May 31

2024 Calendar

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.

Events

Up to 1900

455 – Petronius Maximus, West Roman Emperor
1076 - Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria (b. 1050)
1162 – Geza II of Hungary (b. 1130)
1246 – Isabella of Angoulême, queen of John of England (b. 1188)
1349 – Thomas Wake
1408 – Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Ashikaga shogun (b. 1358)
1495 – Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (b. 1415)
1594 – Tintoretto, Italian painter (b. 1518)
1680 – Joachim Neander, German Calvinist 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 of Empire (b. 1769)
1831 – Samuel Bentham, mechanical engineer (b. 1757)
1832 – Evariste Galois, French mathematician (b. 1811)
1837 – Joseph Grimaldi, British clown (b. 1779)
1846 – Philip Marheineke, German Protestant divine (b. 1780)
1847 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor, social reformer, educator, writer, and scientist (b. 1780)
1848 – Eugénie de Guérin, writer (b. 1805)
1881 - Hugh J. Anderson, Governor of Maine (b. 1801)
1887 - Moritz Wagner, German geographer and naturalist (b. 1813)
1899 - Elisha Baxter, Governor of Arkansas (b. 1827)

1901 – 2000

1908 - Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Canadian author, poet and politician (b. 1839)
1910 – Elizabeth Blackwell, first female physician in the United States (b. 1821)
1918 – Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist (b. 1836)
1920 – Nasrullah Khan, Emir of Afghanistan
1945 – Odilo Globocnik, Austrian Nazi officer (b. 1904)
1957 – Stefanos Sarafis, Greek Resistance activist (b. 1890)
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)
1962 – Adolf Eichmann, Nazi official (b. 1906)
1963 – Edith Hamilton, German-American writer and teacher (b. 1867)
1967 - Billy Strawhorn, American composer, pianist and arranger (b. 1915)
1970 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
1976 – Jacques Monod, French biologist (b. 1910)
1977 – William Castle, American director (b. 1914)
1978 – Jozsef Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
1981 – Gyula Lorant, Hungarian footballer (b. 1928)
1981 – Giuseppe Pella, Italian politician (b. 1902)
1982 - Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer (b. 1930)
1983 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer (b. 1895)
1986 – James Rainwater, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
1986 - Gaston Rebuffat, French mountaineer (b. 1921)
1994 - Herva Nelli, Italian-American soprano (b. 1909)
1996 – Paul Peter Piech, artist (b. 1920)
1996 – Timothy Leary, American LSD advocate (b. 1920)
1999 - Gene Sarazen, American golfer (b. 1902)
2000 – Tito Puente, musician (b. 1923)
2000 – Johnnie Taylor, vocalist (b. 1938)

From 2001

2001 - Arlene Francis, American actress (b. 1907)
2002 - Subhash Gupte, Indian cricketer (b. 1929)
2003 - Francesco Colasuonno, Italian cardinal (b. 1925)
2004 – Robert Quine, guitarist (b. 1942)
2006 – Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist (b. 1914)
2009 – Millvina Dean, last-living RMS Titanic survivor (b. 1912)
2009 – George Tiller, American abortion doctor (b. 1941)
2010 – Louise Bourgeois, French-born sculptor (b. 1911)
2011 – Pauline Betz, American tennis player (b. 1919)
2011 - Andy Robustelli, American football player (b. 1925)
2011 – Ezzatollah Sahabi, Iranian politician (b. 1930)
2013 - Jean Stapleton, American actress (b. 1923)
2013 - Tim Samaras, American storm chaser (b. 1957)
2013 - Paul Samaras, American storm chaser (b. 1988)
2014 - Marilyn Beck, American entertainment journalist (b. 1928)
2014 - Hoss Ellington, American NASCAR driver (b. 1935)
2014 - Martha Hyer, American actress (b. 1924)
2014 - Brajanath Ratha, Indian poet (b. 1936)
2014 - Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, daughter of Winston Churchill (b. 1922)
2014 - Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer (b. 1952)
2015 - Karl Wlaschek, Austrian executive (b. 1917)
2015 - Mario Saliwa, South African cricketer (b. 1984)
2015 - Slim Richey, American guitarist (b. 1938)
2016 - Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (b. 1947)
2016 - Jan Crouch, American televangelist and broadcasting executive (b. 1938)
2016 - Antonio Imbert Barrera, President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1920)
2016 - Carla Lane, English television writer (b. 1928)
2016 - Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (b. 1939)
2016 - David Tod Roy, Chinese translator (b. 1933)
2016 - Corry Brokken, Dutch singer (b. 1932)
2017 - Lubomyr Husar, Ukrainian religious figure (b. 1933)
2017 - Tino Insana, American actor (b. 1948)
2017 - Fred Kummerow, American science professor (b. 1914)
2017 - Bern Nix, American jazz guitarist (b. 1947)
2017 - Jiri Belohlavek, Czech conductor (b. 1946)
2018 - Michael D. Ford, English art director and set decorator (b. 1928)
2018 - Aníbal Quijano, Peruvian sociologist (b. 1928)
2019 - Roky Erickson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1947)

