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What happened in history on this day: July 31?
Since 1995, I have been collecting information on a variety of topics,
creating several timelines of history.
Here you will find specific events from those databases
for this day, on the topics of personal computers, video games, the Walt Disney Company,
Chevrolet Corvettes, A&W Root Beer, Sweden, and Canadian coins.
On July 31 in ...
- 1980 - Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Model III. It features a Zilog Z80 processor, and 4 kB RAM. Base price is US$699.
- 1980 - Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Color Computer. It uses the Motorola 6809E CPU, comes with 4 kB RAM, and sells for US$399.
- 1980 - Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Pocket Computer. It features a 24 character display, QWERTY keyboard, and 1.9 kB of programmable memory. Price is US$230.
- 1998 - Acclaim releases the Mortal Kombat 4 game for personal computers in the US.
- 2000 - Intel releases the 1.13 GHz Pentium III processor. It incorporates 44 million transistors in a 0.13-micron process. Code-name during development was Tualatin.
- 1926 - Disney ships the Alice Comedy film Alice's Brown Derby to M.J. Winkler Productions.
- 1929 - The Mickey Mouse film The Karnival Kid is completed. Minnie Mouse also appears. Mickey Mouse speaks his first words: "Hot dog!".
- 1934 - Disney files a lawsuit against the United Biscuit Company of America, Sawyer Biscuit Company, and the Chicago Carton Company. The case involves the unauthorized use of Disney characters for animal crackers. The suit is settled in favor of Disney after four months.
- 1945 - Disney delivers the film Infant Care to the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs.
- 1955 - The Casey Jr. Circus Train attraction opens in Fantasyland at Disneyland.
- 1960 - The Sunkist Citrus House shop opens on Main Street at Disneyland.
- 1974 - Buena Vista releases the live-action feature film The Bears and I to theaters. The film is based on the book by Robert Franklin Leslie.
- 1982 - The CBS TV network airs the Walt Disney show, entitled Pluto and His Friends.
- 1987 - Disney releases the film Tin Men to theaters in the UK.
- 1990 - Disney announces plans for a proposed 350 acre ocean-themed part and resort in Long Beach, California. It is a US$2 billion project called Port Disney. It would include five hotels, shopping areas, restaurants, and a cruise-ship terminal.
- 1994 - The Disney Channel airs the Disney Channel Premiere Film The Whipping Boy.
- 1995 - The Capital Cities / ABC board of directors votes to approve the company buyout by Disney.
- 1995 - The Walt Disney Company and Capital Cities/ABC Incorporated announce a US$19 billion merger. Included is 37.5 percent ownership of A&E Network.
- 2007 - The Disney Gallery at Disneyland closes.
- 2012 - The Bistro de Paris restaurant in the France pavilion at Epcot Center closes.
- 2015 - The Disney Channel premieres the Bunk'd TV show.
- 2015 - The Disney Channel airs the Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants.
- 1955 - A work order is written for a new camshaft designed by Zora Arkus-Duntov for a 150-mph Corvette speed run.
- 1970 - Production of 1970 model Corvettes ends.
- 1975 - The last 1975 model-year Corvette, a convertible, is driven off off the assembly line in St. Louis by inspection general foreman Bob Shell.
- 1977 - At the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, in Hallett, Oklahoma, the Star Buildings SCCA Trans-Am Championship - Round 6 race is held.
- Finishing 3rd in category I and 7th overall is the King Engine #80 Corvette 454, driven by Nick Engels.
- Finishing 4th in category I and 10th overall is the Little Foreign Car Shop #93 Corvette 427, driven by Michael Oleyar.
- Finishing 6th in category I and 13th overall is the Midwest Speed #82 Corvette 454, driven by Emery Emond.
- Finishing 7th in category I and 14th overall is the Brandt Racing #60 Corvette 350, driven by John Brandt Jr.
- Finishing 10th in category I and 18th overall is the Port City Racing #61 Corvette 427, driven by Mickey Agee.
- In 11th place in category I and 19th place overall, but not finishing the race, is the Babe's Garage #78 Corvette 427, driven by Babe Headley.
- 1981 - The last Corvette built in the St. Louis plant rolls off the assembly line. 698,614 Corvettes were built at the plant. The last Corvette, a 1981 model, is a white coupe.
- 1983 - At the Road America raceway in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the SCCA Budweiser Trans-Am Championship - Round 7 race is held.
- Finishing 10th is the Desks Inc./North Shore Auto Parts #24 Corvette, driven by Rick Dittman.
- Finishing 12th is the Cavendish Farms #70 Corvette, driven by Murray Edwards.
- Finishing 13th is the Herb Forrest Racing #82 Corvette, driven by Herb Forrest.
