Browse events, births, deaths and holidays on May 31 throughout history.
On May 31, 2019, a mass shooting occurred at a municipal building in the Princess Anne area of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The gunman, 40-year-old DeWayne Craddock, a disgruntled ci…
A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter
On 31 May 2017, a truck bomb exploded at a crowded intersection in Kabul, Afghanistan, near the German embassy at about 08:25 local time during rush hour, killing over 150 and inj…
A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and inj
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggere…
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the Manbij offensive, in order to capture the city of Manbij
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Ju…
The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries
The 2013 El Reno tornado was an extremely large, intense, and erratic tornado that occurred and hit a rural part of Central Oklahoma during the early evening of May 31, 2013. This…
A record breaking 2
Shayetet 13 is a naval commando unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary reconnaissance units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursion…
Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while still in international waters trying to break the
Usain St. Leo Bolt is a Jamaican retired sprinter. Widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time, he is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in t…
Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1
Space Shuttle Discovery is a retired American Space Shuttle orbiter. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operation…
Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-124 carrying the second portion of the Japanese Kibō module to the International
Vanity Fair is an American monthly magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States.
Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat"
Air France, stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and is one of…
Air France retires its fleet of Concorde aircraft
The Confederation Bridge is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward I…
The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick
The Bicesse Accords, also known as the Estoril Accords, laid out a transition to multi-party democracy in Angola under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II mission. Pr…
Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNA
The 1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak, referred to as the Barrie tornado outbreak in Canada, was a major tornado outbreak that occurred in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, a…
United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dea
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 12 pump stations, several hundred miles of …
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, and the U.S. House of Representatives is the lower house. Together, the Senat…
The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the
Indian Airlines Flight 440 was a flight on 31 May 1973 that crashed while on approach to Palam Airport killing 48 of the 65 passengers and crew on board.
Indian Airlines Flight 440 crashes near Palam Airport in Delhi, killing 48
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act is an Act of Congress that permanently moved two federal holidays in the United States to a Monday, being Washington's Birthday and Memorial Day, an…
In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U
The 1970 Ancash earthquake occurred on 31 May off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean at 15:23:29 local time. Combined with a resultant landslide, it is the most catastrophic n…
The 7
The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 J…
The West Indies Federation dissolves
The Constitution of 1961 was the fundamental law of South Africa for two decades. Under the terms of the constitution South Africa ceased to be a Commonwealth realm and became a r…
The South African Constitution of 1961 becomes effective, thus creating the Republic of South Africa, which remains outs