May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 214 days remaining until the end of the year. [edit] Events - 1279 BC – Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
- 526 – A devastating earthquake strikes Antioch, Turkey, killing 250,000.
- 1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River – Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans.
- 1578 – Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool's gold, used to pave streets in London.
- 1669 – Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
- 1678 – The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.
- 1759 – The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions.
- 1775 – American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolutions adopted in the Province of North Carolina
- 1790 – Alferez Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- 1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
- 1813 – In Australia, Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.
- 1859 – The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.
- 1862 – American Civil War Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) – Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & G. W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.
- 1864 – American Civil War Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor – The Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee engages the Army of the Potomac under Ulysses S. Grant & George G. Meade.
- 1866 – In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the English. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
- 1884 –Arrival at Plymouth of Tawhiao, King of Maoris, to claim protection of Queen Victoria
- 1889 – Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
- 1902 – Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
- 1910 – Creation of the Union of South Africa.
- 1911 – The ocean liner R.M.S. Titanic is launched.
- 1916 – World War I: Battle of Jutland – The British Grand Fleet under the command of Sir John Jellicoe & Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Reinhard Scheer & Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
- 1921 – Tulsa Race Riot: A civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, the official death toll is 39, but recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
- 1924 – The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Peking government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promises to respect.
- 1927 – The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
- 1931 – 7.1 magnitude Earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan: 40,000 dead.
- 1941 – A Luftwaffe air raid in Dublin, Ireland claims 38 lives.
- 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
- 1943 – Zoot Suit Riots begin
- 1961 – Republic of South Africa created.
- 1962 – The West Indies Federation dissolves.
- 1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
- 1970 – The Ancash earthquake causes a landslide that buries the town of Yungay, Peru; more than 47,000 people are killed.
- 1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
- 1973 – The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.
- 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System completed.
- 1981 – Burning of Jaffna library, Sri Lanka, It is one of the violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the twentieth century.
- 1985 – 1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
- 1985 – Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) became a Schedule I drug in the United States.
- 1987 – Athena 98.4 FM, the first legal private radio station in Greece, starts broadcasting.
[edit] Births - 1443 – Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
- 1469 – Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
- 1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
- 1557 – Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)
- 1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
- 1640 – Michael of Poland (d. 1673)
- 1656 – Marin Marais, French composer (d. 1728)
- 1732 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Archbishop of Salzburg (d. 1812)
- 1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French revolutionary (d. 1793)
- 1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (d. 1817)
- 1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German writer (d. 1853)
- 1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist (d. 1887)
- 1818 – John Albion Andrew, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1867)
- 1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)
- 1835 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese military leader (d. 1869)
- 1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (d. 1900)
- 1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentine explorer (d. 1919)
- 1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
- 1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
- 1863 – Francis Younghusband, British explorer (d. 1942)
- 1872 – Heath Robinson, English cartoonist (d. 1944)
- 1882 – Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian politician (d. 1956)
- 1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
- 1885 – Alois Hudal, bishop, helped Nazis escape trial (d. 1963)
- 1887 – Saint-John Perse, French diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarus painter (d. 1968)
- 1892 – Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (d. 1968)
- 1892 – Gregor Strasser, German Nazi politician (d. 1934)
- 1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian (d. 1956)
- 1898 – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d. 1993)
- 1901 – Alfredo Antonini, American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
- 1905 – Florence Desmond, English actress and comedian (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Nils Poppe, Swedish actor (d. 2000)
- 1909 – Aurore Gagnon, French Canadian victim of child abuse (d. 1920)
- 1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1912 – Alfred Deller, English countertenor (d. 1979)
- 1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (d. 1997)
- 1921 – Alida Valli, Italian actress (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)
- 1922 – Denholm Elliott, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
- 1930 – Clint Eastwood, American film director and actor
- 1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano
- 1932 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian musician, producer
- 1932 – Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d. 1994)
- 1933 – Henry B. Eyring, LDS apostle, son of award-winning chemist Henry Eyring
- 1935 – Jim Bolger, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1938 – John Prescott, former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1938 – Peter Yarrow, American folk singer (Peter, Paul and Mary)
- 1939 – Terry Waite, British humanitarian
- 1940 – Gilbert Shelton, American underground comics illustrator
- 1941 – Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress
- 1943 – Joe Namath, American football player
- 1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German film director (d. 1982)
- 1945 – Bernard Goldberg, American journalist
- 1946 – Ted Baehr, American media critic
- 1946 – Steve Bucknor, West Indian Cricket Umpire
- 1947 – Junior Campbell, British musician and songwriter (The Marmalade)
- 1948 – John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)
- 1948 – Duncan Hunter, American politician, 2008 presidential candidate
- 1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor
- 1949 – Nancy Shade, American soprano
- 1950 – Gregory Harrison, American actor
- 1952 – Karl Bartos, German musician (Kraftwerk, Electronic)
- 1953 – Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor
- 1954 – Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)
- 1954 – Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
- 1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian Guitarist CGP
- 1956 – Fritz Hilpert, German musician and sound engineer (Kraftwerk)
- 1957 – Jim Craig, American hockey player
- 1959 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver
- 1960 – Greg C. Adams, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 – Chris Elliott, American comedian
- 1961 – Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress
- 1961 – Justin Madden, Australian politician and former Australian rules footballer
- 1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian musician
- 1962 – Sebastian Koch, German actor
- 1963 – Hugh Dillon, Canadian musician and actor
- 1963 – Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician
- 1963 – Wesley Willis, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1964 – Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman
- 1964 – Scotti Hill, American rock guitarist
- 1964 – Darryl McDaniels, American musician (Run-D.M.C.)
