Historical Events on July 31
1917
World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.
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Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).
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Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
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The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question."
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Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
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The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles.
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Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
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Famous Birthdays on July 31
- 1965
J. K. Rowling
- 1989
Victoria Azarenka
- 1992
Kyle Larson
Famous Deaths on July 31
- 1875
Andrew Johnson
- 2009
Bobby Robson
- 2015
Roddy Piper