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Made for the 250thOn this day › July 31
What happened on July 31 in American history
July 31 is the 212th day of the year (the 213th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 5 stories from July 31 spanning 1777 to 2012. Among them: in 1777, a nineteen-year-old Frenchman becomes a major general; Congress asks for no pay in return; and in 1790, Washington signs the nation's first patent, for a better way to make potash.
1777
A nineteen-year-old Frenchman becomes a major general; Congress asks for no pay in return
Lafayette crossed an ocean against his king's wishes to join a war that was not his own.
1790Member story · 1776 Club
Washington signs the nation's first patent, for a better way to make potash
A Philadelphia potash maker becomes the first American to hold exclusive rights to an invention.
1948Member story · 1776 Club
Radioactive and unwanted, the Nevada finally goes down under naval gunfire
The battleship that survived Pearl Harbor and an atomic blast could not survive its own Navy's target practice.
1991
Bush and Gorbachev sign a treaty to cut the world's largest nuclear arsenals
Nine years of talks end with limits of 6,000 warheads and 1,600 missiles and bombers on each side.
2012Member story · 1776 Club
Phelps swims past a 48-year-old record; London gives him his 19th medal
The Baltimore swimmer, in his fourth Olympics, finishes the Games with 22 career medals in all.
Read the full July 31 edition →
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