31. May
The May 31 is the 151st day of the Gregorian calendar (the 152nd in leap years ), thus remain 214 days by year end.
Historic anniversaries April · May · June |
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Events
Politics and world events

455: Solidus of Petronius Maximus
- 455 : Residents of Rome kill the Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus , who has only been ruling since March , presumably during his attempt to flee Rome, which was besieged by the Vandals under Geiseric . Chaos and lack of leadership favor the ensuing conquest of the city.
- 1223 : The Mongols defeat the Ruthenians and the Kipchaks allied with them in the Battle of the Kalka .
- 1307 : Margrave Friedrich I of Meissen defeats the Roman-German King Albrecht I in the Battle of Lucka .
- 1689 : During the Palatinate War of Succession , French troops plunder the royal graves in Speyer Cathedral and set fire to the household items that are supposedly safely stored in the cathedral. The church building is badly damaged by the fire.
- 1740 : Friedrich II. , Later called Friedrich the Great and Old Fritz , succeeds his late father Friedrich Wilhelm I as king in Prussia .
- 1795 : The Revolutionary Tribunal of the French Revolution , a court for political processes, is abolished.
- 1809 : In the battle of Čegar near the city of Niš , rebels of the First Serbian Uprising are defeated by Ottoman troops.
- 1849 : The German National Assembly holds its last session in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt .
- 1861 : As part of the Basel City Expansion Act of 1859, the Aeschentor is demolished.
- 1864 : The lasting until June 12 Battle of Cold Harbor in the American Civil War begins.
- 1875 : During the time of the Kulturkampf , the Monastery Act came into force in Prussia , which repealed all religious orders and congregations, with the exception of those devoted to nursing the sick.
- 1889 : The British Parliament passes the Naval Defense Act , thereby establishing the two-power standard .

1902: The Vereeniging contract is signed at Melrose House
- 1902 : The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the Second Boer War in South Africa .
- 1906 : During an assassination attempt on the wedding of the Spanish King Alfonso XIII. more than twenty people die.
- 1910 : A Dominion is created in South Africa with the Union of South Africa .
- 1911 : The law on the constitution of Alsace-Lorraine , which gives the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine a constitution, comes into force.
- 1916 : When attempting to break the Allied naval blockade, the German deep-sea fleet meets the British Grand Fleet off Jutland . The following Battle of Jutland , the largest naval battle between Imperial Navy and Royal Navy in the First World War .
- 1919 : In the Republic of German-Austria is against landowners directed re-Colonization Act decided.
- 1921 : A massacre in Tulsa ( Oklahoma ) requires 300 lives.
- 1940 : The German occupiers blow up the Chopin monument in Warsaw in order to damage the Polish national feeling.
- 1945 : In the Brno death march , 27,000 Germans are expelled from Brno and forced to walk to the Austrian border some 55 km away; around 5,200 of them are killed.
- 1952 : General Dwight D. Eisenhower retires from US military service .
- 1961 : The Republic of South Africa is proclaimed after the country withdraws from the British Commonwealth under pressure from other members .
- 1961 : Following a referendum in February, the Muslim northern part of the British Cameroon trustee area joins neighboring Nigeria . The southern part falls to Cameroon on October 1st .
- 1980 : The youth riots that began the night before continue in Zurich
- 1982 : The conservative Belisario Betancur is elected President of Colombia to succeed the liberal Julio César Turbay Ayala .
- 1991 : Angola's civil war parties agree in Bicesse, Portugal , to the ceasefire, the creation of joint armed forces and the holding of free elections under international observation.
- 2003 : Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder inaugurate a reconstruction of the Amber Room in Saint Petersburg ( Russia ) .
- 2003 : Burma's military leadership arrests Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi again.
- 2010 : The Gaza flotilla raid the entert Israeli Navy in international waters six ships that various groups around 10,000 tons of supplies into the Gaza Strip to bring and a naval blockade want to break that Israel since 2007 after the violent takeover of Hamas set up Has. When boarding the ship Mavi Marmara , nine people on the ship are killed.
- 2010 : The German Federal President Horst Köhler declares his immediate resignation from the highest state office due to the criticism of his statements on the use of the Bundeswehr to safeguard the foreign trade interests of the Federal Republic.
economy
- 1578 : In Paris, the French King Henry III. the foundation stone for the Pont Neuf , on which, in contrast to the four previous Paris bridges, no buildings should stand.
