Today in History for 31st August 2024

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Historical Events

1842 - American blacksmith Micah Rugg patents a nuts and bolts machine
1942 - U-boats sink and damage 131 allied ships this month (639,946 tons)
1942 - Battle at Alam Halfa: German and Italians assault
1984 - Pinklon Thomas beats Tim Witherspoon in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
1991 - Colorado Rockies bat out of order against Montreal Expos in 1st inning
2018 - 19-year old Indonesian boy rescued after 49 days afloat when his floating fish trap became adrift

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Famous Birthdays

1887 - Friedrich A Paneth, Austrian-British chemist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1958)
1912 - Ramon Vinay, Chilean operatic tenor, born in Chillán, Chile (d. 1996)
1921 - Charles "Chub" Feeney, American MLB executive (President of the National League), born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 1994)
1951 - Mario Boljat, Croatian soccer defender-midfielder (5 caps; Hajduk Split, Schalke 04), born in Split, Croatia (d. 2024)
1966 - Jan Einar Thorsen, Norwegian Alpine skier, born in Voss, Norway
1982 - Ian Crocker, American swimmer, born in Portland, Maine

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Famous Deaths

1869 - Mary Ward, Irish scientist, first automobile accident victim (b. 1827)
1940 - Johanna "Annie" Bakker, Dutch revue-artist, singer and actress, dies at 58
1986 - Henry Moore, English artist and sculptor (known for Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae), dies at 88
1995 - Beant Singh, Prime Minister of Punjab province of India, assassinated at 73
1995 - John Erik Jonsson, American businessman and Mayor of Dallas, dies at 93
2020 - Pranab Mukherjee, Indian politician, 13th President of India (2012-17), dies at 84

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