On This Day: 31 July

Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces at the Battle of Alexandria – but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide next day		30 BC
The earliest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji takes place		781
The Crusaders are driven out of Palestine as the Egyptian Mamelukken occupies the city of Acre (known locally as Akko)		1291
During the Hundred Years' War, the French army is defeated by the English in the Battle of Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne		1423
The French government official and state–sponsored merchant Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of King Charles VII, after other merchants complain that they could make no profit because of him		1451
William Caxton publishes Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur		1485
Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect		1492
On his third voyage, Christopher Columbus discovers, lands on and names Trinidad		1498
The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England		1588
The Pilgrim Fathers leave the Dutch city of Leiden (where they had moved around twelve years previously) to return to England, prior to setting sail for America		1620
The Russian army enters Vilnius, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which it would hold for six years		1655
Aurangzeb is proclaimed Mughal emperor of India		1658
The Peace of Breda ends the Anglo–Dutch war, and marks the beginning of an alliance that would last for a century		1667
Daniel Defoe is locked in a pillory frame before Temple Bar in London, after being found guilty of seditious libel for publishing a tract entitled The shortest way with the dissenter – a satire on the Anglican Church's prejudice against nonconformists – but is pelted with flowers		1703
Eleven ships in a Spanish treasure fleet of twelve sink in a storm off the coast of Florida, with the loss of around 1,500 lives, seven days after leaving Havana. Treasure would be salvaged from the wrecks from the 1960s onwards		1715
Around 250 British soldiers are defeated in an attempt to storm the encampment of Odawa chief Pontiac, in what would become known as the Battle of Bloody Run		1763
Robert Burns's first collection – Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect – is published by John Wilson in Kilmarnock		1786
The first US patent is issued to Samuel Hopkins of Philadelphia, for on an improvement "in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process"		1790
The cornerstone for the US Mint – the first US government building is laid in Philadelphia		1792
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and revolutionary, is captured and shot by the Spanish		1811
The yacht America arrives at Cowes, Isle of Wight		1851
The city of Christchurch, New Zealand, receives its Royal Charter		1856
The world's first narrow–gauge mainline railway opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia		1865
During the Russo–Turkish War, the Russian Army suffers 7,300 casualties as its second assault on Plevna, Turkey, fails		1877
British electrical engineer Charles Tilston Bright lays the first cable connection between South Africa and Europe, as part of his project to link the British Empire with growing telecommunications technologies		1879
Irish academic Douglas Hyde and future politician Eoin MacNeill found the Gaelic League, to encourage Irish people to speak the language and take a greater interest in their culture		1893
Australian–born Albert Trott (a Test cricketer for both Australia and England, but on this occasion playing for MCC against Australia) hits a ball from Monty Noble over the Pavilion at Lord's – believed to be the only time this has ever been done		1899
The London Echo is published for the last time		1905
The Boy Scout movement is inaugurated by Robert Baden–Powell		1908
Dr. Crippen and his assistant Ethel Neve are arrested on board the SS Montrose – the first arrest by radio		1910
Kaiser Wilhelm II rejects Britain's "insolent" offer to mediate in the Austro–Serbian crisis		1914
The Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) begins		1917
The Weimar Republic is established in Germany		1919
18–year–old Ralph Samuelson, in Lake City, Minnesota, becomes the first person to ride on water skis		1922
In the first women's Olympic track event, in Amsterdam, the USA's Elizabeth Robinson equals her own world record of 12.2 seconds to win the 100 metres gold medal; Canadians Fanny Rosenfeld and Ethel Smith tie for second place in 12.3 seconds		1928
The Nazi Party doubles its representation in the Reichstag, winning 38% of votes cast		1932
Bulgaria signs a non–aggression pact with Greece, and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia)		1938
MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspends New York Yankees outfielder Jake Powell, after he said on Chicago radio that he kept in shape by "cracking" African Americans over the head with his nightstick		1938
Engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great are discovered in the archaeological site at Persepolis (37 miles north–east of the city of Shiraz, in Iran		1938
Hermann Göring, acting on instructions from Adolf Hitler, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question"		1941 goring
The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners		1941 goring
Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria		1945 goring
New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated at Idlewild Field		1948
USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post–war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships		1948
54 people are arrested after the former fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, and other members of his anti–Semitic Blackshirt group, are assaulted during a rally at Ridley Road, Dalston, in London's east end. (Mosley's son Max is one of those arrested)		1962
K2 is climbed for the first time, by Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni, members of the Italian expedition led by Desio Ardito		1954
England spin bowler Jim Laker takes 10–53 in Australia's 2nd innings, in the 4th Test at Old Trafford, giving him match figures of 19–90; England win by an innings and 170 runs		1956
Cliff Richard and the Shadows have their first UK No. 1 single with Living' Doll – the UK's biggest single this year		1959
Israel welcomes its one millionth immigrant		1961
Lancashire and England fast bowler Brian Statham becomes Test cricket's leading wicket taker, as Australian wicket–keeper Barry Shepherd becomes his 237th victim (caught by Fred Truman for 10) in the drawn 4th Test in Adelaide		1962
Viscount Stansgate renounces his title and becomes Anthony Wedgewood Benn		1963
Ranger 7 makes a soft landing on the Moon, and sends back the first close–up photographs		1964
