May 31

Updated on Dec 08, 2024

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Day of the week 2017 Wednesday		Western zodiac Gemini
Holidays & Observances World No Tobacco Day, Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei) Events Gaza flotilla raid, 2009 MTV Movie Awards Famous birthdays Clint Eastwood, Farrah Abraham, Colin Farrell, Marco Reus, Azealia Banks

Birthday may 31st horoscope personality zodiac sign gemini astrology

May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 214 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56).

Events

455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome.

526 – A devastating earthquake strikes Antioch killing 250,000.

1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus' and Cumans.

1578 – King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, France.

1669 – Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.

1775 – American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolves are allegedly adopted in the Province of North Carolina.

1790 – Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.

1795 – French Revolution: The Revolutionary Tribunal is suppressed.

1805 – French and Spanish forces begin the assault against British forces occupying Diamond Rock.

1813 – In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth reach Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.

1952 – The amusement park, Efteling in The Netherlands, opens.

1859 – The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.

1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks): Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and G.W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.

1864 – American Civil War: Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: The Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee engages the Army of the Potomac under Ulysses S. Grant and George Meade.

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 United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders over the next three days, at a cost of nine dead and 38 wounded to the Fenians' 19 dead and about 17 wounded.

1879 – Gilmores 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.

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

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.

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

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

1910 – The creation of the Union of South Africa.

1911 – The hull of the ocean liner RMS Titanic is launched.

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

1916 – World War I: Battle of Jutland: The British Grand Fleet under the command of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe and David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty engage the Imperial German Navy under the command of Reinhard Scheer and Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.

1921 – Tulsa race riot: civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The official death toll was given as 39, but other estimates of black fatalities vary from 55 to about 300.

1924 – The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Beijing government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promises to respect.

1927 – The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.

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

1941 – A Luftwaffe air raid on Dublin, Ireland, claims 38 lives.

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.

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

1958 – Feijenoord Rotterdam wins the first edition of the Benelux Cup

1961 – The Union of South Africa becomes the Republic of South Africa.

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

1962 – The West Indies Federation dissolves.

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 66,794–70,000 were killed and 50,000 were injured.

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.

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.

1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.

1981 – The burning of Jaffna library in Sri Lanka, a violent example of ethnic biblioclasm, takes place.

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

1989 – A group of six members of the Peruvian guerrilla group Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement shoot dead eight transsexuals in Tarapoto.

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

2001 The International Law Commission adopts its Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts on second reading.

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

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 civilians were killed during a violent affray that ensued.

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

Births

1443 – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (d. 1509)

1462 – Philipp II, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1504)

1469 – Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)

1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)

1557 – Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)

1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)

1641 – Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem (d. 1707)

1683 – Jean-Pierre Christin, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer, invented the Celsius thermometer (d. 1755)

1732 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (d. 1812)

1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French lawyer and politician (d. 1793)

1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter and educator (d. 1817)

1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German poet, author, and critic (d. 1853)

1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1887)

1818 – John Albion Andrew, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1867)

1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (d. 1892)

1835 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (d. 1869)

1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English economist and philosopher (d. 1900)

1847 – William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Canadian-Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (d. 1924)

1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentinian explorer and academic (d. 1919)

1852 – Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist, invented the Petri dish (d. 1921)

1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)

1858 – Graham Wallas, English socialist, social psychologist, and educationalist (d. 1932)

1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)

1863 – Francis Younghusband, Indian-English captain and explorer (d. 1942)

1879 – Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian soprano (d. 1952)

1882 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (d. 1956)

1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)

1885 – Alois Hudal, Austrian bishop (d. 1963)

1887 – Saint-John Perse, French poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)

1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1968)

1892 – Erich Neumann, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1951)

1892 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian poet and author (d. 1968)

1892 – Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1934)

1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian, radio host, game show panelist, and author (d. 1956)

1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (d. 1993)

1901 – Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American conductor and composer (d. 1983)

1908 – Don Ameche, American actor, voice artist and vaudevillian (d. 1993)