- 1846 : For the Göltzschtalbrücke is foundation laid. The world's largest brick bridge enables rail traffic on the route between Nuremberg and Leipzig in Vogtland .
- 1855 : The Albertsbahn AG signs a contract with the Hänichener Steinkohlenbauverein which provides for the establishment of a branch line to their shafts near Hänichen. The resulting Windbergbahn near Dresden is considered the first mountain railway in Germany.
- 1861 : The General German Commercial Code (ADHGB) is recommended by the Federal Assembly of the German Confederation for introduction in the individual states . Commercial law therefore applies between the Adriatic and the North Sea .
- 1884 : John Harvey Kellogg patented the corn flakes he invented .
- 1911 : The RMS Titanic is launched.
science and technology
- 1811 : The "Tailor of Ulm", Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger , crashes from the Eagle Bastion into the Danube while attempting to fly .
- 1873 : Heinrich Schliemann digs up what he called Priam's treasure in earlier Troy .
- 1879 : Werner Siemens presents the first practical electric locomotive developed by Siemens & Halske on a 300 meter long circuit at the Berlin trade fair .
- 1965 : The Deutsche Bundespost uses the world's first electronic mail sorting system in Pforzheim . The target code is determined by means of matrix coding and applied to the shipment as a barcode.
- 1990 : From Baikonur from is crystal , a research module for the Soviet space station Mir , launched into space.
Culture
- 1783 : For the first time, a limited number of women painters are admitted to the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, including Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and Adélaïde Labille-Guiard .
- 1802 : The premiere of the opera Le concert interrompu by Henri Montan Berton takes place at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
- 1817 : The opera La gazza ladra ( The Thieving Magpie ) by Gioachino Rossini is premiered with great success at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Soprano Teresa Belloc sings among others .
- 1855 : Georg Büchner's comedy Leonce and Lena , written in 1836, is performed for the first time.
- 1884 : First performance of the opera Le Villi by Giacomo Puccini at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan .
- 1976 : The Who play the loudest rock concert in the world - with a total of 76,000 watts, the PA system reached a volume of 120 decibels.
society
- 1669 : Because of his deteriorating eyesight, Samuel Pepys , as secretary of the Admirality a senior official in the British Treasury and Naval Office, makes the last entry in his diary.
- 1859 : Big Ben sounds the Westminster chime for the first time from the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster .
- 2011 : The weather moderator Jörg Kachelmann is acquitted of the charge of rape and dangerous bodily harm before the Mannheim district court .
religion
- 1578 : The catacombs of Rome , forgotten for centuries, are discovered by accident.
- 1653 : With the bull Cum occasione , Pope Innocent X condemns five sentences of Jansenism .
- 1660 : Quaker Mary Dyer is sentenced to death for the second time in Boston for entering the city to protest against the Quaker banishment . She was hanged the following day.
- 1665 : The Jewish religious scholar Schabbtai Zvi declares himself Messiah. His followers are hereinafter called Sabbatians .
- 1890 : The Ulm Minster receives the finial and is thus completed.
- 1934 : The first Synod of Confession of the German Evangelical Church adopts the Barmer Declaration , the theological foundation of the Confessing Church .
- 1970 : The by architect Oscar Niemeyer planned Cathedral of Brasília is inaugurated.
Disasters
- 1892 : Careless handling of a miner's lamp causes a fire in the Marie mine in Příbram on the 29th level at a depth of 950 m. 319 miners are killed. It is the worst mining accident in the world to date.
- 1889 : The South Fork Dam above Johnstown in the US state of Pennsylvania breaks in a storm - over 2,000 people are killed.
- 1935 : The city of Quetta on the western border of British India (now Pakistan ) is largely destroyed by an earthquake of around 7.5 magnitudes on the Richter scale . The quake claims around 30–40,000 lives.
- 1946 : An earthquake of intensity 6.0 in Turkey causes about 1,200 deaths.
- 1970 : The Ancash earthquake causes a total of 66,000 deaths in Peru . Around 10,000 victims have been recorded in the capital of Huaraz in the Ancash region . In the northern Peruvian city of Yungay alone , up to 20,000 people die in a landslide . From the Huascarán massif , a mud, ice and debris avalanche falls at around 220 km / h, which only comes to rest after 14 kilometers.
Minor accidents are listed in the sub-articles of Disaster .
