January 7, 1931 – Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand’s west coast.

February 17, 1931 – New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Metal Sheep in Chinese astrology.

March 11, 1931 – Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union.

March 19, 1931 – Gambling is legalized in Nevada.

March 31, 1931 – TWA Flight 599 crashes near Bazaar, Kansas killing 8 including Knute Rockne, head football coach at the University of Notre Dame

April 14, 1931 – Spanish Cortes depose King Alfonso XIII and proclaims the 2nd Spanish Republic.

July 31, 1931 – New York City experimental television station W2XAO (now known as WCBS) begins broadcasts.

August 24, 1931 – Resignation of the United Kingdom’s Second Labour Government. Formation of the UK National Government.

October 17, 1931 – Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion.

November 7, 1931 – The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed on the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

January 8, 1931 – Bill Graham, German-born American music promoter (d. 1991)

January 30, 1931 – Allan W. Eckert, American naturalist and author

February 9, 1931 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer

February 18, 1931 – Bob St. Clair, American football player

May 10, 1931 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter

June 21, 1931 – Zlatko Grgić, Croatian animator (d. 1988)

July 7, 1931 – David Eddings, American fantasy novelist (d. 2009)

August 6, 1931 – Chalmers Johnson, American political scholar and author (d. 2010)

September 29, 1931 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish actress

November 1, 1931 – Shunsuke Kikuchi, Japanese composer