1578 An entrance into the catacombs, underground burial chambers north of Rome, on the Via Salaria, was accidentally discovered on May 31, 1578. The importance of the find wasn't recognized at the time but by the 20th century they had become an important monument of the early Christian church.
1578 King Henry III laid the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, on May 31, 1578. It stands by the western point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the River Seine that was, the birthplace of Paris.
1669 Samuel Pepys kept his famous detailed private diary from 1660 until May 31, 1669. An administrator of the navy of England, Samuel Pepys rose to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under King Charles II. Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary on May 31, 1669. His diaries are one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. They were first published in 1825.
1744 In 1744, Robert Clive's father acquired for him a position as a £5 a year clerk in the service of the East India Company. Clive arrived in India on May 31, 1744. As a bookkeeper with three years limited military experience, Clive got his big break when he led a brigade of 210 Englishmen and 300 Indians who seized Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, then defended it for seven weeks against 10,000 French and Indian troops. His conduct during the siege made Clive famous in Europe.
1790 The United States enacted its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790 on May 31, 1790. It provided legal protection for various types of creative works, including books, maps, and charts. The legislation granted authors and creators the exclusive right to print, publish, and sell their works for a period of 14 years, with the possibility of renewing the copyright for an additional 14 years if the author was still alive at the end of the initial term.
1809 Austrian composer Joseph Haydn died peacefully at his Vienna home on May 31, 1809 aged 77.
Haydn was particularly fond of "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser". In his frail old age, the composer often would struggle to the piano to play this song, as a form of consolation, and according to his servant Johann Elssler, it was the last music Haydn ever played.
1817 Gioachino Rossini's La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) opera was premiered on May 31, 1817 at the La Scala in Milan. The Thieving Magpie is best known for its overture, with its arresting beginning containing several consecutive military snare drum rolls. Rossini was locked in a room writing the overture the day before his semi-seria opera was due to be premiered at La Scala in Milan. He then threw each sheet out of the window to his copyists, who wrote out the full orchestral parts.
1819 Walter Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, USA. His parents Walter and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman immediately nicknamed him "Walt" to distinguish him from his father. Whitman is considered one of the most important and influential American poets both for the style and subject matter of his work. He is best known for his free verse poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which scandalized the public with for its overt celebration of sexuality.
1837 Joseph Grimaldi, the creator of the clown, was the most popular entertainer of the UK's Regency era. The numerous injuries Grimaldi received as a result of his energetic performances eventually led to a decline in his health and to his semi-retirement in 1823. Living in obscurity during his final years, Grimaldi became an impoverished alcoholic. Grimaldi died aged 59 on May 31, 1837 at his Islington home, having outlived his wife and his actor son Joseph Samuel.
1859 The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, started keeping time on May 31, 1859. Each of the four clock faces of Big Ben are 23 feet in diameter and are made up of 312 panes of glass. Each of the copper sheet minute hands on Big Ben’s clock faces weigh 222lb (100kg). The end of the 13 foot (4.2m) long minute hands travel 120 miles (190 km) every year.
1880 In Thailand, it was considered a capital offense punishable by death if someone touched the queen. On May 31, 1880, Sunanda Kumariratana, first wife of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam (now Thailand) drowned when her royal boat capsized on the way to the Palace. The many witnesses to the accident did not dare to touch the queen while she was drowning.
1902 The Treaty of Vereeniging ended the Boer War and ensured British control of South Africa. It was signed at Melrose House, Pretoria, on May 31, 1902. Transvaal and the Orange Free State became British colonies. The Boer leaders were not punished for their part in the war. Several of them held posts in the colonial governments. Four years later the two colonies were granted independent government, which led to the formation of the Union of South Africa.
1907 The first New York City cabs were initially imported from France by Harry N. Allen owner of the Allen-Kingston Motor Car Company. Outraged at being charged $5 dollars ($122 today) for a quarter mile horse and carriage trip, Allen decided to start his own taxi service in New York and charge not so-much per mile. They began running in the city streets on May 31, 1907.
1916 Prince Albert (later George VI of the UK) was commissioned as a midshipman on September 15, 1913, and a year later began service in World War I. He was mentioned in dispatches for his action as a turret officer aboard HMS Collingwood during the Battle of Jutland, May 31 to June 1, 1916, the largest naval action of the war. Prince Albert did not see further action because of ill health caused by a duodenal ulcer.
1924 The Soviet Union signed an agreement with the Peking government on May 31, 1924, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promised to respect.