Sports
- 1868 : The Briton James Moore wins one of the first cycling races in the Parc de Saint-Cloud near Paris . The race goes over a distance of 1,200 meters.
- 1903 : The first final of the German soccer championship takes place in Altona : VfB Leipzig defeats DFC Prague 7-2 and receives the Victoria Cup .
- 1970 : Mexico and the Soviet Union split 0-0 in the opening game of the Soccer World Cup in Mexico .
Entries of track and field world records can be found under the respective discipline under track and field . Entries on football world championship games can be found in the sub-pages of football world championships . The same goes for European football championships .
Born
Before the 18th century
- 1149 : al-Fa'iz , 13th Caliph of the Fatimids
- 1400 : Domenico Capranica , Italian humanist and cardinal of the Catholic Church
- 1443 : Margaret Beaufort , English nobleman and mother of Henry VII of England
- 1462 : Philip II , German nobleman, Count von Hanau-Lichtenberg
- 1467 : Sibylle of Brandenburg , Duchess of Jülich and Berg
- 1469 : Manuel I , King of Portugal
- 1472 : Erard de La Marck , Prince-Bishop of Liège, Bishop of Chartres and Archbishop of Valencia
- 1491 : Ignatius von Loyola , founder of the Jesuit order
- 1527 : Agnes , Electress of Saxony
- 1535 : Alessandro Allori , Florentine painter
- 1537 : Ismail II , Safavid Shah of Iran
- 1557 : Fyodor I , Russian tsar
- 1569 : Sophia von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf , de facto regent of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- 1612 : Margherita de 'Medici , Duchess of Parma and Piacenza
- 1618 : Johann IV. , Count of Rietberg
- 1640 : Michael I , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
- 1650 : Johann Jakob Müller , German moral philosopher
- 1656 : Marin Marais , French viol player and composer
- 1659 : Adam Herold , German educator and Protestant theologian
- 1684 : Georg Engelhard Schröder , Swedish portrait and history painter
- 1687 : Friedemann Andreas Zülich , German Protestant clergyman and university professor
- 1693 : Bartolomeo Nazari , Italian painter
- 1696 : Mattia Bortoloni , Italian painter
18th century
- 1713 : Giuseppe Maria Buonaparte , Corsican politician and grandfather of Napoleon I
- 1716 : Georg Hermann Richerz , German Lutheran clergyman
- 1717 : Johann Daniel Silbermann , German organ builder
- 1731 : Claude François Joseph d'Auxiron , French engineer, inventor and pioneer of steam navigation
- 1732 : Hieronymus von Colloredo , Bishop of Gurk and Prince Archbishop of Salzburg
- 1738 : Johann Timotheus Hermes , German poet and novelist
- 1744 : Richard Lovell Edgeworth , English enlightener and inventor
- 1750 : Karl August von Hardenberg , Prussian statesman
- 1753 : Pierre Vergniaud , politician during the French Revolution
- 1754 : Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon , French Revolutionary General, Marshal and Peer of France
- 1766 : Johann Philipp Beck , German clergyman and educator
- 1767 : Edward Pease , British businessman
- 1769 : Johann Traugott Leberecht Danz , German Lutheran church historian and theologian
- 1773 : Ludwig Tieck , German writer and translator
- 1791 : John Brown Francis , American politician
- 1793 : Charles Vignoles , British railway engineer
19th century
1801-1850
- 1802 : Johann Ludwig Anderwert , Swiss politician
- 1804 : Émile Chevé , French music theorist and teacher
- 1817 : Edouard Deldevez , French composer, violinist and conductor
- 1817 : Georg Herwegh , German poet of the Vormärz and revolutionary
- 1818 : John Albion Andrew , American politician
- 1819 : Walt Whitman , American poet, essayist, and journalist ( Leaves of Grass )
- 1821 : Henriëtte Ronner-Knip , Dutch-Belgian painter
- 1822 : Edward Dembowski , Polish philosopher, publicist and revolutionary
- 1825 : Domenico Agostini , Italian cardinal
