On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on May 31:
1469 Manuel I king of Portugal (1495-1521) during era of exploration
1557 Theodorus I (Fedor Ivanovitsj) czar of Russia (1584-98)
1701 Alexander Cruden compiler of a concordance to King James Bible
1810 Horatio Seymour Governor (Union), died in 1886
1818 John Albion Andrew Governor (Union), died in 1867
1819 Walt Whitman West Hills NY, poet (Leaves of Grass)
1837 Stephen Dodson Ramseur Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1837 William Henry Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee Major General (Confederate Army)
1857 Pius XI [Ambrogio DA Ratti] Italy, 259th Roman Catholic Pope (1922-39)
1861 Emily Perkins Bissell welfare worker (1st christmas seal drive, 1907)
1872 Charles G Abbot US, astronomer (Constant Sun)
1872 William Heath Robinson England, illustrator/cartoonist (Don Quixote)
1892 Gregor Strasser German pharmacist/NSDAP-Reich organization leader
1894 Fred Allen Cambridge MA, comedian (Fred Allen Radio Show)
1898 Norman Vincent Peale Ohio, clergyman (Power of Positive Thinking)
1908 Don Ameche Kenosha WI, actor (Cocoon, Trading Places)
1912 Henry M "Scoop" Jackson (Senator-D-WA)
1920 Edward Bennett Williams lawyer/team owner (Redskins, Baltimore Orioles)
1921 Robert Arthur Ley UK, sci-fi author (Telepath, Power of X)
1922 Denholm Elliott London England, actor (Alfie, Cuba, Doll's House, King Rat)
1930 Clint Eastwood San Fransisco CA, actor (Dirty Harry)/mayor (Carmel CA)
1931 John Schrieffer US physicist (Nobel 1972)
1934 Jim Hutton Binghamton NY, actor (Ellery Queen)
1937 Vladislav Ivanovich Gulyayev Russia, cosmonaut
1938 Peter Yarrow New York NY, (Peter, Paul & Mary-Puff the Magic Dragon)
1939 Terry Waite Anglican Church envoy/Lebanese hostage
1941 Johnny Paycheck Greenfield OH, singer (Take This Job & Shove It)
1943 Joe Namath Beaver Falls PA, NFL QB (New York Jets), the $400,000 man (1969 Superbowl)
1943 Sharon Gless Los Angeles CA, actress (Chris Cagney-Cagney & Lacey)
1944 Mick Ralphs guitarist (Mott the Hoople, Bad Company)
1946 Rainer Werner Fassbinder German director (Marriage of Maria Braum)
1948 Rhea Perlman Brooklyn NY, actress (Carla-Cheers, Zena-Taxi)
1950 Tom Berenger Chicago IL, actor (Big Chill, Gettysburg)
1960 Chris Elliott New York NY, actor/comedian (Get a Life, David Letterman Show)
1961 Lea Thompson Rochester Minnesota, actress (Back to the Future, Space Camp)
1965 Brooke Shields New York NY, model/actress (Blue Lagoon, Suddenly Susan)
1971 Sarah O'Hare model (Cosmopolitan-Jan 1994)
Deaths which occurred on May 31:
0455 Petronius Maximus senator/Emperor of Rome, lynched
1198 Moses ben Solomon Ha-Cohen rabbi of Mainz, dies
1740 Frederick-William I king of Prussia (1713-1740), dies at 51
1809 Franz Josef Haydn Austrian composer (Jahreszeiten), dies in Wien (Vienna) Austria at 77
1837 Joseph Grimaldi greatest clown (king of pantomime), dies at 57
1862 Robert Hatton Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at about 34
1900 John Power Irish baronet/whiskey manufacturer, dies in battle
1916 Horace Hood British spy (Battle of Jutland), dies in battle
1942 Reinhard Heydrich German protector of Bohemia & Moravia, assassinated
1955 "Wild Bill" Vukovich killed in the Indianapolis 500
1961 Rafael Trujillo Dominican Republic President, assassinated at 69
1962 Adolf Eichmann war criminal, hanged for crimes against Jews in WWII at Ramie Prison in Israel at 56
1971 Reinhold Niebuhr US theologist, dies at 78
1974 Adelle Davis US nutrionalist (Let's stay healthy), dies at 70
1976 Martha Mitchell wife of former Attorney General John Mitchell, dies in New York at 57
1982 Jack Dempsey former heavyweight boxing champion/actor, dies at 86
1989 Dr Charles A Hufnagel artificial heart valve pioneer, dies at 72
1989 Terry Drinkwater CBS news correspondent, dies at 53 of cancer
1996 Timothy Francis Leary Harvard professor/LSD guru, dues of cancer at 75
1997 Rosie Will Monroe WWII icon (Rosie the riveter), dies at 76
Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1965 PEEL ROBERT D. MEMPHIS TN.
