1498 Christopher Columbus became the first European to visit the island of Trinidad on July 31, 1498. Trinidad remained a Spanish colony until Spanish governor Don José María Chacón surrendered the island to a British fleet in 1797.
1547 In June 1547, 21 French galleys besieged St Andrew's Castle in Scotland and forced the surrender of the garrison on July 31, 1547. John Knox was among the Protestant nobles who was captured. He spent a year and a half as a galley slave on a French ship, before being released. After being freed Knox took refuge in England where the Protestant Edward VI was on the throne and he was licensed to work in the Church of England.
1556 St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, died in Rome on July 31, 1556, as a result of the Roman Fever, a severe stream of malaria. At the time of his death there were 110 Jesuit houses and 1,000 missionaries working on four continents. Ignatius was beatified and then canonized and received the title of Saint on March 12, 1622. He is the patron saint of the provinces of Gipuzkoa and Biscay as well as Catholic soldiers.
1703 In 1702 Daniel Defoe anonymously published a tract The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, which satirized religious intolerance by pretending to share the prejudices of the Anglican Church against Nonconformists. Defoe was discovered to be the author and sentenced to public humiliation in a pillory plus an indeterminate length of imprisonment which would end upon the discharge of a punitive fine. When Defoe was placed in the pillory on July 31, 1703, he was pelted with flowers.
1790 The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790 for an improvement "in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process". The patent was signed by then President George Washington.
1802 "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" is a Petrarchan sonnet by William Wordsworth describing London and the River Thames, viewed from Westminster Bridge in the early morning. Actually when it was included in his Poems, in Two Volumes collection published in 1807, Wordsworth gave the year as 1803, but this was later corrected to 1802. Research has shown that he didn't compose it on September 3 anyway but on July 31.
1803 Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson was born on July 31, 1803. He came to New York in 1839 with a commission to build a ship for the U.S. Navy. His propulsion system was adopted by commercial steamers and by the USS Princeton (1844), the world's first screw-propelled war vessel.
1854 The original "Uncle Sam," US meat packing baron Samuel Wilson, died on July 31, 1854.
During the War of 1812, Samuel Wilson, a meat-packer from Troy, New York was shipping meat to the government. He stamped it "U.S. Beef" and soldiers fighting in the war with Great Britain begun to call this beef Uncle Sam's beef. This begun the association between the "U.S." stamp and the name, 'Uncle Sam.'
1865 Hungarian composer Franz Liszt had contemplated becoming a monk for a long time and he eventually joined the Third Order of St. Francis in 1857. After the loss of his son and daughter, Liszt announced that he would retreat to a solitary living and in 1863 he took up quarters in a small, spartan apartment 1864 in a monastery just outside Rome. Liszt was ordained as a Franciscan priest on July 31, 1865 and after his ordination, he was often called Abbé Liszt.
1865 The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opened on July 31, 1865 at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia. The 31 km (19 mi) section ran from Ipswich (about 38 km or 24 mi from Brisbane) to Grandchester (originally Bigge’s Camp). Queensland Railways (QR) was the first operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge (in this case 3 ft 6 in or 1,067 mm) for a main line, and this remains the system wide gauge within Queensland today.
1875 Former US president, Andrew Johnson died of a stroke on July 31, 1875 at the age of 66. He was buried with his body wrapped in an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head, according to his wishes in Greeneville, Tennessee. The burial ground was dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906, and with his home and tailor's shop, is part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.
1923 American chemist Stephanie Kwolek was born on July 31, 1923. Kwolek's career at the chemical company DuPont spanned over forty years. She is best known for inventing the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness, Kevlar, which is used in bullet-proof vests. The Kevlar Survivors Club, founded by police officers whose lives were saved by Kevlar body armor, has more than 3,000 members.
1928 Leo the MGM Lion first roared for the debut of the movie White Shadows of the South Seas on July 31, 1928. It was MGM’s first talking picture. The lions used for MGM's logo over the years were named Slats, Jackie, Tanner, George, and Leo.
1941 Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to submit concrete proposals for "Endlösung der Judenfrage" ("the final solution of the Jewish question") on July 31, 1941. In a letter to the German diplomat Martin Luther, Heydrich followed up Goring's order by asking Luther for administrative assistance in the implementation of the "Endlösung der Judenfrage". Six million Jews died in Hitler's gas ovens during the Holocaust.
1965 Harry Potter author Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born July 31, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, near Bristol, England. The original concept for Harry Potter came to Rowling in 1990 on a Manchester to London train that was delayed for four hours. She was staring out of the train's window of the train when the idea, plot and characters came to her.
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| Mayaro Beach, in the southeastern area of Trinidad By Kalamazadkhan |
1547 In June 1547, 21 French galleys besieged St Andrew's Castle in Scotland and forced the surrender of the garrison on July 31, 1547. John Knox was among the Protestant nobles who was captured. He spent a year and a half as a galley slave on a French ship, before being released. After being freed Knox took refuge in England where the Protestant Edward VI was on the throne and he was licensed to work in the Church of England.
1556 St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, died in Rome on July 31, 1556, as a result of the Roman Fever, a severe stream of malaria. At the time of his death there were 110 Jesuit houses and 1,000 missionaries working on four continents. Ignatius was beatified and then canonized and received the title of Saint on March 12, 1622. He is the patron saint of the provinces of Gipuzkoa and Biscay as well as Catholic soldiers.
1703 In 1702 Daniel Defoe anonymously published a tract The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, which satirized religious intolerance by pretending to share the prejudices of the Anglican Church against Nonconformists. Defoe was discovered to be the author and sentenced to public humiliation in a pillory plus an indeterminate length of imprisonment which would end upon the discharge of a punitive fine. When Defoe was placed in the pillory on July 31, 1703, he was pelted with flowers.