- 1827 : Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford , British General, Commander-in-Chief of the British in the Zulu War
- 1835 : Hijikata Toshizō , Japanese vice-captain of a protection force
- 1843 : Fredrikke Marie Qvam , Norwegian suffragette and liberal politician
- 1845 : Adolf Bleichert , German entrepreneur, pioneer of cable car construction
1851-1900
- 1852 : Perito Moreno , Argentine geographer, anthropologist and explorer
- 1852 : Julius Richard Petri , German bacteriologist
- 1857 : Pius XI. , Pope
- 1860 : Walter Sickert , British painter
- 1866 : Karl Lohmann , German lawyer and politician
- 1866 : Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov , Russian composer
- 1869 : Walter Folger Brown , American politician
- 1869 : Josef Mesk , Austrian classical philologist
- 1872 : Charles Greeley Abbot , American astrophysicist
- 1879 : Samuel Guyer , Swiss art historian
- 1880 : Richard Kuöhl , German sculptor
- 1882 : Friedrich Uhl , German hockey player
- 1883 : Barry Conners , American actor, playwright, and screenwriter
- 1887 : Saint-John Perse , French poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize winner
- 1891 : Erich Walter Sternberg , Israeli composer
- 1892 : Louis Fourestier , French composer and conductor
- 1892 : Gregor Strasser , German politician, participant in the Hitler putsch
- 1893 : Elizabeth Coatsworth , American writer
- 1896 : Ines Alfani-Tellini , Italian opera singer (soprano) and music teacher
- 1896 : Erich R. Döbrich , German military painter
- 1896 : Ernest Haller , American cameraman
- 1898 : Johan Brouwer , Dutch author, Romanist, Hispanicist, translator and resistance fighter
- 1898 : Georg Singer , German politician and resistance fighter
- 1900 : Hans Mögel , German engineer
20th century
1901-1925
- 1903 : Cyril Paul , British racing car driver
- 1907 : Paul Meissner , Austrian painter
- 1908 : Don Ameche , American actor
- 1909 : Milt Gantenbein , American football player
- 1911 : Maurice Allais , French economist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1912 : Alfred Amstad , Swiss mountaineer
- 1912 : Dave O'Brien , American actor, screenwriter, and director
- 1912 : Otto Kurth , German actor and director
- 1912 : Chien-Shiung Wu , Chinese-American physicist
- 1913 : Peter Frankenfeld , German showmaster
- 1913 : Constantin Silvestri , Romanian conductor
- 1914 : Ifukube Akira , Japanese composer
- 1915 : Bernard Schultze , German painter
- 1915 : Heinz Zahrnt , German Protestant theologian, writer and publicist
- 1918 : Alf Marholm , German actor and speaker
- 1921 : Alida Valli , Italian actress
- 1922 : Denholm Elliott , British actor
- 1922 : Bernhard Hassenstein , German behavioral biologist
- 1923 : Cecil Cooke , Bahamian regatta sailor, Olympic champion
- 1923 : Rainier III. , Prince of Monaco
- 1924 : Gisela May , German singer and actress
- 1925 : Donn A. Starry , American general and military historian
1926-1950
- 1926 : Willi Erzgräber , German Anglicist
- 1926 : Stefan Kaminsky , German bank manager
- 1926 : James Krüss , German writer and poet
- 1927 : Wolfgang Gasser , Austrian actor
- 1927 : Koreyoshi Kurahara , Japanese film director and screenwriter
- 1929 : Menahem Golan , Israeli director, film producer and screenwriter
- 1930 : Clint Eastwood , American producer, film director, and actor
- 1931 : John Robert Schrieffer , American physicist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1932 : Jay Miner , American chip designer, father of the Amiga
- 1934 : Karl-Erik Welin , Swedish pianist, organist and composer
- 1935 : Karlmann Geiß , German lawyer, President of the Federal Court of Justice
- 1935 : Jim Bolger , New Zealand Prime Minister
- 1936 : Carl Heinz Choynski , German actor
- 1936 : Héctor Demarco , Uruguayan football player
- 1936 : Joachim Ehlers , German historian
- 1937 : Hartmut Eggert , German literary scholar and university professor
- 1937 : Gerd Hergen Lübben , German writer and poet
