Discover what happened on May 31 in history, along with notable events that shaped transportation, civil rights, television, and community resilience.
What Happened on May 31 in History?
Important events on this day include the end of Ford’s Model T production, the debut of Seinfeld, the completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and the remarkable community cleanup that followed the 2020 unrest in downtown Grand Rapids.
MAY 31 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1859 – The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, started keeping time.
1870 – E.J. DeSemdt patented asphalt.
1879 – Gilmores Garden in New York, NY, was renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and was opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
1880 – The first U.S. national bicycle society was formed in Newport, RI. It was known as the League of American Wheelman.
1884 – Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented “flaked cereal”.
1907 – The first taxis arrived in New York, NY. They were the first in the United States.
1909 – The National Negro Committee, the forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), held its first conference.
1913 – The 17th Amendment went into effect. It provided for popular election of U.S. senators.
1927 – Ford Motor Company produced the last “Tin Lizzie” (Model T) in order to begin production of the Model A. Ford had produced 15,007,003 Model T’s.
1927 – Johnny Neun, first baseman for the Detroit Tigers, pulled off an unassisted triple play. He caught a line drive, tagged a runner who had left first base, and then tagged second base to catch a second runner.
1929 – The first talking Mickey Mouse cartoon, “The Karnival Kid”, was released.
1955 – The U.S. Supreme Court ordered that all states must end racial segregation “with all deliberate speed”.
1964 – The New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants played a double header that took 19 hours and 16 minutes and became history’s longest professional baseball game.
1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by 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 30th.
1977 – The Trans-Alaska oil pipeline was finished after 3 years of construction.
1985 – The Stroh’s beer plant in Detroit closed. Stroh’s beer returned to stores and bars in Michigan in August of 2016, made by Brew Detroit through an agreement with Pabst Brewing Company.
1990 – The “show about nothing”, TV’s “Seinfeld” debuted on NBC.
1995 – Bob Dole singled out Time Warner for “the marketing of evil” in movies and music. He later admitted that he had not seen or heard much of what he had been criticizing.
1998 – “Derecho” winds accompanied thunderstorms that blew through West Michigan. Around 5 am that Sunday morning, the storms blasted through the area with winds estimated as high as 130 mph in Grand Haven and Walker. The storm caused damage from South Dakota to the east coast. According to the Storm Prediction Center, this episode ranks as one of the top thunderstorm events in world history!
1998 – Geri Halliwell, also known as “Ginger Spice” of the Spice Girls, confirmed she was leaving the group.
2000 – The television show “Survivor” premiered on CBS.
2003 – Air France’s Superjet, the Concorde, returned to Paris in a final commercial flight.
2003 – In North Carolina, Eric Robert Rudolph, who had been on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list for several bombings including the attack at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, was apprehended after spending five years on the lam. He is also suspected of attacking abortion clinics and a gay nightclub.
2020 – After riots broke out in downtown Grand Rapids the night before, local residents headed downtown with brooms, shovels, and buckets and cleaned up the mess. Broken storefront windows were boarded up with sheets of plywood. Days later artists painted murals on those big pieces of wood.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON MAY 31:
Clint Eastwood – 96 years old (1930) – Actor, director, musician, and producer
Henry B. Eyring – 93 years old (1933) – Religious leader, educator, and author
Augie Meyers – 86 years old (1940) – Musician and singer-songwriter
Gilbert Shelton – 86 years old (1940) – Illustrator
Louis Ignarro – 85 years old (1941) – Pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
William Nordhaus – 85 years old (1941) – Economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Sharon Gless – 83 years old (1943) – Actress
Joe Namath – 83 years old (1943) – Football player, sportscaster, and actor
Bernard Goldberg – 81 years old (1945) – Journalist and author
Ted Baehr – 80 years old (1946) – Publisher and critic
Duncan Hunter – 78 years old (1948) – Lieutenant, lawyer, and politician
Tom Berenger – 77 years old (1949) – Actor, film producer and television writer
Gregory Harrison – 76 years old (1950) – Actor
Susie Essman – 71 years old (1955) – Actress, comedian, and screenwriter
Jim Craig – 69 years old (1957) – Ice hockey player
Chris Elliott – 66 years old (1960) – Actor, comedian, and screenwriter
Lea Thompson – 65 years old (1961) – Actress, director, and producer
Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels – 62 years old (1964) – Rapper and producer
Brooke Shields – 61 years old (1965) – Model, actress, and producer
Diesel – 60 years old (1966) – American-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
Kenny Lofton – 59 years old (1967) – Baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
Arun Luthra – 55 years old (1971) – Indo-Anglo-American saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, and arranger
Christian McBride – 54 years old (1972) – Bassist and record producer
Dave Roberts – 54 years old (1972) – Baseball player and coach
Matt Harpring – 50 years old (1976) – Basketball player and sportscaster
Andy Hurley – 46 years old (1980) – Musician
Jake Peavy – 45 years old (1981) – Baseball player
Andrew Bailey – 42 years old (1984) – Baseball player
Nate Robinson – 42 years old (1984) – Basketball player
Jordy Nelson – 41 years old (1985) – Football player
Waka Flocka Flame – 40 years old (1986) – Rapper
Azealia Banks – 35 years old (1991) – Singer-songwriter and rapper
Shane Bieber – 31 years old (1995) – Baseball player
Normani Kordei Hamilton – 30 years old (1996) – Singer
Santino Ferrucci – 28 years old (1998) – Race car driver
Gable Steveson – 26 years old (2000) – Wrestler
Breece Hall – 25 years old (2001) – Football player
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR MAY 31:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
