August 31 in history — What Happened Today in History

Russia completes removing its troops from Estonia.

Argentina abolishes conscription after months of social backlash over the murder of a conscript.

Russia completes removing its troops from Lithuania.

Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 crashes during takeoff from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, killing 14.

CAAC Flight 301 overshoots the runway at Kai Tak Airport and crashes into Kowloon Bay, killing seven people.

Thai Airways Flight 365 crashes into the ocean near Ko Phuket, Thailand, killing all 83 aboard.

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

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

Aeroflot Flight 558 crashes in the Abzelilovsky District in Bashkortostan, Russia (then the Soviet Union), killing all 102 people aboard.

Start of the Congress of Carrara, one of the major 20th century anarchist congresses.

Crown Colony of North Borneo (now Sabah) achieves self-governance.

Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.

A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.

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

TWA Flight 903 crashes near Itay El Barud, Egypt, killing all 55 aboard.

The retreat of the Democratic Army of Greece into Albania after its defeat on Gramos mountain marks the end of the Greek Civil War.

USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.

World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.

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.

Nazi Germany mounts a false flag attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day, thus starting World War II in Europe.

Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air.

In an attempt to stay out of the growing tensions concerning Germany and Japan, the United States passes the first of its Neutrality Acts.

The Integral Nationalist Group wins the 1933 Andorran parliamentary election, the first election in Andorra held with universal male suffrage.

Polish–Soviet War: A decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.

World War I: Start of the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, a successful assault by the Australian Corps during the Hundred Days Offensive.

Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Anglo-Russian Convention, by which the UK recognizes Russian preeminence in northern Persia, while Russia recognizes British preeminence in southeastern Persia and Afghanistan. Both powers pledge not to interfere in Tibet.

German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his navigable balloon.

Holly Earl, British actress

Tyler Randell, Australian rugby league player

Ragna Sigurðardóttir, Icelandic politician

Nicolás Tagliafico, Argentine footballer

António Félix da Costa, Portuguese race car driver

Cédric Soares, Portuguese footballer

Tadeja Majerič, Slovenian tennis player

Dezmon Briscoe, American football player

Matt Adams, American baseball player

Trent Hodkinson, Australian rugby league player

David Ospina, Colombian footballer

Athena, American wrestler

Xavi Annunziata, Spanish footballer

Tom Scott, American football player (born 1930)

Bapu, Indian director and screenwriter (born 1933)

Ștefan Andrei, Romanian politician, 87th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1931)

Stan Goldberg, American illustrator (born 1932)

Carol Vadnais, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1945)

Alan Carrington, English chemist and academic (born 1934)

David Frost, English journalist and game show host (born 1939)

Jimmy Greenhalgh, English footballer and manager (born 1923)

Jan Camiel Willems, Belgian mathematician and theorist (born 1939)

Max Bygraves, English actor (born 1922)

Joe Lewis, American martial artist and actor (born 1944)

Carlo Maria Martini, Italian cardinal (born 1927)

Kashiram Rana, Indian lawyer and politician (born 1938)