History of Today in India – 31 May

Explore the history of today 31 May in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 31 May 2026, 10:00 AM

📜 Important Events on 31 May in World History

31 May 2019: A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four others injured. Read more
31 May 2017: A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463. Read more
31 May 2016: Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the Manbij offensive, in order to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Read more
31 May 2013: The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries. Read more
31 May 2013: A record breaking 2.6 mile wide tornado strikes near El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, causing eight fatalities (including three storm chasers) and over 150 injuries. Read more
31 May 2010: Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while still in international waters trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip; nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed in the ensuing violent affray. Read more
31 May 2008: Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds. Read more
31 May 2008: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-124 carrying the second portion of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station. Read more
31 May 2005: Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat". Read more
31 May 2003: Air France retires its fleet of Concorde aircraft. Read more
31 May 1997: The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick. Read more
31 May 1991: Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II peacekeeping mission. Read more
31 May 1986: The Ariane 2 rocket is launched on its maiden flight, carrying Intelsat VA F-14, but the mission ends in failure. Read more
31 May 1985: United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead. Read more
31 May 1977: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed. Read more
31 May 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. Read more
31 May 1973: Indian Airlines Flight 440 crashes near Palam Airport in Delhi, killing 48. Read more
31 May 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. Read more
31 May 1970: The 7.9 Mw  Ancash earthquake shakes Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and a landslide buries the town of Yungay, Peru. Between 66,794 and 70,000 were killed and 50,000 were injured. Read more
31 May 1962: The West Indies Federation dissolves. Read more
31 May 1961: The South African Constitution of 1961 becomes effective, thus creating the Republic of South Africa, which remains outside the Commonwealth of Nations until 1 June 1994, when South Africa is returned to Commonwealth membership. Read more
31 May 1961: In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society. Read more
31 May 1955: The U.S. Supreme Court expands on its Brown v. Board of Education decision by ordering district courts and school districts to enforce educational desegregation "at all deliberate speed." Read more
31 May 1951: The Uniform Code of Military Justice takes effect as the legal system of the United States Armed Forces. Read more
31 May 1947: Ferenc Nagy, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, resigns from office after blackmail from the Hungarian Communist Party accusing him of being part of a plot against the state. This grants the Communists effective control of the Hungarian government. Read more
31 May 1942: World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia. Read more
31 May 1941: Anglo-Iraqi War: The United Kingdom completes the re-occupation of Iraq and returns 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II. Read more
31 May 1935: A 7.7 Mw  earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan killing 40,000. Read more
31 May 1924: Hope Development School fire kills 24 people, mostly disabled children. Read more
31 May 1921: The Tulsa race massacre kills at least 39, but other estimates of black fatalities vary from 55 to about 300. Read more
31 May 1916: World War I: Battle of Jutland: The British Grand Fleet engages the High Seas Fleet in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive. Read more
31 May 1911: The RMS Titanic is launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Read more
31 May 1911: The President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz flees the country during the Mexican Revolution. Read more
31 May 1910: The South Africa Act comes into force, establishing the Union of South Africa. Read more
31 May 1909: The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convenes for the first time. Read more
31 May 1906: The attempted regicide of Spanish King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie on their wedding day instead kills 24. Read more
31 May 1902: Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa. Read more
31 May 1889: Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Read more
31 May 1884: The arrival at Plymouth of Tāwhiao, King of Maoris, to claim the protection of Queen Victoria. Read more
31 May 1879: Gilmore's Garden in New York City is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. Read more
31 May 1864: American Civil War: Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: The Army of Northern Virginia engages the Army of the Potomac. Read more
31 May 1862: American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and G.W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. Read more
31 May 1859: The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time. Read more
31 May 1847: Qajar Iran and the Ottoman Empire determine their international boundary in the second treaty of Erzurum. Read more
31 May 1813: In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth reach Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains. Read more
31 May 1805: French and Spanish forces begin the assault against British forces occupying Diamond Rock, Martinique. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 31 May in World History

31 May 2001: Breece Hall, American football player Breece Maelik Hall is an American professional football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones, where he was a two-time All-American and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Hall was selected by the Jets in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. Read more
31 May 2001: Iga Świątek, Polish tennis player Iga Natalia Świątek is a Polish professional tennis player. Currently ranked world No. 3 in women's singles by the WTA, she has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 125 weeks, seventh-most of all-time. Świątek has won 25
WTA Tour–level singles titles, including six major titles: four at the French Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open. She has also won the 2023 WTA Finals and eleven WTA 1000 titles. Świątek is the first Pole to win a major singles title. Read more
31 May 2000: Gable Steveson, American wrestler Gable Dan Steveson is an American freestyle wrestler, professional mixed martial artist, former professional wrestler, and football defensive tackle. He is currently signed to the Heavyweight divisions of both Real American Freestyle and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Read more
31 May 1998: Santino Ferrucci, American race car driver Santino Michael Ferrucci is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 14 Chevrolet for A. J. Foyt Enterprises. He has also previously raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Read more
31 May 1997: Woo Jin-young, South Korean singer and rapper Woo Jin-young is a South Korean singer and rapper. During his tenure as a trainee with Happy Face Entertainment, he was a contestant on the reality survival series Produce 101 and Mix Nine, where he competed to debut in an idol group. He found success in the latter and ranked number one in the competition, but the group never materialized due to failed contract negotiations between the show creator YG Entertainment and the artists' respective agencies. Read more
31 May 1997: Jeong Se-woon, South Korean singer-songwriter Jeong Se-woon is a South Korean singer-songwriter. He debuted as solo artist with released the first part of his debut EP Ever on August 31, 2017. Jeong is known for being a contestant on the survival show Produce 101 Season 2 in 2017. Read more
31 May 1996: Normani Kordei Hamilton, American singer Normani Kordei Hamilton, known mononymously as Normani, is an American singer, dancer, and former member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in the group, she competed in Dancing with the Stars (2017). She embarked on a solo career with her 2018 debut single "Love Lies", which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and received quintuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Read more
31 May 1996: Brandon Smith, New Zealand rugby league player Brandon Smith is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker and lock for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League (NRL), and for New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. Read more
31 May 1995: Shane Bieber, American baseball player Shane Robert Bieber is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians / Guardians. As a walk-on, Bieber played college baseball for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut with them in 2018. Bieber was named an All-Star in 2019 and 2021, and received the American League's 2020 Cy Young Award. Read more
31 May 1995: Matthew Lodge, Australian rugby league player Matthew Lodge is a rugby league footballer who most recently played as a prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). Read more
31 May 1992: Michaël Bournival, Canadian ice hockey player Joseph Alain Michaël Bournival is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was selected in the third round, 71st overall, by the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2010 NHL entry draft and played for the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. Read more
31 May 1992: Laura Ikauniece, Latvian heptathlete Laura Ikauniece is a Latvian athlete competing in heptathlon. She participated in two Olympic Games, finishing fourth in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She won a silver medal at the 2012 European Athletics Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2015 World Athletics Championships.
