J.K. Rowling celebrated Harry Potter's 40th birthday
According to the Harry Potter series timeline, the boy wizard was born on July 31, 1980, making this his 40th birthday. Fans around the world celebrat...
July 31 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2020
2015
A man in the UK legally changed his name to 'Bacon Double Cheeseburger'
The 33-year-old from Essex changed his name by deed poll as a drunken joke after a night out with friends. He initially thought it would be funny, but...
2012
Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time
At the London Olympics, Phelps won his 19th Olympic medal, surpassing the previous record held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina since 1964. He would...
1992
A man in Thailand set the world record for spending 22 hours in a room with 400 scorpions
Kanchana Ketkaew, known as the 'Scorpion Queen,' sat in a glass room with hundreds of scorpions crawling over her body. She was stung nine times durin...
1981
A rare torrential rainstorm hit the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria
The town of Ain Sefra experienced an unprecedented deluge that transformed the world's hottest desert into temporary rivers and lakes. Locals who had...
1975
Jimmy Hoffa, the controversial Teamsters union leader, disappeared and was never seen again
MajorHoffa went to a restaurant in Michigan to meet two mafia leaders and vanished without a trace. Despite decades of investigation, multiple FBI digs, an...
1971
Apollo 15 astronauts drove the first car on the Moon
MajorDavid Scott and James Irwin took the Lunar Roving Vehicle for its first spin across the Moon's surface, reaching a top speed of 8 mph. The battery-pow...
1964
Ranger 7 transmitted the first close-up photographs of the Moon's surface before impact
MajorThe spacecraft sent back over 4,300 crystal-clear images during its final 17 minutes before crashing into the lunar surface. The photos were a thousan...
1930
The radio mystery program 'The Shadow' debuted on CBS radio
The show introduced one of the most famous catchphrases in radio history: 'Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!' Original...
1919
Germany adopted the Weimar Constitution, establishing a democratic republic after World War I
MajorThe Weimar Constitution was one of the most progressive of its time, granting universal suffrage and extensive civil liberties. Despite its democratic...
1790
The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins for a process to make potash
Samuel Hopkins received Patent No. 1 for an improved method of making potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer and soap. President George Washington sig...
1498
Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Trinidad during his third voyage to the Americas
MajorColumbus became the first European to set foot on Trinidad, naming it after the Holy Trinity. He initially thought he had discovered another island ne...
