May 31st, 1491

Born on May 31st, 1491

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 194,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 366 days, exactly on April 21st, 2025, people who were born on May 31st, 1491 will be 195,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 31st?

May 31st, 2013

A tornado struck Central Oklahoma, killing 8 people and injuring more than 150.

May 31st, 2009

American physician George Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country who performed late-term abortions, was shot and killed by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist.

May 31st, 1981

An organized mob of police and government-sponsored Sinhalese paramilitary forces began three days of attacks that led to the burning of the Jaffna Library in Sri Lanka.

May 31st, 1941

The United Kingdom completed its re-occupation of Iraq, returning Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II.

May 31st, 1935

An earthquake registering 7.7 Mw struck Balochistan in British India, now part of Pakistan, killing between 30,000 and 60,000 people.

May 31st, 1902

The Second Boer War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in Pretoria, South Africa.

May 31st, 1879

Gilmore's Garden in New York City was renamed Madison Square Garden, the city's first venue to use that name.

May 31st, 1862

American Civil War: Confederate troops under Joseph E. Johnston and G. W. Smith engaged Union forces under George B. McClellan at the Battle of Seven Pines outside Richmond, Virginia.

May 31st, 1775

American Revolution: The Committee of Safety of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, adopted the Mecklenburg Resolves, which annulled and vacated all laws originating from the authority of the King or Parliament.

May 31st, 1468

Cardinal Bessarion (pictured) announced his donation of 746 Greek and Latin codices to the Republic of Venice, forming the Biblioteca Marciana.

May 31st, 1293

Majapahit forces under Raden Wijaya won a major victory in the Mongol invasion of Java, now considered to be the founding date of the Indonesian city of Surabaya.

May 31st, 1223

Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': Mongol forces defeated a Kievan Rus' army at the Kalka River in present-day Ukraine.

May 31st, 1215

A Mongol army under Genghis Khan captures Zhongdu (modern Beijing), the capital of the Jin dynasty.

May 31st, 0455

Petronius Maximus, ruler of the Western Roman Empire, was stoned to death by a mob as he fled Rome ahead of the arrival of a Vandal force that sacked the city.

May 31st, 2019

A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on May 31st

Same Day
Who's birthday is on May 31st?

66

Margaret Beaufort

Noblewoman; Mother of King Henry VII

*May 31st, 1443, Bedfordshire †June 29th, 1509, Westminster

70

Michael Wittenborn

German actor

*May 31st, 1953, Bielefeld

60

Viktor Orbán

Prime Minister of Hungary (1998–2002; 2010–present)

*May 31st, 1963, Székesfehérvár

93

Bernhard Hassenstein

German biologist

*May 31st, 1922, Potsdam †April 16th, 2016, Freiburg im Breisgau

88

Saint-John Perse

French poet and diplomat

*May 31st, 1887, Pointe-à-Pitre †September 20th, 1975, Hyères

47

Colin Farrell

Irish actor (born 1976)

*May 31st, 1976, Dublin

58

Brooke Shields

American actress (born 1965)

*May 31st, 1965, Manhattan

82

Karin Tietze-Ludwig

German television presenter

*May 31st, 1941, Siegen

99

Maurice Allais

French economist (1911–2010)

*May 31st, 1911, Paris †October 9th, 2010, Saint-Cloud

72

Walt Whitman

American poet, essayist and journalist

*May 31st, 1819, West Hills †March 26th, 1892, Camden

34

Marco Reus

German footballer (born 1989)

*May 31st, 1989, Dortmund

71

Nicolas Poussin

French painter (1594-1665)

*May 31st, 1594, Les Andelys †November 19th, 1665, Rome

93

Clint Eastwood

American actor and film director (born 1930)

*May 31st, 1930, San Francisco

40

Feodor I of Russia

Tsar of Russia (1557-1598)

*May 31st, 1557, Pereslavl-Zalessky †January 7th, 1598, Moscow

27

Normani

American singer and dancer

*May 31st, 1996, Atlanta

81

Pius XI

Pope of the Catholic Church from 1922 to 1939

*May 31st, 1857, Desio †February 10th, 1939, Vatican City

88

Jim Bolger

Prime minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997

*May 31st, 1935, Ōpunake

101

Bernard Lewis

British-American historian (1916–2018)

*May 31st, 1916, London †May 19th, 2018, Voorhees Township

65

Genghis Khan

Founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire

*May 31st, 1162, Delüün Boldog †August 18th, 1227, Yinchuan

45

Jim Hutton

Actor (1934-1979)

*May 31st, 1934, Binghamton †June 2nd, 1979, Los Angeles

Same year
Born in 1491

65

Jacques Cartier

Breton maritime explorer of North America (1491–1557)

*December 31st, 1491, Saint-Malo †September 1st, 1557, Saint-Malo

55

Henry VIII of England

King of England from 1509 until 1547

*June 28th, 1491, Palace of Placentia †January 28th, 1547, Palace of Whitehall

64

Ignatius of Loyola

Spanish Catholic priest and theologian (1491–1556)

*October 23rd, 1491, Holy House †July 31st, 1556, Rome

29

Zhengde Emperor

Emperor of the Ming Dynasty

*October 26th, 1491, Beijing †April 20th, 1521, Beijing

66

Francisco de Sá de Miranda

Portuguese poet (1481–1558)

*August 28th, 1491, Coimbra †November 30th, 1557, Amares

58

Innocenzo Cybo

Italian Catholic cardinal and archbishop

*August 25th, 1491, Genoa †April 13th, 1550, Rome

59

Martin Bucer

Protestant reformer

*November 11th, 1491, Sélestat †February 28th, 1551, Cambridge

94

Nicolò da Ponte

Diplomat (1491-1585)

*January 15th, 1491, Venice †July 30th, 1585, Venice

58

Marie d'Albret, Countess of Rethel

French nobility (1491-1549)

*March 25th, 1491, Cuffy †October 27th, 1549, Paris

75

Johannes Lening

German theologian

*February 14th, 1491, Butzbach †May 3rd, 1566, Melsungen

60

Martin Cleß

German theologian

*November 25th, 1491, Uhingen †August 13th, 1552, Stuttgart

53

Francis de Bourbon, Count of Saint-Pol

French noble

*October 6th, 1491, Ham †September 1st, 1545, Reims

53

Teofilo Folengo

Italian poet and writer

*November 8th, 1491, Mantua †December 9th, 1544, Campese

87

Andreas Imhoff

German merchant

*November 29th, 1491, Nuremberg †October 24th, 1579, Nuremberg

52

Maria of Jülich-Berg

Spouse of John III, Duke of Cleves

*August 3rd, 1491, Jülich †August 29th, 1543

43

Richard Reynolds

English Brigittine monk and Roman Catholic Martyr

*November 30th, 1491, Devon †May 4th, 1535, Tyburn

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on May 31st

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on May 31st.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1491 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1491