The People History Home

May 31st Major News Events

  1. 1859 Big Ben rings for the first time over the Houses of Parliament.
  2. 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre kills many and destroys a Black neighborhood in Oklahoma.
  3. 1977 The Trans Alaska oil pipeline was completed.
  4. 1961 South Africa became an independent republic.

Find More Details for What happened 31st May This Day in History on your birthday

31 May, 2005 U.S.A. Watergate Mole Goes Public

2005 : The former member of the FBI "W. Mark Felt" stepped forward as "Deep Throat," the secret Washington Post source who worked with reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein that helped bring down President Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

31 May, 1859 UK Big Ben

1859 : Big Ben rings out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, England for the first time.

31 May, 1889 U.S.A. Dam Break Johnstown, Pennsylvania

1889 : A dam breaks at a lake above Johnstown, Pennsylvania causing a tidal wave over twenty feet in height to sweep over Johnstown, PA eight miles below. Sweeping everything before the avalanche of water including houses, factories, and bridges. The death toll is estimated to be in the thousands as there was very little warning for residents.

31 May, 1916 World War I The Battle of Jutland

1916 : A German naval fleet consisting of 24 battleships, five battle cruisers, 11 light cruisers and 63 destroyers were just off the Jutland Peninsula, were attacked by a British fleet of 28 battleships, nine battle cruisers, 34 light cruisers and 80 destroyers in one of the greatest sea battles in History known as The Battle of Jutland or the Battle of the Skagerrak, a total of 100,000 men aboard 250 ships were involved in the battle.

Born This Day In History 31st May

Celebrating Birthdays Today

Normani Kordei Hamilton

Born: May 31st, 1996 Atlanta, Georgia

Known For : Known simply as Normani, the talented singer and dancer gained fame as part of the group Fifth Harmony, who were formed in 2012 on the American version of X-Factor, a television singing competition. The group ended up in third place on the competition show but went on to achieve commercial success. In 2018 the group split and Normani began her solo career. Her first solo single "Motivation" reached the US Top 40 and was certified platinum. Normani has also collaborated with notable musicians Calvin Harris, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith, and Megan Thee Stallion.

31 May, 1921 U.S.A. Tulsa Race Riots

1921 : Following an accusation of improper conduct between a Dick Rowland, a black shoeshiner and Sarah Page, a white elevator operator, hundreds of white people gather and start to form what looks like a lynch mob which ends with the traditionally black district of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma being burnt to the ground with many black citizens choose or were forced to relocate after the riot which ended on June 1st 1921 after the National Guard troops from Oklahoma City declare martial law.

1917 Japan Builds Up War Machine

1917 : Japan spends nearly $130 million dollars on expanding their naval might during World War I at the same time that America and European nations expanded their naval forces. Due to Japan's inability to import large guns from England at this time, the country faced difficulties in building their own.

1935 India Earthquake

1935 : At 3 AM an earthquake hits Northwestern India leaving an estimated 20,000 people dead in Quetta. Among the dead were 44 members of the Royal Air Force. The Punjab government was quick to send relief in the form of relief supplies, workers, and health professionals. While railways suffered minimal damage, many heavily populated areas were greatly destroyed.

1938 China Japanese Bombing

1938 : 30 Japanese bombers have bombed the Chinese cities of Canton and Hankow and also shot down 18 Chinese planes in dogfights over the cities.

1941 Crete World War II

1941 : The German Army using over 22,000 Paratroopers conquer Crete.

1952 France Communists

1952 : Police throughout the country raided many Communist organization's headquarters and seized documents and weapons. It was likely that party members had previous knowledge of the raids according to reports indicating that much paper burning and barricading took place before the 7:35 am raid.

1957 U.S.A. Arthur Miller

1957 : The House for Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) convicts the playwright Arthur Miller of contempt of Congress for refusing to reveal the names of alleged Communist writers with whom he had attended five or six meetings in New York. Among his many well known plays was Death of a Salesman, he is also remembered for being married to Marilyn Monroe ( 1956 - 1961 ) and what many do not know is he wrote the Screenplay for "The Misfits" which starred Marilyn Monroe (1961) and was her last film before her death in 1962.

From From Our 1950s Home Appliances Page

1951 21-inch Silvertone Console 1951 21-inch Silvertone Console
Price: $339.95
Cabinet beauty! Matched five-ply mahogany veneers... carefully hand polished. Television superiority. Powerful chassis gives best fringe area reception. Deep-voiced sound. Exciting new bass compensation... variable tone control. Magnificent "Photo-Tune" pictures in a twenty-inch rectangular black tube! Brings all the magic of no glare television into your living room. Perfect viewing from almost any angle... annoying reflections eliminated. Has twenty-three tubes plus two rectifiers and picture tube. Marvel at the easy two-knob tuning. Just select your channel, get your picture, and sit back to enjoy the finest programs on television.