She set a Latvian record in the heptathlon and a Latvian record in the indoor pentathlon. Read more
31 May 1992: Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson, Icelandic politician Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson is an Icelandic politician, government minister and member of the Althing. A member of the Social Democratic Alliance, he has represented Reykjavík South since November 2024. He previously represented Reykjavík North from September 2021 to November 2024. He has been Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate since December 2024. Read more
31 May 1991: Azealia Banks, American singer-songwriter and rapper Azealia Amanda Banks is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Her debut single "212" became a defining song of the 2010s and appeared on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2021. Banks is also known for her controversial social media presence and outspoken views, which have received significant publicity. Read more
31 May 1990: Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Ottawa Senators at the 2008 NHL entry draft, with whom he spent his first nine NHL seasons; he has also played for the San Jose Sharks. Karlsson is a three-time winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman, winning the award in 2012, 2015, and 2023. Read more
31 May 1989: Marco Reus, German footballer Marco Reus is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Read more
31 May 1986: Waka Flocka Flame, American rapper Juaquin James Malphurs, known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. He first became known for his 2009 single "O Let's Do It", which entered the Billboard Hot 100 and led him to sign with Gucci Mane's 1017 Records, an imprint of Warner Records that same year. His 2010 follow-up single, "No Hands", reached number 13 on the chart and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Both songs, along with "Hard in da Paint" and "Grove St. Party", preceded the release of his debut studio album Flockaveli (2010), which peaked at number six on the Billboard 200. His second studio album, Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family (2012) peaked at number ten on the chart and was supported by the singles "Round of Applause", "I Don't Really Care" and "Get Low". Read more
31 May 1986: Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist Robert Gesink is a Dutch former cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2007 to 2024. His major victories include the 2012 Tour of California, the 2011 Tour of Oman and the 2010 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. Gesink also won the Giro dell'Emilia twice and offered some good performances on Grand Tours and one-week stage races, thanks in part to his climbing and time trialing abilities. Read more
31 May 1985: Jordy Nelson, American football player Jordy Ray Nelson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Nelson was raised in Riley County, Kansas and played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats, receiving consensus All-American honors in 2007. He was selected by the Packers in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. In the 2010 season, he won Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers, catching a touchdown pass in the game. Following his departure from the Packers in 2018, he played one year with the Oakland Raiders before announcing his retirement. In 2023, he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. As of September 2025, Nelson holds the Packers franchise record for the most Lambeau Leaps performed by a player (27). Read more
31 May 1984: Andrew Bailey, American baseball player Andrew Scott Bailey is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, he played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies. He played college baseball for Wagner College and was selected by the Athletics in the sixth round of the 2006 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2009 and won that season's American League Rookie of the Year Award. He was an All-Star in 2009 and 2010 while he was the closer for the Athletics. He has also been a pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants. Read more
31 May 1984: Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer Milorad "Milo" Čavić is a Serbian former professional swimmer. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in a historic race with American swimmer Michael Phelps. Čavić also was World and European champion, as well as world record holder. He is one of seven swimmers to break 50 seconds in the 100m butterfly. Read more
31 May 1984: Nate Robinson, American basketball player Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson is an American former professional basketball player. Robinson played college basketball for the Washington Huskies and was the 21st overall pick of the 2005 NBA draft. The 5-foot-9-inch (1.75 m) point guard played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans. Robinson became the NBA's first three-time slam dunk champion in 2010. Read more
31 May 1982: Brett Firman, Australian rugby league player Brett Firman is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s. He played in the National Rugby League, primarily in the halves, for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters, North Queensland Cowboys, Penrith Panthers, and the Helensburgh Tigers of the Illawarra Rugby League. Read more
31 May 1981: Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer Mikael Antonsson is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He currently works for the Danish Superliga side F.C. Copenhagen as assistant manager. As a player, he played professionally in Sweden, Austria, Greece, Italy, and Denmark during a career that spanned between 1996 and 2018. A full international between 2004 and 2015, he won 28 caps for the Sweden national team and was a part of their UEFA Euro 2012 squad. Read more
31 May 1981: Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer Daniele Bonera is an Italian retired professional footballer who played as a centre back. Read more
31 May 1981: Jake Peavy, American baseball player Jacob Edward Peavy is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is currently an on-air analyst for MLB Network and backup studio analyst for TBS MLB Tuesday. Read more
31 May 1981: Marlies Schild, Austrian skier Marlies Raich is a retired Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. She specializes in the technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom. Schild won four Olympic medals, with silvers in the combined (2006) and slalom and a bronze in slalom (2006). She has seven World Championship medals and has won five World Cup season titles. Read more
31 May 1980: Andy Hurley, American musician Andrew John Hurley is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Prior to Fall Out Boy, Hurley played in several hardcore punk bands. He joined Fall Out Boy as the full-time drummer in 2003 and was in the band's lineup until its hiatus in 2009. Following that, he formed the heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things with Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman; the group went on hiatus after its debut album, Ironiclast (2010), due to band members focusing on their original bands' new album cycles. Hurley moved on to hardcore punk band Enabler which released a debut album and toured in 2012. Read more
31 May 1979: Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer Jean-François Gillet is a Belgian professional football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He works as a goalkeeping coach at Standard Liège. At international level, he was a member of the Belgian squad that took part at UEFA Euro 2016. Read more
31 May 1977: Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer Domenico Fioravanti is a retired Italian competitive swimmer who won two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Read more
31 May 1977: Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer Moses Sichone is a Zambian football manager and former professional footballer who is the current manager of the Zambia national team. As a player, he spent most of his career with German clubs. Read more
31 May 1976: Colin Farrell, Irish actor Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor. A leading man in blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various accolades, including three Golden Globe Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and one Volpi Cup in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. The Irish Times named him Ireland's fifth-greatest film actor in 2020, and Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023. Read more
31 May 1976: Matt Harpring, American basketball player and sportscaster Matthew Joseph Harpring is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was formerly paired with play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack as the color analyst in broadcasting games for the Utah Jazz. Read more
31 May 1975: Mac Suzuki, Japanese baseball player Mac Suzuki is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. Over his career, Suzuki played 18 seasons in professional baseball, including six in Major League Baseball and two in the Japan Pacific League. In his major league career, he has played for the Seattle Mariners, the Kansas City Royals, the Colorado Rockies (2001), and the Milwaukee Brewers (2001). With those teams, he has had a combined record of 16–31 with a 5.72 earned run average (ERA), one complete game, one shutout, 67 starts and 327 strikeouts in 117 games pitched. Read more
31 May 1974: Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Japanese comedian and singer Hiroiki Ariyoshi is a Japanese comedian and singer who is represented by Ohta Production. Read more
31 May 1972: Frode Estil, Norwegian skier Frode Estil is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. He lives in Meråker Municipality with his wife Grete whom he married in the summer of 2001. They have two sons, Bernhard, born in August 2002, and Konrad. Estil was classical specialist and also a specialist at succeeding in World Championships and Olympics. While Estil only won four World Cup races, he won one individual Olympic Gold and one individual World Championship gold. In addition, he won three team events in the World Championships and another team gold in the Olympics. Read more
31 May 1972: Christian McBride, American bassist and record producer Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist, bandleader, composer. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is an eleven-time Grammy Award winner. Read more
31 May 1972: Antti Niemi, Finnish international footballer and coach Antti Mikko Niemi is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently an assistant coach of Volos of the Super League Greece. Since 2010, he has also worked as the goalkeeping coach of Finland national team. He also worked as a goalkeeping coach at Brighton & Hove Albion during the 2014–15 season. Niemi spent time as a player in the Scottish Premier League and the Premier League, and in 2008 announced his retirement due to injury. However, in 2009 he returned to sign for Premier League club Portsmouth, although he did not make any appearances before leaving in 2010. Read more
31 May 1972: Archie Panjabi, British actress Archana Panjabi is an English actress. On television, she is known for her roles as Maya Roy in the BBC One series Life on Mars (2006–2007), Kalinda Sharma in the CBS series The Good Wife (2009–2015), Nas Kamal in the NBC series Blindspot, Kendra Malley in the Global series Departure (2019–2023), and The Rani in Doctor Who (2025). Her work in The Good Wife earned her a Primetime Emmy Award in 2010 and an NAACP Image Award in 2012, as well as two further Emmy nominations, one Golden Globe nomination, and three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations shared with the cast. Panjabi is the first Asian actor to win a Primetime Emmy for acting. Her films include East Is East (1999), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Yasmin (2004), and A Mighty Heart (2007). Read more
31 May 1972: Dave Roberts, American baseball player and coach David Ray Roberts, nicknamed "Doc", is an American professional baseball manager and former outfielder who is the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for five MLB teams over a ten-year career and then coached for the San Diego Padres before being named Dodgers manager in 2016. Although he played for the Boston Red Sox for only part of one season, his most notable achievement as a player was a key stolen base in the 2004 American League Championship Series that extended the Red Sox's postseason, which culminated in a championship in the 2004 World Series. Read more
31 May 1971: Arun Luthra, Indo-Anglo-American saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, and arranger Aruṇ Lūthrā is a saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, and bandleader based in New York City. Read more
31 May 1967: Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television host and producer Philip John Keoghan is a New Zealand television presenter, best known for hosting the American version of The Amazing Race on CBS, since its 2001 debut. He is the creator and host of No Opportunity Wasted, which has been produced in the United States, New Zealand, and Canada. Keoghan also co-created and hosts the American reality competition programme Tough as Nails, which debuted on CBS on 8 July 2020. As of 2021, he has been involved with winning 10 Primetime Emmy Awards related to his work on The Amazing Race, where the show consecutively won the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program seven times. Read more
31 May 1967: Kenny Lofton, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster Kenneth Lofton is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999) and four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and is currently ranked 15th among all-time stolen-base leaders with 622. During his career, he played for the Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Texas Rangers. Read more
31 May 1966: Diesel, American-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Denis Lizotte is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician, who has released material under the name Diesel, Johnny Diesel, as leader of band Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, and as a solo performer, as well as under his birth name. Two of his albums reached No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Charts, Hepfidelity in 1992 and The Lobbyist in 1993. Read more
31 May 1966: Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lankan cricketer and referee Deshabandu Roshan Siriwardene Mahanama is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and a former ICC match referee. He was a key member in the 1996 Cricket World Cup winning team for Sri Lanka. He is the first man to have stood as a match referee in a day-night test match in Test history. Read more
