Daily Almanac: August 31, 2023

Sunrise/Sunset:

RISE: 7:13 a.m.
SET: 8:22 p.m.

High/Low Temperatures:

HIGH: 76 °F
LOW: 52 °F

Today is…:

• Eat Outside Day
• Thoughtful Thursday
• We Love Memoirs Day

What Happened On This Day:

• 1998 North Korea Announces the Launch of its First Satellite. According to government sources of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the satellite called Kwangmyongsong-1 was successfully launched into lower Earth orbit. Most space agencies around the world, have not been able to confirm whether the launch was successful.
• 1997 Princess of Wales, Diana, Dies in a Car Crash. Diana, the former wife of Charles, the heir apparent to the British Crown, was fatally injured when the driver of her car lost control while speeding away from paparazzi, and crashed in a road tunnel in Paris, France. Diana’s companion Dodi al Fayed and the car’s driver also died as a result of the accident. Her funeral was one of the most watched televised events of the century.
• 1994 Russian Troops Leave Estonia 3 years after Estonia declared independence from the Soviet Union. USSR had occupied the Baltic country in 1944, during the Second World War. Many Western countries never recognized the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was first established in 1940. Between 1941 and 1944, Nazi Germany occupied the country.

Births On This Day:

• 1945 Van Morrison

Irish singer-songwriter
• 1870 Maria Montessori

Italian physician, educator

Deaths On This Day:

• 1997 Diana, Princess of Wales
• 1973 John Ford

American director