May 31 facts for kids

May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 214 days remain until the end of the year.

May 31st is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history, from ancient battles to modern achievements. It's a day when new bridges were started, famous ships were launched, and important laws were made. Many notable people, from poets to politicians, were also born or passed away on this date.

Historical Events

Early History (Before 1600)

• 455 – Petronius Maximus, a Roman Emperor, died while trying to escape Rome.
• 1223 – The powerful Mongol armies, led by Subutai under Genghis Khan, won a big battle against the Kievan Rus' and Cumans at the Battle of the Kalka River.
• 1293 – The Mongols tried to invade Java but were not successful. This event is also seen as the start of the city of Surabaya.
• 1578 – King Henry III of France began building the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), which is the oldest bridge in Paris, France.

Major Changes (1601–1900)

• 1610 – A grand show called London's Love to Prince Henry took place on the River Thames to celebrate Prince Henry becoming the Prince of Wales.
• 1669 – The famous diarist Samuel Pepys wrote his very last entry in his diary, saying his eyesight was getting too poor.
• 1775 – During the American Revolution, the Mecklenburg Resolves were adopted in North Carolina, showing early signs of independence.
• 1790 – The United States passed its first copyright law, called the Copyright Act of 1790, to protect authors' and artists' works.
• 1805 – French and Spanish forces started an attack on British forces at Diamond Rock in Martinique.
• 1813 – In Australia, explorers William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland, and William Wentworth found a way across the Blue Mountains.
• 1859 – The clock tower at the Palace of Westminster in London, which holds Big Ben, started keeping time for the first time.
• 1862 – During the American Civil War, Confederate forces fought Union forces near Richmond, Virginia, in the Battle of Seven Pines.
• 1864 – Another American Civil War battle, the Battle of Cold Harbor, took place between the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac.
• 1879 – Gilmore's Garden in New York City was renamed Madison Square Garden and opened to the public.
• 1889 – The Johnstown Flood caused a terrible disaster when a dam broke, sending a huge wall of water over Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Over 2,200 people died.

Modern Times (1901–Present)

• 1902 – The Treaty of Vereeniging officially ended the Second Boer War, giving Britain control over South Africa.
• 1909 – The National Negro Committee, which later became the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), met for the first time. This group works for civil rights.
• 1911 – The famous ship RMS Titanic was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• 1916 – In World War I, the Battle of Jutland was the largest naval battle of the war, fought between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet. The battle did not have a clear winner.
• 1921 – The Tulsa race massacre occurred in Oklahoma, a terrible event where many people lost their lives.
• 1935 – A very strong earthquake, measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale, destroyed Quetta in what is now Pakistan, killing around 40,000 people.
• 1942 – During World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines launched a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
• 1947 – Ferenc Nagy, the Prime Minister of Hungary, had to resign after being pressured by the Hungarian Communist Party, which then gained control of the government.
• 1955 – The U.S. Supreme Court ordered school districts to quickly work towards ending segregation in schools.
• 1961 – The Republic of South Africa was formed.
• 1970 – A huge earthquake in Peru, known as the 1970 Ancash earthquake, caused a massive landslide that buried the town of Yungay, Peru. Between 66,794 and 70,000 people were killed.
• 1971 – For the first time, Memorial Day in the United States was observed on the last Monday in May, instead of the traditional May 30th.
• 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, a huge oil pipeline, was completed.
• 1985 – A large tornado outbreak hit parts of the United States and Ontario, Canada, causing 76 deaths.
• 2003 – Air France stopped using its fleet of Concorde supersonic aircraft.
• 2008 – Usain Bolt broke the world record in the 100-meter sprint, running it in an amazing 9.72 seconds.
• 2013 – The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its small moon made their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.
• 2013 – A record-breaking 2.6-mile-wide tornado struck near El Reno, Oklahoma, causing fatalities and injuries.
• 2016 – In the Syrian civil war, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an attack to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Famous Births

Born Before 1600

• 1469 – Manuel I of Portugal, a King of Portugal.
• 1535 – Alessandro Allori, an Italian painter.
• 1577 – Nur Jahan, an Empress of the Mughal Empire.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