31 May 1965: Brooke Shields, American model, actress, and producer Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and current president of the Actors' Equity Association. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety for her leading role in Louis Malle's film Pretty Baby (1978), in which she appeared in nude scenes shot when she was 11 years old. She continued to model into her late teenage years and starred in several dramas in the 1980s, including The Blue Lagoon (1980), and Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love (1981). Read more
31 May 1964: Leonard Asper, Canadian lawyer and businessman Leonard Asper is a Canadian businessperson, entrepreneur and lawyer. He was president and CEO of Canwest from 1999 through its bankruptcy in 2010. He would later establish Anthem Sports & Entertainment which owns television specialty channels and has interests in combat sports and film distribution. Read more
31 May 1964: Stéphane Caristan, French hurdler and coach Stéphane Caristan is a retired hurdler from France, who set the world's best year performance in 1986. He did so by winning the men's 110 metres hurdles final at the European Championships in Stuttgart, clocking 13.20, which was also his personal best. He competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1984. Caristan later became the coach of French sprinter Christine Arron. Read more
31 May 1964: Yukio Edano, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukio Edano is a Japanese politician who served as the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from its formation in 2017 until 2021. Read more
31 May 1964: Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, American rapper and producer Darryl Matthews McDaniels, also commonly known by his stage name DMC, is an American rapper and record producer. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Run-DMC, and is considered one of the pioneers of hip hop culture. Read more
31 May 1963: David Leigh, holder of the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at the University of Manchester David Alan Leigh FRS FRSE FRSC is a British chemist, Royal Society Research Professor and, since 2014, the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Manchester. He was previously the Forbes Chair of Organic Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh (2001–2012) and Professor of Synthetic Chemistry at the University of Warwick (1998–2001). Read more
31 May 1963: Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, 38th Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Mihály Orbán is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who served as the prime minister of Hungary from 1998 to 2002, and 2010 to 2026. He has also been the president of Fidesz, which has been variously characterised as a Christian nationalist, illiberal, and far-right political party. He has served as its president since 2003, and previously from 1993 to 2000. Read more
31 May 1963: Wesley Willis, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (died 2003) Wesley Lawrence Willis was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition. Willis' songs are typically partially spoken in an MC style, and partially sung in a nasal and out-of-tune manner reminiscent of punk rock vocals. They feature bizarre, humorous and sometimes obscene or absurd lyrics sung over backing created by using the auto accompaniment feature on his Technics KN keyboard. His songs cover a wide variety of topics, with mental illness and consumerism being the most prominent themes. Dubbed "The Daddy of Rock 'n' Roll", he is best known for songs such as "Rock N Roll McDonald's" as well as a series of songs where he would directly insult his demons. Read more
31 May 1962: Dina Boluarte, Peruvian politician, 64th President of Peru Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra is a Peruvian politician, civil servant, and lawyer who served as the president of Peru from 7 December 2022 until she was removed from office on 10 October 2025. She had previously served as the first vice president and minister at the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion under President Pedro Castillo. She served as an officer at the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) from 2007 until 2022. Read more
31 May 1962: Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer Corey Mitchell Hart is a Canadian singer, musician and songwriter known for his hit singles "Sunglasses at Night", "Never Surrender" and "It Ain't Enough". He has sold over 16 million records worldwide and recorded nine US Billboard Top 40 hits. In Canada, 30 of Hart's recordings have been Top 40 hits, including 11 in the Top 10, over the course of over 35 years in the music industry. Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1984, Hart is an inductee of both Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canada's Walk of Fame, and is also a multiple Juno award nominee and winner, including the Diamond Award for his best-selling album Boy in the Box. He has also been honoured by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). Read more
31 May 1961: Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player Ray Cote is a former professional ice hockey forward. He spent his junior career with the Calgary Wranglers of the WHL and signed a free agent contract with the Edmonton Oilers in 1981 after going undrafted. Cote spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues and European leagues but saw three separate stints with the Oilers. His only career NHL points were recorded in the 1982–83 playoffs. In the 1983 playoffs, he and George McPhee of the New York Rangers became the first players to score three goals in a single postseason before playing a regular season NHL game. He also played for the Canadian National Team on four occasions. Read more
31 May 1961: Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician Justin Mark Madden is a former Australian rules footballer and state politician. He played for both the Essendon Football Club and the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Read more
31 May 1961: Lea Thompson, American actress, director, and producer Lea Katherine Thompson is an American actress, singer, dancer and director. Read more
31 May 1960: Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman Gregory Charles Adams is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1980–81 to 1989–90. Read more
31 May 1960: Chris Elliott, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter Christopher Nash Elliott is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his surreal sense of humor. He was a regular performer on Late Night with David Letterman while working as a writer there (1983–1988), created and starred in the comedy series Get a Life (1990–1992) on Fox, and wrote and starred in the film Cabin Boy (1994). His writing for Letterman won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. Read more
31 May 1960: Peter Winterbottom, English rugby player Peter James Winterbottom, is an English former rugby union player who played as an openside flanker. He was England's most-capped openside until being overtaken by Neil Back in 2003. He made his England debut on 2 January 1982 against Australia, and his final appearance on 20 March 1993 against Ireland. Read more
31 May 1959: Andrea de Cesaris, Italian race car driver (died 2014) Andrea de Cesaris was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1980 to 1994. Read more
31 May 1959: Phil Wilson, English politician Philip Wilson, Baron Wilson of Sedgefield, is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from a 2007 by-election until 2019. A member of the Labour Party, he was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2024. Read more
31 May 1957: Jim Craig, American ice hockey player James Downey Craig is an American former ice hockey goaltender who is best known for being part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Craig had a standout Olympic tournament, including stopping 36 of 39 shots on goal by the heavily favored Soviet Union in the 'Miracle on Ice', as the U.S. won 4–3, in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history. Two days later, the U.S. defeated Finland, 4–2, to clinch Olympic gold. Craig went on to play professionally in the National Hockey League for the Atlanta Flames, Boston Bruins, and Minnesota North Stars from 1980 to 1983. He was inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999. Read more
31 May 1956: Fritz Hilpert, German drummer and composer Friedrich "Fritz" Hilpert is a German musician who is best known for his work as a member of the electropop group Kraftwerk. Read more
31 May 1956: John Young, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player John Young is a British rock musician hailing from Liverpool. He is currently the keyboardist and singer for the progressive rock band Lifesigns. Read more
31 May 1955: Tommy Emmanuel, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist William Thomas Emmanuel is an Australian guitarist. Originally a session player in many bands, he has released many award-winning recordings as a solo artist. In June 2010, Emmanuel was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM); in 2011, he was inducted into the Australian Country Music Roll of Renown. In 2019, he was listed by MusicRadar as the best acoustic guitarist in the world. Read more
31 May 1955: Susie Essman, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter Susan Essman is an American comedian, actress, producer, and writer. She is best known for her role as Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–2024), as the voice of Mittens in Bolt (2008), and as Bobbi Wexler on Broad City (2015-2019). Read more
31 May 1954: Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer Thomas Mavros is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
31 May 1954: Vicki Sue Robinson, American actress and singer (died 2000) Vicki Sue Robinson was an American singer closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around". Read more
31 May 1953: Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor and screenwriter Pirkka-Pekka Petelius is a Finnish actor, director, producer, screenwriter and politician. He has also released six records as a singer. He is a member of the Green League and was elected to the Finnish parliament in the 2019 election with 6,331 personal votes, but is not a member of the parliament any more. Read more
31 May 1952: Carole Achache, French writer, photographer and actress (died 2016) Carole Hélène Marthe Andrée Achache was a French writer, photographer and actress. She was the daughter of French writer Monique Lange and the mother of French-Moroccan film director Mona Achache. She appeared in films such as The Gypsy (1975), Special Section (1975), Lumière (1976), Mr. Klein (1976), Le Juge Fayard dit Le Shériff (1977), and Death of a Corrupt Man (1977) under the name Carole Lange. She later worked as a still photographer in the films Other People's Money (1978), A Week's Vacation (1980), The Trout (1982), and Un soir au club (2009). As an author, Achache published five books. Read more
31 May 1952: Karl Bartos, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player Karlheinz Bartos is a German musician and composer, known for his contributions to the electronic band Kraftwerk. Read more
31 May 1951: Karl-Hans Riehm, German hammer thrower Karl-Hans Riehm is a former West German hammer thrower. Read more
31 May 1950: Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment Jean Chalopin is a French businessman, banker and former television animation producer. In 1971, he founded the production company DIC Entertainment, which specialized in children-oriented animated television and film productions. Through DIC he produced numerous successful television series, including Inspector Gadget, which he also co-created, The Real Ghostbusters, The Littles and Dennis the Menace. Chalopin also co-wrote DIC's first two major productions, Ulysses 31 and The Mysterious Cities of Gold. After selling off his ownership in DIC, he founded a second company, C&D, in 1987, through which he continued to produce cartoons until its closure in 1996. Chalopin remained active as a writer, producer and creative consultant in the years to follow. More recently, however, he has shifted his focus onto a career in banking. Read more
31 May 1950: Gregory Harrison, American actor Gregory Neale Harrison is an American actor. He is known primarily for his roles as Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates, the young surgeon assistant of Dr. Trapper John McIntyre on the CBS series Trapper John, M.D. (1979–86), and as ruthless business tycoon Michael Sharpe in the CBS series Falcon Crest (1989–1990). Since 2015, Harrison has played Joe O'Toole, father of Oliver, in the Hallmark Channel expansion films of Signed, Sealed and Delivered. From 2020 to 2024, he assumed the role of Gregory Chase on General Hospital. Read more
31 May 1950: Christine Kurzhals, German politician (died 1998) Christine Kurzhals was a German engineer and politician who served in the Bundestag from 1994 until her death in 1998. A member of the Social Democratic Party from Saxony, she was prominent for her role in the inner reunification process. Read more
31 May 1950: Edgar Savisaar, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (died 2022) Edgar Savisaar was an Estonian politician, one of the founding members of Popular Front of Estonia and the Centre Party. He served as the acting Prime Minister of Estonia, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications, and twice mayor of Tallinn. Read more
31 May 1949: Tom Berenger, American actor, film producer and television writer Thomas Michael Moore, known professionally as Tom Berenger, is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in Platoon (1986). He is also known for playing Jake Taylor in the Major League films and Thomas Beckett in the Sniper films. Read more
31 May 1948: Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time". She is the first writer from Belarus to receive the award. Read more
31 May 1948: John Bonham, English musician, songwriter and drummer (died 1980) John Henry Bonham was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drummers in history. Read more
31 May 1948: Martin Hannett, English bass player, guitarist, and record producer (died 1991) James Martin Hannett, was an English record producer, musician, and an original partner and director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. He was also a co-founder of the musicians' collective Music Force, and the record label Rabid in the late 1970s. Read more
31 May 1948: Duncan Hunter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician Duncan Lee Hunter is a retired American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009. Read more
31 May 1947: Junior Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Junior Campbell is a Scottish composer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member, lead guitarist, pianist, and singer with the Scottish band Marmalade and co-wrote and produced some of their biggest successes, including "Reflections of My Life", "I See the Rain" and "Rainbow".
