Today in History - Historical Events - May 31st

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Notable Historical Events on May 31st

1969John Lennon & Yoko Ono record "Give Peace a Chance"

1879Madison Square Garden opens in New York, named after 4th President James Madison

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

1961JFK visits Charles de Gaulle in Paris

1990Seinfeld starring Jerry Seinfeld, debuts on NBC as Seinfeld Chronicles

194931st PGA Championship: Sam Snead at Hermitage CC Richmond VA

1930Bradman gets his 1,000th run of the English Cricket season

1956Mickey Mantle HR just misses clearing Yankee Stadium's roof

1959Mickey Wright wins LPGA Cavalier Golf Open

1940Premier Winston Churchill flies to Paris to meet with Marshal August Pétain who announces he is willing to make a seperate peace with Germany

1935Babe Ruth grounds out in his final at bat

1621Sir Francis Bacon thrown into Tower of London for 1 night

1968American movie star Jimmy Stewart retires from the Air Force after 27 years of service, and is promoted to major general by President Reagan

2008Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7m/s) 9.72 seconds.

1969Stevie Wonder releases "My Cherie Amore"

194225th PGA Championship: Sam Snead at Seaview CC Atlantic City NJ

May 31st Historical Events
Date Event
1279
Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. 
BC
AD
70
Rome captures 1st wall of the city of Jerusalem 
1223
Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River - Mongol armies of Genghis Khan lead by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans. 
1417
Jacoba van Bavarian becomes countess of Holland/Zealand/Henegouwen 
1495
Emperor Maximilian, Pope Alexander VI, Milan, King Ferdinand, Isabella & Venice sign anti-French Saint League 
1531
"Women's Revolt" in Amsterdam: wool house in churchyard aborted 
1564
Battle on Gotland: Lubeck & Denmark beat Sweden 
1578
Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool's gold, used to pave streets in London. 
1621
Sir Francis Bacon thrown into Tower of London for 1 night 
1634
The colony of Massachusetts Bay annexes Maine colony 
1659
Netherlands, England & France sign Treaty of The Hague 
1665
Jerusalem's rabbi Sjabtai Tswi proclaims himself Messiah 
1669
Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary. 
1696
John Salomonsz elected chief of Saint-Eustatius 
1727
France, Britain & Netherlands sign accord of Paris 
1744
French troops conquer Kortrijk 
1759
The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions. 
1790
US copyright law enacted 
1790
Alferez Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 
1813
In Australia, Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains. 
1821
Cathedral of Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, 1st US Catholic cathedral, is dedicated in Baltimore 
1836
HMS Beagle anchors in Simons Bay, Cape of Good Hope 
1837
Astor Hotel opens in NYC, it later becomes the Waldorf-Astoria 
1847
Rotterdam-Hague Railway opens 
1849
Last edition of Orange sheet "Journal de La Haye" 
1853
Elisha Kane's Arctic expedition leaves NY aboard Advance 
1859
Phila A's organize to play "town ball" became baseball 20 years later 
1861
Gen Beauregard is given command of Confederate Alexandria Line 
1861
Mint at New Orleans closes 
1862
Battle of Seven Pines VA (Fair Oaks) 
1864
Raid at Morgan's Kentucky 
1868
1st Memorial Day parade held in Ironton, Ohio 
1868
Dr James Moore (UK) wins 1st recorded bicycle race, (2k) velocipede race at Parc fde St Cloud, Paris 
1870
Congress passes 1st Enforcement Act (rights of blacks) 
1870
E J DeSemdt patents asphalt pavement 
1875
Reciprocity Treaty between US & Hawaii ratified 
1878
German battleship SMS Grosser Kurfürst sinks, 284 killed 
1878
US Congress accepts decrease in dollar circulation 
1879
1st electric railway opens at Berlin Trades Exposition 
1879
Madison Square Garden opens in New York, named after 4th President James Madison 
1880
League of American Wheelmen (1st US bicycle association), forms in Newport RI 