- Finishing 15th is the PM Racing #74 Corvette, driven by Paul Musschoot.
- Finishing 19th is the JS Racing #35 Corvette, driven by Jim Sanborn.
- Finishing 24th is the Accell-Design Group #96 Corvette, driven by James Kidd.
- Finishing 25th is the Chrome Company #21 Corvette, driven by Terry Farber.
- Finishing 26th is the #79 Corvette, driven by Dennis Cuppy.
- Finishing 28th is the Blink #84 Corvette, driven by Roger Blink.
- Finishing 29th is the Midwest Racing Distributors #67 Corvette, driven by Steve Gentile.
- Finishing 30th is the #17 Corvette, driven by Dan Schott.
- Finishing 31st is the Fick Rotary Grinding Special #38 Corvette, driven by Buzz Fyhrie.
- In 35th place, but not finishing the race, is the Technequip #47 Corvette, driven by Wayne Harper.
- In 36th place, but not finishing the race, is the Keeping Track Magazine / Quinlan & Tyson #42 Corvette, driven by Richard Anderson.
- In 39th place, but not finishing the race, is the Pickett Racing #6 Corvette, driven by Darin Brassfield.
- In 40th place, but not finishing the race, is the Western Ave. Auto #87 Corvette, driven by Bill Morrison.
- In 41st place, but not finishing the race, is the Gradel Racing #64 Corvette, driven by James Gradel.
- In 44th place, but not finishing the race, is the #76 Corvette, driven by Dale Durovy.
- In 48th place, but not finishing the race, is the North Shore Auto Parts #90 Corvette, driven by Chip Boatright.
- In 50th place, but not finishing the race, is the Sloma Enterprises #27 Corvette, driven by Rich Sloma.
- In 51st place, but not finishing the race, is the Flying Tiger/Keepin' Track Magazine #75 Corvette, driven by Bard Boand.
- 1992 - The Corvette Americana Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, New York.
- 2005 - At Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, the Porsche 250 presented by Bradley Arant race is held, round eight of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series.
- Finishing 20th in GT class and 36th overall is the ASC Motorsports #55 Corvette, driven by Johnny Miller and Zach Arnold.
- Finishing 21st in GT class and 37th overall is the Stevenson Motorsports #57 Corvette, driven by Buddy Rice, Tommy Riggins, and John Stevenson.
- 2005 - At the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon, the Grand Prix of Portland race is held, round eight of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT series.
- Finishing 1st is the LG Pro Long Tube Headers #28 Corvette C6, driven by Dino Crescentini.
- Finishing 2nd is the Banner Engineering #6 Corvette C6, driven by Leighton Reese.
- Finishing 13th is the Blackdog Racing #34 Corvette C6, driven by Tony Gaples.
- Finishing 16th is the Whelen Engineering #31 Corvette Z06, driven by Sonny Whelen.
- In 22nd place, but not finishing the race, is the Maeco Motorsports #40 Corvette C5, driven by Greg Weirick.
- 1940 - Adolf Hitler meets with Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl, Walther von Brauchitsch, and Franz Halder. Hitler announces his intention to launch an attack on Russia in the spring of 1941.
- 1941 - German Field Marshal Hermann Göring orders Reinhard Heydrich to draft a plan for "a complete solution of the Jewish question within the German sphere of influence in Europe".
- 1941 - The United States begins an oil embargo of Japan.
- 1942 - In convoy ONS-115 across the Atlantic ocean, Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Skeena and corvette Wetaskiwin sink submarine U-588.
- 1942 - (evening) 630 British aircraft attack Düsseldorf, Germany, setting off 954 fires, and destroying or damaging over 1500 buildings.
- 1943 - General Dwight Eisenhower warns Italy that if peace is delayed, its cities would be air bombed more.
- 1944 - American forces break through German lines at Avranches, France.
- 1944 - In Warsaw, Poland, the Polish Home Army of about 2500 attempts to seize control of the city against 15,000 Germans.
- 1945 - The complete Little Boy atomic bomb is fully assembled on Tinian island and declared ready for combat. Due to an approaching typhoon, the planned August 2 attack on Hiroshima is postponed.
- 1994 - The Interactive Digital Software Association announces a rating system for the violence, sex, and language content of video games.
- 1997 - Sega releases the Sonic Jam video game for the Sega Saturn in the US.
- 1998 - MCA/Universal Pictures releases the film BASEketball to theaters in the USA and Canada. A character says "You still hangin' out, playin' Nintendo?".
- 2006 - The Electronic Entertainment Expo show is effectively dead, due to major exhibitors and publishers pulling support.
