This Day in History- July 31

• 1933: Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi left the Sabarmati Ashram forever. 

• 1948: First State Transport Corporation in India

The first State Transport Corporation in India was established in West Bengal on July 31, 1948.

• 1980: Mohammed Rafi

Mohammed Rafi, one of the great singers of the Hindi film industry, died of a heart attack.

• 1993: India’s first floating ‘Maritime Museum’

India’s first floating ‘Maritime Museum’ was inaugurated in Calcutta on July 31, 1993.

• 2000: Formation of Chhattisgarh 

The Lok Sabha had passed the Chhattisgarh ‘State formation, Bill’.

• 2012: Power outage in India 

A second power outage in India in two days has left around 670 million people without power on July 31, 2012. 

• 30 BC: Battle of Alexandria 

Mark Antony won a modest success over Octavian, but the majority of his army deserted, allowing Octavian to invade Egypt on July 31, 30 BC.

• 1498: Discovery of the island of Trinidad

On his third trip, Christopher Columbus found the island of Trinidad on  July 31, 1498.

• 1703: Daniel Defoe was imprisoned 

Daniel Defoe was imprisoned for seditious libel after writing a politically satirical pamphlet, yet he was showered with flowers.

• 1879: First cable connection between South Africa and Europe

Charles Tilston Bright, a British electrical engineer, established the first cable connection between South Africa and Europe as part of his ambition to connect the British Empire with emerging telecommunications technology.

• 1928: First women’s Olympic track event

In the first women’s Olympic track event, American sprinter Elizabeth Robinson equaled her own world best of 12.2 seconds to win the gold medal in Amsterdam on July 31, 1928; Canadians Fanny Rosenfeld and Ethel Smith dead-heated (12.3s).

• 1951: Japan Airlines 

Japan Airlines was established on July 31, 1951.

• 1965: Cigarette advertising was banned on British TV on July 31, 1965.

• 1970: Black Tot Day

It was the last day of the Royal Navy’s officially sanctioned rum ration (started 1740).

• 1971: Apollo 15 

Apollo 15 astronauts took a 6½ hour electric car ride on Moon.

• 1987: Eddie Murray hit his 299th and 300th career home runs 

Eddie Murray hit his 299th and 300th career home runs to lead the Baltimore Orioles to an 8-4 victory over the Texas Rangers.

• 1999: NASA

Lunar Prospector – NASA deliberately crashed the spacecraft onto the Moon, thereby terminating its mission to locate frozen water on the moon’s surface on July 31, 1999. 

• 2012: London Olympics

Germany won the Olympic equestrian eventing final in London. Zara Phillips, Princess Anne’s daughter, was a member of Great Britain’s silver medal-winning squad.

• 2012: Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic medalist when he was a member of the victorious American 4 × 200m freestyle relay team in London; it was Phelps’ 19th career Olympic medal and 15th overall gold.

• 2016: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

At midnight, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” a play was written by Jack Thorne with assistance from J. K. Rowling, was released globally on July 31, 2016.

• 2018: Rihanna 

Rihanna became the first black woman to appear on the cover of British Vogue’s September issue on July 31, 2018.

• 1912: Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman was an American economist and statistician who was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1976 for his work on consumer analysis, monetary history and theory, and the complexities of stabilization policy.

• 1914: Louis de Funès

Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza was a French comedian and actor. He is France’s favorite actor, according to various surveys done since 1968, having portrayed over 150 parts in film and over 100 on stage.

• 1965: J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling, pen name of Joanne Rowling CH, OBE, HonFRSE, FRCPE, FRSL, is a British novelist, philanthropist, film producer, television producer, and screenwriter. She gained all the fame after writing the Harry Potter Series.