1883
French fleet under Pierre begins siege of Tamatave, Madagascar 
1884
Dr John Harvey Kellogg patents "flaked cereal" 
1889
Johnstown Flood; 2,209 die in Penn 
1891
Work on trans-Siberian railway begins 
1893
Whitcomb Judson, Chicago, patents a hookless fastening (zipper) 
1899
-June 5] Conference of Bloemfontein fails 
1899
Bronx acquires Keltch Memorial Park 
1900
British troops under Lord Roberts occupy Johannesburg 
1900
Piet de Law captures Lt Col BE Spragges, 13th Battalion Irish Imperial Yeomanry 
1900
Tom Hayward scores 1,000th cricket run of season (sets record 1074) 
1900
US troops arrive in Beijing, help put down Boxer Rebellion 
1901
At the opening of the Greek National Assembly, Prince George, High Commissioner of Crete, asks it to endorse the union of Crete with Greece; the proposal is later rejected 
1902
Australia Cricket all out 36 v England, Edgbaston, their lowest ever 
1902
Boer War Ends; Treaty of Unity signed, Britain annexes Transvaal 
1902
Labor trouble and riots lead Spanish King Alfonso XII to impose martial law 
1905
Emperor Wilhelm II lands in Tanger 
1906
Attack on King Alfonso XIII & Victoria of Battenberg in Madrid 
1907
Taxis 1st began running in NYC 
1908
Miss Pottelsberghe de la Pottery is 1st airplane passenger (Belgium) 
1909
1st NAACP conference (United Charities Building, NYC) 
1910
Cape of Good Hope becomes part of Union of South Africa 
1910
Glenn Curtiss flies from Albany to NYC 
1910
Union of South Africa declares independence from UK 
1911
R.M.S. Titanic launched, Belfast 
1912
US marines land on Cuba 
1913
17th amendment (direct election of senators) declared ratified 
1913
Alexis Ahlgren runs world record maraton (2:36:06.6) 
1914
Chicago White Sox Joe Benz no-hits Cleve Indians, 6-1 
1915
An LZ-38 Zeppelin makes an air raid on London 
1915
Indianapolis 500: Ralph DePalma wins in 5:33:55.619 (144.583 km/h) 
1916
Battle of Jutland (Skagerrak): naval battle betwwen British Grand Fleet and German High Seas Fleet: 10,000 die in this inconcluisve slaughter 
1916
British battle cruiser HMS Invincible explodes, killing all but 6 (Battle of Jutland) 
1919
NC-4 aircraft commanded by AC Read completes 1st crossing of Atlantic 
1919
Indianapolis 500: Howdy Wilcox wins in 5:40:42.930 (141.703 km/h) 
1920
Indianapolis 500: Gaston Chevrolet wins in 5:38:31.901 (142.617 km/h) 
1921
Suffy McInnis (1st base) begins an errorless string of 1,700 
1923
China & USSR exchange diplomats 
1923
The South African Indian Congress (SAIC) forms in Durban, South Africa, with Omar Hajee Amod Jhaveri as President. 
1926
Portuguese president Bernardino Machedo resigns after coup 
1926
Sesquicentennial Exposition opens in Philadelphia 
1926
Indianapolis 500: Frank Lockhart wins in 5:12:48.768 (154.343 km/h) 
1927
Tiger 1st baseman Johnny Neun makes an unassisted triple play 
1928
1st aerial crossing of Pacific takes off from Oakland 
1928
Charlie Hallows scores his 1,000th run of Cricket season 
1929
Atlantic City Convention Center opens 
1930
Bradman gets his 1,000th run of the English Cricket season 
1930
Building begins on Albert Canal in Belgium 
1930
Comet 73P/1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) approaches 0.0617 AUs of Earth 
1931
7.1 magnitude Earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan: 40,000 dead. 
1935
Babe Ruth grounds out in his final at bat 
1935
Quake kills 50,000 in Quetta Pakistan 
1937
1st quadruplets to finish college (Baylor University) 
1937
Brooklyn Dodgers snap NY Giant Carl Hubbell's 24-game winning streak 
1937
German battleships bombard Almeria, Spain 
1937
Indianapolis 500: Wilbur Shaw wins in 4:24:07.861 (182.789 km/h) 
1938
Bill Edrich scores his 1,000th run of cricket season, all at Lord's 
1940
Major General Bernard Montgomery leaves Dunkirk 
1940
Premier Winston Churchill flies to Paris to meet with Marshal August Pétain who announces he is willing to make a seperate peace with Germany 
1941
-June 1) 32.0 cm rain falls on Burlington Kansas (state record) 
1941
1st issue of "Parade" goes on sale 
1941