["02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV (BROADLANDS, IL)" ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1966 ALBERTSON BOBBY J. ANAHEIM CA.
[ALL CREW DEAD SP ALBERTON-WALL]
1966 CASE THOMAS F. THOMSON GA.
[ALL CREW DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 04/11/86]
1966 EDMONDSON WILLIAM R. CASSVILLE MO.
[ALL CREW DEAD]
1966 HARWORTH ELROY E. ELIZABETH MN.
[ALL CREW DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86]
1966 HERROLD NED R. NEW BRUNSWICK NJ.
1966 MC DONALD EMMETT R. BELLEVUE WA
[ALL CREW DEAD]
1966 RAGLAND DAYTON W. KANSAS CITY MO.
1966 SHINGLEDECKER ARMON D. LIMA OH.
[ALL CREW DEAD, REMAINS RETURNED 1986, REMAINS IDENTIFIED 04/30/98]
1966 STEEN MARTIN W. GRAND FORKS ND.
[GOOD CHUTE HARNESS EMPTY]
1966 STICKNEY PHILLIP J. MANCHESTER NH.
[ALL CREW DEAD]
1966 ZOOK HAROLD J. NEW HOLLAND PA.
[ALL CREW DEAD - REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86]
1967 CHAUNCEY ARVIN R. GLENDALE CA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1967 FITZGERALD JOSEPH E. NORTHBRIDGE MA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 02/97]
1967 JAKOVAC JOHN A. DETROIT MI.
[REMAINS RETURNED 02/97]
1967 MC GAR BRIAN K. CERES CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 02/97]
1968 BERESIK EUGENE PAUL WEBSTER MA.
1968 GATEWOOD CHARLES HUE CHICAGO IL.
1968 LEONARD EDWARD W. WINLOCK WA.
[03/28/73 RELEASED BY PL, ALIVE IN 98]
1970 COLNE ROGER FRANCE
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST.]
1970 HANGEN WELLES
[REMAINS RETURNED 01/93]
1970 SAKAI KOJIRO JAPAN
[NOT ON OFFICIAL LISTS]
1970 WAKU YOSHIHIKO JAPAN
[NOT ON OFFICIAL LISTS]
1971 BRUNSON JACK W. SINCLAIRVILLE NY.
1971 MUSIL CLINTON A. SR. MINNEAPOLIS MN.
POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.
Information on how to RETURN a bracelet.
On this day...
