History Events on May 31

The South African Constitution of 1961 becomes effective.

#South_African_Constitution_of_1961

Mongol invasion of Java was a punitive expedition against King Kertanegara of Singhasari, who had refused to pay tribute to the Yuan and maimed one of its ministers. However, it ended with failure for the Mongols. Regarded as establish City of Surabaya

#Mongol_invasion_of_Java

In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.

#Uniform_Monday_Holiday_Act

Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus' and Cumans.

#Battle_of_the_Kalka_River

A 7.7 Mw? earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan killing 40,000.

#1935_Quetta_earthquake

The South Africa Act comes into force, establishing the Union of South Africa.

#South_Africa_Act_1909

French Revolution: The Revolutionary Tribunal is suppressed.

#French_Revolution

Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

#Manuel_Quimper

French and Spanish forces begin the assault against British forces occupying Diamond Rock.

#Battle_of_Diamond_Rock

American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and G.W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.

#American_Civil_War

Anglo-Iraqi War: The United Kingdom completes the re-occupation of Iraq and returns 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II.

#Anglo-Iraqi_War

The President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz flees the country during the Mexican Revolution.

#President_of_Mexico

World War I: Battle of Jutland: The British Grand Fleet engages the High Seas Fleet in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.

#World_War_I

A group of six members of the Peruvian guerrilla group Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement murder eight transsexuals in Tarapoto.

#Túpac_Amaru_Revolutionary_Movement

The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.

#United_States_Senate

The 7.9 Mw? Ancash earthquake shakes Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and a landslide buries the town of Yungay, Peru. Between 66,794-70,000 were killed and 50,000 were injured.

#1970_Ancash_earthquake

United States-Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.

#1985_United_States-Canada_tornado_outbreak

Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.

#Second_Boer_War

Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome.

#Petronius_Maximus

Citing poor eyesight as a reason, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.

#Samuel_Pepys

The West Indies Federation dissolves.

#West_Indies_Federation

Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while still in international waters trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip; nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed in the ensuing violent affray.

#Shayetet_13

American Civil War: Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: The Army of Northern Virginia engages the Army of the Potomac.

#Overland_Campaign

Gilmore's Garden in New York City is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.

#Madison_Square_Garden_(1879)

American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolves are adopted in the Province of North Carolina.

#American_Revolution

Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

#Johnstown_Flood

A record breaking 2.6 mile wide tornado strikes El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, causing eight fatalities and over 150 injuries.

#2013_El_Reno_tornado

In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth reach Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.

#William_Lawson_(explorer)

A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463.

#May_2017_Kabul_attack

World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.

#World_War_II

Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds

#Usain_Bolt

King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, France.

#Henry_III_of_France

The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.

#Asteroid

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.

#Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_System

The arrival at Plymouth of T?whiao, King of Maoris, to claim the protection of Queen Victoria.

#Plymouth

The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.

#Ford_Model_T

The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.

#Palace_of_Westminster

A public utility worker opens fire inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, US, killing 12 people, including the shooter, and wounding six others.

Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat".

Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II mission.

In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov-Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society.

The Tulsa race riot kills at least 39, but other estimates of black fatalities vary from 55 to about 300.

The RMS Titanic is launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convenes for the first time.

The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.