Sun · 27 SepMoon 99%Field Kp 4 · active Quote · Marcus Aurelius Riddle of the day Card of the dayHow today feels →

This day in history

This day in history: 31 May

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

Share

← Previous day30 May

Events58

Born on this day · Died on this day181 · 115

Next day →1 Jun

Key facts

354 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 31 May.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2026: An explosion at a Ta'ang National Liberation Army base kills 46 people.

Holidays and observances

Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)

Borobi Day (Australia)

Christian feast day: Blessed Camilla Battista da Varano

Christian feast day: Blessed Mariano da Roccacasale

Christian feast day: Blessed Robert Thorpe

Christian feast day: Cantius, Cantianus, and Cantianilla

Christian feast day: Hermias

Christian feast day: May 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Petronella

Christian feast day: Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)

Kaamatan, harvest festival in the state of Sabah and the federal territory of Labuan (Malaysia)

World No Tobacco Day (International)

Events

2026An explosion at a Ta'ang National Liberation Army base kills 46 people.

2019A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.

2017A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463.

2016Syrian 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).

2013A 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.

2013The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.

2010Israeli 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.

2008Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-124 carrying the second portion of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station.

2008Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds.

2005Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat".

2003Air France retires its fleet of Concorde aircraft.

1997The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.

1991Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II peacekeeping mission.

1986The Ariane 2 rocket is launched on its maiden flight, carrying Intelsat VA F-14, but the mission ends in failure.

1985United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.

1977The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.

1973Indian Airlines Flight 440 crashes near Palam Airport in Delhi, killing 48.

1973The 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.

1971In 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.

1970The 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.

1962The West Indies Federation dissolves.

1961In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society.

1961The 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.

1955The 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."

1951The Uniform Code of Military Justice takes effect as the legal system of the United States Armed Forces.

1947Ferenc 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 o

1942World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.

1941Anglo-Iraqi War: The United Kingdom completes the re-occupation of Iraq and returns 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II.

1935A 7.7 Mw earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan killing 40,000.

1924Hope Development School fire kills 24 people, mostly disabled children.

1921The Tulsa race massacre kills at least 39, but other estimates of black fatalities vary from 55 to about 300.

1916World 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.

1911The President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz flees the country during the Mexican Revolution.

1911The RMS Titanic is launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1910The South Africa Act comes into force, establishing the Union of South Africa.

1909The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convenes for the first time.

1906The attempted regicide of Spanish King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie on their wedding day instead kills 24.

1902Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.

1889Johnstown 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.

1884The arrival at Plymouth of Tāwhiao, King of Maoris, to claim the protection of Queen Victoria.

Born on this day

2001Breece Hall, American football player

2001Iga Świątek, Polish tennis player

2000Gable Steveson, American wrestler

1998Santino Ferrucci, American race car driver

1997Jeong Se-woon, South Korean singer-songwriter

1997Woo Jin-young, South Korean singer and rapper

1996Brandon Smith, New Zealand rugby league player

1996Normani Kordei Hamilton, American singer

1995Matthew Lodge, Australian rugby league player

1995Shane Bieber, American baseball player

1992Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson, Icelandic politician

1992Laura Ikauniece, Latvian heptathlete

1992Michaël Bournival, Canadian ice hockey player

1991Azealia Banks, American singer-songwriter and rapper

1990Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player

1989Marco Reus, German footballer

1986Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist

1986Waka Flocka Flame, American rapper

1985Jordy Nelson, American football player

1984Andrew Bailey, American baseball player

1984Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer

1984Nate Robinson, American basketball player

1982Brett Firman, Australian rugby league player

1981Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer

1981Jake Peavy, American baseball player

1981Marlies Schild, Austrian skier

1981Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer

1980Andy Hurley, American musician

1979Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer

1977Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer

1977Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer

1976Colin Farrell, Irish actor

1976Matt Harpring, American basketball player and sportscaster

1975Mac Suzuki, Japanese baseball player

1974Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Japanese comedian and singer

1972Antti Niemi, Finnish international footballer and coach

1972Archie Panjabi, British actress

1972Christian McBride, American bassist and record producer

1972Dave Roberts, American baseball player and coach

1972Frode Estil, Norwegian skier

Died on this day

2025Stanley Fischer, Israeli-American economist (born 1943)

2024Marian Robinson, mother of Michelle Obama (born 1937)

2024Robert Pickton, Canadian serial killer (born 1949)

2022Colin Cantwell, American concept artist and director (born 1932)

2022Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Colombian drug lord (born 1939)

2022Jim Parks, English cricketer (born 1931)

2022Krishnakumar Kunnath, Indian singer (born 1968)

2016Carla Lane, English television writer (born 1928)

2016Jan Crouch, American televangelist, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (born 1938)

2016Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (1976–2016) (born 1947)

2016Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (born 1939)

2015Gladys Taylor, Canadian author and publisher (born 1917)

2014Hoss Ellington, American race car driver (born 1935)

2014Lewis Katz, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1942)

2014Marilyn Beck, American journalist (born 1928)

2014Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (born 1952)

2014Martha Hyer, American actress (born 1924)

2014Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, English author (born 1922)

2013Frederic Lindsay, Scottish author and educator (born 1933)

2013Gerald E. Brown, American physicist and academic (born 1926)

2013Jairo Mora Sandoval, Costa Rican environmentalist (born 1987)

2013Jean Stapleton, American actress (born 1923)

2013Miguel Méndez, American author and poet (born 1930)

2013Tim Samaras, American engineer and storm chaser (born 1957)

2012Christopher Challis, English cinematographer (born 1919)

2012Orlando Woolridge, American basketball player and coach (born 1959)

2012Paul Pietsch, German race car driver and publisher (born 1911)

2012Randall B. Kester, American lawyer and judge (born 1916)

2011Andy Robustelli, American football player and manager (born 1925)

2011Derek Hodge, Virgin Islander lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (born 1941)

Quote of the day

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

Marcus Aurelius

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

This day in history

Every question has its own page

Journal

What you should know, before others do

Weekly insights. One article. One practice. No noise.

Cookies

We use essential cookies to run the platform. Analytics and marketing cookies are only turned on once you consent — you can change your choice at any time.