Date·Lore

On This Day · The 151st day of the year

May 31

May 31 carries an unusually long memory — its events reach back as far as 455. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

♊ZodiacGemini ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

Gemini is the sign for May 31 — read more on the Gemini page, or see May's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on May 31?

May 31 is the 151st day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 455 and 2019. Famous people born on May 31 include Susie Essman, Pope Pius XI and Clint Eastwood.

Released on May 31

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • TV Torn Apart

2024

  • Game F1 24
  • Game Panicore

2023

  • Movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
  • TV Fake Profile

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 455

    Petronius Maximus

  2. 1775

    American Revolution

  3. 1862

    American Civil War

  4. 1902

    Second Boer War

  5. 1916

    World War I

  6. 1935

    1935 Quetta earthquake

  7. 1942

    World War II

  8. 2013

    2013 El Reno tornado

  9. 2017

    May 2017 Kabul bombing

  10. 2019

    2019 Virginia Beach shooting

Famous birthday twins

Born on May 31

Susie Essman

b. 1955

Pope Pius XI

b. 1857

Clint Eastwood

b. 1930

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

b. 1945

Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki

b. 1640

Ludwig Tieck

b. 1773

Viktor Orbán

b. 1963

Julius Richard Petri

b. 1852

Deaths

  • 2011Pauline Betz
  • 2009George Tiller
  • 1832Évariste Galois
  • 1809Joseph Haydn
  • 1594Tintoretto
  • 455Petronius Maximus

Holidays & observances

  • —Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Camilla Battista da Varano
  • —Christian feast day: Cantius, Cantianus, and Cantianilla
  • —Christian feast day: Hermias
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Mariano da Roccacasale
  • —Christian feast day: Petronella
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Robert Thorpe
  • —Christian feast day: Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

Born on this day?

Make your birthday card.

Drop in your birth year and we'll work out your exact age, the day of the week you were born, your Chinese zodiac, your generation, and the countdown to your next candle.