Updated May 30, 2012, 2:28 pm
On May 31, 1889, more than 2,000 people perished when a dam break sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pa.
Go to article »On May 31, 1857, Pius XI, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1922 to 1939 , was born. Following his death on Feb. 10, 1939, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1819 Poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hill, N.Y. 1859 The Big Ben clock tower in London went into operation. 1913 The 17th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for the popular election of U.S. senators, was declared in effect. 1916 British and German fleets fought the Battle of Jutland off Denmark during World War I. 1961 South Africa became an independent republic as it withdrew from the British Commonwealth. 1962 Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel for his role in the Holocaust. 1977 The trans-Alaska oil pipeline was completed after three years of work. 1990 The sitcom “Seinfeld” premiered on NBC. 1991 Leaders of Angola’s two warring factions signed a peace treaty, ending a 16-year civil war. 1994 The United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union. 2003 Eric Rudolph, suspected in bombings at a Birmingham. Ala., abortion clinic and at the Atlanta Olympics, was arrested outside a grocery store in Murphy, N.C. (He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four life terms.) 2005 Former FBI official W. Mark Felt stepped forward as “Deep Throat,” the secret Washington Post source that helped bring down President Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal. 2009 Dr. George Tiller, a provider of late-term abortions, was shot and killed in a Wichita, Kan., church. (Gunman Scott Roeder was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.) Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor-director Clint Eastwood turns 82 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
Actress Brooke Shields turns 47 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
1938 Peter Yarrow, Folk singer, musician (Peter, Paul and Mary), turns 74 1943 Sharon Gless, Actress (“Cagney and Lacey”), turns 69 1943 Joe Namath, Football Hall of Famer, turns 69 1950 Tom Berenger, Actor (“The Big Chill,” “Platoon”), turns 62 1950 Gregory Harrison, Actor, turns 62 1958 Roma Maffia, Actress (“Nip/Tuck”), turns 54 1960 Chris Elliott, Comedian, turns 52 1961 Lea Thompson, Actress (“Back to the Future” movies), turns 51 1962 Corey Hart, Rock singer, turns 50 1964 DMC, Rapper (Run-DMC), turns 48 1967 Kenny Lofton, Baseball player, turns 45 1972 Christian McBride, Jazz bassist, turns 40 1972 Archie Panjabi, Actress (“The Good Wife,” “Bend It Like Beckham”), turns 40 1976 Colin Farrell, Actor, turns 36 1981 Jake Peavy, Baseball player, turns 31
Historic Birthdays
Pius XI 5/31/1857 – 2/10/1939 Italian Pope 1922-39Go to obituary »
66 Margaret Beaufort 5/31/1443 – 6/29/1509
English mother of Henry VII, she founded St. John’s & Christ’s colleges72 Walt Whitman 5/31/1819 – 3/26/1892
American poet, journalist and essayist81 William Rockefeller 5/31/1841 – 6/24/1922
American industrialist and financier; helped to establish Standard Oil with his brother77 William Pirrie 5/31/1847 – 6/7/1924
Irish shipbuilder; built the Titanic81 Walter Sickert 5/31/1860 – 1/22/1942
English Impressionist painter and printmaker101 Charles Abbot 5/31/1872 – 12/17/1973
American astrophysicist61 Fred Allen 5/31/1894 – 3/17/1956
American radio and television humorist70 Denholm Elliott 5/31/1922 – 10/6/1992
English character actor of stage, screen and television60 Patricia Harris 5/31/1924 – 3/23/1985
American public official; first African-American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet
