Tornado outbreak of March 31 – April 1, 2023
A historic tornado outbreak occurs in the American Midwest and South.
What happened on March 31
36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1521 to 2026.
Standout on March 31
2018
Gyumri
Nikol Pashinyan began his protest walk, starting in the city of Gyumri, opening the 2018 Armenian revolution.
About March 31
March 31 is the 90th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 90 of 365 (91 in leap years)275 days left in the year (275 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Tuesday in 2026, Wednesday in 2027, Friday in 2028, Saturday in 2029, Sunday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 14 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♈ Aries (March 21 – April 19)
- Season
- Spring in the north · Autumn in the south
- March birthstone
- Aquamarine / Bloodstoneserenity, courage and health
- March birth flower
- Daffodil / Jonquilnew beginnings and rebirth
- Next occurrence
- In 155 days
- Roman numerals
- XXXI.IIIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 125thMoment magnitude scale1901
- 60thLabour Party (UK)1966
- 60thSoviet Union1966
- 40thMexicana de Aviación Flight 9401986
- 10thDenise Robertson2016
- 10thHans-Dietrich Genscher2016
- 10thImre Kertész2016
- 10thNASA2016
March 31 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- NASA · Imre Kertész · Ronnie Corbett
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on March 31 — ages this year
- 2005Reed Baker-Whitingturns 21
- 2004Mateo Sanabriaturns 22
- 2004Samson Baidooturns 22
- 2004Alex Luna (footballer)turns 22
- 1999Adele Tanturns 27
- 1999Denys Strekalinturns 27
Historical events 36
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Belvidere Apollo Theatre collapse
A tornado caused the collapse of a venue hosting a sold-out concert in Belvidere, Illinois, United States, resulting in one death and 48 injuries.
Gyumri
Nikol Pashinyan began his protest walk, starting in the city of Gyumri, opening the 2018 Armenian revolution.
2018 Armenian Revolution
Start of the 2018 Armenian revolution.
NASA
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko return to Earth after a yearlong mission at the International Space Station.
Dwarf planet
The dwarf planet Makemake is discovered by a team led by astronomer Michael E. Brown at the Palomar Observatory.
Old National Library Building
The Old National Library Building in Singapore was closed to make way for a tunnel, despite widespread protests.
Anbar campaign (2003–2011)
Iraq War in Anbar Province: In Fallujah, Iraq, four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed after being ambushed.
Netscape
Netscape releases Mozilla source code under an open source license.
TAROM Flight 371
TAROM Flight 371 (pictured) crashed near Balotești, Romania, killing all 60 people on board.
Selena
American singer-songwriter Selena, known as the "queen of Tejano music", was murdered by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar, in Corpus Christi, Texas, deeply affecting the Latino community.
Macao Basic Law
The Macao Basic Law is adopted by the Eighth National People's Congress of China to take effect December 20, 1999. Resumption by China of the Exercise of Sovereignty over Macao
Treaty of Federation
The Treaty of Federation is signed in Moscow.
USS Missouri (BB-63)
USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, was decommissioned in Long Beach, California.
1991 Georgian independence referendum
Georgian independence referendum: Nearly 99 percent of the voters support the country's independence from the Soviet Union.
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact formally disbands.
Poll tax riots
Approximately 200,000 protesters take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.
Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940
Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940 crashed into the Sierra Madre Oriental near Maravatío, killing 167 people.
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.
Explorer 1
Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.
President of the United States
American President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to the nation of "Steps to Limit the War in Vietnam" in a television address. At the conclusion of his speech, he announces: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party under Harold Wilson wins the 1966 United Kingdom general election.
Brazilian Armed Forces
The Brazilian Armed Forces overthrew President João Goulart, establishing a military dictatorship that lasted 21 years.
Dalai Lama's escape from China
After a two-week escape journey from Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama reached the Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh in India.
World War II
Second World War: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas Island without any resistance.
Cinema of the United States
To avoid government censorship, Hollywood movie studios instituted their own set of industry censorship guidelines, popularly known as the Hays Code.
Royal Australian Air Force
The Australian Air Force was formed, replacing the short-lived Australian Air Corps and separating it from the Army.
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg conducted the Vienna Concert Society in a concert of expressionist music that so shocked the audience that they began to riot.
Federation of Stoke-on-Trent
Six English towns amalgamated to form a single county borough called Stoke-on-Trent, the first union of its type.
Moment magnitude scale
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Black Sea, the most powerful ever recorded in the area.
Philippine–American War
Philippine–American War: Malolos, capital of the First Philippine Republic, was captured by American forces.
United States Navy
U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry (Japanese depiction pictured) and the Tokugawa shogunate signed the Convention of Kanagawa, forcing the opening of Japanese ports to American trade.
Action of 31 March 1800
After fighting through the night, the French Navy ship of the line Guillaume Tell surrendered to a British squadron in the Malta Channel.
1761 Lisbon earthquake
Lisbon experienced its second major earthquake in six years, with effects felt as far north as Scotland.
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan and members of his crew participated in the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis, Canadian politician and diplomat, 14th Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations (born 1937)
Moana Jackson
Moana Jackson, New Zealand lawyer specialising in constitutional law (born 1945)
Shirley Burkovich
Shirley Burkovich, former American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) player (born 1933)
Gilbert Baker (artist)
Gilbert Baker, American artist and LGBT rights activist (born 1951)
Denise Robertson
Denise Robertson, British writer and television broadcaster (born 1932)
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-born English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (born 1950)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Abdas of Susa
Christian feast day Abdas of Susa
Balbina of Rome
Christian feast day Balbina
Anesius
Christian feast day Anesius and companions
Natalia Tułasiewicz
Christian feast day Natalia Tułasiewicz
John Donne
Christian feast day John Donne (Anglican Communion, Lutheran)
Acathius I of Melitene
Christian feast day Acathius of Melitene (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Benjamin the Deacon and Martyr
Christian feast day Benjamin
Cesar Chavez Day
Cesar Chavez Day (California, Washington (state))
Spread across the centuries
- 16th century1
- 18th century2
- 19th century2
- 20th century39
- 21st century32
Earliest: Ferdinand Magellan (1521). Most recent: Stephen Lewis (2026).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about March 31
What day of the year is March 31?
March 31 is the 90th day of the year, with 275 days left after it.
What star sign is March 31?
March 31 falls under Aries (March 21 – April 19), a fire sign ruled by Mars. The birthstone for the month is Aquamarine or Bloodstone.
How many things happened on March 31?
We record 84 entries for March 31: 36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1521 to 2026.
Who was born on March 31?
Reed Baker-Whiting (2005) is among the notable births on March 31. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the March 31 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like March 31
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.