1927 The first production of the Ford Model T automobile was built at Ford Motor Company's Piquette Plant in Detroit on September 27, 1908. The Model T was very simple to drive, and easy and cheap to repair. It was so cheap at $825 in 1908 ($21,650 today) (the price fell every year) that by the 1920s, a majority of American drivers had learned to drive on the Model T. The last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line on May 31, 1927 after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
1930 Clint Eastwood was born in San Francisco, California on May 31. 1930. His parents were Clinton Eastwood Sr., a steelworker and migrant worker, and Margaret Ruth (née Runner) Eastwood, an IBM factory worker. He was nicknamed "Samson" by the hospital nurses at birth as he weighed 11 lbs 6 ounces. (5.2 kg) Eastwood was a logger, steel furnace stoker and gas station attendant before becoming an actor. His first starring role was Rowdy Yates in the US TV Western series Rawhide.
1934 British soldier Maurice Wilson died on c. May 31, 1934 in an ill-fated attempt to climb Mount Everest alone. Wilson's plan had been to fly halfway around the world, crash-land on the mountain, and then walk to the summit despite having no experience in either mountaineering or aviation.
1941 The Luftwaffe bombed north Dublin on May 31, 1941 despite Ireland being neutral during the Second World War. 28 people were killed, over 90 injured and over 300 houses destroyed. The bombing was a major violation of Irish neutrality, and it caused a great deal of anger and resentment in Ireland..
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| A Procession in the Catacomb of Callixtus, 1905 by Alberto Pisa |
1578 King Henry III laid the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, on May 31, 1578. It stands by the western point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the River Seine that was, the birthplace of Paris.
1669 Samuel Pepys kept his famous detailed private diary from 1660 until May 31, 1669. An administrator of the navy of England, Samuel Pepys rose to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under King Charles II. Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary on May 31, 1669. His diaries are one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. They were first published in 1825.
1744 In 1744, Robert Clive's father acquired for him a position as a £5 a year clerk in the service of the East India Company. Clive arrived in India on May 31, 1744. As a bookkeeper with three years limited military experience, Clive got his big break when he led a brigade of 210 Englishmen and 300 Indians who seized Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, then defended it for seven weeks against 10,000 French and Indian troops. His conduct during the siege made Clive famous in Europe.
1790 The United States enacted its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790 on May 31, 1790. It provided legal protection for various types of creative works, including books, maps, and charts. The legislation granted authors and creators the exclusive right to print, publish, and sell their works for a period of 14 years, with the possibility of renewing the copyright for an additional 14 years if the author was still alive at the end of the initial term.
1809 Austrian composer Joseph Haydn died peacefully at his Vienna home on May 31, 1809 aged 77.
Haydn was particularly fond of "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser". In his frail old age, the composer often would struggle to the piano to play this song, as a form of consolation, and according to his servant Johann Elssler, it was the last music Haydn ever played.
 |
| The house in Vienna where Haydn spent the last years of his life |
1817 Gioachino Rossini's La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) opera was premiered on May 31, 1817 at the La Scala in Milan. The Thieving Magpie is best known for its overture, with its arresting beginning containing several consecutive military snare drum rolls. Rossini was locked in a room writing the overture the day before his semi-seria opera was due to be premiered at La Scala in Milan. He then threw each sheet out of the window to his copyists, who wrote out the full orchestral parts.
1819 Walter Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, USA. His parents Walter and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman immediately nicknamed him "Walt" to distinguish him from his father. Whitman is considered one of the most important and influential American poets both for the style and subject matter of his work. He is best known for his free verse poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which scandalized the public with for its overt celebration of sexuality.
 |
| Whitman as photographed by Matthew Brady |
1837 Joseph Grimaldi, the creator of the clown, was the most popular entertainer of the UK's Regency era. The numerous injuries Grimaldi received as a result of his energetic performances eventually led to a decline in his health and to his semi-retirement in 1823. Living in obscurity during his final years, Grimaldi became an impoverished alcoholic. Grimaldi died aged 59 on May 31, 1837 at his Islington home, having outlived his wife and his actor son Joseph Samuel.
1859 The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, started keeping time on May 31, 1859. Each of the four clock faces of Big Ben are 23 feet in diameter and are made up of 312 panes of glass. Each of the copper sheet minute hands on Big Ben’s clock faces weigh 222lb (100kg). The end of the 13 foot (4.2m) long minute hands travel 120 miles (190 km) every year.
1880 In Thailand, it was considered a capital offense punishable by death if someone touched the queen. On May 31, 1880, Sunanda Kumariratana, first wife of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam (now Thailand) drowned when her royal boat capsized on the way to the Palace. The many witnesses to the accident did not dare to touch the queen while she was drowning.
1902 The Treaty of Vereeniging ended the Boer War and ensured British control of South Africa. It was signed at Melrose House, Pretoria, on May 31, 1902. Transvaal and the Orange Free State became British colonies. The Boer leaders were not punished for their part in the war. Several of them held posts in the colonial governments. Four years later the two colonies were granted independent government, which led to the formation of the Union of South Africa.
