1856 170 years ago Historical Events July 31

Christchurch, New Zealand, is chartered as a city.

On July 31, in the year 1856, Christchurch, New Zealand, is chartered as a city. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of July 31, one of 399 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of 407,800, and a metropolitan population of 556,500. It is located in the Canterbury Region, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by the ancient volcanic complex of the Banks Peninsula. The Avon River / Ōtākaro winds through the centre of the city, with a large urban park along its banks. With the exception of the Port Hills, it is a relatively flat city, on an average about 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. Christchurch has a reputation for being an English city, with its architectural identity and nickname the 'Garden City' due to similarities with garden cities in England, but also has a historic Māori heritage. Christchurch has a temperate oceanic climate with moderate rainfall.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on July 31, 1856 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 28 July 2026.

On This Date in History 399

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 31 Paul Bucha, United States Army Medal of Honor recipient (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 31 Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian politician, political leader of Hamas (born 1962/1963)
Notable Deaths 2023 Jul 31 Angus Cloud, American actor (born 1998)
Notable Deaths 2022 Jul 31 Fidel V. Ramos, 12th President of the Philippines (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2022 Jul 31 Bill Russell, NBA Hall of Fame player and coach (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2020 Jul 31 Alan Parker, English filmmaker (born 1944)
Selected Events 2020 Jul 31 A mid-air collision in Soldotna, Alaska, kills seven people including state representative Gary Knopp.
Selected Events 2020 Jul 31 A mid-air collision in Soldotna, Alaska, killed seven people, including state representative Gary Knopp.
Notable Deaths 2019 Jul 31 Harold Prince, Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2018 Jul 31 Tony Bullimore, British sailor & businessman (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2017 Jul 31 Jeanne Moreau, French actress (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2016 Jul 31 Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2016 Jul 31 Seymour Papert, South African mathematician (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 31 Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 31 Howard W. Jones, American surgeon and academic (born 1910)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 31 Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 31 Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor (born 1954)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 31 Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (born…
Historical Events 2014 Jul 31 Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 31 Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 31 Nabarun Bhattacharya, Indian journalist and author (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 31 Jeff Bourne, English footballer (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 31 Wilfred Feinberg, American lawyer and judge (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 31 Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 31 Michel Donnet, English-Belgian general and pilot (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 31 John Graves, American captain and author (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 31 Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (born 1930)
Historical Events 2012 Jul 31 Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 31 Mollie Hunter, Scottish author and playwright (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 31 Alfredo Ramos, Brazilian footballer and coach (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 31 Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 31 Tony Sly, American musician, singer-songwriter (born 1970)
Selected Events 2012 Jul 31 The largest power outage in history occurred across 22 Indian states, affecting more than 620 million people, or about…
Notable Deaths 2009 Jul 31 Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2009 Jul 31 Harry Alan Towers, English-Canadian screenwriter and producer (born 1920)
Historical Events 2008 Jul 31 East Coast Jets Flight 81 crashes near Owatonna Degner Regional Airport in Owatonna, Minnesota, killing all eight…
Historical Events 2007 Jul 31 Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation…
Selected Events 2007 Jul 31 The Troubles: Operation Banner, the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland, ended after 38 years with a…
Historical Events 2006 Jul 31 Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl.
Selected Events 2006 Jul 31 Following intestinal surgery, Fidel Castro provisionally transferred the duties of the Cuban presidency to his brother…
Notable Deaths 2005 Jul 31 Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician, 1st President of the European Central Bank (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2004 Jul 31 Virginia Grey, American actress (born 1917)
Notable Births 2003 Jul 31 Calvin Ramsay, Scottish footballer
Notable Deaths 2003 Jul 31 Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (born 1933)
Notable Births 2002 Jul 31 João Gomes, Brazilian singer
Notable Births 2002 Jul 31 Will Penisini, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
Selected Events 2002 Jul 31 Hamas detonated a bomb at the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, killing nine students and…
Selected Events 2002 Jul 31 Hamas attackers detonated a bomb at the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, killing nine…
Notable Deaths 2001 Jul 31 Francisco da Costa Gomes, Portuguese general and politician, 15th President of Portugal (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2001 Jul 31 Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (born 1910)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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