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31 May 1947: Gabriele Hinzmann, German discus thrower Gabriele Hinzmann is a German former track and field athlete who competed mainly in the discus throw, such as at the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where she competed for East Germany and won the bronze medal. Read more
31 May 1946: Ted Baehr, American publisher and critic Millard Robert E. Theodore Baehr is an American media critic and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, a division of Good News Communications, Inc. He is publisher and editor-in-chief of Movieguide, a website and biweekly journal that evaluates motion pictures and other entertainment products from a Christian perspective on suitability for family consumption. He also hosts nationally and internationally syndicated Movieguide radio and television programs. Read more
31 May 1946: Steve Bucknor, Jamaican cricketer and umpire Stephen Anthony Bucknor, OJ is a Jamaican former international cricket umpire. Read more
31 May 1946: Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat (died 2009) Krista Kilvet was an Estonian radio journalist, politician and diplomat. Read more
31 May 1946: Debbie Moore, English model and businesswoman Debbie Moore OBE is an English retired model and businesswoman who founded the Pineapple Dance Studios and its associated clothing brand. She was the first woman to float a company on the London Stock Exchange and in 1984 was an early winner of the prestigious Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of The Year Award. Read more
31 May 1945: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1982) Rainer Werner Fassbinder, sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. He directed over 40 films that span a variety of genres; frequently his work blends elements of Hollywood melodrama with social criticism and avant-garde techniques. His films, according to him, explored "the exploitability of feelings". His work was deeply rooted in post-war German culture: the aftermath of Nazism, the German economic miracle and the Red Army Faction. Early on, Fassbinder focused on marginalized figures in the city—migrant workers, prisoners, and gay people. He worked with a company of actors and technicians who frequently appeared in his projects. Read more
31 May 1945: Laurent Gbagbo, Ivorian academic and politician, 4th President of Côte d'Ivoire Koudou Laurent Gbagbo is an Ivorian politician who was the president of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. He was the first president in the history of the country that was a centre-left politician. A historian, Gbagbo was imprisoned in the early 1970s and again in the early 1990s, and he lived in exile in France during much of the 1980s as a result of his union activism. Gbagbo founded the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) in 1982 and ran unsuccessfully for president against Félix Houphouët-Boigny at the start of multi-party politics in 1990. He won a seat in the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire in 1990. Read more
31 May 1945: Bernard Goldberg, American journalist and author Bernard Richard Goldberg is an American author, journalist, and political pundit. Goldberg has won fourteen Emmy Awards and was a producer, reporter and correspondent for CBS News for twenty-eight years (1972–2000) and a paid contributor for Fox News for ten years (2009–2018). He is best-known for his on-going critiques of journalism practices in the United States—as described in his first book published in 2001, Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News. He was a correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO for 22 years until January 2021. Read more
31 May 1943: Sharon Gless, American actress Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American actress known for her television roles. She portrayed Maggie Philbin on Switch (1975–1978), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey (1982–1988), and the title role in The Trials of Rosie O'Neill (1990–1992). She also played Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer as Folk (2000–2005) and Madeline Westen on Burn Notice (2007–2013). Read more
31 May 1943: Joe Namath, American football player, sportscaster, and actor Joseph William Namath is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. Nicknamed "Broadway Joe", he played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, receiving first-team All-SEC honors and winning the national championship in 1964. Namath was selected by the Jets first overall in the 1965 AFL draft. Read more
31 May 1941: June Clark, Welsh nurse and educator Dame Margaret June Clark, FAAN FLSW was a British nurse and academic who was Professor Emeritus of Community Nursing, at Swansea University in Wales. Read more
31 May 1941: Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Louis Joseph Ignarro is an American pharmacologist. For demonstrating the signaling properties of nitric oxide, he was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad. Read more
31 May 1941: William Nordhaus, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate William Dawbney Nordhaus is an American economist. He was a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, best known for his work in economic modeling and climate change, and a co-recipient of the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Nordhaus received the prize "for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis". Read more
31 May 1940: Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Ukrainian hammer thrower and coach (died 2025) Anatoliy Pavlovych Bondarchuk was a Ukrainian hammer thrower who competed for the Soviet Union. An Olympic gold medallist, he is regarded as one of the most accomplished hammer throw coaches of all time. He was the author of a two-volume book, Transfer of Training, which was translated from Russian to English by Michael Yessis. Read more
31 May 1940: Augie Meyers, American musician and singer-songwriter August Edmond George Meyer Jr., known professionally as Augie Meyers, was an American musician, songwriter, studio musician, record producer and record label owner. He is perhaps best known as a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados. Read more
31 May 1940: Gilbert Shelton, American illustrator Gilbert Shelton is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fat Freddy's Cat, and Wonder Wart-Hog. Read more
31 May 1939: Terry Waite, English humanitarian and author Sir Terence Hardy Waite is a British human rights activist and author. Read more
31 May 1938: Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2003) Johnny Paycheck was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is a notable figure in the outlaw movement in country music. Read more
31 May 1938: John Prescott, British sailor and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 2024) John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. Read more
31 May 1938: Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2025) Peter Yarrow was an American singer and songwriter who found fame as a member of the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary along with Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. Read more
31 May 1935: Jim Bolger, New Zealand businessman and politician, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 2025) James Brendan Bolger was a New Zealand politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Read more
31 May 1934: Jim Hutton, American actor (died 1979) Dana Scott James Hutton was an American actor in film and television best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name, and his screen partnership with Paula Prentiss in four films, starting with Where the Boys Are. He was the father of actor Timothy Hutton. Read more
31 May 1933: Henry B. Eyring, American religious leader, educator, and author Henry Bennion Eyring is an American religious leader and former educational administrator serving as the first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the church's second most senior apostle, he is also the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with Dieter F. Uchtdorf serving as the quorum's acting president. Read more
31 May 1932: Ed Lincoln, Brazilian pianist, bassist, and composer (died 2012) Ed Lincoln was a Brazilian musician, composer and arranger known for a wide variety of styles. As a bassist, he was present at the earliest moments of bossa nova and as a Hammond organ player, he was foundational in establishing the sound of Brazilian jazz and space age pop. Read more
31 May 1932: Jay Miner, American computer scientist and engineer (died 1994) Jay Glenn Miner was an American integrated circuit designer, known primarily for developing graphics and audio chips for the Atari 2600 and Atari 8-bit computers and as the "father of the Amiga". Read more
31 May 1931: John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2019) John Robert Schrieffer was an American theoretical physicist who, with John Bardeen and Leon Cooper, was a recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing the BCS theory, the first successful quantum description of superconductivity. Read more
31 May 1931: Shirley Verrett, American soprano and actress (died 2010) Shirley Verrett was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who successfully transitioned into soprano roles making her a Soprano sfogato. Verrett enjoyed great fame from the late 1960s through the 1990s; she was particularly known for performing works by Giuseppe Verdi and Gaetano Donizetti. Read more
31 May 1930: Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, musician, and producer Clinton Eastwood Jr. is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. After achieving success in the Western TV series Rawhide, Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy of spaghetti Westerns during the mid-1960s and as antihero cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring cultural icon of masculinity. Elected in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Read more
31 May 1930: Elaine Stewart, American actress and model (died 2011) Elaine Stewart was an American actress and model. Read more
31 May 1929: Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (died 2014) Menahem Golan was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid-budget American films, primarily genre films, during the 1980s after Golan and Globus had achieved significant filmmaking success in Israel during the 1970s. Read more
31 May 1928: Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (died 2001) Pankaj Roy was an Indian cricketer who played in 43 Test matches, including once as captain. He was a right-handed opening batsman, perhaps best known for establishing the world record opening partnership in Test cricket of 413 runs, together with Vinoo Mankad, against New Zealand at Chennai. The record stood for 52 years until 2008. Roy played for Bengal in domestic matches. In 2000, he was appointed as the Sheriff of Kolkata. He has been honoured with the Padma Shri. His nephew Ambar Roy and son Pranab Roy also played Test cricket for India. He was a student of Vidyasagar College. In 2016, he was posthumously awarded the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour conferred by BCCI on a former player. Read more
31 May 1927: James Eberle, English admiral (died 2018) Admiral Sir James Henry Fuller Eberle, was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who served as Commander-in-Chief Fleet from 1979 until 1981. Read more
31 May 1927: Michael Sandberg, Baron Sandberg, English lieutenant and banker (died 2017) Michael Graham Ruddock Sandberg, Baron Sandberg, CBE was executive chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1977 to 1986. Read more
31 May 1925: Julian Beck, American actor and director (died 1986) Julian Beck was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing the Living Theatre, as well as his posthumous role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher in the supernatural horror film Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) Read more
31 May 1923: Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (died 2015) Ellsworth Kelly was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, color and form, similar to the work of John McLaughlin and Kenneth Noland. Kelly often employed bright colors. He lived and worked in Spencertown, New York. Read more
31 May 1923: Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (died 2005) Rainier III was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years. Read more
31 May 1923: Claudio Matteini, Italian football player (died 2003) Claudio Matteini was an Italian professional football player. Read more
31 May 1922: Denholm Elliott, English-Spanish actor (died 1992) Denholm Mitchell Elliott was an English actor. He appeared in numerous productions on stage and screen, receiving BAFTA awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Trading Places (1983), A Private Function (1984) and Defence of the Realm (1986), and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Mr. Emerson in A Room with a View (1985). He is also known for his performances in Alfie (1966), A Doll's House (1973), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Maurice (1987), September (1987), and Noises Off (1992). He portrayed Marcus Brody in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). On television, Elliott won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in 1981 and was nominated for a second for Hotel du Lac (1986). Read more
31 May 1921: Edna Doré, English actress (died 2014) Edna Lillian Doré was a British actress. She was known for her bit-part roles in sitcoms and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in EastEnders from 1988 to 1990. Read more