Born This Day In History 31st May

Celebrating Birthdays Today

Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria

Born: May 31st, 1922, Madrid, Spain

Died: January 6th, 1993, Waldstein, Austria

Known For : Elisabeth was of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and the daughter of the Emperor Karl I of Austria. She was born after her father's death in April 1922, and had five brothers and two sisters. Karl had become heir to the Austrian throne on the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand, and chosen Elisabeth's name from the earlier Empress Elisabeth's (Sissi's). She grew up in Belgium, and lived there until the Germans invaded in 1940. The family went on to America and Canada. She married Prince Heinrich of Lichtenstein in France in 1949 and they had five children. Her titles included the Princess Imperial and Archduchess of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia and Princess of Lichtenstein.

1961 South Africa Independent Republic

1961 : The country of South Africa became an independent republic.

1962 Israel Adolf Eichmann

1962 : Adolf Eichmann the Nazi SS officer who organized Adolf Hitler's wish to exterminate Europe's Jewish population was executed for his crimes against humanity.

1964 South Vietnam US Aid

1964 : It is reported that the United States provided about 97% of total economic, technical, and medical foreign aid to South Vietnam . The aid is said to be meant for the people in the rural population and is given to show support for their war effort. Foreign nations sent encouraging messages to the United States for their effort, but the amount of aid given by other nations was expected to decline.

1970 Peru Earthquake

1970 : An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale 30 km off the coast of Casma, Peru in the Pacific Ocean causes the destabilized the northern wall of Mount HuascarĂ¡n causing an avalanche that buries the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca. Due to the speed the avalanche traveled at more than 100 miles per hour little warning was given and an estimated 50,000 people in the two cities lost their lives making it the worst natural disaster ever recorded in the history of Peru.

1973 U.S.A. Gold Mining

1973 : An increase in the price of gold prompts mining companies to make new exploration efforts in old mines in states such as California and Nevada.

1973 U.S.A. Bombing Cambodia

1973 : President Richard Nixon's South-East Asia policy for continued bombing of Cambodia is ended when the US Senate vote to cut off funds for the bombing of Cambodia, this follows a similar vote in early May by the House of Representatives.

From From Our 1920s Fashion Page

Japanese Crepe Frock

Japanese Crepe Frock from the 20s Japanese Crepe Frock
Price: $11.98

A thoroughly delightful 1920s style and a wonderful bargain in a summer frock of Japanese crepe. Artfully hand embroidered with silk floss on pockets and around neck. Narrow tie sash. Pearl buttons ornament front and fasten dress in back. Colors come in lavender, rose, or blue.


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1977 U.S.A. Alaska Oil Pipeline

1977 : The almost 800 miles long Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline is completed connecting oil fields in northern Alaska to the sea port of Valdez in the Gulf of Alaska in southern Alaska.

1988 Soviet Union (INF) Treaty

1988 : The Final Summit between President Reagan and President Gorbachev in Moscow on removing Intermediate Range Nuclear Missiles known as the (INF) Treaty ends with agreement on both sides.

1998 UK Spice Girls

1998 : Ginger Spice / Geri Halliwell announces she it to quit the popular Spice Girls over differences between other members of the group.

2000 Fiji Coup

2000 : A coup led by George Speight, an indigenous Fijian who is demanding the removal of ethnic Indians from senior government positions. Members of the coup are holding a number of hostages including the country's prime minister.

2008 Concerns Over Corn Crop in U.S. Corn Belt

2008 : Following an unusually late planting season in the rain-soaked Midwest Concerns over this years crop in the Corn Belt bring further fears that on top of the much increased cost of Gas causing inflationary pressures in the food chain, a poor crop this year could further impact food prices and inflationary pressures in the US.

2012 Canada Interpol Hunt Canadian Killer

2012 : Interpol has added Luke Rocco Magnotta, suspected killer, to their most wanted list. Magnotta is suspected of murdering Jun Lin, a Chinese student who was possibly in a relationship with him, and sending body parts of the victim to political party offices in Ottawa. Magnotta had fled Canada was found by police in Berlin and was taken into custody on June 4th.

2013 Syrian President Warns Israel

2013 : Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, accused of using chemical weapons against rebel forces, has warned the country of Israel against any future air strikes. Assad stated that works on a contract to supply air defense missiles was underway and in response Israel stated that if the defense missiles were used it would attack. Israel had been conducting air strikes in the country in an effort to stop weapons being sent to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Visit our 1950's Music Page

Popular Music from the 1950s, Genres including Rock 'n' Roll, Traditional Pop, Country, Rhythm & Blues, top songs and artists from each year Includes a description of each Genre and the top performers and songs for each year in the Fifties

Fifties Music