AUGUST 31 | Birthdays and Events
Share this article
Text Size
Notable Birthdays for August 31
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (1842-1924) - Journalist and publisher of the first national newspaper (Woman's Era) published by and for Black American women.
Edward Thorndike (1874-1949) - Considered the "Father of Modern Educational Psychology."
Lizzie Arlington (1877-1919) - The first woman to play professional men's baseball as a pitcher (Reading Coal Heavers).
Paul E Garber (1899-1992) - Founder and first curator of the National Air and Space Museum.
Jerry Allison (1939-2022) - Drummer and songwriter for Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
Richard Gere (1949-Still Living) - Multi-award winning and seasoned actor with lead roles in American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, First Knight, and Chicago.
Memorable Events for August 31
1837 - Author Ralph Waldo Emerson gives his famous The American Scholar speech at Harvard College, declaring American literary independence from Europe.
1842 - Blacksmith Micah Rugg patents a nuts and bolts machine.
1897 - Thomas Edison patents a device that could produce moving pictures (Kinetoscope).
1935 - President Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act of 1935, prohibiting the export of U.S. arms to belligerent nations.
1955 - The first sun-powered automobile is demonstrated in Chicago, IL.
1960 - The Agricultural Hall of Fame forms to educate and honor those in agriculture in America.
1965 - Congress establishes the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
1987 - The Great Potato Incident occurs when minor league baseball catcher Dave Bresnahan attempts to lure an opposing baserunner off third base using a potato carved to look like a baseball.