May 31

Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your May 31 shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the May 31 offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of May 31 at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a May 31? Wrong! If the May 31 is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about May 31 then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling May 31? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about May 31 and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your May 31 wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your May 31 then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the May 31 site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about May 31, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your May 31, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

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Events

1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
1223 - Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River - Mongol Empire armies of Genghis Khan lead by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus, Kipchaks, Cumans, and Volga Bulgars warriors under Mstislav the Bold.
1578 - Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine pyrite, used to pave streets in London.
1669 - Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
1678 - The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.
1759 - The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions.
1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Mecklenburg declaration of independence adopted urging the Thirteen Colonies to declare independence from Great Britain.
1790 - Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
1790 - The United States enacts its first United States copyright law, the Copyright Act of 1790.
1813 - In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains (Australia).
1862 - American Civil War Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) - Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & 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 & George G. Meade.
1866 - In the Fenian Raids, John O'Neill (Fenian) 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 Armed Forces of the United Kingdom regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
1884 - John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes.
1889 - Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam break 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 United Kingdom control of South Africa.
1910 - Creation of the Union of South Africa.
1911 - R.M.S. Titanic launched.
1916 - World War I: Battle of Jutland - The British Grand Fleet under the command of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe & Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Reinhard Scheer & Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
1921 - Tulsa Race Riot: A civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, the official death toll is 39, but recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
1921 - Comedian Buster Keaton marries actress Natalie Talmadge.
1924 - The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Peking 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.
1931 - 7.1 magnitude Earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan: 40,000 dead.
1942 - World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attack on Sydney Harbour, Australia.
1952 - Dwight D. Eisenhower retires from active service in the United States Army.
1961 - South Africa created.
1962 - The West Indies Federation dissolves.
1970 - The 1970 Ancash earthquake causes a landslide that buries the town of Yungay, Peru; more than 47,000 people are killed.
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 completed.
1985 - United States-Canadian 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 - Athena 98.4 FM, the first legal private radio station starts broadcasting in Greece.
1990 - The pilot episode of Seinfeld premieres.
1991 - "These Are the Days of Our Lives", the last Queen (band) video with Freddie Mercury, is shot.
1997 - The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.
2002 - The United States Secretary of the Navy issued s:SECNAV Instruction 10520.6 directing all United States Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack in honor of those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The ensign will be flown for the duration of the War on Terrorism.
2002 - A series of major storms blew through Western Pennsylvania, killing 1 person when the Whip pavilion at Kennywood collapses.
2003 - Centennial Olympic Park bombing Eric Rudolph is captured in Murphy, North Carolina.
2004 - A foul-up during routine software update at the Royal Bank of Canada leads to a three-day misplacement of 10 million account balances.
2005 - W. Mark Felt admits in the magazine Vanity Fair (magazine) that he is the anonymous source Deep Throat (Watergate) in the Watergate scandal.

