Following are some of the major events to have occurred on July 31:
1910 – British murderer Dr Hawley Crippen was arrested on a ship off Canada. Although disguised, the Captain recognised him and radioed Scotland Yard. This was the first arrest effected by radio.
1954 – Mount Godwin-Austen (K2) in the Himalayas was first climbed by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.
1993 – King Baudouin of Belgium, Europe’s longest serving monarch, died of a heart attack while on holiday in Spain.
1997 – Lauren Bacall and children launch stamp of late actor Humphrey Bogart.
1997 – Circus acrobats set juggling record maintaining 519 objects in the air at the same time in Rio de Janeiro.
2002 – Pope John Paul II, in a rapturous visit to Mexico, made Juan Diego, a 16th-century peasant, the first Indian saint in the Americas.
2003 – West African leaders approved the deployment of peacekeepers to Liberia and said that President Charles Taylor should leave within three days of the arrival of the troops in the country.
2003 – Couples participating in dance-marathon at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame break world record.
2006 – Cuba’s President Fidel Castro undergoes surgery, delegates government functions to brother Raul.
2009 – Cooks in Mexico City prepare the largest sandwich in the world.
2012 – Swimmer Michael Phelps becomes greatest Olympian of all time when he wins his 19th medal.
(Reuters)