31 May
Notable Births
Breece Hall
b. 2001
American football player (born 2001)
Iga Świątek
b. 2001
Polish tennis player (born 2001)
Gable Steveson
b. 2000
American wrestler (born 2000)
Santino Ferrucci
b. 1998
American racing driver
Woo Jin-young
b. 1997
South Korean singer and rapper (born 1997)
Jeong Se-woon
b. 1997
South Korean singer (born 1997)
Normani
b. 1996
American singer (born 1996)
Brandon Smith (rugby league)
b. 1996
NZ & Maori international rugby league footballer
Shane Bieber
b. 1995
American baseball player (born 1995)
Matthew Lodge
b. 1995
Australian rugby league footballer
Michaël Bournival
b. 1992
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1992)
Laura Ikauniece
b. 1992
Latvian heptathlete
Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson
b. 1992
Icelandic politician (born 1992)
Waka Flocka Flame
b. 1986
American rapper (born 1986)
Jordy Nelson
b. 1985
American football player (born 1985)
Corey Hart (singer)
b. 1962
Canadian musician (born 1962)
Jean Chalopin
b. 1950
French producer and writer
Clint Eastwood
b. 1930
American actor and filmmaker (born 1930)
Chien-Shiung Wu
b. 1912
Chinese-American physicist (1912–1997)
Norman Vincent Peale
b. 1898
American minister, author, and positive thinking proponent
Notable Deaths
Stanley Fischer
d. 2025
American and Israeli economist (1943–2025)
Robert Pickton
d. 2024
Canadian serial killer (1949–2024)
Marian Robinson
d. 2024
Mother of Michelle Obama (1937–2024)
Colin Cantwell
d. 2022
American film concept artist and director (1932–2022)
KK (singer)
d. 2022
Indian playback singer (1968–2022)
Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela
d. 2022
Colombian drug lord (1939–2022)
Mohamed Abdelaziz (Sahrawi politician)
d. 2016
Sahrawi President from 1976 to 2016
Jan Crouch
d. 2016
American religious broadcaster
Carla Lane
d. 2016
English television writer (1928–2016)
Rupert Neudeck
d. 2016
German journalist
Marinho Chagas
d. 2014
Brazilian footballer
Martha Hyer
d. 2014
American actress (1924–2014)
Lewis Katz
d. 2014
American lawyer
Mary Soames
d. 2014
English author (1922–2014)
Gerald E. Brown
d. 2013
American theoretical physicist
Tim Samaras
d. 2013
American engineer and storm chaser (1957-2013)
Murder of Jairo Mora Sandoval
d. 2013
Costa Rican environmentalist
Jean Stapleton
d. 2013
American actress (1923–2013)
Randall B. Kester
d. 2012
American judge
Paul Pietsch
d. 2012
German racing driver (1911–2012)
On This Day in History
All 56 ›2019
A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.
2019 Virginia Beach shooting
2017
A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463.
May 2017 Kabul bombing
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).
Syrian civil war
2013
The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.
Asteroid
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.
2013 El Reno tornado
2010
Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos boarded 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.
Shayetet 13
2008
Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds.
Usain Bolt
2008
Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-124 carrying the second portion of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station.
Space Shuttle Discovery
2005
Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat".
Vanity Fair (magazine)
2003
Air France retires its fleet of Concorde aircraft.
Air France
1997
The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.
Confederation Bridge
1991
Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II peacekeeping mission.
Bicesse Accords
1985
United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak
1977
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
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.
United States Senate
1973
Indian Airlines Flight 440 crashes near Palam Airport in Delhi, killing 48.
Indian Airlines Flight 440
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.
Uniform Monday Holiday Act
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.
1970 Ancash earthquake
1962
The West Indies Federation dissolves.
West Indies Federation
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.
South African Constitution of 1961