Births

1048 - Omar Khayyám, Persian philosopher (d. 1131)
1443 - Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
1469 - Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
1522 - Guido de Bres, Belgian theologian (d. 1587)
1535 - Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
1557 - Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)
1613 - John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
1640 - Michał Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (d. 1673)
1656 - Marin Marais, French composer (d. 1728)
1753 - Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French revolutionary (d. 1793)
1754 - Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (d. 1817)
1773 - Ludwig Tieck, German writer (d. 1853)
1801 - Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist (d. 1887)
1819 - Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)
1838 - Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (d. 1900)
1852 - Francisco Moreno, Argentine explorer (d. 1919)
1857 - Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
1860 - Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
1863 - Francis Younghusband, British explorer (d. 1942)
1872 - Heath Robinson, English cartoonist (d. 1944)
1882 - Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian politician (d. 1956)
1883 - Lauri Kristian Relander, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
1885 - Alois Hudal, bishop, helped Nazis escape trial (d. 1963)
1887 - Saint-John Perse, French diplomat, Nobel Prize in Literature (d. 1975)
1892 - Michel Kikoine, Belarus painter (d. 1968)
1892 - Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (d. 1968)
1894 - Fred Allen, American comedian (d. 1956)
1898 - Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d. 1993)
1901 - Alfredo Antonini, American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
1905 - Florence Desmond, English actress and comedian (d. 1993)
1908 - Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
1908 - Nils Poppe, Swedish actor (d. 2000)
1909 - Aurore Gagnon, French Canadian victim of child abuse (d. 1920)
1911 - Maurice Allais, French economist, Nobel Prize in Economics
1912 - Alfred Deller, English countertenor (d. 1979)
1916 - Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (d. 1997)
1921 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (d. 2006)
1922 - Denholm Elliott, English actor (d. 1992)
1923 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
1930 - Clint Eastwood, American film director and actor
1931 - John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
1931 - Shirley Verrett, American soprano
1932 - Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d. 1994)
1935 - Jim Bolger, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
1938 - Johnny Paycheck, American singer (d. 2003)
1938 - John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1938 - Peter Yarrow, American folk singer (Peter, Paul and Mary)
1939 - Terry Waite, British humanitarian
1940 - Gilbert Shelton, American underground comics illustrator (Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fat Freddy's Cat)
1941 - Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1943 - Sharon Gless, American actress
1943 - Joe Namath, American football player
1945 - Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German film director (d. 1982)
1946 - Ted Baehr, American media critic
1948 - John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)
1949 - Tom Berenger, American actor
1949 - Nancy Shade, American soprano
1950 - Gregory Harrison, American television actor
1952 - Karl Bartos, German musician (Kraftwerk, Electronic (band))
1953 - Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor
1954 - Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)
1954 - Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
1956 - Fritz Hilpert, German musician and sound engineer (Kraftwerk)
1957 - Jim Craig (ice hockey), American hockey player
1959 - Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver
1960 - Greg C. Adams, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 - Chris Elliott, American comedian
1961 - Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 - Lea Thompson, American actress
1962 - Corey Hart, Canadian musician
1962 - Sebastian Koch, German actor
1963 - Teresa Cheung, Hong Kong socialite & actress
1963 - Hugh Dillon, Canadian musician and actor
1963 - Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, prime minister (1998-2002)
1963 - Wesley Willis, American musician (d. 2003)
1964 - Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman
1964 - Scotti Hill, American rock guitarist
1964 - Darryl McDaniels, American musician (Run-D.M.C.)
1965 - Brooke Shields, American model
1966 - Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian
1966 - Nick Scotti, American actor and singer
1967 - Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
1967 - Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television personality
1967 - Kenny Lofton, American baseball player
1967 - Vampiro, Canadian professional wrestler
1972 - Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier
1972 - Sarah Murdoch, English model
1972 - Karl Geary, Irish actor
1972 - Dave Roberts, American baseball player
1974 - Chad Campbell, American golfer
1974 - Zsolt Erdei, Hungarian light heavyweight boxer
1974 - Adrian Tomine, American cartoonist
1975 - Sienna Guillory, English actress
1976 - Colin Farrell, Irish actor
1977 - Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-born Greek volleyball player
1977 - Debbie King, English TV presenter
1977 - Scott Klopfenstein, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
1980 - Andy Hurley, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
1981 - Jake Peavy, American baseball player
1983 - Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer
1983 - Reggie Yates, English television presenter
1984 - Jason Smith (actor), Australian actor
1985 - Ian Vouyoukas, Greek basketball player
1986 - Sopho Khalvashi, Georgian musical artist
1986 - Melissa McIntyre, Canadian actress
1986 - Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist

Deaths

1246 - Isabella of Angouleme, queen of John of England
1349 - Thomas Wake, English politician (b. 1297)
1408 - Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1358)
1410 - King Martin I of Aragon (b. 1356)
1495 - Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England, (b. 1415)
1558 - Philip Hoby, English politician (b. 1505)
1594 - Tintoretto, Italian painter (b. 1518)
1680 - Joachim Neander, German clergyman (b. 1650)
1740 - King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia (b. 1688)
1747 - Andrei Osterman, Russian statesman (b. 1686)
1799 - Pierre Lemonnier, French astronomer (b. 1715)
1809 - Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (b. 1732)
1809 - Jean Lannes, French marshal (b. 1769)
1831 - Samuel Bentham, British mechanical engineer (b. 1757)
1832 - Évariste Galois, French mathematician (b. 1811)
1837 - Joseph Grimaldi, British clown (b. 1779)
1846 - Philip Marheineke, German clergyman (b. 1780)
1847 - Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor (b. 1780)
1848 - Eugénie de Guérin, French writer (b. 1805)
1908 - Louis-Honoré Fréchette, French Canadian poet (b. 1839)
1910 - Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician (b. 1821)
1945 - Odilo Globocnik, Austrian nazi (b. 1904)
1957 - Leopold Staff, Polish poet (b. 1878)
1960 - Willem Elsschot, Flemish writer (b. 1882)
1960 - Walther Funk, Nazi leader (b. 1890)
1961 - Walter Little, Canadian politician (b. 1877)
1962 - Henry Fountain Ashurst, American politician (b. 1874)
1967 - Billy Strayhorn, American composer, pianist and arranger (b. 1915)
1970 - Terry Sawchuk, hockey player (b. 1929)
1976 - Jacques Monod, French biologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1910)
1977 - William Castle, American director (b. 1914)
1978 - József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
1983 - Jack Dempsey, American boxer (b. 1895)
1986 - Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank), American artist (b. 1918)
1986 - James Rainwater, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics (b. 1917)
1987 - John Abraham (Director), Indian film director
1993 - Spuds Mackenzie, American advertisement dog
1994 - Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (b. 1909)
1996 - Timothy Leary, American professor and LSD advocate (b. 1920)
1997 - James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (b. 1905)
1998 - Charles Van Acker, Belgian racing driver (b. 1912)
2000 - Tito Puente, American musician (b. 1923)
2000 - Johnnie Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)
2001 - Arlene Francis, American television personality (d. 1907)
2004 - Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)
2004 - Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1941)
2006 - Ryan Bennett, broadcast commentator (b. 1970)
2006 - Miguel Berrocal, sculptor (b. 1933)
2006 - Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
2006 - Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter (b. 1930), mother of singer Stevie Wonder

