On August 31, a princess’s fatal crash, a typhoon’s devastation, and the dawn of cinema’s kinetoscope mark a day of loss, nature’s fury, and technological birth.
August 31 in History
Diana, Princess of Wales, Dies in Paris Crash
The People's Princess is gone, felled in a Paris tunnel at 36 — a death that stuns a mourning world and leaves two nations in shock.
In the summer of 1997, the world seemed to move to the rhythm of Diana, Princess of Wales — her charity crusades, her candid television confessions, her very presence a kind of public property. Then, in the small hours of August 31, that presence was extinguished. Diana died from injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris. She was 36.
Her companion, Dodi Fayed, and their chauffeur, Henri Paul, were found dead inside the Mercedes. The only survivor was the bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, who was pulled from the wreckage with serious injuries. The car was travelling at an estimated 105 km/h (65 mph), more than twice the 50 km/h (31 mph) speed limit, when it slammed into a pillar in the tunnel.
French investigators would later conclude, in a report that year, that Paul, intoxicated and under the influence of prescription drugs, lost control of the vehicle. A British inquest in 2008 returned a verdict of unlawful killing, citing grossly negligent driving by Paul and the pursuing paparazzi, who had been chasing the couple's car through the streets of Paris.
Diana's funeral, televised from Westminster Abbey, was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide. The flags at Buckingham Palace flew at half-mast, and the flowers piled up outside Kensington Palace in a tide of grief. Her sons, Princes William and Harry, walked behind the coffin, heads bowed, as the world looked on.
Dylan Returns to Stage at Isle of Wight
Bob Dylan, in a cream suit, plays his first paid concert since 1966 before about 150,000 attendees.
Bob Dylan came back to the stage on the final night of the Isle of Wight Festival, his first paid performance since a motorcycle accident sidelined him in 1966. Dressed in a cream suit that recalled Hank Williams, Dylan strolled out before an audience of approximately 150,000 people gathered at Wootton Creek over the three-day festival, and eased into a set backed by the Band.
The crowd, which had waited years for this return, heard countryfied reworkings of older songs such as 'Maggie's Farm' and 'Like a Rolling Stone.' Dylan, relaxed and smiling, seemed to enjoy the warm summer night, trading verses with the Band and drawing cheers with every familiar line.
Among the celebrities in the audience were George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Keith Richards, all of whom had come to see the folk-rock poet resume his live career.
The Bill Ends: 4.4 Million Watch Final Episode
The longest-running British police drama ended with a two-part finale on ITV, drawing 4.4 million viewers.
The Bill, the longest-running police drama in British television history, broadcast its final episode last night, and 4.4 million viewers tuned in to say goodbye. The two-part finale, titled "Respect," aired on ITV on August 31 and was dedicated to "the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Service past and present."
The final scene showed Superintendent Jack Meadows, the longest-serving character, exiting Sun Hill station and driving off into the night. For millions, it was the end of an era that began in 1983 as a one-off film and grew into a fixture of British scheduling.
Typhoon Rusa Kills 236 in South Korea
The most powerful typhoon in 43 years slammed into Goheung, unleashing record rain and flooding that left 236 dead.
Typhoon Rusa approaches the Korean Peninsula, bringing devastating winds and record-breaking rainfall to Korea — MODIS Land Rapid Response Team et al.
Typhoon Rusa slammed into South Korea's southern coast on Saturday, killing at least 236 people and leaving a trail of devastation across the country. The storm, which made landfall in Goheung, was the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, packing winds that tore roofs off buildings and sent waves crashing over seawalls.
As the typhoon moved inland, it dumped record-breaking rainfall, triggering floods and landslides that swept away homes and roads. Rescue workers, battling strong winds and rising waters, pulled survivors from collapsed buildings and flooded villages. The death toll, already at 236, was expected to rise as emergency teams reached isolated areas.
The government mobilized thousands of troops to help with relief efforts, while President Kim Dae-jung declared a state of emergency in affected regions. The storm knocked out power to over a million homes and destroyed crops just weeks before the harvest, compounding the misery for farming communities.
In the hardest-hit areas, entire neighborhoods were submerged, with residents taking refuge on rooftops and in schools. The typhoon also disrupted transportation, with flights cancelled and rail services suspended. As the waters receded, the focus shifted to recovery, but the full scale of the damage was only beginning to emerge.
Edison's Kinetoscope Patented; Precursor to Moving Pictures
The patent covers a peephole viewer that shows films to one person at a time, a device first demonstrated to women's clubs in 1891.
The patent office at Washington has granted to Thomas A. Edison a patent for his Kinetoscope, the machine that shows moving pictures to a single observer through a peephole viewer. The device, largely developed by Mr. Edison's assistant, Mr. William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, between 1889 and 1892, has been exhibited commercially in New York City since April 14, 1894, when ten films were shown. Mr. Edison first announced his intentions in October 1888, filing a caveat that the machine would do "for the Eye what the phonograph does for the Ear." The name, from the Greek kineto and scopos, meaning "to view movement," was adopted in March 1889. A prototype was first shown to the National Federation of Women's Clubs on May 20, 1891.
British Repulsed at Caulk's Field; Captain Parker Slain
American militia, led by Lieutenant Colonel Philip Reed, killed 41 of the enemy, including the British captain, while losing but three wounded.
The repulse of a British landing party at Caulk's Field, in Maryland, has dealt a sharp blow to the enemy's designs on the Chesapeake. On the night of the engagement, under a full moon, a force of American militia commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Philip Reed, a veteran of the Revolution, met and drove back the invaders, killing 41, among them Captain Sir Peter Parker of the Royal Navy, who, mortally wounded in the thigh, bled to death on the field. The British, composed of sailors and Royal Marines, lost heavily in the moonlight, while the Americans suffered only three wounded.
Two Destroyers Lost to Mines Off Texel; 300 Dead
Two Royal Navy destroyers were lost to mines off Texel, with around 300 men killed.
The war at sea exacts a grim toll. Off the island of Texel, on the Dutch coast, two Royal Navy destroyers have been lost to mines, and two other vessels damaged in the same incident, with the loss of around 300 men.
Six Die in Norway Helicopter Crash During Festival Flight
A 27-year-old Swedish pilot was at the controls when the sightseeing helicopter crashed, killing all six aboard.
Fredrik Lindmark, a 27-year-old Swedish pilot, was at the controls of the sightseeing helicopter that crashed in the mountains of Skoddevarre, in Alta Municipality, Norway, killing all six aboard.
Nazis Stage 'Polish' Raid on Gleiwitz Radio
SS officers in Polish uniforms seized the station and broadcast a short anti-German message.
The German radio station Sender Gleiwitz was seized last night by men in Polish uniforms, in an attack that Berlin says proves Polish aggression. The raiders broadcast a short anti-German message in Polish before withdrawing.
Murdered Woman Found in Buck's Row
Mary Ann Nichols's body was discovered at 3:40 am by a carman, 150 yards from the London Hospital.
The body of Mary Ann Nichols, said to be the first victim of the Whitechapel murderer, was found in Buck's Row at 3:40 this morning by Charles Allen Cross, a carman. The spot lies 150 yards from the London Hospital. She had been turned away from her lodging-house for lack of the 4d bed fee. A comb and piece of mirror were found among her effects.
Matagorda Hurricane Dies Out After 8 Deaths
The remnant low of the Matagorda hurricane dissipated today, closing the book on the costliest storm of the 1942 Atlantic season.
The remnant low of the Matagorda hurricane dissipated today, closing the book on the costliest storm of the 1942 Atlantic season. The remnant low dissipated inland over Texas, ending the storm’s two-day assault on the coast.
Sultan Murad V Deposed After 93 Days
Deposed after 93 days, Murad V is replaced by his half-brother, whose reign began May 30.
The Ottoman throne changed hands today as Sultan Murad V, judged mentally unfit to rule, was deposed after a reign of exactly 93 days. His half-brother, Abdul Hamid II, was crowned sultan this same day.
The deposition, sanctioned by the Şeyhülislam, ends Murad's brief tenure, which began May 30.
