What Happened Today in History on July 31

King William II of England, also known as William Rufus, is killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest. Some believe that his brother Henry plotted his death since shortly after his brother William's death, he rushed to be crowned king before anyone could contest him. Also, Walter Tirel, the person that killed King William, fled to France following the incident, which over time has been viewed as an admission of guilt. Yet hunting was not a particularly safe at the time with frequent hunting accidents some of which were  fatal. More

The Urca de Lima and 9 other treasure ships on their way back to Spain from Havana were all lost in a hurricane off the Atlantic coast. More than 700 seamen, including the Spanish commander, drowned. More than $15 million worth of treasure sank to the bottom of the ocean. Spain managed to recover about $4 million of the treasure. The rest remained on the ocean floor for more than 250 years. More

The Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army. His Masonic membership opened many doors in Philadelphia. Lafayette's advocates included Benjamin Franklin who had recently arrived back from his assignment as American envoy to France. Congress was urged to accommodate the young Frenchman who had offered to serve without pay. 

Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo closes the New York Stock Exchange to stop the European liquidation of American securities caused by the outbreak of WWI. After several days of selloffs, about $3 billion (equivalent to $90 billion in 2023) of foreign portfolio investments had been sold. All of the world’s financial markets also closed. The Sock market remained closed for four months opening again on December 12, 1914. Bond trading had restarted on November 28, 1914. The liquidation of European-held securities transformed the United States from a debtor nation to a creditor nation for the first time in its history. More

The Battle of Passchendaele begins. It was a major WWI campaign lasting four months in the Ypres Salient in Belgium; a brutal and costly offensive with the goal of capturing Passchendaele Ridge and advancing towards the Belgian coast. It was primarily launched by the British including  Canadian and Australian troops and the French army, against the German army. The battle was fought under horrific conditions, including heavy rain, mud, and shell-churned terrain, which significantly hampered troop movements and contributed to the estimated 300,000 to 500,000 casualties on both sides.

Apollo 15 becomes the first mission to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), also known as the "Moon buggy," As astronauts David Scott and James Irwin took the first ride in the LRV, a lightweight, electric vehicle designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon. It was capable of traversing the lunar surface, allowing Apollo astronauts to extend the range of their extravehicular activities. More

Delta Air Lines DC-9 Flight 723, on approach to Boston, Massachusetts slams into a seawall at the foot of the runway, killing 88 of the 89 people on board. The lone survivor was Leopold Chouinard, who clung to life despite severe injuries but, tragically, died in the hospital four months after the crash. More