- 2009 - Worldwide sales of the PlayStation 3 reaches 1 million units.
- 1790 - England and Prussia join with Sweden in a treaty of friendship and monetary subsidies.
- 1992 - A Royal proclamation specifies that the design of a 1992 25c nickel coin and 25c silver coin have "1867-1992" on obverse, and "Ontario" on the reverse.
- 1792 - Mint Director David Rittenhouse lays foundation stone for Philadelphia Mint.
- 1795 - Production begins on gold coins for circulation at the Philadelphia Mint.
- 1795 - The US Mint makes first delivery of gold coins to the Treasury, 744 half eagles.
- 1797 - President John Adams sets July 31, 1798 as date after which only US and Spanish coins are legal tender.
- 1798 - Foreign gold coins cease to be legal tender in the USA.
- 1798 - President John Adams issues proclamation extending circulation of foreign coins, due to coin shortage.
- 1908 - The Denver Mint begins striking 1908-dated double eagles (with motto).
- 1932 - The US Mint releases the Washington quarter dollar to circulation.
- 1963 - U.S. Mint Director Eva B. Adams asks Treasury Department for authorization to produce 100 million new silver dollar coins, using the existing Peace design.
- 1966 - Last date of striking 1965-dated coins by the US Mint.
- 1974 - Congress passes legislation giving the president authority to legalize private ownership of gold.
- 2008 - Representative Melvin Watt of North Carolina introduces H.R. 6701 legislation to establish a program for circulating quarter-dollar coins with designs emblematic of 40 prominent civil rights leaders and important events.
- 2009 - Heritage Auction Galleries holds its Los Angeles Signature Auction. Some highlights:
- 1792 half disme pattern, copper, reeded edge, PR-62 NGC: US$690,000;
- 1880 $4 Coiled Hair Stella, gold, reeded edge, PR-62 NGC: $546,250;
- 1933 Indian Head eagle, one of 15 known, MS-65 PCGS: $460,000;
- 1856-O Coronet double eagle, AU-58 NGC: US$460,000;
- 1795 $5 Small Eagle S/D, MS-65 Prooflike NGC: $345,000;
- 1920-S Indian Head eagle, MS-66 PCGS: $345,000;
- 1804 Capped Bust quarter eagle, 13 Stars Reverse, AU-58 PCGS: $322,000.
- 1910 - Chicago Cubs' King Cole no-hits Saint Louis Browns 4-0 in a 7-inning game.
- 1930 - Lou Gehrig grand slams as New York Yankees beat Boston Red Sox 14-13.
- 1932 - Cleveland Municipal Stadium opens-Philadelphia Athletics beat Cleveland Indians 1-0.
- 1934 - Saint Louis Cardinals defeat Cincinnati Reds 8-6 in 18 innings, pitchers Dizzy Dean and Tony Freitos go the distant
- 1938 - New York Yankees suspend Jake Powell, after he said on Chicago radio he'd "hit every colored person in Chicago over head with a club".
- 1948 - US President Harry Truman dedicates Idlewild Field (Kennedy Airport), New York.
- 1949 - Lightning strikes a baseball field in Florida, kills the shortstop and third baseman.
- 1954 - Milwaukee Braves' Joe Adcock sets record of 18 total bases (4 hours, one double).
- 1961 - At Boston's Fenway Park, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the ninth inning because of rain.
- 1963 - Cleveland Indians tie record of four consecutive home runs (Held, Ramos, Francona, Brown).
- 1972 - Chicago White Sox player Dick Allen hits two inside-the-park-homers in Minnesota.
- 1973 - ABA Virginia Squires trade Julius Erving to the New York Nets.
- 1981 - The fifty-day old baseball strike is settled as owners and players agreeing on a pooling systems for free-agents compensation. The All Star game will mark the end of baseball's first ever mid-season work stoppage.
- 1982 - Philadelphia Phillies' second baseman Manny Trillo ends his errorless streak at 479 chances setting a major league record.
- 1983 - Brooks Robinson, Juan Marichal, George Kell and Walter Alston are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1984 - US men's gymnastics team wins team gold medal at Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
- 1988 - Miami Dolphins beat San Francisco 49ers 27-21 in London.
- 1988 - Willie Stargell became 200th man inducted in Baseball's Hall of Fame.
- 1990 - Nolan Ryan becomes the 20th major league pitcher to win 300 games.
- 2005 - Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg are enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Also inducted are San Diego Padres announcer Jerry Coleman, winner of the Ford C. Frick Award, and sportswriter and broadcast analyst Peter Gammon, recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award.
- 2022 - At Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: San Francisco Giants beats Chicago Cubs by score 4-0.