- 1937 : Winfried Schlepphorst , German musicologist, organist and organ monument curator
- 1939 : John S. Herrington , American politician
- 1940 : Augie Meyers , American musician
- 1940 : Theobald Schurte , Liechtenstein sports shooter
- 1941 : Roland Girtler , Austrian sociologist and cultural anthropologist
- 1941 : Wolfgang Fahrian , German football player
- 1941 : Karin Tietze-Ludwig , German journalist, ARD lottery fair
- 1942 : Jo Vonlanthen , Swiss racing car driver
- 1943 : Sharon Gless , American actress
- 1943 : Helge Jung , German composer
- 1943 : Antje Vollmer , German politician, Vice President of the German Bundestag
- 1944 : Peter Mattli , Swiss entrepreneur, politician and racing car driver
- 1944 : Volker Reiche , German comic artist
- 1945 : Laurent Gbagbo , Ivorian President
- 1945 : Rainer Werner Fassbinder , German director, film producer and playwright
- 1946 : Agnes Schierhuber , Austrian politician and member of the EU Parliament
- 1946 : Gabriele Goettle , German journalist and writer
- 1947 : Greg Abate , American jazz musician, arranger and composer
- 1947 : Volker Panzer , German journalist
- 1948 : Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich , Belarusian writer, Nobel Prize winner
- 1948 : John Bonham , British drummer ( Led Zeppelin )
- 1948 : Jürgen Stark , Vice President of the Deutsche Bundesbank
- 1949 : Tom Berenger , American actor
- 1950 : Vivienne Olive , British-Australian composer
- 1950 : Jorge Taiana , Argentine politician
1951-1975
- 1951 : Karl-Hans Riehm , German athlete, Olympic medalist
- 1952 : Frank Ulrich Montgomery , German physician and association official
- 1953 : Jeremy Kiernan , Irish athlete
- 1954 : Petra Gerstenkorn , member of the ver.di national board
- 1955 : Marty Ehrlich , American jazz musician
- 1955 : Tommy Emmanuel , Australian guitarist
- 1955 : Sebastian Vogel , German translator
- 1956 : Valery Nikolaevich Bragin , Russian ice hockey player
- 1956 : Bernd Niquet , German writer
- 1956 : Margret Suckale , German manager
- 1956 : Gerd Weber , German soccer player
- 1957 : Gabriel Barylli , Austrian writer, actor and director
- 1957 : Bertram Beierlorzer , German soccer player and coach
- 1958 : Mitchell Amundsen , American cameraman
- 1958 : Mario Frank , German publishing manager
- 1959 : Florian Bramböck , Austrian composer, professor and saxophonist
- 1959 : Andrea de Cesaris , Italian Formula 1 driver
- 1959 : Sabine Wils , German politician
- 1961 : Lea Thompson , American actress
- 1962 : Philippe Gache , French racing car driver and racing team owner
- 1962 : Corey Hart , Canadian singer
- 1962 : Sebastian Koch , German actor
- 1963 : Réal Andrews , Canadian actor
- 1963 : Viktor Orbán , Hungarian politician, Prime Minister
- 1964 : Kid Frost , American rapper
- 1964 : Thomas Schwartz , German clergyman and author
- 1965 : Brooke Shields , American actress
- 1965 : Isabell Zacharias , German politician
- 1966 : Frank Goosen , German cabaret artist and novelist
- 1967 : Sandrine Bonnaire , French actress
- 1967 : Johnny Diesel , Australian rock musician
- 1968 : John Connolly , Irish writer
- 1969 : Mindi Abair , American saxophonist
- 1969 : Stefanie Dehnen , German chemist
- 1970 : Dominik Finkelde , German Jesuit priest, philosopher and playwright
- 1971 : Diana Damrau , German soprano
- 1972 : Heidi Astrup , Danish handball player
- 1972 : Doris Schretzmayer , Austrian actress, author and presenter
- 1974 : Kenan Doğulu , Turkish singer
- 1975 : Emmanuel Jonnier , French cross-country skier
- 1975 : Toni Nieminen , Finnish ski jumper
1976-2000
- 1976 : Colin Farrell , Irish actor
- 1976 : Steve Jenkner , German motorcycle racer
- 1976 : Tanja Mairhofer , Austrian actress and presenter
- 1977 : Abroo , German rapper
- 1977 : Karim Chérif , French-Swiss actor
- 1978 : Daniel Bekono , Cameroonian football player
- 1978 : Alen Orman , Austrian soccer player
- 1979 : Said Saif Asaad , Bulgarian weightlifter