Holidays and observances

The Godiva procession.
World No Tobacco Day.
Discordian calendar (Discordianism) (5th day of the season of Confusion, honors Apostle Sri Syadasti).

Liturgical Feast days

the Visitation (Catholic)
Saint Gislemerio
Saint Mechtilde of Diessen
Saint Petronella

External links

BBC: On This Day
On This Day in Canada

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Events

1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
1223 - Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River - Mongol Empire armies of Genghis Khan lead by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus, Kipchaks, Cumans, and Volga Bulgars warriors under Mstislav the Bold.
1578 - Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine pyrite, used to pave streets in London.
1669 - Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
1678 - The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.
1759 - The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions.
1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Mecklenburg declaration of independence adopted urging the Thirteen Colonies to declare independence from Great Britain.
1790 - Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
1790 - The United States enacts its first United States copyright law, the Copyright Act of 1790.
1813 - In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains (Australia).
1862 - American Civil War Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) - Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & 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 & George G. Meade.
1866 - In the Fenian Raids, John O'Neill (Fenian) 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 Armed Forces of the United Kingdom regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
1884 - John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes.
1889 - Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam break 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 United Kingdom control of South Africa.
1910 - Creation of the Union of South Africa.
1911 - R.M.S. Titanic launched.
1916 - World War I: Battle of Jutland - The British Grand Fleet under the command of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe & Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Reinhard Scheer & Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
1921 - Tulsa Race Riot: A civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, the official death toll is 39, but recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
1921 - Comedian Buster Keaton marries actress Natalie Talmadge.
1924 - The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Peking 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.
1931 - 7.1 magnitude Earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan: 40,000 dead.
1942 - World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attack on Sydney Harbour, Australia.
1952 - Dwight D. Eisenhower retires from active service in the United States Army.
1961 - South Africa created.
1962 - The West Indies Federation dissolves.
1970 - The 1970 Ancash earthquake causes a landslide that buries the town of Yungay, Peru; more than 47,000 people are killed.
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 completed.
1985 - United States-Canadian 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 - Athena 98.4 FM, the first legal private radio station starts broadcasting in Greece.
1990 - The pilot episode of Seinfeld premieres.
1991 - "These Are the Days of Our Lives", the last Queen (band) video with Freddie Mercury, is shot.
1997 - The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.
2002 - The United States Secretary of the Navy issued s:SECNAV Instruction 10520.6 directing all United States Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack in honor of those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The ensign will be flown for the duration of the War on Terrorism.
2002 - A series of major storms blew through Western Pennsylvania, killing 1 person when the Whip pavilion at Kennywood collapses.
2003 - Centennial Olympic Park bombing Eric Rudolph is captured in Murphy, North Carolina.
2004 - A foul-up during routine software update at the Royal Bank of Canada leads to a three-day misplacement of 10 million account balances.
2005 - W. Mark Felt admits in the magazine Vanity Fair (magazine) that he is the anonymous source Deep Throat (Watergate) in the Watergate scandal.

Births

1048 - Omar Khayyám, Persian philosopher (d. 1131)
1443 - Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
1469 - Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
1522 - Guido de Bres, Belgian theologian (d. 1587)
1535 - Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
1557 - Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)
1613 - John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
1640 - Michał Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (d. 1673)
1656 - Marin Marais, French composer (d. 1728)
1753 - Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French revolutionary (d. 1793)
1754 - Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (d. 1817)
1773 - Ludwig Tieck, German writer (d. 1853)
1801 - Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist (d. 1887)
1819 - Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)
1838 - Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (d. 1900)
1852 - Francisco Moreno, Argentine explorer (d. 1919)
1857 - Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
1860 - Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
1863 - Francis Younghusband, British explorer (d. 1942)
1872 - Heath Robinson, English cartoonist (d. 1944)
1882 - Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian politician (d. 1956)
1883 - Lauri Kristian Relander, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
1885 - Alois Hudal, bishop, helped Nazis escape trial (d. 1963)
1887 - Saint-John Perse, French diplomat, Nobel Prize in Literature (d. 1975)
1892 - Michel Kikoine, Belarus painter (d. 1968)
1892 - Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (d. 1968)
1894 - Fred Allen, American comedian (d. 1956)
1898 - Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d. 1993)
1901 - Alfredo Antonini, American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
1905 - Florence Desmond, English actress and comedian (d. 1993)
1908 - Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
1908 - Nils Poppe, Swedish actor (d. 2000)
1909 - Aurore Gagnon, French Canadian victim of child abuse (d. 1920)
1911 - Maurice Allais, French economist, Nobel Prize in Economics
1912 - Alfred Deller, English countertenor (d. 1979)
1916 - Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (d. 1997)
1921 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (d. 2006)
1922 - Denholm Elliott, English actor (d. 1992)
1923 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
1930 - Clint Eastwood, American film director and actor
1931 - John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
1931 - Shirley Verrett, American soprano
1932 - Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d. 1994)
1935 - Jim Bolger, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
1938 - Johnny Paycheck, American singer (d. 2003)
1938 - John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1938 - Peter Yarrow, American folk singer (Peter, Paul and Mary)
1939 - Terry Waite, British humanitarian
1940 - Gilbert Shelton, American underground comics illustrator (Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fat Freddy's Cat)
1941 - Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1943 - Sharon Gless, American actress
1943 - Joe Namath, American football player
1945 - Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German film director (d. 1982)
1946 - Ted Baehr, American media critic
1948 - John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)
1949 - Tom Berenger, American actor
1949 - Nancy Shade, American soprano
1950 - Gregory Harrison, American television actor
1952 - Karl Bartos, German musician (Kraftwerk, Electronic (band))
1953 - Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor
1954 - Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)
1954 - Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
1956 - Fritz Hilpert, German musician and sound engineer (Kraftwerk)
1957 - Jim Craig (ice hockey), American hockey player
1959 - Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver
1960 - Greg C. Adams, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 - Chris Elliott, American comedian
1961 - Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 - Lea Thompson, American actress
1962 - Corey Hart, Canadian musician
1962 - Sebastian Koch, German actor
1963 - Teresa Cheung, Hong Kong socialite & actress
1963 - Hugh Dillon, Canadian musician and actor
1963 - Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, prime minister (1998-2002)
1963 - Wesley Willis, American musician (d. 2003)
1964 - Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman
1964 - Scotti Hill, American rock guitarist
1964 - Darryl McDaniels, American musician (Run-D.M.C.)
1965 - Brooke Shields, American model
1966 - Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian
1966 - Nick Scotti, American actor and singer
1967 - Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
1967 - Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television personality
1967 - Kenny Lofton, American baseball player
1967 - Vampiro, Canadian professional wrestler
1972 - Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier
1972 - Sarah Murdoch, English model
1972 - Karl Geary, Irish actor
1972 - Dave Roberts, American baseball player
1974 - Chad Campbell, American golfer
1974 - Zsolt Erdei, Hungarian light heavyweight boxer
1974 - Adrian Tomine, American cartoonist
1975 - Sienna Guillory, English actress
1976 - Colin Farrell, Irish actor
1977 - Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-born Greek volleyball player
1977 - Debbie King, English TV presenter
1977 - Scott Klopfenstein, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
1980 - Andy Hurley, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
1981 - Jake Peavy, American baseball player
1983 - Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer
1983 - Reggie Yates, English television presenter
1984 - Jason Smith (actor), Australian actor
1985 - Ian Vouyoukas, Greek basketball player
1986 - Sopho Khalvashi, Georgian musical artist
1986 - Melissa McIntyre, Canadian actress
1986 - Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist

