On this day in History - May 31

0455 - Valentinian III, dies (b. 0419). Roman Emperor.
0455 - Petronius Maximus, dies killed by a mob. Roman Emperor.
1048 - Omar Khayyam, was born (d. 1131). Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher.
1162 - Nascimento do conquistador mongol Gengis Khan.
1246 - Isabella of Angouleme, dies. Queen of John of England .
1408 - Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, dies (b. 1358). Ashikaga shogun.
1443 - Margaret Beaufort, was born (d. 1509). Mother of Henry VII of England.
1469 - King Manuel I of Portugal was born (d. 1521).
1495 - Cecily Neville, dies (b. 1415). Mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England 1578 - Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool's gold, used to pave streets in London.
1582 - Rei Felipe II assina alvará ordenado pagamento de pensão à mãe de Luíz Vaz de Camões
1594 - Morre Jacobo Robusti, Tintoretto, pintor veneziano.
1656 - Marin Marais, was born. French composer and viol player.
1669 - Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
1678 - The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.
1680 - Joachim Neander, dies (b. 1650). Clergyman.
1727 - Criação do Royal Bank of Scotland.
1740 - King Friedrich Wilhem I of Prussia dies (b. 1688)
1747 - Andrei Osterman, dies (b. 1686). Russian statesman.
1750 - Karl August of Hardenberg, was born (d. 1822). Statesman and reformer.
1753 - Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, was born (d. 1793). French revolutionist.
1759 - The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions.
1773 - Ludwig Tieck, was born (d. 1853). German poet and writer.
1775 - Patriots in Charlotte, North Carolina adopt the Mecklenburg Resolutions urging the American Colonies to declare independence from Great Britian.
1790 - Alferez Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
1790 - Por decisão régia, são criadas em Lisboa 18 escolas para raparigas. São as primeiras escolas femininas em Portugal.
1799 - Pierre Lemonnier, dies (b. 1715). French astronomer.
1801 - Johann Georg Baiter, was born (d. 1887). Swiss philologist.
1809 - Joseph Haydn, dies. (b. 1732). Austrian composer.
1809 - Jean Lannes, dies (b. 1769). French Marshal of Empire.
1819 - Walt Whitman, was born (d. 1892). American poet.
1831 - Samuel Bentham, dies (b. 1757). Mechanical engineer.
1832 - Evariste Galois, dies (b. 1811). Mathematician.
1838 - Henry Sidgwick, was born (d. 1900). English philosopher.
1846 - Philip Marheineke, dies (b. 1780). German Protestant divine.
1847 - Thomas Chalmers, dies (b. 1780). Scottish pastor, social reformer, educator, author, and scientist.
1848 - Eugénie de Guérin, dies (b. 1805). Writer.
1852 - Nascia Francisco Pascasio Moreno, cientista, naturalista e explorador argentino.
1857 - Pope Pius XI (Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti) was born (d. 10 Feb 1939). 259th pope of the Roman Catholic Church [1922-1939].
1860 - Walter Sickert, was born (d. 1942). English painter.
1862 - American Civil War: The Battle of Seven Pines.
1864 - American Civil War: The Battle of Cold Harbor begins.
1866 - In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the English. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
1872 - Heath Robinson, was born (d. 1944). English cartoonist.
1874 - Estreia, na Igreja de São Marcos de Milão, a Misa de Requiem que Verdi compôs para a morte do escritor Manzoni.
1875 - Eliphas Lévi, dies. French writer and magician.
1878 - Naufraga na costa inglesa o encouraçado alemão Grosser-Kurfurst, causando a morte de 269 tripulantes.
1880 - The League of American Wheelmen was formed in Newport, RI. It was the first national bicycle society to be organized in the United States.
1883 - Lauri Kristian Relander, was born (d. 1942). Finnish president .
1884 - John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes.
1887 - Saint-John Perse, was born (d. 1975). French diplomat and poet. Nobel Prize in Literature 1960.
1889 - Johnstown Flood: Over 2200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
1892 - Michel Kikoine, was born (d. 1968). Belarus painter.
1894 - Fred Allen, was born (d. 1956). American comedian.
1894 - Konstantin Stoilov Konstantinov assume (pela 2º vez) o cargo de primeiro-ministro da Bulgária
1898 - Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, was born (d. 1993). American clergyman.
1902 - Second Boer War: The last Afrikaner resistance forces sign a peace treaty with the British at Pretoria, ending the war, and ensuring British control of South Africa.
1908 - Don Ameche [Dominic Felix Amici] was born (d. 6 Dec 1993). American academy award-winning actor: Cocoon [1985]; Trading Places, Corinna Corinna; inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame [1992];
1910 - Creation of the Union of South Africa. Louis Botha assume o cargo de primeiro-ministro da África do Sul
1910 - Elizabeth Blackwell, dies (b. 1821). First female physician in the United States.
1911 - Nasce Maurice Allais, economista francês, Prêmio Nobel de Economia em 1988.
1912 - Alfred Deller, was born (d. 1979). English countertenor.
1913 - The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing direct election of United States Senators, is declared ratified.
1916 - World War I: The German and British navies clash in the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the war.
1921 - Tulsa Race Riot: More than 300 are killed in a race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
1921 - Comedian Buster Keaton marries actress Natalie Talmadge.
1922 - Denholm Elliott, was born (d. 1992). English actor.
1923 - Prince Rainier III of Monaco was born (d. 2005).
1924 - The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Peking government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promises to respect
1924 - Lauri Ingman assume (pela 2º vez) o cargo de primeiro-ministro da Finlândia.
1926 - James Kruss was born (d. 1997). Author.
1927 - The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
1928 - É fundada a Academia Nicaragüense de la Lengua.
