What happened on August 31 ?

12 - Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor (d. 41)

161 - Commodus, Roman Emperor (d. 192)

1569 - Jahangir, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1627)

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

1721 - George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, British statesman (d. 1775)

1811 - Theophile Gautier, French poet and novelist (d. 1872)

1821 - Hermann von Helmholtz, German physician (d. 1894)

1834 - Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (d. 1886)

1843 - Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1919)

1870 - Maria Montessori, Italian educator (d. 1952)

1871 - James E. Ferguson, Texan governor

1878 - Frank Jarvis, American athlete (d. 1933)

1879 - Alma Mahler, wife of Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius, and Franz Werfel (d. 1964)

1880 - Queen Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands (d. 1962)

1885 - DuBose Heyward, American playwright (d. 1940)

1897 - Fredric March, American actor (d. 1975)

1903 - Arthur Godfrey, American television host (d. 1983)

1907 - Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines (d. 1957)

1907 - William Shawn, American editor (d. 1992)

1908 - William Saroyan, American novelist and playwright (d. 1981)

1913 - Sir Bernard Lovell, British radio astronomer

1914 - Richard Basehart, American actor (d. 1984)

1916 - Daniel Schorr, American journalist

1918 - Alan Jay Lerner, American composer (d. 1986)

1924 - Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (d. 2003)

1928 - James Coburn, American actor (d. 2002)

1931 - Noble Willingham, American actor (d. 2004)

1935 - Frank Robinson, baseball player and manager

1935 - Eldridge Cleaver, American political activist (d. 1998)

1938 - Martin Bell, British journalist and politician

1944 - Roger Dean, British contemporary artist and album cover designer

1945 - Van Morrison, Irish musician

1945 - Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist

1948 - Lowell Ganz, American screenwriter

1948 - Rudolf Schenker, German guitarist (Scorpions)

1949 - Richard Gere, American actor

1949 - H. David Politzer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

1953 - György Károly, Hungarian author

1955 - Edwin Moses, American athlete

1956 - Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer

1961 - Anri, Japanese singer

1963 - Reb Beach, American rock guitarist (Winger, Whitesnake)

1968 - Todd Carty, British actor

1970 - Deborah Gibson, American singer

1970 - Queen Rania, Queen of Jordan and wife of King Abdullah II

1972 - Chris Tucker, American actor

1977 - Jeff Hardy, American professional wrestler

1977 - Ian Harte, Irish Professional Footballer

1977 - Craig Nicholls, Australian singer, songwriter, and guitarist (The Vines)

1980 - Joe Budden, American rapper

1982 - Jose Reina, Spanish footballer