On This Day in History – July 31

by hpmom July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

1498 – Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad during his third voyage to the Americas.
1790 – The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins for a process of making potash, a component used in fertilizer.
1912 – The U.S. government established the Bureau of Investigation, later known as the FBI.
1930 – The radio mystery program The Shadow aired for the first time.
1941 – Hermann Göring ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to prepare the “Final Solution” for the Jewish question in Nazi-occupied Europe.
1971 – Apollo 15 astronauts completed the first moonwalk using a lunar rover vehicle.
2006 – Fidel Castro temporarily handed over power of Cuba to his brother Raúl Castro due to illness.

Milton Friedman (1912–2006), American economist and Nobel Prize winner
Wesley Snipes (born 1962), American actor known for the Blade film series
J.K. Rowling (born 1965), British author best known for writing the Harry Potter series
Zac Brown (born 1978), American country music singer and frontman of the Zac Brown Band
Mark Cuban (born 1958), American entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks

Andrew Johnson (d. 1875), 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
Franz Liszt (d. 1886), Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist (b. 1811)
Bobby Hebb (d. 2010), American soul singer known for the song “Sunny” (b. 1938)
Magdalena Abakanowicz (d. 2017), Polish sculptor and fiber artist (b. 1930)

Ka Hae Hawaiʻi Day (Hawaii) – Commemorating the adoption of the flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Flag Day (Sweden) – Observing national heritage and symbols.
Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola – Honoring the founder of the Jesuits in the Catholic tradition.

J.K. Rowling shares a birthday with her most famous character, Harry Potter.
The first U.S. patent marked the beginning of formal intellectual property protection in the U.S.
The Shadow radio program was so popular it eventually inspired the creation of Batman.
On this day, Christopher Columbus unknowingly named the island of Trinidad based on a religious vow.