Births

Up to 1800

1048 – Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher (d. 1131)
1162 – Genghis Khan, Mongol ruler (d. 1227)
1243 - King James II of Majorca (d. 1311)
1443 – Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
1469 – King Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
1491 - Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish Jesuit (d. 1556)
1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
1557 – Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)
1577 - Nur Jahan, Mughal Empress (d. 1645)
1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
1640 – Michael of Poland (d. 1673)
1641 – Dositheus, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem (d. 1707)
1656 – Marin Marais, French composer and violin player (d. 1728)
1683 - Jean-Pierre Christin, French physicist, mathematician and astronomer (d. 1755)
1744 - Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Irish author and engineer (d. 1817)
1750 – Karl August of Hardenberg, statesman and reformer (d. 1822)
1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French revolutionary (d. 1793)
1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (d. 1817)
1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German poet and writer (d. 1853)
1791 - John Brown Francis, Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1864)

1801 – 1900

1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist (d. 1887)
1809 - Federico de Roncali, 1st Count of Alcoy, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1857)
1816 - Dimitrie Ghica, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1897)
1817 - Georg Herwegh, German poet (d. 1875)
1817 - Edouard Deldevez, French violinist and conductor (d. 1897)
1818 - John Albion Andrew, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1867)
1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)
1825 - Domenico Agostini, Italian cardinal (d. 1891)
1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (d. 1900)
1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentine explorer (d. 1919)
1852 - Julius Richard Petri, German bacteriologist (d. 1921)
1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
1858 - Graham Wallas, English socialist, psychologist and educator (d. 1932)
1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
1862 - Mikhail Nesterov, Russian painter (d. 1942)
1863 - Francis Younghusband, English army officer, explorer and writer (d. 1942)
1866 - Vladimir Rebikov, Russian composer (d. 1920)
1872 – Heath Robinson, English cartoonist (d. 1944)
1872 – Charles Greeley Abbot, American astrophysicist (d. 1973)
1882 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician (d. 1956)
1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
1885 – Alois Hudal, Austrian Roman Catholic bishop, helped Nazi war criminals escape (d. 1963)
1887 – Saint-John Perse, French diplomat and poet (d. 1975)
1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarussian painter (d. 1968)
1892 - Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian writer (d. 1968)
1892 – Gregor Strasser, German politician (d. 1934)
1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian (d. 1956)
1898 – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d. 1993)
1899 - Madge Blake, American actress (d. 1969)