1929 - Menahem Golan, was born. Producer.
1930 - Clint Eastwood, was born. American actor, director, producer.
1931 - Shirley Verrett, was born. American soprano.
1931 - John Robert Schrieffer was born. American physicist and winner (with John Bardeen and Leon N. Cooper) of the 1972 Nobel Prize for Physics for developing the BCS theory (for their initials), the first successful microscopic theory of superconductivity
1932 - Jay Miner, was born (d. 1994). American microchip designer.
1935 - Um terremoto destrói a cidade de Quetta (Paquistão) e morrem mais de 56 mil pessoas.
1935 - Criação do Banco Central de la República Argentina
1938 - Johnny PayCheck, was born (d. 2003). American country music singer.
1938 - John Prescott, was born. Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1938 - Peter Yarrow, was born. American folk singer ("Peter, Paul and Mary")
1939 - Terry Waite, was born. British humanitarian.
1941 - Louis J. Ignarro was born. American pharmacologist who, along with Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad, was co-awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery that nitric oxide (NO) acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system, an entirely new mechanism by which blood vessels in the body relax and widen
1942 - World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Coventry, England
1943 - Sharon Gless, was born. Emmy Award-winning actress: Cagney & Lacey [1985-1986, 1986-1987]; Revenge of the Stepford Wives, Tales of the Unexpected
1943 - Joe Namath, was born. American football star.
1945 - Rainer Werner Fassbinder, was born (d. 10 Jun 1982). Film director: Chinese Roulette, Querelle, Veronika Voss, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Beware of a Holy Whore;
1947 - Mátyás Rákosi assume (pela 2º vez) o cargo de primeiro-ministro da Hungria.
1948 - Morte do pianista português José Vianna da Motta.
1948 - Syngman Rhee assume a presidência da Coréia do Sul
1948 - John Bonham, was born (d. 25 Sep 1980). British musician, drummer with Led Zeppelin.
1949 - Tom Berenger [Thomas Michael Moore], was born. Actor: One Life to Live, If Tomorrow Comes, Platoon, Sliver, The Big Chill, Eddie and the Cruisers, Gettysburg, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, A Murder of Crows, In the Company of Spies, Turbulence II: Fear of Flying.
1950 - Gregory Harrison, was born. Actor.
1952 - Dwight D. Eisenhower retires from active service in the United States Army.
1957 - Leopold Staff, dies (b. 1878). Polish poet.
1960 - Walther Funk, dies (b. 1890). Nazi leader.
1960 - Chris Elliott, was born. Comedian.
1961 - Lea Thompson, was born. Actress.
1961 - Creation of the Republic of South Africa.
1962 - Corey Hart, was born. Singer/songwriter.
1962 - The West Indies Federation dissolves.
1962 - Executado em Tel Aviv, por crimes contra os judeus, o ex-coronel das SS Adolfo Eichman, que havia sido sequestrado na Argentina por agentes israelitas.
1963 - Wesley Willis, was born. Musician.
1965 - Brooke Shields, was born. American model: Ivory Snow baby and actress: The Blue Lagoon, Pretty Baby, Brenda Starr, The Seventh Floor, Backstreet Dreams, Stalking Laura, Suddenly Susan.
1966 - Monges budistas atearam fogo sobre seus próprios corpos em Saigão, como forma de protesto contra a política do governo militar do Vietname do Sul.
1970 - Início do Campeonato Mundial de Futebol realizado no México.
1974 - Syria and Israel sign a disengagement agreement to resolve the Yom Kippur War
1975 - Constituição da Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA).
1976 - Jacques Monod, dies (b. 9 Feb 1910). French biochemist who, with François Jacob, did much to elucidate how genes regulate cell metabolism by directing the biosynthesis of enzymes. The pair shared, along with André Lwoff, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1965. 1976 - Colin Farrell, was born. Actor.
1977 - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.
1977 - William Castle dies (b. 1914). American director.
1983 - Jack Dempsey, dies (b. 1895). American boxer.
1984 - Jason Smith, was born. Australian actor.
1985 - The US-Canadian Outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
1986 - James Rainwater dies (b. 9 Dec 1917) . American physicist who won a share of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei.
1991 - São firmados em Lisboa os acordos para pôr fim a 16 anos de guerra civil em Angola, que acabaram não se cumprindo.
1994 - Morte do barão Marcel Bich. Criador das canetas Bic.
1994 - O croata Kresimir Zubak é proclamado primeiro presidente da recém criada Federação musulmano-croata na Bósnia.
1996 - Paul Peter Piech, dies (b. 1920). Artist.
1996 - Timothy Leary, dies (b. 1920). American LSD advocate.
1997 - Canada's Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.
2000 - Tito Puente, dies (b. 1923). Musician.
2000 - Johnnie Taylor, dies (b. 1938). Vocalist.
2002 - The 17th Football World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, begins with a 1-0 upset of France by Senegal. The tournament ends on June 30, with Brazil winning a record fifth World Cup title.
2002 - Portugal ratifica o Protocolo de Kyoto.
2002 - Tem início o Campeonato do Mundo de Futebolorganizado pela Coreia do Sul/ Japão. No primeiro jogo o Senegal vence a França por 1-0.
2003 - The final flight of an Air France Concorde takes place.
2003 - Bomber Eric Rudolph is captured in Murphy, North Carolina.
2004 - A foul-up during routine software update at the Royal Bank of Canada leads to a three-day misplacement of 10 million account balances.
2004 - Robert Quine, dies (b. 1942). Punk rock guitarist.
Feast day of Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces
The Godiva procession
World No Tobacco day
Syaday (Discordianism) (5th day of the season of Confusion, honors Apostle Sri Syadasti)