May 31 in History

Historical Events on May 31

455

Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome.
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 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.
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, also known as the "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 19 dead and about 17 wounded Fenians.
1879

Gilmore's 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 South Africa Act comes into force, establishing the Union of South Africa.
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

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.
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.
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 Turkish civilians on the flotilla were killed in the ensuing violent affray.
2013

The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.
2017

A car bomb exploded in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463.

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