31 May 1921: Andrew Grima, Anglo-Italian jewellery designer (died 2007) Andrew Grima was an Anglo-Italian jewellery designer. Read more
31 May 1921: Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (died 2008) Howard Reig was an American radio and television announcer. His last name was pronounced "reeg." Read more
31 May 1921: Alida Valli, Austrian-Italian actress and singer (died 2006) Baroness Alida Maria Laura Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg, better known by her stage name Alida Valli, or simply Valli, was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, spanning from the 1930s to the early 2000s. She was one of the biggest stars of Italian film during the Fascist era, once being called "the most beautiful woman in the world" by Benito Mussolini, and was internationally successful post-World War II. Read more
31 May 1919: Robie Macauley, American editor, novelist and critic (died 1995) Robie Mayhew Macauley was an American editor, novelist and critic whose literary career spanned more than 50 years. Read more
31 May 1918: Robert Osterloh, American actor (died 2001)[better source needed] Robert Osterloh was an American actor. In a career spanning 20 years, he appeared in films such as The Dark Past (1948), The Wild One (1953), I Bury the Living (1958), and Young Dillinger (1965). Read more
31 May 1918: Lloyd Quarterman, African American chemist (died 1982) Lloyd Albert Quarterman was an American chemist working mainly with fluorine. During the Second World War, he was one of the first six African American scientists and technicians on the Manhattan Project. Read more
31 May 1916: Bert Haanstra, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1997) Albert Haanstra was a Dutch director of films and documentaries. His documentary Glass (1958) won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject in 1959. His feature film Fanfare (1958) was the most visited Dutch film at the time, and has since only been surpassed by Turkish Delight (1973). Read more
31 May 1914: Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer and educator (died 2006) Akira Ifukube was a Japanese composer. He is best known for composing several entries in the Godzilla franchise as well as developing the titular monster's roar. Read more
31 May 1912: Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American experimental physicist (died 1997) Chien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese-American particle and experimental physicist who made significant contributions in the fields of nuclear and particle physics. Wu worked on the Manhattan Project, where she helped develop the process for separating uranium into uranium-235 and uranium-238 isotopes by gaseous diffusion. She is best known for conducting the Wu experiment, which proved that parity is not conserved. This discovery resulted in her colleagues Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang winning the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics, while Wu herself was awarded the inaugural Wolf Prize in Physics in 1978. Her expertise in experimental physics evoked comparisons to Marie Curie. Her nicknames include the "First Lady of Physics", the "Chinese Marie Curie" and the "Queen of Nuclear Research". Read more
31 May 1912: Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson, American politician (died 1983) Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington. A Cold War liberal and anti-Communist member of the Democratic Party, Jackson supported higher military spending and a hard line against the Soviet Union, while also supporting social welfare programs, civil rights, and labor unions. Read more
31 May 1912: Martin Schwarzschild, German-American astrophysicist (died 1997) Martin Schwarzschild was a German-American astrophysicist. Read more
31 May 1911: Maurice Allais, French economist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2010) Maurice Félix Charles Allais was a French physicist and economist, the 1988 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization of resources", along with John Hicks and Paul Samuelson, to neoclassical synthesis. They formalize the self-regulation of markets, which Keynes refuted but reiterated some of Allais's ideas. Read more
31 May 1909: Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (died 2000) Arthur Edmund Coulter was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey League. Read more
31 May 1908: Don Ameche, American actor (died 1993) Don Ameche was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which led to the offer of a movie contract from 20th Century Fox in 1935. Read more
31 May 1901: Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American conductor and composer (died 1983) Alfredo Antonini was a leading Italian-American symphony conductor and composer who was active on the international concert stage as well as on the CBS radio and television networks from the 1930s through the early 1970s. In 1972 he received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Religious Programming on television for his conducting of the premiere of Ezra Laderman's opera And David Wept for CBS television during 1971. In addition, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1980. Read more
31 May 1900: Lucile Godbold, American athlete (died 1981) Lucile Ellerbe Godbold was an American track and field athlete. She competed in the long jump and several running and throwing events at the 1922 Women's World Games, also known as the First International Games for Women, and won a gold medal in the shot put and a bronze in the javelin throw; she finished fourth in the 300 m and 1000 m races. She won a total of six medals, which was more than any other competitor. Read more
31 May 1898: Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (died 1993) Norman Vincent Peale was an American Protestant clergyman, and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). He served as the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, New York, from 1932, leading this Reformed Church in America congregation for more than a half century until his retirement in 1984. Alongside his pulpit ministry, he had an extensive career of writing and editing, and radio and television presentations. Despite arguing at times against involvement of clergy in politics, he nevertheless had some controversial affiliations with politically active organizations in the late 1930s, and engaged with national political candidates and their campaigns, having influence on some, including personal friendships with Presidents Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. Read more
31 May 1894: Fred Allen, American comedian, radio host, game show panelist, and author (died 1956) John Florence Sullivan, known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program The Fred Allen Show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio. Read more
31 May 1892: Michel Kikoine, Belarusian-French painter (died 1968) Michel Kikoïne was a Lithuanian Jewish-French painter who belonged to the Ecole de Paris art movement. Read more
31 May 1892: Erich Neumann, German lieutenant and politician (died 1951) Erich Neumann was a German lawyer and civil servant, a member of the Nazi party and an SS-Oberführer. Neumann was a participant in the Wannsee Conference that determined the implementation of the Final Solution. He was interned at the end of the Second World War but was released in 1948 due to ill health and was never prosecuted. Read more
31 May 1892: Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian poet and author (died 1968) Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky was a Soviet writer nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1968. Read more
31 May 1892: Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (died 1934) Gregor Strasser was a German politician and early leader of the Nazi Party. Along with his younger brother Otto, he was a leading member of the party's northern group, which brought them into conflict with the dominant faction led by Adolf Hitler. Gregor's willingness to engage in political negotiations with Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher in 1932 ultimately led to his resignation and murder in the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. The brothers' strand of the Nazi ideology is later known as Strasserism, a political concept largely popularized by Otto after he left the party in 1930. Read more
31 May 1887: Saint-John Perse, French poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1975) Alexis Leger, better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse, was a French poet, writer and diplomat, awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the soaring flight and the evocative imagery of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time". Read more
31 May 1885: Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (died 1967) Robert Stanley Richards was an Australian politician. He served as premier of South Australia for two months in 1933, leading the Parliamentary Labor faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the aftermath of a major party split. His government was defeated in a landslide at the 1933 state election. He returned as leader of the reunited ALP from 1938 to 1949, leading the party to three consecutive electoral defeats as leader of the opposition in the face of severe electoral malapportionment. He later served as administrator of Nauru, a UN trust territory administered by Australia, from 1949 to 1951. Read more
31 May 1883: Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician, 2nd President of Finland (died 1942) Lauri Kristian Relander was the president of Finland (1925–1931). A prominent member of the Agrarian League, he served as a member of Parliament, and as Speaker, before his election as president. Read more
31 May 1882: Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (died 1956) Count Sándor Ágost Dénes Festetics de Tolna was a Hungarian nobleman and cabinet minister who later became an advocate of Nazism in Hungary. Read more
31 May 1879: Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian soprano (died 1952) Frances Davis Alda was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised operatic lyric soprano. She achieved fame during the first three decades of the 20th century due to her outstanding singing voice, fine technique and colourful personality, as well as her frequent onstage partnerships at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, with Enrico Caruso. Read more
31 May 1875: Rosa May Billinghurst, British suffragette and women's rights activist (died 1953) Rosa May Billinghurst was a British suffragette and women's rights activist. She was known popularly as the "cripple suffragette" as she campaigned in a tricycle. Read more
31 May 1866: John Ringling, American entrepreneur; one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus (died 1936) John Nicholas Ringling was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows to create a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses and helped shape the modern circus. In addition to owning and managing many of the largest circuses in the United States, he was also a rancher, a real estate developer and art collector. He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1987. Read more
31 May 1863: Francis Younghusband, Indian-English captain and explorer (died 1942) Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband was a British Army officer, explorer and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; especially the 1904 British expedition to Tibet, led by him, and for his writings on Asia and foreign policy. Younghusband held positions including British commissioner to Tibet and president of the Royal Geographical Society. Read more
31 May 1860: Walter Sickert, English painter (died 1942) Walter Richard Sickert was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the mid and late 20th century. Read more
31 May 1858: Graham Wallas, English socialist, social psychologist, and educationalist (died 1932) Graham Wallas was an English socialist, social psychologist, educationalist, a leader of the Fabian Society and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Read more
31 May 1857: Pope Pius XI (died 1939) Pope Pius XI was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of Vatican City upon its creation on 11 February 1929. Read more
31 May 1852: Francisco Moreno, Argentinian explorer and academic (died 1919) Francisco Pascasio Moreno was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as Perito Moreno. Perito Moreno has been credited as one of the most influential figures in the Argentine incorporation of large parts of Patagonia and its subsequent development. Read more
31 May 1852: Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist, invented the Petri dish (died 1921) Julius Richard Petri was a German microbiologist who is generally credited with inventing the device known as the Petri dish, which is named after him, while working as assistant to bacteriologist Robert Koch. Read more
31 May 1847: William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Canadian-Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (died 1924) William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie was a leading British shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland & Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as Lord Mayor of Belfast between 1896 and 1898. He was ennobled as Baron Pirrie in 1906, appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1908 and made Viscount Pirrie in 1921. Lord Pirrie was involved in the building of the Olympic-class ocean liners, along with his nephew Thomas Andrews. In Belfast, he was already a controversial figure: a Protestant employer associated as a leading Liberal with a policy of Home Rule for Ireland. Read more