- 2022 - At Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: San Diego Padres beats Minnesota Twins by score 3-2.
- 2022 - At Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Texas Rangers beats Los Angeles Angels by score 5-2.
- 2022 - At Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Los Angeles Dodgers beats Colorado Rockies by score 7-3.
- 2022 - At Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Houston Astros beats Seattle Mariners by score 3-2.
- 2022 - At Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Chicago White Sox beats Oakland Athletics by score 4-1.
- 2022 - At LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, USA , Major League Baseball regular season game: New York Mets beats Miami Marlins by score 9-3.
- 2022 - At Tropicana Field in Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Cleveland Guardians beats Tampa Bay Rays by score 5-3.
- 2022 - At Great America Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Baltimore Orioles beats Cincinnati Reds by score 3-2.
- 2022 - At Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Saint Louis Cardinals beats Washington Nationals by score 5-0.
- 2022 - At PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Philadelphia Phillies beats Pittsburgh Pirates by score 8-2.
- 2022 - At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Boston Red Sox beats Milwaukee Brewers by score 7-2.
- 2022 - At Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Kansas City Royals beats New York Yankees by score 8-6.
- 2022 - At Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Atlanta Braves beats Arizona Diamondbacks by score 1-0.
- 2022 - At Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Major League Baseball regular season game: Toronto Blue Jays beats Detroit Tigers by score 4-1.
- 1872 - C H F Peters discovers asteroids #122 Gerda and #123 Brunhild.
- 1964 - US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on the Moon. These are the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
- 1969 - Mariner 6 flies past Mars.
- 1971 - Apollo 15 astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin are the first men to ride in a vehicle on the Moon, televised back to Earth to millions of viewers. The Moon ride lasted two hours.
- 1976 - NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo taken by Viking 1.
- 1979 - N Chernykh discovers asteroids #2402 Satpaev and #2416 Sharonov.
- 1980 - Soyuz 37 crew returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 36.
- 1987 - Rockwell International awarded contract to build a 5th space shuttle.
- 1999 - NASA intentionally crashes the Lunar Prospector spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the lunar surface.
- 1949 - Lightning strikes a baseball field in Florida, kills the shortstop and third baseman.
- 1987 - A Force 4-rated tornado woth 250MPH winds devastates eastern Edmonton, Alberta. Hardest hit are an industrial park and a trailer park. 27 people are killed and hundreds injured. Hundreds more are left homeless and jobless. Damage estimated at $250 million in insured property.
- 2011 - In Thailand over 12.8 million people are affected by severe flooding. The World Bank estimates damages at 1,440 billion baht (US$45 billion). By the end of the yeay, some areas are still six - feet underwater, and many factory areas remained closed. 790 people are killed, with 58 of the country's 77 provinces affected.
- 1777 - Marquis de Lafayette, age 19, made major-general of Continental Army.
- 1790 - In New York City, Attorney General Edmund Jennings Randolph issues the first U.S. patent, No. X000001, to Samuel Hopkins for "the improvement of pot ash and pearl ash".
- 1792 - David Rittenhouse lays foundation stone for Philadelphia Mint.
- 1798 - President John Adams issues proclamation extending circulation of foreign coins, due to coin shortage.
- 1809 - First practical US railroad track (wooden, for horse-drawn cars), Philadelphia.
- 1813 - British invade Plattsburgh, New York.
- 1912 - US government prohibits movies and photos of prize fights (censorship).
- 1914 - The New York Stock Exchange closes its doors due to the war in Europe.
- 1922 - 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson rides world's first water skis (Minnesota, USA).
- 1931 - USS Constitution is recommissioned as an active vessel in the US Navy.
- 1932 - The US Mint releases the Washington quarter dollar to circulation.
- 1949 - Lightning strikes a baseball field in Florida, kills the shortstop and third baseman.
- 1964 - US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on the Moon. These are the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
- 1966 - Alabamans burn products of The Beatles due to John Lennon's "bigger than Jesus" remark.
- 1969 - National Guard mobilizes in racial disturbances in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- 1971 - Apollo 15 astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin are the first men to ride in a vehicle on the Moon, televised back to Earth to millions of viewers. The Moon ride lasted two hours.
- 1973 - Delta Airlines DC-9 crashes in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1974 - Congress passes legislation giving the president authority to legalize private ownership of gold.
- 1976 - NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo taken by Viking 1.
- 1981 - Arnette Hubbard installed as president of the US National Bar Association.
- 1987 - Rockwell International awarded contract to build a 5th space shuttle.
- 1999 - Mark O. Barton kills nine in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 2000 - (to August 3) The Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania nominates George W. Bush for U.S. President and Dick Cheney for Vice President.
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