1908 – Nils Poppe, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2000)

1909 – Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2000)

1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)

1912 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American experimental physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)

1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer and educator (d. 2006)

1916 – Bert Haanstra, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)

1916 – Bernard Lewis, English-American historian and author

1918 – Sadie Corré, English actress and dancer (d. 2009)

1919 – Robie Macauley, American editor, novelist and critic (d. 1995)

1921 – Edna Doré, English actress (d. 2014)

1921 – Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)

1921 – Alida Valli, Austrian-Italian actress and singer (d. 2006)

1922 – Denholm Elliott, English-Spanish actor (d. 1992)

1923 – Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (d. 2015)

1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)

1924 – Russell Endean, South African cricketer (d. 2003)

1925 – Julian Beck, American actor and director (d. 1986)

1927 – James Eberle, English admiral

1927 – Michael Sandberg, Baron Sandberg, English lieutenant and banker

1929 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (d. 2014)

1930 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, and producer

1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano and actress (d. 2010)

1932 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian pianist, bassist, and composer (d. 2012)

1932 – Jay Miner, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 1994)

1932 – Hanno Selg, Estonian pentathlete

1933 – Henry B. Eyring, American religious leader, educator, and author

1934 – Jim Hutton, American actor (d. 1979)

1935 – Jim Bolger, New Zealand businessman and politician, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand

1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)

1938 – John Prescott, British sailor and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

1938 – Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1939 – Terry Waite, English humanitarian and author

1940 – Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Ukrainian hammer thrower and coach

1940 – Gilbert Shelton, American illustrator

1941 – June Clark, Welsh nurse and educator

1941 – Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress

1943 – Joe Namath, American football player, sportscaster, and actor

1944 – Samantha Juste, English singer and television host (d. 2014)

1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1982)

1945 – Laurent Gbagbo, Ivorian academic and politician, 4th President of Côte d'Ivoire

1945 – Bernard Goldberg, American journalist and author

1946 – Ted Baehr, American publisher and critic

1946 – Steve Bucknor, Jamaican cricketer and umpire

1946 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat (d. 2009)

1946 – Debbie Moore, English model and businesswoman

1947 – Junior Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1947 – Gabriele Hinzmann, German discus thrower

1948 – Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate

1948 – John Bonham, English musician, songwriter and drummer (d. 1980)

1948 – Martin Hannett, English bass player, guitarist, and record producer (d. 1991)

1948 – Duncan Hunter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician

1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor

1950 – Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment

1950 – Gregory Harrison, American actor

1950 – Edgar Savisaar, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior

1951 – Karl-Hans Riehm, German hammer thrower

1952 – Karl Bartos, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player

1953 – Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor and screenwriter

1953 – Linda Riordan, English politician

1953 – Lynne Truss, English journalist and author

1954 – Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer

1955 – Bruce Adolphe, American pianist, composer, and scholar

1955 – Ben de Lisi, American fashion designer

1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist

1955 – Susie Essman, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter

1956 – Fritz Hilpert, German drummer and composer

1956 – John Young, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player

1957 – Jim Craig, American ice hockey player

1959 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian race car driver (d. 2014)

1959 – Phil Wilson, English politician

1960 – Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman

1960 – Chris Elliott, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter

1960 – Peter Winterbottom, English rugby player

1961 – Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player

1961 – Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician

1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress, director, and producer

1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer

1963 – David Leigh, holder of the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at the University of Manchester

1963 – Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, 38th Prime Minister of Hungary

1963 – Wesley Willis, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2003)

1964 – Leonard Asper, Canadian lawyer and businessman

1964 – Stéphane Caristan, French hurdler and coach

1964 – Yukio Edano, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs

1965 – Brooke Shields, American model, actress, and producer

1966 – Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lankan cricketer and referee

1967 – Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television host and producer