31 May 1842: John Cox Bray, Australian politician, 15th Premier of South Australia (died 1894) Sir John Cox Bray was a prominent South Australian politician and the first native-born Premier of South Australia (1881–1884). Read more
31 May 1838: Henry Sidgwick, English economist and philosopher (died 1900) Henry Sidgwick was an English utilitarian philosopher and economist and is best known in philosophy for his utilitarian treatise The Methods of Ethics. His work in economics has also had a lasting influence. Read more
31 May 1835: Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (died 1869) Hijikata Toshizō was a Japanese swordsman of the Bakumatsu period and Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi. As Vice-Commander, he served the Tokugawa Shogunate and co-led his group in its resistance against the imperial rule brought about by the Meiji Restoration. He fought against the Imperial Army during the Boshin War until his death at the Battle of Hakodate, which ended the war. Read more
31 May 1827: Kusumoto Ine, first Japanese female doctor of Western medicine (died 1903) Kusumoto Ine was a Japanese physician. She was the first female doctor of Western medicine in Japan. Read more
31 May 1819: Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (died 1892) Walter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality. Read more
31 May 1818: John Albion Andrew, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1867) John Albion Andrew was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He was elected in 1860 as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts, serving between 1861 and 1866, and led the state's contributions to the Union cause during the American Civil War (1861–1865). He was a guiding force behind the creation of some of the first African-American units in the United States Army, including the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. He belonged to the Whig, Free Soil, and Republican parties during his career. Read more
31 May 1815: Adye Douglas, English-Australian cricketer and politician, 15th Premier of Tasmania (died 1906) Sir Adye Douglas was an Australian lawyer and politician, and first class cricket player, who played one match for Tasmania. He was Premier of Tasmania from 15 August 1884 to 8 March 1886. Read more
31 May 1812: Robert Torrens, Irish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of South Australia (died 1884) Sir Robert Richard Torrens,, also known as Robert Richard Chute Torrens, was an Irish-born parliamentarian, writer, and land reformer. After a move to London in 1836, he became prominent in the early years of the Colony of South Australia, emigrating after being appointed to a civil service position there in 1840. He was Colonial Treasurer and Registrar-General from 1852 to 1857 and then the third Premier of South Australia for a single month in September 1857. Read more
31 May 1801: Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist and scholar (died 1887) Johann Georg Baiter was a Swiss philologist and textual critic. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 31 May in World History

31 May 2025: Stanley Fischer, Israeli-American economist (born 1943) Stanley Fischer was an American and Israeli economist who served as the 20th vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017. Fischer previously served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013. Born in Northern Rhodesia, he held dual citizenship in Israel and the United States. He previously served as First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and as Chief Economist of the World Bank. On January 10, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Fischer to the position of Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve. On September 6, 2017, Fischer announced that he was resigning as vice-chair for personal reasons effective October 13, 2017. He was a senior advisor at BlackRock. Read more
31 May 2024: Robert Pickton, Canadian serial killer (born 1949) Robert William Pickton, also known as the Pig Farmer Killer or the Butcher, was a Canadian pig farmer and serial killer. He is believed to have murdered at least 26 women, many of them sex workers from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. He confessed to forty-nine murders to an undercover RCMP officer. In 2007, he was convicted on six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years—the longest possible sentence for second-degree murder under Canadian law at the time. Read more
31 May 2024: Marian Robinson, mother of Michelle Obama (born 1937) Marian Lois Robinson was the mother of Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States, and Craig Robinson, a basketball executive. She was the mother-in-law of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. She worked as a secretary and executive assistant before and after raising her children with her husband, Fraser Robinson, in Chicago. In retirement, she moved to the White House during her son-in-law's presidency, where she helped raise her grandchildren. Read more
31 May 2022: Colin Cantwell, American concept artist and director (born 1932) Colin James Cantwell was an American concept artist and director known for his work on films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and WarGames, as well as the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, but primarily for doing creating concept designs and models for a number of Star Wars vehicles, most notably the X-wing fighter, the TIE fighter, the Star Destroyer, the Y-Wing Fighter. Read more
31 May 2022: Krishnakumar Kunnath, Indian singer (born 1968) Krishnakumar Kunnath , popularly known as KK, was an Indian playback singer. KK is regarded as one of the most prolific playback singers in India. Noted for his versatility in a variety of music genres, he recorded songs primarily in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada language. KK was a recipient of several accolades including two Screen Awards, along with six Filmfare Awards nominations. Read more
31 May 2022: Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Colombian drug lord (born 1939) Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela was a Colombian drug lord and one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel. Orejuela formed the cartel with his brother, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, José Santacruz Londoño, and Hélmer Herrera. The cartel emerged to prominence in the early 1990s, and was estimated to control about 80% of the American and 90% of the European cocaine markets in the mid-1990s. Rodríguez Orejuela was captured after a 1995 police campaign by Colombian authorities and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He obtained early release in 2002, and was re-arrested in 2003, after which he was extradited to the United States. There, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, where he died in 2022. Read more
31 May 2022: Jim Parks, English cricketer (born 1931) James Michael Parks was an English cricketer. He played in forty-six Tests for England, between 1954 and 1968. In those Tests, Parks scored 1,962 runs with a personal best of 108 not out, and took 103 catches and made 11 stumpings. Read more
31 May 2016: Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (1976–2016) (born 1947) Mohamed Abdelaziz ben Khalili ben Mohamed al-Bachir Er-Rguibi was the 3rd Secretary General of the Polisario Front, from 1976, and the President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic from 1982, until his death in 2016. Read more
31 May 2016: Jan Crouch, American televangelist, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (born 1938) Janice Wendell Crouch was an American religious broadcaster. Crouch and her husband, Paul, founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in 1973. Read more
31 May 2016: Carla Lane, English television writer (born 1928) Romana Barrack, known by the pseudonym Carla Lane, was an English screenwriter and animal rights campaigner. Lane was known for creating or co-creating successful British sitcoms such as The Liver Birds (1969–1979), Butterflies (1978–1983), and Bread (1986–1991). Read more
31 May 2016: Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (born 1939) Rupert Neudeck was a German theologian, journalist and aid worker, especially with refugees. Read more
31 May 2015: Gladys Taylor, Canadian author and publisher (born 1917) Gladys Taylor was a Canadian writer and publisher. Read more
31 May 2014: Marilyn Beck, American journalist (born 1928) Marilyn Beck was a syndicated Hollywood columnist and author. Read more
31 May 2014: Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (born 1952) Francisco das Chagas Marinho, generally known as Marinho Chagas or Francisco Marinho, was a Brazilian professional footballer. One of the best left-backs of his era, he is best known for his flowing curly blond hair and his performance at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, in which Brazil finished fourth. At club level he is mostly associated with Botafogo FR of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo FC, but he played for numerous other teams, as well as in the North American Soccer League, in a career which spanned from 1969 to 1987. Read more
31 May 2014: Hoss Ellington, American race car driver (born 1935) Charles Everett "Hoss" Ellington was an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He married Betty Frances Hunt on April 17, 1959, at the Mount Pleasant Methodist Parsonage. They had three daughters: Monica Dale Ellington, Trellace Hunt Ellington, and Charla Frances Ellington. He made 31 starts as a driver between 1968 and 1970 in the Grand National Series, finishing in the top 10 four times, all in 1969. He later became a successful team owner, with five wins, four of them by Donnie Allison and the other one by David Pearson. His team also collected 52 top-fives and 92 top-ten finishes. He fielded cars for drivers such as Pearson, Fred Lorenzen, Cale Yarborough, A. J. Foyt, Donnie Allison, Kyle Petty, and Dale Jarrett, among others. Read more
31 May 2014: Martha Hyer, American actress (born 1924) Martha Hyer was an American actress who played Gwen French in Some Came Running (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography, Finding My Way: A Hollywood Memoir, was published in 1990. Read more
31 May 2014: Lewis Katz, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1942) Lewis Katz was an American businessman, philanthropist, and newspaper publisher, who was a co-owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Read more
31 May 2014: Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, English author (born 1922) Mary Soames, Baroness Soames was an English author. The youngest of the five children of Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine, she worked for public organisations including the Red Cross and the Women's Voluntary Service from 1939 to 1941, and joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1941. She was the wife of Conservative politician Christopher Soames. Read more
31 May 2013: Gerald E. Brown, American physicist and academic (born 1926) Gerald Edward Brown was an American theoretical physicist who worked on nuclear physics and astrophysics. Since 1968 he had been a professor at the Stony Brook University. He was a distinguished professor emeritus of the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook University. Read more
31 May 2013: Frederic Lindsay, Scottish author and educator (born 1933) Frederic Lindsay was a Scottish crime writer, who was born in Glasgow and lived in Edinburgh. He was a full-time writer from 1979 and previously worked as a lecturer, teacher and library assistant. He was active in a number of literary organisations including the Society of Authors, International PEN and the Scottish Arts Council. In addition to novels he also wrote for TV, radio and the theatre. Two of his novels have been made into films. Read more
31 May 2013: Miguel Méndez, American author and poet (born 1930) Miguel Méndez was the pen name for Miguel Méndez Morales, a Mexican American author best known for his novel Peregrinos de Aztlán. He was a leading figure in the field of Chicano literature. Read more
31 May 2013: Tim Samaras, American engineer and storm chaser (born 1957) Timothy Michael Samaras, was an American engineer and storm chaser best known for his field research on tornadoes and time on the Discovery Channel show Storm Chasers. He died in the 2013 El Reno tornado that occurred on May 31, 2013. Read more
31 May 2013: Jairo Mora Sandoval, Costa Rican environmentalist (born 1987) Jairo Mora Sandoval was a Costa Rican environmentalist who was murdered while attempting to protect leatherback turtle nests. Just before midnight on May 30, 2013, Mora and four female volunteers were abducted by a group of masked men. The women eventually escaped and informed the police. Mora's bound and beaten body was found on the beach the next morning. An autopsy determined he died by asphyxiation after suffering a blow to the head. Read more
31 May 2013: Jean Stapleton, American actress (born 1923) Jean Stapleton was an American character actress of stage, television and film. Stapleton is best known for her portrayal of Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and devoted wife of Archie Bunker, on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family. The role earned her three Emmys and two Golden Globes for Best Actress in a comedy series. Read more
