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May 31: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Facts & Historic Events That Happened on May 31

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May 31st is officially No Tobacco Day and Save Your Hearing Day.

Welcome to day 152 of 366! There are 214 days left in 2024.

Let’s finish the month off with finding out what made this day a special one throughout history. Here we have a bunch of interesting facts and historical events that all happened on this day throughout history.

Did you know that on this day in 1935, 20th Century Fox was founded? The company was formed after a merger of the Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures.

Keep reading for more fun & interesting facts about May 31st in history!

Events

What memorable events happened on May 31 in history? Keep reading to find out!

2014

The video for Psy’s Gangnam Style reached two billion views on YouTube.

OTD in 2014: The video for Psy's Gangnam Style reached two billion views on YouTube.

2008

The Discovery Space Shuttle was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-124.

The mission’s primary payload was the Japanese Kibō Experiment Module, which the shuttle ferried to the International Space Station (ISS). It’s the largest single module ever installed on the ISS. It was astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff’s first mission, and he brought the first bagels into space!

2007

Rihanna released her third studio album titled “Good Girl Gone Bad.”

2004

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the 3rd film based on the books by J. K. Rowling, was released in UK cinemas.

OTD in 2004: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

1970

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit the coast of Peru, killing as many as 70,000 people.

The 45-second earthquake occurred at 3:23 PM, and although its epicenter was actually off the coast of Peru, the damage was still extreme. Its area of effect was 32,000 square miles, but most of the damage came from a resulting landslide. The landslide buried the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca, where most of the casualties were found.

1942

Imperial Japan began a series of submarine attacks on Sydney.

On the night of May 31, three Japanese midget-class submarines entered Sydney Harbour to destroy any aircraft carriers or battleships they came across. Two were detected and taken out of action before they could do any damage. The third missed its target, the USS Chicago, sinking a ferry instead.

1935

20th Century Fox was founded after a merger of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures.

OTD in 1935: 20th Century Fox was founded after a merger of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures.

1911

The RMS Titanic was launched from Belfast, where it was also constructed.

1870

Congress passed the Enforcement Act.

This act was to counter any attacks on voting rights of African Americans from state officials or racist groups.

1861

The New Orleans Minting facility closed.

Confederate minting operations continued until the bullion ran out. The staff stayed on duty until the 31st. After that, the mint was used for quartering Confederate troops.

1790

The Copyright Act of 1790 became the first federal copyright act to be established in the United States.

1669

English civil servant Samuel Pepys recorded his last diary entry.

OTD in 1669: English civil servant Samuel Pepys recorded his last diary entry.

Due to poor eyesight, Pepys finally had to stop working on his famous diary. The diary covered about a decade of his life and is regarded as Britain’s most celebrated diary.

1223

Battle of the Kalka River occurred.

The Mongol armies of Genghis Khan, led by Subutai, defeated the Rus army. The Mongols won by pretending to retreat, which spread out the Rus army. When the Mongols assumed battle formation on the Kalka River, the Rus army attacked without waiting for the rest of their spread apart army.

1279 BC

Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, became the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt.

Famous Births

Is today your birthday? If so, did you know that Colin Farrell was also born on this day? Here are more famous people born on this day.

1996

Normani

American

Singer

Normani

Age:

28 years old

Born In:

Georgia, USA

1930

Clint Eastwood

American

Actor

Clint Eastwood

Age:

94 years old

Born In:

California, USA

1980

Andy Hurley

American

Musician

Andy Hurley

Age:

44 years old

Born In:

Wisconsin, USA

1976

Colin Farrell

Irish

Actor

Colin Farrell

Age:

48 years old

Born In:

Dublin, Ireland

Quotes

Below you’ll find the most popular things people have said or written on this day throughout history.

1955

Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face.

Helen Keller

Helen Keller

American Author

Special Holidays

If you can spare some time today, here are some unique holidays you could get involved with.

May 31: World No Tobacco Day
World

World No Tobacco Day

Smoking becomes less popular year on year, and there are fewer smokers now than ever before. Today is No Tobacco Day, so use this day to inform yourself of the dangers smoking brings. Or maybe you might even choose this day as the day you quit for good!

May 31: National Save Your Hearing Day
United States

National Save Your Hearing Day

Listening to music too loud or working with loud machinery can do some serious damage to your hearing, and we’re all a little guilty doing this. Save Your Hearing Day is here to remind us to be more careful, so turn down your volume or put on some earplugs, at least for today!

THe Fact Site’s

Fun Fact Of The Day

The first jet aircraft was invented in Nazi Germany. Development started in 1936, but the first takeoff occurred in 1939.

Birthday & Zodiac

Everyone who was born on May 31 shares the star sign of Gemini.

Gemini is represented by twins and is the third sign in the zodiac. Anyone who was born between May 21 and June 20 falls into this astrological sign.

Emerald is the birthstone given to people born in May. The Emerald birthstone symbolizes spiritual awareness while providing protection, a love-filled life, and great wisdom.

If you were born on May 31st, you were likely conceived on the week of September 7th in the previous year.

A baby that is conceived on this day will be due around February 21st, 2025.

Fact Check

We have a thorough fact-checking process and a dedicated team verifying our content for accuracy. But occasionally, we may get things wrong, or information becomes outdated. If you believe something to be incorrect, please leave us a message below.

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