1967 – Kenny Lofton, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster

1967 – Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress

1968 – John Connolly, Irish journalist and author

1971 – Diana Damrau, German operatic soprano

1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian skier

1972 – Antti Niemi, Finnish footballer and coach

1972 – Archie Panjabi, English actress

1972 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player and coach

1973 – Chris Harmse, South African hammer thrower

1973 – Kate Howey, English martial artist and coach

1973 – Dominique Monami, Belgian tennis player

1974 – Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Japanese comedian and singer

1974 – Chad Campbell, American golfer

1974 – Tristram Hunt, English historian and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Education

1975 – Mac Suzuki, Japanese baseball player

1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor

1976 – Matt Harpring, American basketball player and sportscaster

1976 – Mashona Washington, American tennis player

1977 – Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-Greek volleyball player

1977 – Phil Devey, Canadian baseball player

1977 – Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer

1977 – Scott Klopfenstein, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player

1977 – Greg Leeb, Canadian ice hockey player

1977 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor

1977 – Joachim Olsen, Danish shot putter and politician

1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer

1977 – Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player

1979 – Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer

1980 – Craig Bolton, Australian footballer and sportscaster

1981 – Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer

1981 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player

1981 – Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer

1982 – Brett Firman, Australian rugby league player

1983 – David Hernandez, American singer and reality television star

1983 – Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer

1984 – Andrew Bailey, American baseball player

1984 – Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer

1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player

1985 – Navene Koperweis, American drummer, songwriter, and producer

1985 – Ian Vougioukas, Greek basketball player

1986 – Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist

1989 – Lauren Barnes, American soccer player

1989 – Bas Dost, Dutch footballer

1989 – Noah Gundersen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1989 – Marco Reus, German footballer

1990 – Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player

1991 – Azealia Banks, American rapper

1992 – VanossGaming, Canadian YouTuber

1992 – Laura Ikauniece, Latvian heptathlete

1993 – Jason Taumalolo, New Zealand rugby league player

1997 – Inês Murta, Portuguese tennis player

Deaths

455 – Petronius Maximus, Roman emperor (b. 396)

1076 – Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, English politician (b. 1050)

1089 – Sigwin von Are, Archbishop of Cologne

1162 – Géza II of Hungary (b. 1130)

1321 – Birger, King of Sweden (b. 1280)

1326 – Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley, English rebel baron (b. 1271)

1329 – Albertino Mussato, Italian statesman and writer (b. 1261)

1349 – Thomas Wake, 2nd Baron Wake of Liddell, English politician (b. 1297)

1370 – St Vitalis of Assisi (b. 1295)

1408 – Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1358)

1410 – Martin of Aragon (b. 1356)

1495 – Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (b. 1415)

1504 – Engelbert II of Nassau (b. 1451)

1558 – Philip Hoby, English general and diplomat (b. 1505)

1567 – Guido de Bres, Belgian pastor and theologian (b. 1522)

1594 – Tintoretto, Italian painter and educator (b. 1518)

1680 – Joachim Neander, German theologian and educator (b. 1650)

1740 – Frederick William I of Prussia (b. 1688)

1747 – Andrey Osterman, German-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1686)

1809 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1732)

1809 – Jean Lannes, French general (b. 1769)

1831 – Samuel Bentham, English architect and engineer (b. 1757)

1832 – Évariste Galois, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1811)

1837 – Joseph Grimaldi, English actor, comedian and dancer, (b. 1779)

1846 – Philip Marheineke, German pastor and philosopher (b. 1780)

1847 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister and economist (b. 1780)

1848 – Eugénie de Guérin, French author (b. 1805)

1908 – Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Canadian author, poet, and politician (b. 1839)

1910 – Elizabeth Blackwell, English-American physician and educator (b. 1821)

1931 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1866)

1931 – Willy Stöwer, German author and illustrator (b. 1864)

1945 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (b. 1904)

1954 – Antonis Benakis, Greek art collector and philanthropist, founded the Benaki Museum (b. 1873)

1957 – Stefanos Sarafis, Greek general and politician (b. 1890)

1957 – Leopold Staff, Polish poet and academic (b. 1878)