31 May 2012: Christopher Challis, English cinematographer (born 1919) Christopher George Joseph Challis BSC, FRPS was an English cinematographer. He was well-known for his collaborations with the directing duo of Powell and Pressburger, and worked on more than 70 feature films from the 1940s onwards. He won a BAFTA Award for his work on Arabesque (1966), among four total nominations. Read more
31 May 2012: Randall B. Kester, American lawyer and judge (born 1916) Randall Blair Kester was an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. He was the 69th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving from 1957 to 1958. He later taught at what became the Lewis & Clark Law School and was in private practice in Portland, Oregon, decades after leaving the bench. Read more
31 May 2012: Paul Pietsch, German race car driver and publisher (born 1911) Paul Pietsch was a racing driver, journalist and publisher from Germany, who founded the magazine Das Auto and published many other as his Motor Presse Stuttgart became the largest publisher in the European market for technology and special interest magazines. Read more
31 May 2012: Orlando Woolridge, American basketball player and coach (born 1959) Orlando Vernada Woolridge was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 1994. He was known for his scoring ability, especially on slam dunks. He played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Read more
31 May 2011: Pauline Betz, American tennis player (born 1919) Pauline May Betz Addie was an American professional tennis player. She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer called her the second best female tennis player he ever saw, behind Helen Wills Moody. Read more
31 May 2011: Jonas Bevacqua, American fashion designer, co-founded the Lifted Research Group (born 1977) Jonas Bevacqua was an American clothing designer and entrepreneur. Read more
31 May 2011: Derek Hodge, Virgin Islander lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (born 1941) Derek Michael Hodge was an American Virgin Islander politician and lawyer who served as the sixth lieutenant governor of the United States Virgin Islands for two terms from 1987 to 1995 under Governor Alexander Farrelly. The Virgin Islands Daily News called him a "towering figure in local politics," referring to his political career, which spanned several decades. Read more
31 May 2011: Hans Keilson, German-Dutch psychoanalyst and author (born 1909) Hans Alex Keilson was a German-Dutch novelist, poet, psychoanalyst and child psychologist. He was best known for his novels set during the Second World War, during which he was an active member of the Dutch resistance. Read more
31 May 2011: John Martin, English admiral and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (born 1918) Vice-Admiral Sir John Edward Ludgate Martin, was a Royal Navy officer and Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey. Read more
31 May 2011: Andy Robustelli, American football player and manager (born 1925) Andrew Richard Robustelli was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants. He played college football at Arnold College and was selected in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL draft. Robustelli was a six-time first-team All-Pro selection and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. Read more
31 May 2010: Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (born 1911) Louise Joséphine Bourgeois was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a variety of themes over the course of her long career including domesticity and the family, sexuality and the body, as well as death and the unconscious. These themes connect to events from her childhood which she considered to be a therapeutic process. Although Bourgeois exhibited with the abstract expressionists and her work has a lot in common with Surrealism and feminist art, she was not formally affiliated with a particular artistic movement. Read more
31 May 2010: Brian Duffy, English photographer and producer (born 1933) Brian Duffy was an English photographer and film producer, best remembered for his fashion and portrait photography of the 1960s and 1970s. Read more
31 May 2010: William A. Fraker, American director, producer, and cinematographer (born 1923) William Ashman Fraker, ASC, BSC was an American cinematographer and director. Read more
31 May 2010: Rubén Juárez, Argentinian singer-songwriter and bandoneón player (born 1947) Rubén Juárez was an Argentine bandoneonist and singer-songwriter of tango. Read more
31 May 2010: Merata Mita, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1942)

Merata Mita was a New Zealand filmmaker, producer, and writer, and a key figure in the growth of the Māori screen industry. Mita was the first indigenous woman and the first woman in New Zealand to solely write and direct a dramatic feature film Mauri (1988). Read more
31 May 2009: Danny La Rue, Irish-British drag queen performer and singer (born 1927) Danny La Rue was an entertainer best known for on-stage theatrical productions, television shows and films where he customarily performed as a female impersonator. Read more
31 May 2009: George Tiller, American physician (born 1941) George Richard Tiller was an American physician and abortion provider from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which, at the time, was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide that provided late-term abortions. Read more
31 May 2006: Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor (born 1933) Miguel Ortiz Berrocal was a Spanish figurative and abstract sculptor. He is best known for his puzzle sculptures, which can be disassembled into many abstract pieces. These works are also known for the miniature artworks and jewelry incorporated into or concealed within them, and the fact that some of the sculptures can be reassembled or reconfigured into different arrangements. Berrocal's sculptures span a wide range of physical sizes from monumental outdoor public works, to intricate puzzle sculptures small enough to be worn as pendants, bracelets, or other body ornamentation. Read more
31 May 2006: Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1914) Raymond Davis Jr. was an American chemist and physicist. He is best known as the leader of the Homestake experiment in the 1960s-1980s, which was the first experiment to detect neutrinos emitted from the Sun; for this he shared the 2002
Nobel Prize in Physics. Read more
31 May 2004: Aiyathurai Nadesan, Sri Lankan journalist (born 1954) Aiyathurai Nadesan, a prominent and veteran minority Sri Lankan Tamil journalist was shot dead on 31 May 2004 on his way to work in eastern Sri Lankan town of Batticaloa by gunmen belonging to an armed paramilitary group widely believed to be so called Karuna Group. Read more
31 May 2004: Robert Quine, American guitarist (born 1941) Robert Wolfe Quine was an American guitarist. A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown. Critic Mark Deming wrote that "Quine's eclectic style embraced influences from jazz, rock, and blues players of all stripes, and his thoughtful technique and uncompromising approach led to rewarding collaborations with a number of visionary musicians." Read more
31 May 2004: Étienne Roda-Gil, French screenwriter and composer (born 1941) Étienne Roda-Gil was a songwriter and screenwriter. He was an anarchist and an anarcho-syndicalist. Read more
31 May 2002: Subhash Gupte, Indian cricketer (born 1929) Subhashchandra Pandharinath "Fergie" Gupte was one of Test cricket's finest spin bowlers. Sir Garry Sobers, EAS Prasanna and Jim Laker pronounced him the best leg spinner they had seen. Read more
31 May 2001: Arlene Francis, American actress, talk show host, game show panelist, and television personality (born 1907) Arlene Francis was an American game show panelist, actress, and radio and television talk show host. She was a pioneer for women in television, and is best known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game show What's My Line?, on which she appeared regularly from 1950 to 1975. Read more
31 May 2000: Petar Mladenov, Bulgarian diplomat, 1st President of Bulgaria (born 1936) Petar Toshev Mladenov was a Bulgarian communist diplomat and politician. He was the last leader of the Bulgarian People's Republic from 1989 to 1990, and briefly the first President of the Bulgarian Republic in 1990. Read more
31 May 2000: A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (born 1928) Alfred Jeyaratnam Wilson was a Sri Lankan Tamil academic, historian and author. He began his academic career as a lecturer in economics and political science at the University of Ceylon and was the founding professor of political science at the University of Ceylon (1969-72). Later he moved to Canada and was professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick. University of New Brunswick. Read more
31 May 1998: Charles Van Acker, Belgian-American race car driver (born 1912) Charles Edward "Poncho" Van Acker Sr was a Belgian-American racing driver. He first attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1946, but was too slow. In 1947, he made the race and finished in 29th after a crash on lap 24. He also competed in seven more races of the national trail that season and finished fourth in points. In 1948, he finished 11th in the Indy 500 and tenth in the National Championship. 1949 saw him crash ten laps into the Indy 500 and struggle to qualify much of the rest of the season. He attempted the 1950 Indianapolis 500 but failed to qualify in what would be his last Championship Car appearance.
He owned and operated the South Bend Motor Speedway in South Bend, Indiana and once after a dirt track crash in Dayton, Ohio was declared dead. However, Van Acker claims that the reports were exaggerated and that he was not that seriously injured. Read more
31 May 1996: Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author (born 1920) Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". According to poet Allen Ginsberg, he was "a hero of American consciousness", while writer Tom Robbins called him a "brave neuronaut". President Richard Nixon disagreed, calling Leary "the most dangerous man in America". During the 1960s and 1970s, at the height of the counterculture movement, Leary was arrested 36 times. Read more
31 May 1995: Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (born 1930) Stanley Lawrence Elkin was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. His extravagant, satirical fiction revolves around American consumerism, popular culture, and male-female relationships. Read more
31 May 1994: Uzay Heparı, Turkish actor, producer, and composer (born 1969) Rony Uzay Heparı was a Turkish musician, composer, producer, arranger, and actor. Heparı received classical music training as a child. In the mid-1980s, during his high school years, he joined the Istanbul Gelişim Orchestra, conducted by Garo Mafyan, and developed his skills on the electric keyboard. Heparı, a fan of MFÖ in the 1980s, developed an interest in pop music. Having studied classical music throughout his childhood, he began to shift his style in his early teens. At 19, he began his career playing piano on Zuhal Olcay's album Küçük Bir Öykü (1988). At the same time, he was studying at the Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory. Read more
31 May 1994: Herva Nelli, Italian-American soprano (born 1909) Herva Nelli was an Italian and American operatic soprano. Read more
31 May 1993: Honey Tree Evil Eye, or, Spuds MacKenzie, Bud Light Bull Terrier mascot (born 1983) Spuds MacKenzie is a bull terrier dog character used for an extensive advertising campaign marketing Bud Light beer in the late 1980s. The Spuds MacKenzie mascot and campaign was the idea of a 23-year-old art director, Jon Moore. At the time, he was working at Needham, Harper, and Steers, a Chicago advertising agency. The dog first showed up in a Bud Light Super Bowl XXI advertisement in 1987. Read more
31 May 1989: C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and historian (born 1901) Cyril Lionel Robert James, who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist, Trotskyist activist, and Marxist writer. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts. His work is a staple of Marxism, and he figures as a pioneering and influential voice in postcolonial literature. A tireless political activist, James is the author of the 1937 work World Revolution outlining the history of the Communist International, which stirred debate in Trotskyist circles, and in 1938 he wrote on the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins. Read more
31 May 1989: Owen Lattimore, American author and academic (born 1900) Owen Lattimore was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia. Although he never earned a college degree, in the 1930s he was editor of Pacific Affairs, a journal published by the Institute of Pacific Relations, and taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963. He was director of the Walter Hines Page School of International Relations from 1939 to 1953. During World War II, he was an advisor to Chiang Kai-shek and the American government and contributed extensively to the public debate on U.S. policy toward Asia. From 1963 to 1970, Lattimore was the first Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Leeds in England. Read more
31 May 1987: John Abraham, Indian director and screenwriter (born 1937) John Abraham was an Indian filmmaker, short story writer and screenwriter who worked mainly in Malayalam cinema. His film Amma Ariyan (1986) was the only South Indian feature film to make the list of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time by British Film Institute. Agraharathil Kazhuthai was listed among the "100 Greatest Indian Films" of all time by IBN Live's 2013 poll. Read more