Deaths

1246 - Isabella of Angouleme, queen of John of England
1349 - Thomas Wake, English politician (b. 1297)
1408 - Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1358)
1410 - King Martin I of Aragon (b. 1356)
1495 - Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England, (b. 1415)
1558 - Philip Hoby, English politician (b. 1505)
1594 - Tintoretto, Italian painter (b. 1518)
1680 - Joachim Neander, German clergyman (b. 1650)
1740 - King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia (b. 1688)
1747 - Andrei Osterman, Russian statesman (b. 1686)
1799 - Pierre Lemonnier, French astronomer (b. 1715)
1809 - Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (b. 1732)
1809 - Jean Lannes, French marshal (b. 1769)
1831 - Samuel Bentham, British mechanical engineer (b. 1757)
1832 - Évariste Galois, French mathematician (b. 1811)
1837 - Joseph Grimaldi, British clown (b. 1779)
1846 - Philip Marheineke, German clergyman (b. 1780)
1847 - Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor (b. 1780)
1848 - Eugénie de Guérin, French writer (b. 1805)
1908 - Louis-Honoré Fréchette, French Canadian poet (b. 1839)
1910 - Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician (b. 1821)
1945 - Odilo Globocnik, Austrian nazi (b. 1904)
1957 - Leopold Staff, Polish poet (b. 1878)
1960 - Willem Elsschot, Flemish writer (b. 1882)
1960 - Walther Funk, Nazi leader (b. 1890)
1961 - Walter Little, Canadian politician (b. 1877)
1962 - Henry Fountain Ashurst, American politician (b. 1874)
1967 - Billy Strayhorn, American composer, pianist and arranger (b. 1915)
1970 - Terry Sawchuk, hockey player (b. 1929)
1976 - Jacques Monod, French biologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1910)
1977 - William Castle, American director (b. 1914)
1978 - József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
1983 - Jack Dempsey, American boxer (b. 1895)
1986 - Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank), American artist (b. 1918)
1986 - James Rainwater, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics (b. 1917)
1987 - John Abraham (Director), Indian film director
1993 - Spuds Mackenzie, American advertisement dog
1994 - Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (b. 1909)
1996 - Timothy Leary, American professor and LSD advocate (b. 1920)
1997 - James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (b. 1905)
1998 - Charles Van Acker, Belgian racing driver (b. 1912)
2000 - Tito Puente, American musician (b. 1923)
2000 - Johnnie Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)
2001 - Arlene Francis, American television personality (d. 1907)
2004 - Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)
2004 - Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1941)
2006 - Ryan Bennett, broadcast commentator (b. 1970)
2006 - Miguel Berrocal, sculptor (b. 1933)
2006 - Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
2006 - Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter (b. 1930), mother of singer Stevie Wonder

Holidays and observances

The Godiva procession.
World No Tobacco Day.
Discordian calendar (Discordianism) (5th day of the season of Confusion, honors Apostle Sri Syadasti).

Liturgical Feast days

External links

BBC: On This Day
On This Day in Canada

May 31 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.

May 31 | Aston Villa | History | On This Day
Today in Villa history. ... 1949: Frank Carrodus born in Manchester. He began his vareer with non-League Altrincham before joining Manchester City in 1969.

Blair tells aides he quits May 31 | The Sun |News
PM will leave 10 Downing Street more than a decade after his historic 1997 landslide win ... TONY Blair will leave 10 Downing Street for the last time as Prime Minister more than a ...

Gustav Klimt Exhibition at Tate Liverpool, 30 May - 31 August 2008
To celebrate 2008 as European Capital of Culture Tate Liverpool is delighted to present the first comprehensive exhibition of Gustav Klimt’s work ever staged in the UK.

Work - Saturday, May 31
Saturday, May 31 Work Calendar «

Work - Thursday, May 31
Thursday, May 31 Work Calendar «

BBC ON THIS DAY | 31 | 1966: Vietnam Buddhist burns to death
Nguyen Thi Can becomes the fifth Buddhist in three days to set fire to herself in protest against South Vietnam's regime.

BBC ON THIS DAY | 31 | 1957: Arthur Miller guilty of contempt
US playwright Arthur Miller is convicted of contempt of Congress after refusing to reveal the names of alleged Communist writers.

The Tenner Bet May 31 (from The Herald )
The Herald - Scotland's Leading Quality Daily Newspaper ... The name Mike Holden has appeared in this column before. You may recall that my experimentation with Mike's ideas on ...

Hermit Eclipse: Annular Solar Eclipse: May 31 2003
H_description ... An annular solar eclipse occurs on Saturday, 31 May, 2003, in the Arctic, north Atlantic, and Scotland.