In The Netherlands , there was from November 3, 1877 to August 20, 1879 the cabinet Kappeijne van de Coppello, with Mr. J. Kappeijne van de Coppello (liberaal) as prime minister.
March 15 » Restoration of the Scottish Catholic hierarchy, broken off back in 1603.
May 14 » The last witchcraft trial held in the United States begins in Salem, Massachusetts, after Lucretia Brown, an adherent of Christian Science, accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through his mental powers.
October 15 » The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation.
November 17 » First assassination attempt against Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Giovanni Passannante, who was armed with a dagger. The King survived with a slight wound in an arm. Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli blocked the aggressor, receiving an injury in a leg.
December 31 » Karl Benz, working in Mannheim, Germany, filed for a patent on his first reliable two-stroke gas engine, and he was granted the patent in 1879.
Day of death July 31, 1931
The temperature on July 31, 1931 was between 11.9 °C and 21.9 °C and averaged 17.1 °C. There was 5.7 hours of sunshine (37%). The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the south-southwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1929 to May 26, 1933 the cabinet Ruys de Beerenbrouck III, with Jonkheer mr. Ch.J.M. Ruys de Beerenbrouck (RKSP) as prime minister.
January 7 » 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.
March 26 » Swissair is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
May 1 » The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
May 7 » The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City.
September 30 » Start of "Die Voortrekkers" youth movement for Afrikaners in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
December 11 » Statute of Westminster 1931: The British Parliament establishes legislative equality between the UK and the Dominions of the Commonwealth—Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Ireland.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I16362.php : accessed January 25, 2026), "Johannes Philip Viljoen (1878-1931)".
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