- 1979 : Jean-François Gillet , Belgian football player
- 1980 : Johnny Aubert , French motocross and enduro athlete
- 1980 : Dirk Caspers , German soccer player
- 1980 : Georgia Lara , Greek water polo player
- 1981 : Mikael Antonsson , Swedish football player
- 1981 : Daniele Bonera , Italian football player
- 1981 : Marlies Schild , Austrian ski racer, world champion
- 1982 : Ananda Everingham , Lao-Australian actor and model
- 1982 : Maja Sokač , Croatian handball player
- 1983 : Leon Haslam , British motorcycle racer
- 1986 : Jordan Angeli , American soccer player
- 1986 : Sopo Chalwaschi , Georgian singer
- 1987 : tyDi , Australian trance DJ and producer
- 1988 : Pilt Arnold , German hockey player
- 1988 : Lisa Bund , German pop singer
- 1989 : Marco Reus , German soccer player
- 1992 : Michaël Bournival , Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992 : Jessica King , English soccer player
- 1992 : Jesper Munk , German musician
- 1993 : Joel Armia , Finnish ice hockey player
- 1995 : Timothé Buret , French racing car driver
- 1995 : Janina Fautz , German actress
- 1995 : Tyla Yaweh , American rapper
- 1997 : CupcakKe , American rapper
- 1997 : Marharyta Fjafilawa , Belarusian pool player
21st century
- 2001 : Iga Świątek , Polish tennis player
Died
Before the 17th century
- 455 : Petronius Maximus , Western Roman Emperor
- 601 : Rekkared I , King of the Visigoths
- 937 : Hildebert , Archbishop of Mainz
- 1009 : Ibn Yunus , Egyptian astronomer and mathematician
- 1015 : Ernst I , Duke of Swabia
- 1076 : Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria
- 1089 : Sigewin von Are , from 1078 to 1089 Archbishop of Cologne
- 1091 : Heinrich von Verdun , Bishop of Liège
- 1160 : Mathilde von Andechs , Abbess of Edelstetten
- 1162 : Géza II , king of Hungary, Croatia, Dalmatia and Rama
- 1227 : Guala Bicchieri , papal legate for England and member of the English Regency Council
- 1321 : Birger Magnusson , King of Sweden
- 1326 : Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley , English nobleman and rebel
- 1329 : Albertino Mussato , early Italian humanist, poet and historian
- 1378 : Thomas von Neumarkt , titular bishop of Sareptensis and auxiliary bishop in Breslau
- 1408 : Angelo Acciaioli , Italian bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church
- 1408 : Ashikaga Yoshimitsu , Japanese shogun
- 1410 : Martin I , King of Aragon
- 1416 : Arnold Stapel , bishop of the Kulm diocese
- 1417 : Wilhelm II , Duke of Bavaria-Straubing, Count of Holland and Count of Zealand
- 1463 : Caspar von Schönberg , Bishop of Meissen
- 1491 : Philippe Basiron , French composer, organist and cleric
- 1495 : Cecily Neville , Duchess of York
- 1503 : Barbara Gonzaga , Duchess of Württemberg
- 1504 : Engelbert II , Count of Nassau-Breda
- 1518 : Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach , Margravine of Baden
- 1520 : Johannes Aesticampianus , theologian and humanist
- 1522 : George III. Schenk von Limpurg , Prince-Bishop of Bamberg
- 1524 : Camilla Battista Varano , Italian Poor Clare and mystic, Catholic saint
- 1533 : Ambrosius Ehinger , German conquistador and first governor of Little Venice
- 1536 : Charles I , Duke of Münsterberg and Oels
- 1551 : Bastiano da Sangallo , Italian painter and architect
- 1554 : Marcantonio Trevisan , 80th Doge of Venice
- 1594 : Jacopo Tintoretto , Italian painter
17th and 18th centuries
- 1601 : Gebhard I. von Waldburg , Elector and Archbishop of Cologne
- 1617 : Philipp Jakob Schröter , German medic
- 1620 : Wilhelm Ludwig , Count of Nassau-Dillenburg and governor of Friesland
- 1637 : Jodok Hösli , Swiss Benedictine monastery and abbot of the Pfäfers monastery in the canton of St. Gallen
- 1647 : Karl Friedrich I , Duke of Oels and Bernstadt
- 1665 : Pieter Saenredam , Dutch painter
- 1668 : Johann Wilhelm Libštejnský von Kolowrat , Archbishop of Prague
- 1680 : Joachim Neander , German pastor, hymn poet and composer
