WHAT HAPPENED ON 31. AUGUST
Want to find out what all happened on 31. August

Nazi Germany mounts a staged attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day thus starting World War II in Europe. (31. August 1939)

Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The CAB investigation of the accident is the first investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938. (31. August 1940)

World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica. (31. August 1941)

The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned. (31. August 1943)

The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies. (31. August 1945)

The retreat of the Democratic Army of Greece in Albania after its defeat on Gramos mountain marks the end of the Greek Civil War. (31. August 1949)

The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom. (31. August 1957)

A parcel bomb sent by Ngo Dinh Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. (31. August 1958)

Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent. (31. August 1962)

North Borneo (now Sabah) achieve a self governance. (31. August 1963)

The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft makes its first flight. (31. August 1965)

Garfield Sobers became the first batsman ever to hit six sixes in a single over of six consecutive balls in first-class cricket. (31. August 1968)

After two weeks of nationwide strikes, the Polish government was forced to sign the Gdańsk Agreement, allowing for the creation of the trade union Solidarity. (31. August 1980)

Flood in Ibadan after 12 hours of heavy downpour killed over 300 people and properties worth million destroyed. (31. August 1980)

Anti-government demonstrations are held in 66 Polish cities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement. (31. August 1982)

Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground. (31. August 1986)

The Soviet passenger liner  Admiral Nakhimov sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 423. (31. August 1986)

Thai Airways Flight 365 crashes into the ocean near Ko Phuket, Thailand, killing all 83 aboard. (31. August 1987)

Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union. (31. August 1991)

Pascal Lissouba is inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo. (31. August 1992)