May 31

Events

• 1279 BC – Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
• 1678 – The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.
• 1902 – Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
• 1910 - Creation of the Union of South Africa.
• 1921 - Tulsa Race Riot: A civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA 39 killed
• 1927 - The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line
• 1941 - World War II: A Luftwaffe air raid in Dublin, Ireland claims 38 lives.
• 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
• 1961 - Republic of South Africa created.
• 1965 - Allen Gardens Park riot, Toronto, Canada
• 2010 - Israeli commandos attack the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters.

Births

• 1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)
• 1857 - Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
• 1885 – Alois Hudal, Pro-National Socialist Roman Catholic bishop (d. 1963)
• 1892 - Gregor Strasser, early NSDAP member (d. 1934)
• 1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d. 1993)
• 1930 - Clint Eastwood, American film director and actor
• 1935 – Jim Bolger, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand

Deaths

• 1809 - Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (b. 1732)
• 1960 - Walther Funk, NSDAP official (b. 1890)
• 1996 - Timothy Leary, American professor and LSD advocate (b. 1920)