May 31 in History

Historical Events on May 31

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

1795 French Revolution: The Revolutionary Tribunal is suppressed.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

All Events

Famous Birthdays on May 31

1857 Pope Pius XI

1930 Clint Eastwood

1963 Viktor Orbán

1985 Jordy Nelson

All Births

Famous Deaths on May 31

1809 Joseph Haydn

1837 Joseph Grimaldi

1983 Jack Dempsey

1996 Timothy Leary

All Deaths

Choose Another Date