May 31

Birthdays:

1965 ~ Brooke Shields, American model and actress.

1961 ~ Lea Thompson, American actress.

1960 ~ Chris Elliot, American actor and comedian.

1953 ~ Lynn Truss, British journalist and author, best known for her grammar book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

1948 ~ Svetlana Alexievich, Ukrainian journalist and author.  She was the recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1945 ~ Rainer Werner Fassbinder (b. June 10, 1982), German actor and director.  He died of a drug overdose, just 10 days after his 37^th birthday.

1943 ~ Sharon Gless, American actress.

1943 ~ Joe Namath, American football player.

1941 ~ Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1939 ~ Terry Waite, English humanitarian.  He was kidnapped and held captive from 1987 to 1991 in Lebanon while trying to secure the release of several hostages.

1938 ~ Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter and a member of the trio, Peter, Paul and Mary.

1931 ~ John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1930 ~ Clint Eastwood, American actor and movie director.

1923 ~ Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (né Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi, d. Apr. 6, 2005), and husband of Grace Kelly.  He died at age 81.

1916 ~ Bernard Lewis, English-American historian.

1912 ~ Chien-Shiung Wu (d. Feb. 16, 1997), Chinese-American physicist and recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.  She died at age 84.

1911 ~ Maurice Allais (d Oct. 9, 2010), French economist and recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 99.

1908 ~ Don Ameche (né Dominic Felix Amici, d. Dec. 6, 1993), American actor.  He died of prostate cancer at age 85.

1898 ~ Norman Vincent Peale (d. Dec. 24, 1993), American clergyman and author.  He is best known for his book, The Power of Positive Thinking.  He died at age 95.

1887 ~ Saint-John Perse (né Alexis Leger, d. Sept. 20, 1975), French poet and recipient of the 1960 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 88.

1883 ~ Lauri Kristian Relander (d. Feb. 9, 1942), 2^nd President of Finland.  He served in Office from March 1925 until March 1931.  He died of heart failure at age 58.

1857 ~ Pope Pius XI (né Ambrogio Damiano Archille Ratti, d. Feb. 10, 1939).  He was Pope from February 1922 until his death in February 1939.  He was 81 at the time of his death.

1852 ~ Julius Richard Petri (d. Dec. 20, 1921), German microbiologist and inventor of the Petri dish.  He died at age 69.

1819 ~ Walter “Walt” Whitman (d. Mar. 26, 1892), American poet.  He died at age 72.

1818 ~ John Albion Andrew (d. Oct. 30, 1867), 25^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1861 until January 1866.  He died at age 49.

1683 ~ Jean-Pierre Christin (d. Jan. 19, 1755), French mathematician and physicist.  He is also known for inventing the Celsius thermometer.  He died at 71.

1557 ~ Feodor I of Russia (d. Jan. 16, 1598).  He is believed to have been about 40 years old at the time of his death as the exact date of his birth is unknown, although it is often considered to have been May 31, 1557.

Events that Changed the World:

2013 ~ A powerful EF5 tornado, with a diameter of 2.6 miles, swept through El Reno, Oklahoma, killing 9 people and destroying the town.  This is the widest recorded tornado in history.

2005 ~ Former FBI Agent W. Mark Felt (1913 ~ 2008) came forward identifying himself as Deep Throat, the informant in the Watergate scandal.

1977 ~ The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was completed.

1971 ~ In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which Congress passed in 1968, Memorial Day was observed for the first time on the last Monday of May instead of the traditional May 30^th observation.

1970 ~ A massive earthquake, followed by a landslide buried the town of Yungay, Peru, killing nearly 70,000 people.

1961 ~ The Union of South Africa, which had been created on this date in 1910, became known as the Republic of South Africa.

1927 ~ The Ford Motor Company ceased manufacturing its Model T.  During the course of its production, over 15,000,000 cars had been made.

1889 ~ A dam broke in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing over 2,200 people.

1859 ~ Big Ben, the clock in the clock tower at the Houses of Parliament in London began keeping time.

1790 ~ The US Copyright Act of 1790 was enacted by the US Congress.

1678 ~ According to legend, this is the date Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain remission on the oppressive taxes imposed by her husband.

1669 ~ Samuel Pepys (1633 ~ 1703) made his last diary entry.  His diary provided valuable insight into everyday life during the English Restoration period.

1578 ~ King Henry III (1551 ~ 1589) of France laid the first stone of the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris.

526 ~ Antioch was struck by a devastating earthquake.

Good-Byes:

2013 ~ Jean Stapleton (b. Jan. 19, 1923), American actress best known for her portrayal of Edith Bunker on All in the Family.  She was 90 years old.

2009 ~ Elizabeth Gladys Millvina Dean (b. Feb. 2, 1912), English secretary who was the last survivor of the sinking of the HMS Titanic.  She was 2 months old when she, along with her parents and sibling set sail on the Titanic.  She died at age 97.

2006 ~ Raymond Davis, Jr. (b. Oct. 14, 1914), American physicist and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was 91 years old.

2001 ~ Arlene Francis (b. Oct. 20, 1907), American actress, game show panelist and television personality.  She died at age 93.

2000 ~ Petar Mladenov (b. Aug. 22, 1936), 1^st President of Bulgaria.  He died at age 63.

2000 ~ Tito Puente (né Ernesto Antonio Puente, b. Apr. 20, 1923), American jazz musician.  He died at age 77.

1996 ~ Timothy Leary (b. Oct. 22, 1920), American psychologist and proponent of the use of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD.  He was 75 years old.

1986 ~ James Rainwater (b. Dec. 9, 1917), American physicist and recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was 68 years old.

1983 ~ Jack Dempsey (né William Harrison Dempsey, b. June 24, 1895), American boxer.  He died 24 days before his 88^th birthday.

1976 ~ Jacques Monod (b. Feb. 9, 1910), French biologist and recipient of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was 66 years old.

1910 ~ Elizabeth Blackwell (b. Feb. 3, 1821), first woman to received a medical degree in the United States.  She died at age 89.

1860 ~ Peter Vivian Daniel (b. Apr. 24, 1784), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the High Court by President Martin Van Buren.  He served on the Court from March 1841 until his death in May 19 years later.  He was 76 years old.

1832 ~ Évariste Galois (b. Oct. 25, 1811), French mathematician.  He died at age 20 from wounds suffered in a duel.

1831 ~ Eugène Cosserat (b. Mar. 4, 1866), French mathematician and astronomer.  He died at age 65.

1809 ~ Joseph Haydn (b. Mar. 31, 1732), Austrian composer.  He died at age 77.

1594 ~ Tintoretto (né Jacopo Comin, b. 1518), Italian Renaissance painter.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 75 at the time of his death.

1495 ~ Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (b. May 3, 1415), wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3^rd Duke of York and mother of King Edward IV and King Richard III of England.  She was also the mother of Margaret of York who was born on her 31^st birthday.  She died 28 days after her 80^th birthday.

1162 ~ Géza II of Hungary (b. 1130).  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 31 or 32 at the time of his death.