31 August

Caligula
31 August 0012 – 24 January 0041
Roman Emperor during the years 37 to 41.

Guillaume Amontons
31 August 1663 – 11 October 1705
French scientist and instrument maker who developed improvements to the thermometer and barometer.

Johann Friedrich Oberlin
31 August 1740 – 1 June 1826
Lutheran pastor who worked in poverty-stricken villages in the Alsace area of France, bringing prosperity to these villages.

Jean Paul Egide Martini
31 August 1741 – 10 February 1816
French composer of classical music. His love song ‘Plaisir d’Amour’ has been the basis for many modern hits by artists such as Joan Baez and Elvis Presley.

Michel-Eugène Chevreul
31 August 1786 – 9 April 1889
French chemist who researched fats, leading to the development of superior soap.

Hermann von Helmholtz
31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894
German scientist and physiologist who made major advances to the fields of physiology, mathematics, optics and empiricism.

Georg Jensen
31 August 1866 – 2 October 1935
Danish master silversmith, a creator of stylish silverware sought after world-wide.

Maria Montessori
31 August 1870 – 6 May 1952
Italian educationalist who developed the Montessori educational system for young children.

Alan Lerner
31 August 1918 – 14 June 1986
American song writer – half of the successful Lerner-Loewe team.

Sir Bernard Lovell
31 August 1913
British astronomer (radio astronomy) who founded the Jodrell Bank Experimental Station, located near Manchester.

Today’s National Days
31 August – Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago.

Today’s Quote
A gift, with a kind countenance, is a double present.
 … Thomas Fuller (1608 – 1661)

Today’s No. 1 Hit
1984 – What’s Love Got to Do with It by Tina Turner.

Today’s events
31 August 1897 – The Kinetoscope, a movie viewer (not a projector) was patented by Thomas Edison.
31 August 1920 – Debut of news broadcasts on radio, by a station in Detroit (America).
31 August 1963 – Walter Cronkite starts with CBS Evening News.
31 August 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales dies in a car crash in Paris