- 1696 : Peter Müller , German legal scholar
- 1700 : Agostino Scilla , Italian Baroque painter, paleontologist, numismatist and geologist
- 1727 : Karl August von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf , Prince-Bishop of Lübeck
- 1740 : Friedrich Wilhelm I , King of Prussia
- 1747 : Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann , Russian diplomat and statesman
- 1765 : Anselm Franz von Ritter zu Groenesteyn , Electoral Mainz Chamberlain, Court Marshal, at times Vitztum and architect
19th century
- 1806 : Urban Bruun Aaskow , Danish medic
- 1807 : Jean-Ami Martin , Swiss Protestant clergyman and librarian
- 1809 : Ferdinand von Schill , Prussian officer
- 1809 : Joseph Haydn , Austrian composer, leading exponent of Viennese classical music
- 1809 : Jean Lannes , French general, Marshal of France
- 1810 : Heinrich Sautier , German Jesuit and founder
- 1825 : George Chalmers , English political writer
- 1827 : Pierre Louis Prieur , French politician
- 1832 : Évariste Galois , French mathematician
- 1841 : George Green , British mathematician and physicist
- 1846 : Philipp Konrad Marheineke , German theologian
- 1847 : Thomas Chalmers , writer and founder of the Free Church of Scotland
- 1851 : Friedrich Ludwig Wilhelm Christian Karl von Tabor , Belgian general
- 1854 : Vatroslav Lisinski , Croatian composer
- 1867 : Théophile-Jules Pelouze , French chemist
- 1870 : Caspar Kummer , German flautist, composer and music teacher
- 1872 : Friedrich Gerstäcker , German adventurer and writer
- 1875 : Éliphas Lévi , French deacon, writer and occultist
- 1876 : Rudolph von Apponyi , Austro-Hungarian diplomat
- 1881 : Hugh J. Anderson , American politician
- 1883 : Georg Achleitner , Austrian lawyer and politician
- 1884 : Bethel Henry Strousberg , German entrepreneur from the early days
- 1887 : Christian Friedrich Ehrlich , German composer, pianist and music teacher
- 1887 : Moritz Wagner , German traveler, geographer and naturalist
- 1891 : Anton Springer , German art historian
- 1892 : Heinrich Auer , German industrialist
- 1899 : Elisha Baxter , American politician
- 1899 : Ignaz von Ephrussi , Russian banker
20th century
1901-1950
- 1902 : Bernhard Loose , Bremen banker
- 1905 : Emil Arnoldt , German philosopher and private scholar
- 1905 : Franz Strauss , German horn player and composer
- 1908 : Alexander Wilhelm Gottschalg , Thuringian cantor, organist and composer
- 1908 : Anton Lux , Austrian artillery lieutenant and traveler to Africa
- 1910 : Elizabeth Blackwell , English doctor
- 1916 : Gorch Fock , German poet
- 1918 : Alexander Mitscherlich , German chemist
- 1920 : Nasrullah Khan , Emir of Afghanistan
- 1931 : Willy Stöwer , German marine painter of the imperial era
- 1938 : Ludwig Hermann , German chemist and entrepreneur
- 1941 : Rodolfo Amoedo , Brazilian painter
- 1945 : Odilo Globocnik , National Socialist involved in the Holocaust
- 1945 : Oskar Heinroth , German ornithologist and head of the Berlin aquarium
- 1945 : Curt von Gottberg , German SS-Obergruppenführer, general of the Waffen-SS, war criminal
- 1947 : Adrienne Ames , American actress
1951-2000
- 1951 : Denis Joseph Dougherty , American clergyman, Archbishop of Philadelphia
- 1952 : Manmohandas Soparkar , Indian medic and parasitologist
- 1953 : Vladimir Evgrafowitsch Tatlin , Russian sculptor
- 1957 : Peeter Sink , Estonian pastor, poet, painter and photographer
- 1959 : Ede Zathureczky , Hungarian violinist and music teacher
- 1960 : Walther Funk , German journalist and Nazi minister
- 1960 : Willem Elsschot , Dutch- speaking writer from Belgium
- 1962 : Henry F. Ashurst , American politician
- 1963 : Edith Hamilton , German-American writer
- 1964 : Nikolai Andrejewitsch Orlow , Russian-British pianist and music teacher
- 1964 : Franz Schauwecker , German writer
- 1965 : Dankwart Ackermann , German physiologist and chemist
- 1965 : Earl Johnson , American country musician