1901 – 1950

1901 - Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
1908 - Nils Poppe, Swedish actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2000)
1909 - Aurore Gagnon, Canadian child abuse victim (d. 1920)
1909 - Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2000)
1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist (d. 2010)
1912 - Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist (d. 1997)
1912 – Alfred Deller, English countertenor (d. 1979)
1914 - Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (d. 2006)
1915 - Carmen Herrera, Cuban-American artist
1916 - Bert Haanstra, Dutch movie and documentary director (d. 1997)
1916 - Bernard Lewis, British-American historian (d. 2018)
1917 - Jean Rouch, French filmmaker and anthropologist (d. 2004)
1921 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (d. 2006)
1921 - Edna Doré, English actress (d. 2014)
1922 – Denholm Elliott, English actor (d. 1992)
1923 – Prince Rainier III of Monaco (d. 2005)
1923 - Ellsworth Kelly, American painter, sculptor and printmaker (d. 2015)
1925 - Frei Otto, German architect (d. 2015)
1926 - Domenico De Simone, Italian politician (d. 2019)
1926 – James Krüss, writer (d. 1997)
1927 – Red Holloway, American musician (d. 2012)
1927 - Joe Robinson, British actor (d. 2017)
1928 - Édouard Molinaro, French actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1929 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director, screenwriter and producer (d. 2014)
1929 - Andreas Meyer-Landrut, German diplomat
1930 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, producer
1930 – Elaine Stewart, American actress (d. 2011)
1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano (d. 2010)
1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist
1932 – Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d. 1994)
1933 - Sadashiv Vasantrao Gorakshkar, Indian writer and curator (d. 2019)
1935 – Jim Bolger, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American country music 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
1939 – Haraldur Sigurdsson, Icelandic volcanologist and geochemist
1940 - Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Ukrainian hammer thrower and coach
1941 – Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist
1942 - Minos Kyriakou, Greek businessman (d. 2017)
1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress
1943 – Joe Namath, American football star
1945 - Pepe Eliaschev, Argentine journalist and writer (d. 2014)
1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor and director (d. 1982)
1945 – Laurent Gbagbo, former President of Ivory Coast
1947 - Junior Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter
1948 - Svetlana Alexievich, Belarussian journalist and writer
1948 – John Bonham, English musician, drummer with Led Zeppelin (d. September 25, 1980)
1948 – Lynda Bellingham, English actress and broadcaster (d. 2014)
1948 - Duncan Hunter, American lieutenant, lawyer and politician
1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor
1950 – Gregory Harrison, actor

1951 – 1975

1952 – Karl Bartos, German musician (Kraftwerk)
1955 - Tommy Emmanuel, Australian guitarist and singer
1955 - Lynne Truss, English author
1956 - Gerd Weber, East German footballer
1959 - Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver (d. 2014)
1960 – Peter Winterbottom, English rugby player
1960 – Chris Elliott, American comedian
1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress
1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter
1963 – Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary
1963 – Wesley Willis, American musician
1964 - Yukio Edano, Japanese politician
1965 – Brooke Shields, American model and actress
1966 - Roshan Mahamana, Sri Lankan cricketer
1966 - Nick Scotti, American model, actor and singer
1967 - Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
1972 – Antti Niemi, Finnish footballer
1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier
1972 - Sarah Murdoch, English-Australian model and actress
1973 - Kate Howey, British judoka
1974 – Chad Campbell, American golfer
1974 - Kenan Dogulu, Turkish singer
1974 - Tristram Hunt, English politician
1975 – Toni Nieminen, Finnish ski jumper
1975 - Antonín Kinsky, Czech footballer

From 1976

1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor
1976 - Matt Harping, American basketball player
1976 - Tonka Tomicic, Chilean model and television host
1977 – June Sarpong, British television presenter
1977 - Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
1977 - Katrín Jónsdóttir, Icelandic footballer
1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
1978 - Eric Moussambani, Equatoguinean swimmer
1978 - Robert Rinder, English barrister and television personality
1979 - Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer
1980 – Andy Hurley, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
1981 - Yoon Mi-rae, American-Korean singer and songwriter
1981 – Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer
1981 - Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer
1981 - Marlies Schild, Austrian skier
1983 – Reggie Yates, British television presenter
1984 – Jason Smith, Australian actor
1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player
1984 - Daniela Samulski, German swimmer (d. 2018)
1986 – Sopho Khalvashi, Georgian singer
1988 – Lisa Bund, German singer
1989 – Marco Reus, German footballer
1989 - Pablo Alboran, Spanish singer
1989 - Bas Dost, Dutch footballer
1990 - Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player
1991 - Azealia Banks, American rapper, singer and songwriter.

Deaths

Observances

Anti-Tobacco Day
Castile-La Mancha Day