Calendar: What happened on August 31?

The August 31 calendar includes historical events, anniversaries and notable birthdays.

In 2006, Tagesthemen presenter Ulrich Wickert left the programme after 15 years. That year, authorities also recovered Edvard Munch’s paintings “The Scream” and “Madonna,” two years after their theft in Oslo.

Other entries recall the 1986 sinking of the Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov after it collided with a freighter in the Black Sea, killing 423 people. In 1951, Germany presented its first long-playing record, operating at 33⅓ revolutions per minute, at the German Music Fair in Düsseldorf. In 1906, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen completed the first voyage through the Northwest Passage, reaching Nome, Alaska, after several winters.

The listed birthdays include German-Polish actor Lucas Gregorowicz, Brazilian footballer Roque Júnior and Norwegian writer Knut Faldbakken. German writer Wolfgang Hilbig, born in 1941, is also remembered. The death anniversary listed is that of German actress Rosel Zech, who died in 2011.

“

Thank you for welcoming and putting up with me in your living room.