Famous people born on July 31 — and what else happened that day
If your birthday is July 31, you share it with Milton Friedman, Mark Cuban, J.K. Rowling — and you were born under Leo, the sign of the warm, confident, and born for the spotlight.
Birthday basics for July 31
Leo ♌
Zodiac sign
Ruby
Birthstone
Larkspur
Birth flower
212th
Day of the year
July 31 is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years), with 153 days still to come.
Famous people born on July 31
Milton Friedman — American economist who won the Nobel Prize in Economics (born 1912).
Mark Cuban — American entrepreneur and 'Shark Tank' investor (born 1958).
J.K. Rowling — British author of the Harry Potter series (born 1965).
Also sharing the day:
Primo Levi (b. 1919) — Italian chemist and writer whose memoirs, including The Periodic Table, are modern classics.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley (b. 1951) — Australian tennis great who won seven Grand Slam singles titles.
Wesley Snipes (b. 1962) — American actor who starred in the Blade trilogy and White Men Can't Jump.
July 31 in history
1790 — The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins and signed by President George Washington.
1964 — NASA's Ranger 7 sent back the first close-up photographs of the Moon.
1971 — Apollo 15 astronauts took the first drive on the Moon in the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
1928 — Audiences heard the MGM lion's famous roar for the first time, introducing the studio's first sound film.
1954 — Italian climbers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli completed the first ascent of K2, the world's second-highest peak.
1991 — Presidents George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the START treaty, slashing U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals.
July 31 birthday questions
What zodiac sign is July 31?
Anyone born on July 31 is a Leo — warm, confident, and born for the spotlight.
What is the birthstone for July 31?
The birthstone for a July 31 birthday is Ruby, and the birth flower is the Larkspur.
Who is the most famous person born on July 31?
Milton Friedman is among the best known — American economist who won the Nobel Prize in Economics (born 1912).
What happened on July 31?
In 1790, The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins and signed by President George Washington.
What day of the year is July 31?
July 31 is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years), with 153 days still to come.
Make their day unforgettable
Know someone born on July 31? See the full story of their exact birthday — the headlines, the #1 song, what things cost — and turn it into a personalized front-page newspaper they can keep.