• 1640 – Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, a King of Poland.
• 1725 – Ahilyabai Holkar, a Queen of the Malwa Kingdom in India.
• 1773 – Ludwig Tieck, a German poet and author.
• 1819 – Walt Whitman, a famous American poet, known for his work Leaves of Grass.
• 1827 – Kusumoto Ine, the first Japanese female doctor of Western medicine.
• 1852 – Julius Richard Petri, a German microbiologist who invented the Petri dish.
• 1857 – Pope Pius XI, a leader of the Catholic Church.
• 1866 – John Ringling, an American businessman who helped found the Ringling Brothers Circus.
• 1875 – Rosa May Billinghurst, a British suffragette who fought for women's right to vote.
• 1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, the second President of Finland.
• 1887 – Saint-John Perse, a French poet and diplomat who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, an American minister and author.

Born After 1900

• 1908 – Don Ameche, an American actor.
• 1911 – Maurice Allais, a French economist and physicist who won a Nobel Prize in Economics.
• 1912 – Chien-Shiung Wu, a Chinese-American experimental physicist.
• 1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, the ruler of Monaco.
• 1930 – Clint Eastwood, a famous American actor, director, and producer.
• 1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, an American physicist who won a Nobel Prize in Physics.
• 1935 – Jim Bolger, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1938 – John Prescott, a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister.
• 1941 – Louis Ignarro, an American pharmacologist who won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 1943 – Joe Namath, a well-known American football player.
• 1948 – Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarusian journalist and author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1948 – John Bonham, an English musician and drummer for the band Led Zeppelin.
• 1949 – Tom Berenger, an American actor.
• 1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, an Australian guitarist.
• 1960 – Chris Elliott, an American actor and comedian.
• 1961 – Lea Thompson, an American actress.
• 1962 – Dina Boluarte, the current President of Peru.
• 1963 – Viktor Orbán, the current Prime Minister of Hungary.
• 1965 – Brooke Shields, an American model and actress.
• 1972 – Archie Panjabi, a British actress.
• 1976 – Colin Farrell, an Irish actor.
• 1989 – Marco Reus, a German footballer.
• 1991 – Azealia Banks, an American singer and rapper.
• 2001 – Iga Świątek, a Polish tennis player.

Notable Deaths

Died Before 1600

• 455 – Petronius Maximus, a Roman Emperor.
• 1162 – Géza II, a King of Hungary.
• 1410 – Martin of Aragon, a King of Spain.
• 1594 – Tintoretto, a famous Italian painter.

Died Between 1601 and 1900

• 1680 – Joachim Neander, a German theologian and composer, known for the hymn "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty."
• 1740 – Frederick William I of Prussia, a King of Prussia.
• 1809 – Joseph Haydn, a very important Austrian composer of classical music.
• 1832 – Évariste Galois, a brilliant French mathematician.
• 1837 – Joseph Grimaldi, a famous English actor and clown.

Died After 1900

• 1910 – Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.
• 1970 – Terry Sawchuk, a Canadian-American ice hockey player.
• 1976 – Jacques Monod, a French biologist who won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 1983 – Jack Dempsey, a famous American boxer.
• 1986 – James Rainwater, an American physicist who won a Nobel Prize in Physics.
• 1996 – Timothy Leary, an American psychologist and writer.
• 2006 – Raymond Davis, Jr., an American physicist and chemist who won a Nobel Prize in Physics.
• 2010 – Louise Bourgeois, a French-American sculptor and painter.
• 2013 – Tim Samaras, an American engineer and storm chaser who studied tornadoes.
• 2013 – Jean Stapleton, an American actress.
• 2014 – Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, an English author and the daughter of Winston Churchill.
• 2016 – Mohamed Abdelaziz, a long-time President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
• 2022 – Krishnakumar Kunnath, a popular Indian singer.

Holidays and Observances

• Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)
• Christian feast day:
  • Camilla Battista da Varano
  • Hermias
  • Petronella
  • Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)
  • May 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• The beginning of Gawai Dayak (Dayaks in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia)
• World No Tobacco Day (International)

See also

In Spanish: 31 de mayo para niños