31 May 1986: Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (born 1918) Jane Schenthal Frank was an American multidisciplinary artist, known as a painter, sculptor, mixed media artist, illustrator, and textile artist. Her landscape-like, mixed-media abstract paintings are included in public collections, including those of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She studied with artists, Hans Hofmann and Norman Carlberg. Read more
31 May 1986: James Rainwater, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917) Leo James Rainwater was an American physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei. Read more
31 May 1985: Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (born 1921) Gaston Rébuffat was a French alpinist, mountain guide, and author. He is well known as a member of the first expedition to summit Annapurna 1 in 1950 and the first man to climb all six of the great north faces of the Alps. In 1984, he was made an officer in the French Legion of Honour for his service as a mountaineering instructor for the French military. At the age of 64, Gaston Rébuffat died of cancer in Paris, France. The rock-climbing technique, the "Gaston", was named after him. A photo of Rébuffat atop the Aiguille du Roc in the French Alps is on the Voyager Golden Records. Read more
31 May 1983: Jack Dempsey, American boxer and lieutenant (born 1895) William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and was world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. He is ranked sixth on The Ring magazine's list of all-time heavyweights and fourth among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers, while in 1950 the Associated Press voted him as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years. Read more
31 May 1982: Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer and explorer (born 1930) Carlo Mauri was an Italian mountaineer and explorer. Mauri was born in Lecco. Among his early climbs in the Alps two stand out: the first winter ascent of the via Comici route on the northern face of Cima Grande di Lavaredo; and the first solitary ascent of the Poire of Mont Blanc. Numerous expeditions abroad followed. In 1956 he reached the summit of Monte Sarmiento in Tierra del Fuego and in 1958, as a member of Riccardo Cassin’s expedition in Karakorum, he and Walter Bonatti made the first ascent of Gasherbrum IV. Read more
31 May 1981: Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist and journalist (born 1914) Barbara Mary Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries. She urged Western governments to share their prosperity with the rest of the world and in the 1960s turned her attention to environmental questions as well. She was an early advocate of sustainable development before this term became familiar and was well known as a journalist, lecturer and broadcaster. Ward was adviser to policymakers in the UK, United States and elsewhere. She was the founder of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Read more
31 May 1978: József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1925) József Bozsik was a Hungarian footballer who played as a central midfielder. He spent his entire club career at his hometown club, Budapest Honvéd. Bozsik was a key member of the legendary Golden Team as he represented Hungary in various international tournaments. Honvéd named their stadium, Bozsik József Stadion, after him. Read more
31 May 1977: William Castle, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1914) William Castle was an American filmmaker and actor. He was best known as a director of horror and thriller B-movies in the 1950s and '60s, for which he devised innovative and distinctive promotional gimmicks. Read more
31 May 1976: Jacques Monod, French biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1910) Jacques Lucien Monod was a French biochemist. He shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with François Jacob and André Lwoff "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis" Read more
31 May 1970: Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1929) Terrance Gordon Sawchuk was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers between 1950 and 1970. He won the Calder Trophy, earned the Vezina Trophy four times, was a four-time Stanley Cup champion, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame the year after his final season, one of 10 players for whom the three-year waiting period was waived. Read more
31 May 1970: Clare Sheridan, English sculptor and author (born 1885) Clare Consuelo Sheridan was an English sculptor, journalist and writer, known primarily for creating busts for famous sitters and keeping travel diaries. She was a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill, with whom she had enjoyed an amicable relationship, though her support for the October Revolution in 1917 caused them to break ranks politically. She enjoyed travelling around the world; and among her circle of friends were Princess Margaret of Sweden, Lord and Lady Mountbatten, Lady Diana Cooper, Vita Sackville-West and Vivien Leigh. Read more
31 May 1967: Billy Strayhorn, American pianist and composer (born 1915) William Thomas Strayhorn was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the 'A' Train", "Chelsea Bridge", "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing", and "Lush Life". Read more
31 May 1962: Henry F. Ashurst, American lawyer and politician (born 1874) Henry Fountain Ashurst was an American Democratic politician and one of the first two senators from Arizona. Largely self-educated, he served as a district attorney and member of the Arizona Territorial legislature before fulfilling his childhood ambition of joining the United States Senate. During his time in the Senate, Ashurst was chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs and the Judiciary Committee. Read more
31 May 1960: Willem Elsschot, Flemish author and poet (born 1882) Alphonsus Josephus de Ridder was a Belgian writer and poet who wrote under the pseudonym Willem Elsschot. One of the most prominent Flemish authors, his most famous work, Cheese (1933) is the most translated Dutch-language novel from Flanders of all time. Read more
31 May 1960: Walther Funk, German economist, journalist, and politician, German Minister of Economics (born 1890) Walther Immanuel Funk was a German economist, Nazi official and convicted war criminal who served as Reichsminister for the Economy from 1938 to 1945 and president of the Reichsbank from 1939 to 1945. Funk oversaw the mobilization of the economy for Germany's rearmament and World War II, and the expropriation of assets of victims from Nazi concentration camps. He was convicted for crimes against humanity by the Nuremberg Tribunal. Read more
31 May 1957: Stefanos Sarafis, Greek general and politician (born 1890) Stefanos Sarafis was an officer of the Hellenic Army and Major General in EAM-ELAS, who played an important role during the Greek Resistance. Read more
31 May 1957: Leopold Staff, Polish poet and academic (born 1878) Leopold Henryk Staff was a Polish poet; an artist of European modernism twice granted the Degree of Doctor honoris causa by universities in Warsaw and in Kraków. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Polish PEN Club. Representative of classicism and symbolism in the poetry of Young Poland, he was an author of many philosophical poems influenced by the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, the ideas of Franciscan order as well as paradoxes of Christianity. Read more
31 May 1954: Antonis Benakis, Greek art collector and philanthropist, founded the Benaki Museum (born 1873) Antonis Benakis (1873–1954) was a Greek art collector and the founder of the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece, the son of politician and magnate Emmanuel Benakis and the brother of author Penelope Delta. He is the hero of Delta's book "Trellantonis", a literary account of the sundry, mischievous adventures of children growing up in Alexandria, Egypt, in the early 20th century. Read more
31 May 1945: Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (born 1904) Odilo Lothar Ludwig Globočnik was a Nazi Party official and a perpetrator of the Holocaust. A high-ranking member of the SS, Globočnik was the leader of Operation Reinhard, the organized murder of around one and a half million Jews, mostly of Polish origin, during the Holocaust in the Majdanek, Treblinka, Sobibór and Bełżec extermination camps. Historian Michael Allen described him as "the vilest individual in the vilest organization ever known". Globočnik killed himself shortly after his capture and detention by British soldiers. Read more
31 May 1931: Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (born 1866) Félix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau was a Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1926 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1927. Read more
31 May 1931: Willy Stöwer, German author and illustrator (born 1864) Willy Stöwer was a German artist, illustrator, and author during the Imperial Period. He is best known for nautical paintings and lithographs. Many of his works depict historical maritime events such as the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. Read more
31 May 1910: Elizabeth Blackwell, English-American physician and educator (born 1821) Elizabeth Blackwell was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Kingdom. Blackwell played an important role in both the United States and the United Kingdom as a social reformer, and was a pioneer in promoting education for women in medicine. Her contributions remain celebrated with the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal, awarded annually to a woman who has made a significant contribution to the promotion of women in medicine. Read more
31 May 1909: Thomas Price, Welsh-Australian politician, 24th Premier of South Australia (born 1852) Thomas Price served as the South Australian United Labor Party's first Premier of South Australia. He formed a minority government at the 1905 election and was re-elected with increased representation at the 1906 election, serving in the premiership until his death in 1909. It was the world's first stable Labor government. Shortly afterwards, John Verran led Labor to form the state's first of many majority governments at the 1910 election. Read more
31 May 1908: Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Canadian author, poet, and politician (born 1839) Louis-Honoré Fréchette was a Canadian poet, politician, playwright and short story writer. For his prose, he would be the first Quebecois to receive the Prix Montyon from the Académie française, and the first Canadian to receive any honor from a European nation. Read more
31 May 1899: Stefanos Koumanoudis, Greek archaeologist, teacher and writer (born 1818) Stefanos Koumanoudis was a Greek archaeologist, teacher and writer of the 19th century. Read more
31 May 1848: Eugénie de Guérin, French author (born 1805) Eugénie de Guérin was a French writer and the sister of the poet Maurice de Guérin. Read more
31 May 1847: Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister and economist (born 1780) Thomas Chalmers, was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nineteenth-century churchman". Read more
31 May 1846: Philip Marheineke, German pastor and philosopher (born 1780) Philip Konrad Marheineke was a German Protestant theologian and church leader within the Evangelical Church in Prussia. Read more
31 May 1837: Joseph Grimaldi, English actor, comedian and dancer (born 1779) Joseph Grimaldi was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era. In the early 19th century, he expanded the role of Clown in the harlequinade that formed part of British pantomimes, notably at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden theatres. He became so dominant on the London comic stage that the harlequinade role of Clown became known as "Joey", and both the nickname and Grimaldi's whiteface make-up design were, and still are, used by other types of clowns. Grimaldi originated catchphrases such as "Here we are again!", which continue to feature in modern pantomimes. Read more
31 May 1832: Évariste Galois, French mathematician and theorist (born 1811) Évariste Galois was a French mathematician and political activist. While still in his teens, he was able to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be solvable by radicals, thereby solving a problem that had been open for 350 years. His work laid the foundations for Galois theory and group theory, two major branches of abstract algebra. Read more
31 May 1831: Samuel Bentham, English architect and engineer (born 1757) Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Bentham was an English mechanical engineer and naval architect credited with numerous innovations, particularly related to naval architecture, including weapons. He was the only surviving sibling of philosopher Jeremy Bentham, with whom he had a close bond. Read more
31 May 1809: Joseph Haydn, Austrian pianist and composer (born 1732) Franz Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was pivotal in the evolution of chamber music forms like the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led him to be called "Father of the Symphony", "Father of the String quartet" and "Father of Sonata form". Read more
31 May 1809: Jean Lannes, French general (born 1769) Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz, was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Read more

Why is 31 May Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 31 May, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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On 31 May, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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