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| Melrose House, Pretoria. The table where the treaty was signed. By AmandaCalitz |
1907 The first New York City cabs were initially imported from France by Harry N. Allen owner of the Allen-Kingston Motor Car Company. Outraged at being charged $5 dollars ($122 today) for a quarter mile horse and carriage trip, Allen decided to start his own taxi service in New York and charge not so-much per mile. They began running in the city streets on May 31, 1907.
1916 Prince Albert (later George VI of the UK) was commissioned as a midshipman on September 15, 1913, and a year later began service in World War I. He was mentioned in dispatches for his action as a turret officer aboard HMS Collingwood during the Battle of Jutland, May 31 to June 1, 1916, the largest naval action of the war. Prince Albert did not see further action because of ill health caused by a duodenal ulcer.
1924 The Soviet Union signed an agreement with the Peking government on May 31, 1924, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promised to respect.
1927 The first production of the Ford Model T automobile was built at Ford Motor Company's Piquette Plant in Detroit on September 27, 1908. The Model T was very simple to drive, and easy and cheap to repair. It was so cheap at $825 in 1908 ($21,650 today) (the price fell every year) that by the 1920s, a majority of American drivers had learned to drive on the Model T. The last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line on May 31, 1927 after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
1930 Clint Eastwood was born in San Francisco, California on May 31. 1930. His parents were Clinton Eastwood Sr., a steelworker and migrant worker, and Margaret Ruth (née Runner) Eastwood, an IBM factory worker. He was nicknamed "Samson" by the hospital nurses at birth as he weighed 11 lbs 6 ounces. (5.2 kg) Eastwood was a logger, steel furnace stoker and gas station attendant before becoming an actor. His first starring role was Rowdy Yates in the US TV Western series Rawhide.
1934 British soldier Maurice Wilson died on c. May 31, 1934 in an ill-fated attempt to climb Mount Everest alone. Wilson's plan had been to fly halfway around the world, crash-land on the mountain, and then walk to the summit despite having no experience in either mountaineering or aviation.
1941 The Luftwaffe bombed north Dublin on May 31, 1941 despite Ireland being neutral during the Second World War. 28 people were killed, over 90 injured and over 300 houses destroyed. The bombing was a major violation of Irish neutrality, and it caused a great deal of anger and resentment in Ireland..
1956 On May 31, 1956, Buddy Holly went to the movies. He saw the John Wayne film The Searchers, where Wayne repeatedly says, "That'll be the day." Inspired, he penned the Crickets song "That'll Be the Day."
1970 In 1962 two US scientists discovered Peru's highest mountain, Nevado Huascarán, was in danger of collapsing. When this was made public, the government threatened the scientists and banned civilians from speaking of it. On May 31, 1970, during a major earthquake, a substantial part of the north side of the mountain collapsed on the towns of Yangoy and Ranrahirca killing 20,000.
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| Huascarán as seen from Yungay |
1973 The members of Led Zeppelin gave their drummer John Bonham a Harley Davidson for his 25th birthday on May 31, 1973. He promptly rode the motorcycle up and down the hallways of his hotel, causing thousands of dollars in damage. The next day, he wrote a check for the damages and said "Oh, and keep the bike."
1981 An organized mob of police and government-sponsored paramilitias began burning the public library in Jaffna, Sri Lanka on May 31, 1981. They destroyed over 97,000 items in one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the 20th century.
1991 When 102-year-old Minnie Munro married 83-year-old Dudley Reid at Point Clare, New South Wales, Australia in a May 31, 1991 wedding, she became the oldest bride in history. The couple had been friends for many years, and they decided to get married after Reid's wife died.
2008 Barack Obama became a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago in 1992. During his first presidential campaign its pastor Jeremiah Wright was videotaped criticizing America. On May 31, 2008, Barack and Michelle Obama announced that they had withdrawn their membership in Trinity United Church of Christ stating that "Our relations with Trinity have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own views."
2013 The record for widest tornado recorded was broken on May 31, 2013 by the 2.6 mile-wide (4.2 km) wedge tornado (rated EF3) that hit El Reno, Oklahoma. The tornado part of a larger supercell thunderstorm that produced several other tornadoes, including one that was rated EF5. The El Reno tornado caused extensive damage in El Reno and the surrounding area, and it killed 18 people.
2014 Michael Jackson became the first artist in history to score Top 10 hits in five consecutive decades on the Hot 100 when his posthumous single "Love Never Felt So Good" landed at #9 on the chart dated May 31, 2014. The song was originally written and recorded by Michael Jackson in 1983, but it was not released as a single at that time.
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