- 1965 – Brooke Shields, American actress and supermodel
- 1966 – Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian
- 1966 – Nick Scotti, American actor and singer
- 1967 – Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
- 1967 – Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television personality
- 1967 – Kenny Lofton, American baseball player
- 1967 – Vampiro, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1969 – Mindi Abair, American smooth jazz saxophonist
- 1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1972 – Sarah Murdoch, Australian model
- 1972 – Karl Geary, Irish actor
- 1972 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player
- 1973 – Dominique Van Roost, Belgian tennis player
- 1974 – Chad Campbell, American golfer
- 1974 – Zsolt Erdei, Hungarian light heavyweight boxer
- 1974 – Adrian Tomine, American cartoonist
- 1974 – Sean Kent, American stand-up comedian, actor and writer
- 1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor
- 1976 – Matt Harpring, American basketball player
- 1977 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
- 1977 – Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-born Greek volleyball player
- 1977 – Debbie King, English TV presenter
- 1977 – Scott Klopfenstein, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
- 1977 – Phil Devey, Canadian baseball player
- 1977 – Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer
- 1977 – Greg Leeb, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Joachim Olsen, Danish athlete
- 1977 – Joel Ross, British disc jockey
- 1977 – June Sarpong, British television presenter
- 1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
- 1977 – Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player
- 1980 – Craig Bolton, Australian rules footballer
- 1980 – Andy Hurley, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
- 1981 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player
- 1982 – Jonathan Tucker, American actor
- 1983 – David Hernandez, American singer
- 1983 – Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer
- 1983 – Reggie Yates, English television presenter
- 1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player
- 1984 – Jason Smith, Australian actor
- 1984 – Milorad Cavic, Serbian swimmer
- 1985 – Ian Vouyoukas, Greek basketball player
- 1986 – Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
- 1986 – Sopho Khalvashi, Georgian musical artist
- 1986 – Melissa McIntyre, Canadian actress
- 1990 – Erik Karlsson, Swedish Ice Hockey Player
- 1994 – Shim Eun-kyung, South Korean child actress
[edit] Deaths - 1246 – Isabella of Angouleme, queen of John of England (b. 1188)
- 1349 – Thomas Wake, English politician (b. 1297)
- 1408 – Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1358)
- 1410 – King Martin I of Aragon (b. 1356)
- 1495 – Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (b. 1415)
- 1558 – Philip Hoby, English politician (b. 1505)
- 1567 – Guido de Bres, Belgian theologian (b. 1522)
- 1594 – Tintoretto, Italian painter (b. 1518)
- 1680 – Joachim Neander, German clergyman (b. 1650)
- 1740 – King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia (b. 1688)
- 1747 – Andrei Osterman, Russian statesman (b. 1686)
- 1799 – Pierre Lemonnier, French astronomer (b. 1715)
- 1809 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (b. 1732)
- 1809 – Jean Lannes, French marshal (b. 1769)
- 1831 – Samuel Bentham, British mechanical engineer (b. 1757)
- 1832 – Évariste Galois, French mathematician (b. 1811)
- 1837 – Joseph Grimaldi, British clown (b. 1779)
- 1846 – Philip Marheineke, German clergyman (b. 1780)
- 1847 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor (b. 1780)
- 1848 – Eugénie de Guérin, French writer (b. 1805)
- 1908 – Louis-Honoré Fréchette, French Canadian poet (b. 1839)
- 1910 – Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician (b. 1821)
- 1931 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, French Canadian cardinal, archbishop of Quebec (b. 1866)
- 1945 – Odilo Globocnik, Austrian nazi (b. 1904)
- 1957 – Stefanos Sarafis, officer of the Hellenic Army and member of the Greek Resistance (b. 1890)
- 1957 – Leopold Staff, Polish poet (b. 1878)
- 1960 – Willem Elsschot, Flemish writer (b. 1882)
- 1960 – Walther Funk, Nazi leader (b. 1890)
- 1961 – Walter Little, Canadian politician (b. 1877)
- 1962 – Henry Fountain Ashurst, American politician (b. 1874)
- 1962 – Adolf Eichmann, Nazi official by execution (b. 1906)
- 1967 – Billy Strayhorn, American composer, pianist and arranger (b. 1915)
- 1970 – Terry Sawchuk, hockey player (b. 1929)
- 1972 – Walter Freeman, American physician (b. 1895)
- 1976 – Jacques Monod, French biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
- 1977 – William Castle, American film director (b. 1914)
- 1978 – József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
- 1983 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer (b. 1895)
- 1985 – Gaston Rébuffat, Legendary French mountaineer (b. 1921)
- 1986 – Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank), American artist (b. 1918)
- 1986 – James Rainwater, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1917)
- 1987 – John Abraham (director), Indian film director (b. 1937)
- 1993 – Spuds Mackenzie, American advertisement dog
- 1994 – Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (b. 1909)
- 1996 – Timothy Leary, American professor and LSD advocate (b. 1920)
- 1997 – James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (b. 1905)
- 1998 – Charles Van Acker, Belgian racing driver (b. 1912)
- 2000 – Tito Puente, American musician (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Johnnie Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)
- 2001 – Arlene Francis, American television personality (d. 1907)
- 2004 – Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)
- 2004 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2006 – Ryan Bennett, broadcast commentator (b. 1970)
- 2006 – Miguel Berrocal, sculptor (b. 1933)
- 2006 – Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter, mother of singer Stevie Wonder (b. 1930)
- 2009 – Millvina Dean, longest living survivor of the RMS Titanic disaster (b. 1912)
- 2009 – George Tiller, American abortion doctor (b. 1941)
- 2009 – Danny La Rue, British entertainer (b. 1927)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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