1960 – Willem Elsschot, Flemish author and poet (b. 1882)

1960 – Walther Funk, German economist, journalist, and politician, German Minister of Economics (b. 1890)

1962 – Henry F. Ashurst, American lawyer and politician (b. 1874)

1963 – Edith Hamilton, German-American author and educator (b. 1867)

1967 – Billy Strayhorn, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)

1970 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1929)

1976 – Jacques Monod, French biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)

1977 – William Castle, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1914)

1978 – József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1925)

1981 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist and journalist (b. 1914)

1982 – Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer and explorer (b. 1930)

1983 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer and lieutenant (b. 1895)

1985 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (b. 1921)

1986 – Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (b. 1918)

1986 – James Rainwater, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)

1987 – John Abraham, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1937)

1989 – Owen Lattimore, American author and academic (b. 1900)

1994 – Uzay Heparı, Turkish actor, producer, and composer (b. 1969)

1994 – Herva Nelli, Italian-American soprano (b. 1909)

1995 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1930)

1996 – Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author (b. 1920)

1998 – Charles Van Acker, Belgian-American race car driver (b. 1912)

2000 – Petar Mladenov, Bulgarian diplomat, 1st President of Bulgaria (b. 1936)

2000 – Tito Puente, American jazz musician (b. 1923)

2000 – A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (b. 1928)

2001 – Arlene Francis, American actress, talk show host, game show panelist, and television personality (b. 1907)

2002 – Subhash Gupte, Indian cricketer (b. 1929)

2004 – Aiyathurai Nadesan, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1954)

2004 – Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)

2004 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French screenwriter and composer (b. 1941)

2006 – Ryan Bennett, American sportscaster (b. 1970)

2006 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor (b. 1933)

2006 – Raymond Davis, Jr., American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)

2006 – Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter (b. 1930)

2009 – Danny La Rue, Irish-born British drag queen performer and singer (b. 1927)

2009 – George Tiller, American physician (b. 1941)

2010 – Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (b. 1911)

2010 – Brian Duffy, English photographer and producer (b. 1933)

2010 – William A. Fraker, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1923)

2010 – Rubén Juárez, Argentinian singer-songwriter and bandoneón player (b. 1947)

2010 – Merata Mita, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)

2011 – Pauline Betz, American tennis player (b. 1919)

2011 – Jonas Bevacqua, American fashion designer, co-founded the Lifted Research Group (b. 1977)

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

2011 – Hans Keilson, German-Dutch psychoanalyst and author (b. 1909)

2011 – John Martin, English admiral and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (b. 1918)

2011 – Andy Robustelli, American football player and manager (b. 1925)

2012 – Christopher Challis, English cinematographer (b. 1919)

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

2012 – Mark Midler, Russian fencer (b. 1931)

2012 – Paul Pietsch, German race car driver and publisher (b. 1911)

2012 – Orlando Woolridge, American basketball player and coach (b. 1959)

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

2013 – Frederic Lindsay, Scottish author and educator (b. 1933)

2013 – Miguel Méndez, American author and poet (b. 1930)

2013 – Tim Samaras, American engineer and storm chaser (b. 1957)

2013 – Jairo Mora Sandoval, Costa Rican environmentalist (b. 1987)

2013 – Jean Stapleton, American actress (b. 1923)

2014 – Marilyn Beck, American journalist (b. 1928)

2014 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1952)

2014 – Hoss Ellington, American race car driver (b. 1935)

2014 – Martha Hyer, American actress (b. 1924)

2014 – Lewis Katz, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1942)

2014 – Brajanath Ratha, Indian poet and author (b. 1936)

2014 – Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, English author (b. 1922)

2015 – Nico Castel, Portuguese-American tenor and actor (b. 1931)

2015 – Hiroshi Koizumi, Japanese actor and producer (b. 1926)

2015 – Gladys Taylor, Canadian author and publisher (b. 1917)

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

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

2016 – Carla Lane, English television writer (b. 1928)

2016 – Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (b. 1939)

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)

References

May 31 Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA