May 31st, 1842

Born on May 31st, 1842

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 66,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 559 days, exactly on November 7th, 2025, people who were born on May 31st, 1842 will be 67,000 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

Born on May 31st, 1842

52

John Cox Bray

South Australian politician (1842–1894)

*May 31st, 1842, Adelaide †June 13th, 1894, SS Oceana

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

88

Saint-John Perse

French poet and diplomat

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

72

Walt Whitman

American poet, essayist and journalist

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

81

Pius XI

Pope of the Catholic Church from 1922 to 1939

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

93

Bernhard Hassenstein

German biologist

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

70

Michael Wittenborn

German actor

*May 31st, 1953, Bielefeld

99

Maurice Allais

French economist (1911–2010)

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

60

Viktor Orbán

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

*May 31st, 1963, Székesfehérvár

82

Karin Tietze-Ludwig

German television presenter

*May 31st, 1941, Siegen

58

Brooke Shields

American actress (born 1965)

*May 31st, 1965, Manhattan

47

Colin Farrell

Irish actor (born 1976)

*May 31st, 1976, Dublin

93

Clint Eastwood

American actor and film director (born 1930)

*May 31st, 1930, San Francisco

34

Marco Reus

German footballer (born 1989)

*May 31st, 1989, Dortmund

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

27

Normani

American singer and dancer

*May 31st, 1996, Atlanta

45

Jim Hutton

Actor (1934-1979)

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

89

Frei Otto

German architect (1925-2015)

*May 31st, 1925, Siegmar †March 9th, 2015, Leonberg

62

Henry Sidgwick

English philosopher

*May 31st, 1838, Skipton †August 28th, 1900, Terling

76

Gabriele Hinzmann

East German discus thrower

*May 31st, 1947, Schwerin

66

Jim Craig

American ice hockey goaltender

*May 31st, 1957, Easton

Same year
Born in 1842

70

Karl May

German author (1842-1912)

*February 25th, 1842, Hohenstein-Ernstthal †March 30th, 1912, Radebeul

56

Stéphane Mallarmé

French Symbolist poet (1842–1898)

*March 18th, 1842, Paris †September 9th, 1898, Fontainebleau

81

Alfred Marshall

British economist

*July 26th, 1842, Bermondsey †July 13th, 1924, Cambridge

68

William James

American philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist (1842–1910)

*January 11th, 1842, Astor House †August 26th, 1910, Tamworth

48

Heinrich Heydemann

German classical archaeologist

*August 28th, 1842, Greifswald †September 10th, 1890, Halle (Saale)

75

Abdul Hamid II

34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1909

*September 21st, 1842, Istanbul †February 10th, 1918, Beylerbeyi Palace

76

Arrigo Boito

Italian poet and opera composer and librettist of Verdi's opera ''Otello'' (1842-1918)

*February 24th, 1842, Padua †June 10th, 1918, Milan

47

Charles Grad

French politician (1842-1890)

*December 8th, 1842, Turckheim †July 3rd, 1890, Wintzenheim

88

Giovanni Boldini

Italian painter (1842-1931)

*December 31st, 1842, Ferrara †January 12th, 1931, Paris

80

Cornelie Richter

German salonnière

*March 4th, 1842, Berlin †July 19th, 1922, Berlin

71

Ambrose Bierce

American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist

*June 24th, 1842, Meigs County †November 30th, 1913, Chihuahua City

70

Jules Massenet

French composer (1842–1912)

*May 12th, 1842, Saint-Étienne †August 13th, 1912, Paris

66

François Coppée

French poet and novelist

*January 26th, 1842, Paris †May 23rd, 1908, 7th arrondissement of Paris

85

Giovanni Giolitti

Italian statesman (1842–1928)

*October 27th, 1842, Mondovì †July 17th, 1928, Cavour

80

James Dewar

Scottish chemist and physicist (1842–1923)

*September 20th, 1842, Kincardine †March 27th, 1923, London

68

Ellen Swallow Richards

American chemist (1842-1911)

*December 3rd, 1842, Dunstable †March 30th, 1911, Boston

77

John H. Bankhead

American politician (1842-1920)

*September 13th, 1842, Marion County †March 1st, 1920, Washington, D.C.

76

John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh

English physicist (1842–1919)

*November 12th, 1842, Maldon †June 30th, 1919, Witham

79

Madeleine Brès

French physician

*November 25th, 1842, Bouillargues †November 30th, 1921, Montrouge

78

Peter Kropotkin

Russian revolutionary socialist and philosopher (1842–1921)

*November 27th, 1842, Moscow †February 8th, 1921, Dmitrov

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 1842 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1842