiate a solution to the crisis in the Persian Gulf.
1990 – East and West Germany signed a treaty that meant the harmonizing of political and legal systems.
1991 – Uzbekistan and Kirghiziz declared their independence from the Soviet Union. They were the 9th and 10th republics to announce their plans to secede.
1991 – In a “Solidarity Day” protest hundreds of thousands of union members marched in Washington, DC.
1993 – Russia withdrew its last soldiers from Lithuania.
1994 – A cease-fire was declared by the Irish Republican Army after 25 years of bloodshed in Northern Ireland.
1994 – Russia officially ended its military presence in former East Germany and the Baltics after a half-century.
1998 – A ballistic missile was fired over Japan by North Korea. The missile landed in stages in the waters around Japan. There was no known target.
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.
2005 – The 2005 Al-Aaimmah bridge stampede in Baghdad kills 953 people.
2006 – Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.
2016 – Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Ahmad Al Harthy, Omani race car driver
- 1981 – Dwayne Peel, Welsh rugby player
- 1981 – Steve Saviano, American ice hockey player
- 1982 – Ian Crocker, American swimmer
- 1982 – Chris Duhon, American basketball player
- 1982 – Lien Huyghebaert, Belgian sprinter
- 1982 – Christopher Katongo, Zambian footballer
- 1982 – Josh Kroeger, American baseball player
- 1982 – Alexei Mikhnov, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Pepe Reina, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Michele Rugolo, Italian race car driver
- 1982 – G. Willow Wilson, American journalist, and author
- 1983 – Deniz Aydoğdu, German-Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Milan Bisevac, Serbian footballer
- 1983 – Larry Fitzgerald, American football player
- 1984 – Matti Breschel, Danish cyclist
- 1984 – Ryan Kesler, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Ted Ligety, American skier
- 1984 – Charl Schwartzel, South African golfer
- 1985 – Rolando, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 – Andrew Foster, Australian footballer
- 1985 – Mabel Matiz, Turkish singer
- 1987 – Xavi Annunziata, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Petros Kravaritis, Greek footballer
- 1987 – Ondrej Pavelec, Czech ice hockey player
- 1988 – Trent Hodkinson, Australian rugby league player
- 1988 – David Ospina, Colombian footballer
- 1988 – Ember Moon, Professional Wrestler
- 1989 – Dezmon Briscoe, American football player
- 1990 – Tadeja Majestic, a Slovenian tennis player
- 1991 – António Felix da Costa, Portuguese race car driver
- 1991 – Cedric Soares, Portuguese footballer
- 1992 – Holly Earl, British actress
- 1992 – Tyler Randell, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Pablo Marí, Spanish football player
- 1993 – Ilnur Alshin, Russian football player
- 1993 – Anna Karnaukh, Russian water polo player
- 1994 – Alex Harris, Scottish footballer
- 1994 – Can Aktav, Turkish football player