On This Day August 31st

 OTD 

August 31st is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 122 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

1056 – After a sudden illness a few days previously, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty.

1422 – King Henry V of England dies of dysentery while in France. His son, Henry VI, became King of England at nine months.

1535 – Pope Paul III excommunicated English King Henry VIII from the church. He drew up a papal bull of excommunication, which began Eius qui immobilis.

1798 – Irish Rebellion: Irish rebels, with French assistance, establish the short-lived Republic of Connacht.

1864 – During the American Civil War, Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launched an assault on Atlanta.

1895 – German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his navigable balloon.

1920 – Polish–Soviet War: A decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.

1943 – USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship named after a black person, is commissioned.

1962 – Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.

1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her partner Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.

Birthdays

12 – Caligula, Roman emperor (d. 41)

1168 – Zhang Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1208)

1542 – Isabella de' Medici, Italian princess (d. 1576)

1663 – Guillaume Amontons, French physicist and instrument maker (d. 1705)

1821 – Hermann von Helmholtz, German physician and physicist (d. 1894)

1842 – Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, American journalist, publisher, and activist (d. 1924)

1896 – Brian Edmund Baker, English Air Marshal (d. 1979)

1903 – Arthur Godfrey, American radio and television host (d. 1983)

1911 – Arsenio Rodríguez, Cuban-American tres player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1970)

1924 – Buddy Hackett, American actor and singer (d. 2003)

1945 – Van Morrison, Northern Irish singer-songwriter

1945 – Itzhak Perlman, Israeli-American violinist and conductor

1947 – Yumiko Ōshima, Japanese author and illustrator

1970 – Debbie Gibson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress.


Holidays and Observances

HISTORY OF LA TOMATINAI is believed that La Tomatina started as a joke in 1945 during a parade of Giants and Bigheads. A few local youths participated in the parade, angering some party members. This resulted in a minor dispute near a vegetable stand, leading to a tomato fight between those involved. The police arrived on the scene to put an end to the conflict. This fight was repeated in the following years, drawing in bigger crowds and requiring the authorities to step in. The event became so popular that the City Council had to take over in 1980. Now, it attracts thousands of tourists of all nationalities, making it a festival with a huge international impact.

 Surprisingly, the authorities banned the festival in the early 1950s as they did not find it amusing. It had no religious importance, and the town's older population filed many complaints. The ban was lifted, but in 1957, it was banned again. In August 1957, a ‘tomato burial’ was held in the town to protest the ban. A coffin filled with tomatoes was carried while musicians played sad music. Moved by the unity of the young people in the city, the prime minister declared La Tomatina an official festival.

 Today, it is a much-celebrated event, so much so that it is broadcast live on T.V. It was even declared the Festivity of International Tourist Interest in 2002 by the Secretary of the Department of Tourism.


Others Include

Birth Anniversary of President Ramon Magsaysay (Philippines’ seventh President)

Eat Outside Day

Independence Day (Malaysia)

International Day for People of African Descent

International Overdose Awareness Day

Kyrgyzstan Independence Day

Love Litigating Lawyers Day

National Diatomaceous Earth Day

National Matchmaker Day

National South Carolina Day

National Zoo Awareness Day

Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day

We Love Memoirs Day


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