0070 Rome captures 1st wall of the city of Jerusalem
1495 Emperor Maximilian, Pope Alexander VI, Milan, King Ferdinand, Isabella & Venice sign anti-French Saint League
1564 Battle on Gotland: Lübeck & Denmark beat Sweden
1621 Sir Francis Bacon thrown into Tower of London for 1 night
1634 US colony Massachusetts Bay annexes Maine colony
1665 Jerusalem's rabbi Sjabtai Tswi proclaims himself Messiah
1678 Lady Godiva rides naked through Coventry in a protest of taxes
1790 US copyright law enacted
1821 Cathedral of Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, 1st US Catholic cathedral, is dedicated in Baltimore
1837 Astor Hotel (most elaborate in US) opens in NYC, it later becomes the Waldorf-Astoria
1853 Elisha Kane's Arctic expedition leaves New York aboard the Advance
1859 Philadelphia A's organize to play "town ball" became baseball 20 years later
1861 General Beauregard is given command of Confederate Alexandria Line
1861 Mint at New Orleans closes
1862 Battle of Seven Pines VA (Fair Oaks); North defeats South
1864 Raid at Morgan's Kentucky
1868 1st Memorial Day parade held in Ironton OH
1868 Dr James Moore (UK) wins 1st recorded bicycle race, (2k) velocipede race at Parc fde St Cloud, Paris
1870 Congress passes 1st Enforcement Act (rights of blacks)
1870 E J DeSemdt patents asphalt pavement
1879 Madison Square Garden opens its doors
1880 League of American Wheelmen (1st US bicycle association), forms in Newport RI
1883 French fleet under Pierre begins siege of Tamatave, Madagascar
1884 Dr John Harvey Kellogg patents "flaked cereal"
1889 Johnstown Flood; 2,209 die in Pennsylvania
1891 Work on trans-Siberian railway begins
1900 British troops under Lord Roberts occupy Johannesburg
1900 US troops arrive in Peking, help put down Boxer Rebellion
1906 Attack on King Alfonso XIII & Victoria von Battenberg in Madrid
1907 Taxis 1st began running in NYC
1908 Miss Pottelsberghe de la Pottery is 1st airplane passenger (Belgium)
1909 1st NAACP conference (United Charities Building, NYC)
1910 Glenn Curtiss flies from Albany to NYC
1912 US marines land on Cuba
1913 17th amendment (direct election of senators) declared ratified
1915 An LZ-38 Zeppelin makes an air raid on London
1916 Battle of Skagerrak: British-German sea battle at Jutland (10,000 dead)
1916 British battle cruiser Invincible explodes, killing all but 6
1917 1st jazz record released (Dark Town Strutters Ball)
1919 1st wedding held in an aircraft (over Houston TX)
1919 NC-4 aircraft commanded by AC Read completes 1st crossing of Atlantic
1921 Suffy McInnis (1st base) begins an errorless string of 1,700 chances
1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition opens in Philadelphia
1927 Detroit Tiger 1st baseman Johnny Neun makes an unassisted triple play
1927 Ford Motor Company produces last "Tin Lizzie" (begins Model A)
1928 1st aerial cross of the Pacific takes off from Oakland
1930 Comet 73P/1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) approaches 0.0617 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1935 Quake kills 50,000 in Quetta Pakistan
1937 1st quadruplets to finish college (Baylor University)
1937 German battleships bomb Almeria Spain
1941 1st issue of "Parade" goes on sale
1941 32.0 cm rain falls on Burlington KS (state record)
1941 41 U boats sunk this month (325,000 ton)
1941 German occupiers forbids Jews access to beach & swimming pools
1942 Luftwaffe bombs Canterbury
1943 "Archie" comic strip 1st broadcast on radio
1943 Cardinals Mort Cooper pitches 1st of back-to-back one-hitters
1944 Allied breakthrough in Italy
1947 Communists grab power in Hungary
1949 31st PGA Championship: Sam Snead at Hermitage CC Richmond VA
1949 Charley Lupica begins stay on 4-foot-square platform platform atop a 60' pole, vowing to stay until Indians clinch pennant. (They don't, and he comes down 117 days later)
1950 Due to rain, Indianapolis 500 shortened to 345 miles, Johnny Parson wins
1953 Lebanese President Camille Shamun disbands government
1955 Construction begins on Soviet cosmodrome launch facilities
1955 Great Britain proclaims emergency crisis due to railroad strike
1955 Supreme Court orders school integration "with all deliberate speed"
1956 Mickey Mantle homerun just misses clearing Yankee Stadium's roof
1958 Dick Dale invents "surf music" with "Let's Go Trippin"
1961 Chuck Berry's amusement park, Berryland in St Louis, opens
1961 Dominican Republic President Trujillo assassinated