- 1967 : Billy Strayhorn , American jazz musician
- 1967 : Wilhelm Rath , German politician
- 1969 : Hilde Körber , Austrian actress
- 1970 : Terry Sawchuk , Canadian ice hockey player
- 1971 : Massimo Campigli , Italian painter
- 1971 : Max Trapp , German composer
- 1973 : Paul White , American composer, conductor, violinist and music teacher
- 1976 : Jacques Monod , French biochemist
- 1977 : William Castle , American film director and producer
- 1977 : Floyd Davis , American racing car driver
- 1978 : Maja Berezowska , Polish artist
- 1978 : József Bozsik , Hungarian football player and coach
- 1979 : Gebhard Amann , Austrian politician
- 1981 : Gyula Lóránt , Hungarian football player and coach
- 1983 : Jack Dempsey , American boxer
- 1983 : Alexandre Constantin , French racing car driver and designer
- 1984 : Manuel Enrique Pérez Díaz , Venezuelan guitarist, composer and music teacher
- 1986 : Harry Westermann , German lawyer
- 1988 : Ömer Lütfi Akadlı , Turkish lawyer
- 1988 : Wilhelm Aschka , German politician
- 1989 : Raissa Davydowna Orlowa-Kopelewa , Russian writer
- 1990 : Johannes Paul , German historian
- 1990 : Willy Spühler , Swiss politician, Federal Councilor
- 1991 : Carlos Suffern , Argentine composer
- 1992 : Karl-Erik Welin , Swedish pianist, organist and composer
- 1995 : Albert Kapr , German calligrapher, typographer, university lecturer
- 1995 : Pavel Šivic , Slovenian composer
- 1996 : Timothy Leary , American psychologist and author
- 1996 : Ton de Leeuw , Dutch composer and music teacher
- 1997 : Karl Flach , German entrepreneur
- 1997 : Günter Luther , German admiral
- 1998 : Lotti Huber , German actress
- 1998 : Stanisław Wisłocki , Polish composer, conductor and music teacher
- 2000 : Tito Puente , American jazz, salsa and mambo musician
21st century
- 2003 : Francesco Colasuonno , Italian clergyman and Vatican diplomat
- 2005 : Wuelfo Gutiérrez , Cuban singer
- 2005 : Herbert Junck , German drummer
- 2006 : Raymond Davis Jr. , American chemist, Nobel Prize winner
- 2007 : Gerhard Ambros , German politician
- 2007 : Helmut Arntz , German Indo-Europeanist and runologist
- 2007 : Fritz Swoboda , Austrian Waffen SS member, war criminal
- 2008 : Detlev Albers , German political scientist and politician
- 2009 : Millvina Dean , last survivor of the sinking of the Titanic
- 2009 : Wolfgang Giloi , German computer scientist and university lecturer
- 2010 : Louise Bourgeois , French sculptor
- 2011 : Hans Keilson , German-Dutch doctor, psychoanalyst and writer
- 2011 : Andy Robustelli , American football player
- 2012 : Roger Fournier , Canadian writer and film director
- 2012 : Paul Pietsch , German racing car driver and publisher
- 2013 : Horacio Armani , Argentine journalist and poet
- 2013 : Petar Hristov Ilievski , Macedonian linguist, classical philologist, Mycenaeologist and historian
- 2014 : Martha Hyer , American film actress
- 2014 : Mary Soames , British writer
- 2015 : Eberhard Dünninger , German librarian and politician
- 2015 : Karl Wlaschek , Austrian entrepreneur
- 2016 : Mohamed Abdelaziz , Moroccan-Sahrawi politician
- 2016 : Corry Brokken , Dutch singer
- 2016 : Rupert Neudeck , German journalist and human rights activist
- 2017 : Lyubomyr Husar , Ukrainian cardinal
- 2017 : Hilde Sochor , Austrian actress
- 2018 : Fritz Eller , Austrian-German architect
- 2018 : Demba Nabé , German singer, front man of the band Seeed
- 2018 : Aníbal Quijano , Peruvian sociologist
- 2019 : Roky Erickson , American singer and guitarist
- 2020 : Christo , American artist
Holidays and memorial days
- Church memorial days
- Joachim Neander , German song writer (Protestant)
- Johann Friedrich Flattich , German pastor (Protestant)
- Name days
- Commemoration days of international organizations
The list of days of remembrance and action contains further entries .
Commons : May 31st - Collection of images, videos and audio files