A Rolling Stones concert in Belfast is abandoned after ten minutes owing to a riot		1964
Cigarette advertising is banned from British television		1965
Beatle artefacts are burnt in Alabama following the publication in America of John Lennon's remarks about the band being "more popular than Jesus right now" (first published in the UK in March)		1965
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are released on appeal, after receiving very harsh prison sentences for drug offences – three months for Jagger and a year for Richards		1967
The cross–channel hovercraft service is inaugurated		1968
The Beatles close their Apple Boutique in London, giving clothes away for free		1969
The National Guard mobilises to quell racial disturbances in Baton Rouge, Louisiana		1969
Pope Paul VI visits Uganda – the first Pope to visit Africa		1969
The Royal Navy's officially sanctioned rum ration is administered for the last time, having started in 1740 (this would become known as Black Tot Day)		1970
19–year–old Daniel O'Hagan, a Catholic civilian, is shot dead by the British Army during a riot in the New Lodge Road area of Belfast		1970
Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin make the first excursion in a Lunar Rover		1971
Four–time Eredivisie champions Go Ahead, from the Dutch city of Deventer, add 'Eagles' to their famous name		1971
In its biggest operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, the British Army retakes the urban no–go areas of Northern Ireland. Later on the same day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy		1972
The inaugural meeting of the Northern Ireland Assembly – the first democratically elected assembly in the province since direct rule was imposed by London in March – is disrupted by loud protest and interruptions from a group of 27 hardline loyalists (forming the biggest power block in the administration) led by the 'Reverend' Ian Paisley		1973
89 lives are lost when a Delta Air Lines aircraft crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston		1973
In what was later described as one of the worst atrocities in the 30 years of 'the Troubles', three members of the Miami Showband, an Irish cabaret group, die when their minibus is ambushed near Newry by members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, a loyalist paramilitary organisation – at least four of whom were also serving in the Ulster Defence Regiment (a volunteer unit of the British Army)		1975
The Seychelles gain independence		1976
Nigeria seizes British oil installations in a bid to persuade HM Government to take a tougher line on apartheid		1979
Hurricane Allen forms in the Atlantic Ocean; it would go on to become the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin, with winds of 190mph (305km/h)		1980
A mid–season strike by MLB players ends after 42 days, having caused the cancellation of 713 games, after players and owners come to an agreement on free agent compensation		1981
46 children and seven adults lose their lives as two buses and several cars collide near Beaune, France		1982
Attorney General Sir Patrick Mayhew launches legal proceedings against the Sunday Telegraph after it published three articles repeating details from Peter Wright's memoir Spycatcher		1987
32 people lose their lives, and 1,674 are injured, when a bridge collapses at a ferry terminal in Butterworth, in the Malaysian state of Penang		1988
Miami Dolphins beat the San Francisco 49ers 27–21 in the American Bowl at Wembley Stadium		1988
The last Playboy Club closes in Lansing, Michigan		1988
Shi'ite Muslim extremists announce that Colonel William Higgins, the US Marine abducted in Beirut in 1988, has been hanged		1989
Bosnia and Herzegovina declares independence		1990
Muslim rebels in Port of Spain, Trinidad, release prime minister A. R. Robinson but continue to hold other hostages in a TV station		1990
Graham Gooch scores 333 and 123 in the first Test against India – the first batsman to score a triple century and a century in a Test		1990
The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, agreeing to reduce their stockpiles by a third – the first to reduce both countries' stockpiles (with verification)		1991
Georgia joins the United Nations		1992
All 113 people on board lose their lives when a Thai Airways International Flight crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal		1992
Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts is arrested for shoving two police officers		1993
Imran Khan wins a "contentious" libel case in the London courts, after former England stars Ian Botham and Allan Lamb accused him of calling them uneducated racists in the course of an interview granted to India Today journalist Shekhar Gupta		1996
The Giant Titan Arum (Sarawak corpse plant) in Kew Gardens flowers for the first time since 1963		1996
One month before the first anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, the Government announces a total ban on the use of landmines by British forces		1998
The Lunar Prospector spacecraft is allowed to crash into the Moon, ending its mission to detect frozen water on the lunar surface		1999
Felix Baumgartner, 34, from Austira, becomes the first person to fly unassisted across the English Channel – jumping out of an aircraft over Dover and gliding on a 6ft carbon fibre wing to Cap Blanc Nez		2003
Fidel Castro, President of Cuba since 1959, transfers presidential duties to his brother Raúl owing to ill health		2006
Steve McClaren takes up the post of manager of the England football team		2006
The British Army's presence in Northern Ireland is reduced to a residual level, as Operation Banner – the Army's longest ever operation – comes to an end		2007
Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by the Soviet artistic gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics		2012
Anthony Scaramucci is removed as White House Communications Director, after just ten days in office (during which he launched a strongly–worded attack on members of the Trump Administration, in an interview with the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza, which he believed was off the record)		2017
Moeen Ali takes a hat–trick against South Africa, in the 100th Test match played at The Oval; England win by 239 runs		2017
Two crowns and an orb, part of Sweden's royal regalia (crown jewels), are stolen from their home in Strängnäs Cathedral. The thieves escape in a speedboat; the lost items would be found six months later, 40 miles away in Åkersberga, Österåker municipality (on the other side of Stockholm)		2018
Mexico overtakes the UK to have the world's third highest death toll from COVID–19, with 46,688 fatalities		2020

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On This Day: 31 July