May 31
is the 151st day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar (152nd in
leap years), with 214 days remaining.
*
1223 -
Battle of the Kalka River between the
Mongol armies of
Genghis Khan and
East Slavic warriors.
*
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 -
Patriots in
Charlotte, North Carolina adopt the
Mecklenburg Resolutions urging the
American Colonies to declare independence from
Great Britain.
*
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.
*
1862 -
American Civil War: The
Battle of Seven Pines.
*
1864 -
American Civil War: The
Battle of Cold Harbor begins.
*
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 -
John Harvey Kellogg patents
corn flakes.
*
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 last
Afrikaner resistance forces sign a peace treaty with the
British at
Pretoria, ending the war, and ensuring
British control of
South Africa.
*
1910 - Creation of the
Union of South Africa.
*
1913 - The
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing direct election of
United States Senators, is declared ratified.
*
1916 -
World War I: The
German and
British navies clash in the
Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the war.
*
1921 -
Tulsa Race Riot: A
civil unrest in
Tulsa, Oklahoma,
USA, the official death toll is 39, but recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
*1921 -
Comedian Buster Keaton marries actress
Natalie Talmadge.
*
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.
*
1942 -
World War II:
Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of
attacks on Sydney,
Australia.
*1942 -
World War II: The
Luftwaffe bombs
Coventry,
England.
*
1952 -
Dwight D. Eisenhower retires from active service in the
United States Army.
*
1961 - Creation of the
Republic of South Africa.
*
1962 - The
West Indies Federation dissolves.
*
1969 -
John Lennon and
Yoko Ono record
Give Peace a Chance, the first single recorded by a solo
Beatle, from their hotel bed.
*
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 "
Monday holiday law" passed by the
U.S. Congress in
1968,
Memorial Day is observed in the
United States on the last
Monday in
May for the first time, rather than on the traditional
Memorial Day of
May 30.
*
1972 -
AFC Ajax wins the
European Cup, later to become the (
UEFA Champions League) for the 2nd straight year.
*
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.
*
1974 -
Syria and
Israel sign a disengagement agreement to resolve the
Yom Kippur War*
1977 - The
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.
*
1985 -
The US-Canadian Outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
New York, and
Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
*
1990 - The
pilot episode of
Seinfeld premieres.
*
1997 - The
Confederation Bridge opens, linking
Prince Edward Island with mainland
New Brunswick.
*
2002 - The 17th
Football World Cup, co-hosted by
Japan and
South Korea, begins with a 1-0 upset of
France by
Senegal. The tournament ends on
June 30, with
Brazil winning a record fifth
World Cup title.
*
2002 - The
Secretary of the Navy directed all
United States Navy ships to fly the
First Navy Jack in honor of those killed in the
September 11, 2001 attacks. The ensign will be flown for the duration of the
War on Terrorism.
*
2002 - A series a major storms blew through Western Pennsylvania killing 1 person when the Whip pavillion at
Kennywood collapsed.
*
2003 - The final flight of an
Air France Concorde takes place.
*
2003 -
1996 Atlanta Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph is captured in
Murphy, North Carolina.
*
2004 - A foul-up during routine software update at the
Royal Bank of Canada leads to a three-day misplacement of 10 million account balances.
*
2005 -
W. Mark Felt admits in the magazine
Vanity Fair that he is the anonymous source
Deep Throat in the
Watergate scandal.
*
2006 -
Katie Couric last day as anchor of the
Today Show on
NBC after 15 years.
*
1048 -
Omar Khayyám, Persian philosopher (d.
1131)
*
1443 -
Margaret Beaufort, mother of
Henry VII of England (d.
1509)
*
1469 - King
Manuel I of Portugal (d.
1521)
*
1535 -
Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d.
1607)
*
1557 -
Feodor I,
Tsar of Russia (d.
1598)
*
1613 -
John George II, Elector of Saxony (d.
1680)
*
1640 -
Michał Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (d.
1673)
*
1656 -
Marin Marais, French composer (d.
1728)
*
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)
*
1819 -
Walt Whitman, American poet (d.
1892)
*
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)
*
1883 -
Lauri Kristian Relander,
President of Finland (d.
1942)
*
1887 -
Saint-John Perse, French diplomat,
Nobel laureate (d.
1975)
*
1892 -
Michel Kikoine, Belarus painter (d.
