1700s / 18th century history on the 31st of May
1790 : The United States enacted the first federal copyright act, known as the Copyright Act of 1790.
1800s / 19th century history on the 31st of May
1859 : BiG BEN went into operation in London , when the famous tower clock known as Big Ben, located at the top of the 320 foot high St. Stephen’s Tower, rang out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, for the first time on this day.
1900s / 20th century history on the 31st of May
1911 : The RMS Titanic was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
1930 : Clint Eastwood the American actor was born in San Francisco, California, USA.
1935 : Earthquake destroyed Quetta in Pakistan, and killed 40,000 people.
1942 : Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines started attacks on Sydney, in Australia, during World War II.
1955 : Tommy Emmanuel (AM) the Australian guitarist was born William Thomas Emmanuel in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia. Official website : TommyEmmanuel.com
1962 : Corey Hart the Canadian singer was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Official website : CoreyHart.com
1965 : Brooke Shields the American actress was born in Manhattan, New York, USA.
1966 : Diesel the American-Australian singer and guitarist was born Mark Denis Lizotte in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA. Official website : DieselMusic.com.au
1970 : Ancash earthquake in Peru hit with a severe maximum intensity, which created a landslide that buried the town of Yungay. Up to 70,000 people were killed.
2000s / 21st century history on the 31st of May
2008 : Usain Bolt broke the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal time of 9.72 seconds.
2013 : Asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon made its closest approach to Earth.
see more interesting events on all the other days of MAY (History On This Day @ Azoosh)
This page was last updated on the 31st May 2021
[this page contains a total of 438 words]