Historical events on May 31
MAY 31, 1902
The Second Boer War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Second Boer War, also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought
Read More
MAY 31, 1775
American Revolution: The Committee of Safety of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, adopted the Mecklenburg Resolves, which annulled and vacated all laws originating from the authority of the King or Parliament.
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was an ideological and political movement in the Thirteen Colonies in what was then British America. The revolution
Read More
MAY 31, 455
Petronius Maximus, ruler of the Western Roman Empire, was stoned to death by a mob as he fled Rome ahead of the arrival of a Vandal force that sacked the city.
Petronius Maximus was Roman emperor of the West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent
Read More
MAY 31, 1215
A Mongol army under Genghis Khan captures Zhongdu (modern Beijing), the capital of the Jin dynasty.
The Mongol Empire, also known as Great Mongolian Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous empire in history.
Read More
MAY 31, 1890
The Ulm Minster, the world's tallest church building, is completed in Ulm, Germany.
Ulm Minster is a Gothic church located in Ulm, State of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It was originally built as a Roman Catholic church
Read More
MAY 31, 2009
American physician George Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country who performed late-term abortions, was shot and killed by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist.
George Richard Tiller was an American physician and abortion provider from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of
Read More
MAY 31, 1941
German forces dropped four bombs on neutral Ireland, killing 28 people and damaging the residence of the President of Ireland.
During World War II, Dublin was first bombed early on the morning of 2 January 1941, when German bombs were dropped on
Read More
MAY 31, 1981
An organized mob of police and government-sponsored Sinhalese paramilitary forces began three days of attacks that led to the burning of the Jaffna Library in Sri Lanka.
The Sinhalese people, also known as the Sinhalese or Sinhala people are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the island of Sri
Read More
MAY 31, 1941
The United Kingdom completed its re-occupation of Iraq, returning Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II.
The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by
Read More
MAY 31, 1293
Majapahit forces under Raden Wijaya won a major victory in the Mongol invasion of Java, now considered to be the founding date of the Indonesian city of Surabaya.
Majapahit, also known as Wilwatikta, was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island of Java. At its
Read More
MAY 31, 1862
American Civil War: Confederate troops under Joseph E. Johnston and G. W. Smith engaged Union forces under George B. McClellan at the Battle of Seven Pines outside Richmond, Virginia.
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in
Read More
MAY 31, 1223
Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': Mongol forces defeated a Kievan Rus' army at the Kalka River in present-day Ukraine.
The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Ryazan, Yaroslavl, Pereyaslavl
Read More
MAY 31, 2013
A tornado struck Central Oklahoma, killing 8 people and injuring more than 150.
The 2013 El Reno tornado was an extremely large, powerful, and erratic tornado that occurred over rural areas of Central Oklahoma during
Read More
MAY 31, 1468
Cardinal Bessarion (pictured) announced his donation of 746 Greek and Latin codices to the Republic of Venice, forming the Biblioteca Marciana.
Bessarion was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called
Read More