1968)
* 1892 -
Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (d.
1968)
*
1894 -
Fred Allen, American comedian (d.
1956)
*
1898 - Dr.
Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d.
1993)
*
1908 -
Don Ameche, American actor (d.
1993)
*
1911 -
Maurice Allais, French economist,
Nobel laureate*
1912 -
Alfred Deller, English countertenor (d.
1979)
*
1916 -
Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (d.
1997)
*
1921 -
Alida Valli, Italian actress (d.
2006)
*
1922 -
Denholm Elliott, English actor (d.
1992)
*
1923 - Prince
Rainier III of Monaco (d.
2005)
*
1930 -
Clint Eastwood, American actor
*
1931 -
John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist,
Nobel laureate* 1931 -
Shirley Verrett, American soprano
*
1932 -
Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d.
1994)
*
1935 -
Jim Bolger,
Prime Minister of New Zealand*
1938 -
Johnny PayCheck, American singer (d.
2003)
* 1938 -
John Prescott,
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom* 1938 -
Peter Yarrow, American folk singer (
Peter, Paul and Mary)
*
1939 -
Terry Waite, British humanitarian
*
1941 -
Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist,
Nobel laureate*
1943 -
Sharon Gless, American actress
* 1943 -
Joe Namath, American football player
*
1945 -
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German film director (d.
1982)
*
1948 -
John Bonham, British musician (
Led Zeppelin) (d.
1980)
*
1949 -
Tom Berenger, American actor
*
1950 -
Gregory Harrison, American television actor
*
1954 -
Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d.
2000)
*
1957 -
Jim Craig, American hockey player
*
1960 -
Chris Elliott, American comedian
*
1961 -
Lea Thompson, American actress
*
1962 -
Corey Hart, Canadian musician
*
1963 -
Wesley Willis, American musician (d.
2003)
*
1963 -
Hugh Dillon, Canadian actor
* 1963 -
Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian
*
1964 -
Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman
* 1964 -
Darryl McDaniels, American musician (
Run-D.M.C.)
*
1965 -
Brooke Shields, American model
*
1967 -
Kenny Lofton, baseball player
* 1967 -
Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
* 1967 -
Vampiro, professional wrestler
*
1972 -
Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier
* 1972 -
Sarah Murdoch, English model
*
1975 -
Sienna Guillory, English Actress
*
1976 -
Colin Farrell, Irish actor
*
1977 -
Debbie King, English TV Presenter
* 1977 -
Scott Klopfenstein, American musician {
Reel Big Fish,
The Littlest Man Band}
*
1980 -
Andrew Hurley, American musician (
Fall Out Boy)
*
1984 -
Jason Smith, Australian actor
*
1246 -
Isabella of Angouleme, queen of
John of England*
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)
*
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)
*
1957 -
Leopold Staff, Polish poet (b.
1878)
*
1960 -
Walther Funk, Nazi leader (b.
1890)
* 1960 -
Willem Elsschot, Flemish writer (b.
1882)
*
1961 -
Walter Little, Canadian politician (b.
1877)
*
1970 -
Terry Sawchuk, hockey player (b.
1929)
*
1976 -
Jacques Monod, French biologist,
Nobel laureate (b.
1910)
*
1977 -
William Castle, American director (b.
1914)
*
1978 -
József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b.
1925)
*
1983 -
Jack Dempsey, American boxer (b.
1895)
*
1986 -
James Rainwater, American physicist,
Nobel laureate (b.
1917)
*
1996 -
Timothy Leary, American professor (b.
1920)
* 1996 -
Paul Peter Piech, American artist (b.
1920)
*
1997 -
James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (b.
1905)
*
2000 -
Tito Puente, American musician (b.
1923)
* 2000 -
Johnnie Taylor, American singer (b.
1938)
*
2004 -
Robert Quine, American guitarist (b.
1941)
*
2006 -
Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate
*The
Godiva procession.
*
World No Tobacco Day.
*
IT Day.
*
Syaday (
Discordianism) (5th day of the season of
Confusion, honors
Apostle Sri Syadasti).
Liturgical Feast days
*the
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary*
Saint Gislemerio*
Saint Mechtilde of Diessen*
Saint Petronella.
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On this day in CanadaMay 30 -
June 1 -
April 30 -
June 30 -
listing of all days