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| Daniel Defoe in the pillory, 1862 |
1790 The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790 for an improvement "in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process". The patent was signed by then President George Washington.
1802 "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" is a Petrarchan sonnet by William Wordsworth describing London and the River Thames, viewed from Westminster Bridge in the early morning. Actually when it was included in his Poems, in Two Volumes collection published in 1807, Wordsworth gave the year as 1803, but this was later corrected to 1802. Research has shown that he didn't compose it on September 3 anyway but on July 31.
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| Westminster Bridge as it appeared in 1808 |
1854 The original "Uncle Sam," US meat packing baron Samuel Wilson, died on July 31, 1854.
During the War of 1812, Samuel Wilson, a meat-packer from Troy, New York was shipping meat to the government. He stamped it "U.S. Beef" and soldiers fighting in the war with Great Britain begun to call this beef Uncle Sam's beef. This begun the association between the "U.S." stamp and the name, 'Uncle Sam.'
 |
| Uncle Sam Memorial Statue, Arlington, Massachusetts By Daderot at en.wikipedia, |
1865 Hungarian composer Franz Liszt had contemplated becoming a monk for a long time and he eventually joined the Third Order of St. Francis in 1857. After the loss of his son and daughter, Liszt announced that he would retreat to a solitary living and in 1863 he took up quarters in a small, spartan apartment 1864 in a monastery just outside Rome. Liszt was ordained as a Franciscan priest on July 31, 1865 and after his ordination, he was often called Abbé Liszt.
1865 The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opened on July 31, 1865 at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia. The 31 km (19 mi) section ran from Ipswich (about 38 km or 24 mi from Brisbane) to Grandchester (originally Bigge’s Camp). Queensland Railways (QR) was the first operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge (in this case 3 ft 6 in or 1,067 mm) for a main line, and this remains the system wide gauge within Queensland today.
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| Ipswich station ~1895 |
1875 Former US president, Andrew Johnson died of a stroke on July 31, 1875 at the age of 66. He was buried with his body wrapped in an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head, according to his wishes in Greeneville, Tennessee. The burial ground was dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906, and with his home and tailor's shop, is part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.
1923 American chemist Stephanie Kwolek was born on July 31, 1923. Kwolek's career at the chemical company DuPont spanned over forty years. She is best known for inventing the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness, Kevlar, which is used in bullet-proof vests. The Kevlar Survivors Club, founded by police officers whose lives were saved by Kevlar body armor, has more than 3,000 members.
1928 Leo the MGM Lion first roared for the debut of the movie White Shadows of the South Seas on July 31, 1928. It was MGM’s first talking picture. The lions used for MGM's logo over the years were named Slats, Jackie, Tanner, George, and Leo.
1941 Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to submit concrete proposals for "Endlösung der Judenfrage" ("the final solution of the Jewish question") on July 31, 1941. In a letter to the German diplomat Martin Luther, Heydrich followed up Goring's order by asking Luther for administrative assistance in the implementation of the "Endlösung der Judenfrage". Six million Jews died in Hitler's gas ovens during the Holocaust.
1965 Harry Potter author Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born July 31, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, near Bristol, England. The original concept for Harry Potter came to Rowling in 1990 on a Manchester to London train that was delayed for four hours. She was staring out of the train's window of the train when the idea, plot and characters came to her.
1970 The association of rum with the Royal Navy began in 1655, when the British fleet captured the island of Jamaica. With the easy availability of domestically produced rum, the British substituted the daily ration of liquor from French brandy to a half-a-pint of rum. The rum ration was issued daily to Royal Navy sailors at noon and 5pm or 6pm with a call of "Up spirits!" July 31, 1970: Black Tot Day marked the last day of the UK Royal Navy's officially sanctioned rum ration.
1971 Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin were history's first moon riders. They used the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) to explore the lunar surface and conducted three separate excursions during their mission. The first of these excursions took place on July 31, 1971, when they drove the LRV for about two hours to explore and conduct experiments in the Hadley-Apennine region of the moon.
1989 The 8-bit handheld video game Game Boy device was developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan in April 1989 and North America on July 31, 1989.The Game Boy quickly became the most coveted piece of kit in the playground. Its stable of killer games, including Tetris and Super Mario Land, made it the best-selling gaming system of all time, with worldwide sales reaching well over 100 million.
1994 Simon Sang Sung of Singapore holds the Guinness World Record for most noodles made from a single lump of dough in 59.29 seconds. He made a total of 8,192 noodles, which is an average of 138 noodles per second. This incredible feat was achieved on July 31, 1994, at a noodle-making competition in Singapore.
1999 Eugene Merle Shoemaker, the co-discoverer of the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, is the only person with remains placed on a celestial body outside Earth. On July 31, 1999, some of his ashes were carried to the Moon by the Lunar Prospector space probe, two years after Shoemaker died in a car crash while on an expedition for crater sites in Australia.
2003 The classic Volkswagen Beetle was produced in Mexico from 1955 where it was used as a taxi. The last ever 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle, #21,529,464, rolled off the assembly line at the Volkswagen de Mexico manufacturing plant in Puebla, Mexico on July 31, 2003. The Mexican government effectively ended the Beetle's production because street gangs would often raid two-door cars as the passenger in the back couldn't escape.
2012 A power grid failure in northern and eastern India on July 31, 2012 left twenty states in the country without electricity. The blackout was the largest power outage in history, affecting over 620 million people, about 9% of the world population or half of India's population.
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