1961 JFK visits Charles de Gaulle in Paris
1961 Judge Irving Kaufman orders Board of Education of New Rochelle, to integrate
1962 "Tell It To Groucho" last airs on CBS-TV
1964 San Fransisco Giants beat New York Mets, 8-6, in 23 innings (2nd game) (7 hours 32 minutes)
1965 Jim Clark becomes 1st foreigner in 49 years to win Indianapolis 500
1969 John Lennon & Yoko Ono record "Give Peace a Chance"
1969 Stevie Wonder releases "My Cherie Amour"
1970 At 03:23 PM, Yungay Peru levelled by 7.75 earthquake (50-70,000 die)
1974 Israel & Syria sign an agreement concerning Golan Heights
1977 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani becomes heir apparent to throne of Qatar
1977 Trans Alaska oil pipeline completed
1984 57th National Spelling Bee: Daniel Greenblatt wins spelling luge
1985 41 Tornados in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York & Canada kill 88 & injure more than 1,000
1985 Guatemala adopts constitution
1985 New Orleans Saints are sold for $70,204,000
1987 Saul Ballesteros drives 3 golf balls off Mount McKinley, Alaska
1989 Speaker of the House Jim Wright resigns
1990 63rd National Spelling Bee: Amy Marie Dimak wins spelling fibranne
1990 NYC's Zodiac killer shoots 3rd victim, Joseph Ponce
1990 Seinfeld starring Jerry Seinfeld, debuts on NBC as Seinfeld Chronicles
1991 Oldest bride - Minnie Munro, 102, weds Dudley Reid, 83, in Australia
1991 Defense Secretary Dick Cheney announced the United States had begun storing military supplies in Israel for use in future conflicts.
1991 Sides in Angola sign a treaty ending 16 year civil war
1996 Mark Van Thillo & Abigail Alling, former biospherian win $100,000 lawsuit against Biospheric Development for Space Biospheres Ventures
1996 Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel's election for prime minister, defeating incumbent Shimon Peres by nine-tenths of 1 percent.
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Botswana : President's Day
Brunei : Royal Brunei Malay Regiment
Namibia, South Africa : Union Day (1910), Republic Day (1961)
Zimbabwe : Independence Day (1979)
US : Memorial Day/Decoration Day, a legal holiday (1868](Monday)
Virginia : Confederate Memorial Day (1868)(Monday)
National Frozen Yogurt Week Begins
Spring Bank Holiday (United Kingdom).
Whit Monday (Britain).
National Photo Month
Religious Observances
Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic : Feast of the Visitation [Queenship] of Mary
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Aurelia Petronilla, virgin
old Roman Catholic : Feast of St Angela Merici, virgin
Anglican : Commemoration of 1st Book of Common Prayer
Religious History
1578 Italian archaeologist Antonio Bosio became the first man in modern times to rediscover the Christian catacombs in Rome. Researchers (e.g., Giovanni B. de Rossi) who followed him dubbed Bosio "the Columbus of the Catacombs."
1638 Colonial clergyman Thomas Hooker, 51, first arrived at the site of New Haven, CT, having migrated there with his church members who repudiated the autocratic rule of Puritanism in Boston. Hooker (the founder of Connecticut) believed Boston had become corrupt, and that church authority should rest in the people's consent.
1769 Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'He fulfills His promise in making our strength equal to our day; and every new trial gives us new proof how happy it is to be enabled to put our trust in Him.'
1821 The first Catholic cathedral in the U.S. ÀÀ the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary was dedicated in Baltimore.
1942 German warplanes bombed Canterbury, England, causing severe damage to the Canterbury Cathedral (seat of Anglicanism), in retaliation for Britain's assault on Cologne, Germany.
Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Thought for the day :
"They saw their injured country's woe;
The flaming town, the wasted field;
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, - but left the shield."
Actual Newspaper Headlines...
Ban On Soliciting Dead in Trotwood
Why did the Chicken cross the Road...
Darwin:
Chickens, over great periods of time, have been naturally selected in such a way that they are now genetically dispositioned to cross roads.
Dumb Laws...
Hawaii:
Coins are not allowed to be placed in one's ears.
A Cowboy's Guide to Life...
If it don't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably ain't.