41 U boats sunk this month (325,000 ton) 
1941
British troops vacate Crete 
1941
German occupiers forbids Jews access to beach & swimming pools 
1941
A Luftwaffe air raid in Dublin, Ireland claims 38 lives. 
1942
25th PGA Championship: Sam Snead at Seaview CC Atlantic City NJ 
1942
Luftwaffe bombs Canterbury 
1943
"Archie" comic strip 1st broadcast on radio 
1943
Cards Mort Cooper pitches 1st of back-to-back one-hitters 
1944
Allied breakthrough in Italy 
1947
79th Belmont: Ruperto Donoso aboard Phalanx wins in 2:29.6 
1947
Communists grab power in Hungary 
1947
Eastern DC-4 crashes between Ft Deposit & Perryville Md, kills 53 
1947
Italian government of Gasperi forms 
1948
Tommy Lasorda strikes out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers (in 15 innings) 
1948
Indianapolis 500: Mauri Rose wins in 4:10:23.286 (192.822 km/h) 
1949
31st PGA Championship: Sam Snead at Hermitage CC Richmond VA 
1949
Charley Lupica begins stay on 4 foot square platform atop a 60' pole, vowing to stay until Indians clinch pennant. (They don't, & stays 117 days) 
1950
Indianapolis 500: Due to rain, race shortened to 345 miles, Johnny Parson wins 
1950
Laker takes 14-12-2-8 in Test Cricket trial 
1951
Netherlands & South Africa sign cultural accord 
1953
Lebanese president Camille Shamun disbands government 
1953
WSUN TV channel 38 in St Petersburg-Tampa, FL (IND) 1st broadcast 
1954
Indianapolis 500: Bill Vukovich wins in 3:49:17.261 (210.567 km/h) 
1955
Construction begins on Soviet cosmodrome launch facilities 
1955
Great Britain proclaims emergency crisis due to rail strike 
1955
US Supreme Court orders school integration "with all deliberate speed" 
1956
Mickey Mantle HR just misses clearing Yankee Stadium's roof 
1957
Great Britain performs nuclear test at Christmas Island (atmospheric) 
1958
Dick Dale invents "surf music" with "Let's Go Trippin" 
1958
US performs nuclear test at Bikini Island (atmospheric tests) 
1959
Mickey Wright wins LPGA Cavalier Golf Open 
1961
Benfica wins 6th Europe Cup 1 at Bern 
1961
Chuck Berry's amusement park, Berryland in St Louis, opens 
1961
JFK visits Charles de Gaulle in Paris 
1961
Judge Irving Kaufman orders Board of Ed of New Rochelle, to integrate 
1961
Union of South Africa becomes a republic, leaves Commonwealth 
1962
"Tell It To Groucho" last airs on CBS-TV 
1962
The West Indies Federation dissolves. 
1964
Charles Schmid kills first Pied Piper victim 
1964
Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open 
1964
SF Giants beat NY Mets, 8-6, in 23 innings (2nd game) (7 hrs 32 mins) 
1965
Jim Clark becomes 1st foreigner in 49 years to win Indy 
1965
Indianapolis 500: Jim Clark wins in 3:19:05.370 (242.506 km/h) 
1967
Bayern Munchen wins 7th Europe Cup II at Nuremberg 
1967
Indianapolis 500: A.J. Foyt wins in 3:18:24.211 (243.344 km/h) 
1968
American movie star Jimmy Stewart retires from the Air Force after 27 years of service, and is promoted to major general by President Reagan 
1969
"Dear World" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 132 perfs 
1969
"Gitarzan" by Ray Stevens peaks at #8 
1969
John Lennon & Yoko Ono record "Give Peace a Chance" 
1969
Stevie Wonder releases "My Cherie Amore" 
1970
At 03:23 PM, Yungay Peru levelled by 7.75 earthquake (50-70,000 die) 
1970
KDUB TV channel 40 in Dubuque, IA (ABC) begins broadcasting 
1970
Shirley Englehorn wins LPGA O'Sullivan Ladies' Golf Open 
1971
WDXR (now WKPD) TV channel 29 in Paducah, KY (PBS) begins broadcasting 
1972
Ajax wins Europe Cup 1 in Rotterdam 
1973
Glenn Turner scores his 1,000th run of English cricket season 
1974
Israel & Syria sign an agreement concerning Golan Heights 
1974
USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR 
1975
"Goodtime Charley" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 104 performances 
1975
Fred Newman makes 12,874 baskets in a one-day exhibition 
1976
Loudest PA (76 KW) for Who's Quadrophenia in London 
1977
"Beatlemania" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 920 performances 
1977
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani becomes heir apparent to throne of Qatar 
1977
Trans Alaska oil pipeline completed 
1979
"I Remember Mama" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 108 performances 
1979
Radio City Music Hall (NYC) reopens 
1979
Zimbabwe proclaims independence 
1980
"Love Stinks" by J Geils Band peaks at #38 
1980
Police & youthful rebels battle in Zurich 
1981
Cathy Reynolds wins LPGA Golden Lights Golf Championship 
1982
"Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC for 63 perfs 
1983
37th NBA Championship: Phila 76ers sweep LA Lakers in 4 games 
1984
57th National Spelling Bee: Daniel Greenblatt wins spelling luge 
1984
US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site 
1984
Viv Richards hits 189* (170 balls) v England, ODI cricket record 
1985
41 tornadoes hit Northeast US, killing 88 
1985
Guatemala adopts constitution 
1985
New Orleans Saints are sold for $70,204,000 
1985
Tornados in Penn, Ohio, NY & Canada kill 88 & injured more than 1,000 
1985
1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead. 
1985
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) became a Schedule I drug in the United States. 
1987
Cindy Rarick wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic 
1987
Saul Ballesteros drives 3 golf balls off Mt McKinley, Alaska 
1987
Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers beat Phila Flyers, 4 games to 3 
1989
"Rambling with Gambling" 20,000th radio program on WOR-AM (NYC) 
1989
1st International Rock Awards 
1989
1st presentation of rock n roll Elvis awards 
1989
Speaker of US House of Representatives Jim Wright resigns 
1990
63rd National Spelling Bee: Amy Marie Dimak wins spelling fibranne 
1990
BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Dana Miller-Mackie 
1990
NYC's Zodiac killer shoots 3rd victim, Joseph Ponce 
1990
Seinfeld starring Jerry Seinfeld, debuts on NBC as Seinfeld Chronicles 
1991
Sides in Angola sign a treaty ending 16 year civil war 
1992
46th Tony Awards: Dancing at Lughnasa & Crazy For You win 
1992
5th Children's Miracle Network Telethon raises $1,060,000 
1992
Barb Mucha wins LPGA Oldsmobile Golf Classic 
1993
President Dobrica Cosic of little Yugoslavia flees 
1994
Padres scores 13 in 2nd vs Pirates 
1996
Mark Van Thillo & Abigail Alling, former biospherian win $100,000 lawsuit against Biospheric Development for Space Biospheres Ventures 
1997
"Once Upon a Matress" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 187 perf 
1997
Donovan Bailey beats Michael Johnson in 150m race 
1997
The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick. 
2002
The New Jersey Nets defeat the Boston Celtics 96-88 in Game 6 of the NBA's Eastern Conference Championship, winning the series 4 games to 2 to advance to their first NBA Finals appearance. 
2008
Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7m/s) 9.72 seconds. 
2010
Shayetet 13 soldiers tried to stop the flotilla that wanted to break the blockade on Gaza Strip. During the boarding on the MV Mavi Marmara ship, a violent confrontation had started. It caused the death of 9 activists who were on board, and several more injured activists. Moreover, several israeli soldiers were injured. 
2012
Egypt formally ends its 31 year state of emergency 
2014
Psy's "Gangnam Style" becomes the first video to reach 2 billion views on YouTube 
2016
South Korea Says North Korea Missile Launch Likely Failed 
2016
Rossi Earns More Than $2.5 Million for Indianapolis 500 Win 
2016
Outrage mounts over gorilla killing in boy's rescue at Ohio zoo 
2016
Ohio zoo defends shooting of gorilla after boy fell in enclosure 
2016
UNC edges Maryland in OT for first NCAA lacrosse championship in 25 years 
2017
Pentagon successfully tests ICBM defense system for first time 
2017
Explosion in diplomatic area of Kabul kills 9, wounds dozens 
2018
Volcanic lava flow spurs more evacuations on Hawaii's Big Island 
2018
75 homes destroyed by Hawaiian volcanic eruption as haze detected in Guam 
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