May 31st, 1856

Born on May 31st, 1856

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 61,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 681 days, exactly on March 1st, 2026, people who were born on May 31st, 1856 will be 62,000 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?

81

Pius XI

Pope of the Catholic Church from 1922 to 1939

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

88

Saint-John Perse

French poet and diplomat

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

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

72

Walt Whitman

American poet, essayist and journalist

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

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

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

58

Brooke Shields

American actress (born 1965)

*May 31st, 1965, Manhattan

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

69

Julius Richard Petri

German microbiologist

*May 31st, 1852, Barmen †December 20th, 1921, Zeitz

101

Bernard Lewis

British-American historian (1916–2018)

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

74

Graham Wallas

English socialist, social psychologist, educationalist

*May 31st, 1858, Sunderland †August 9th, 1932, Portloe

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

76

Gabriele Hinzmann

East German discus thrower

*May 31st, 1947, Schwerin

Same year
Born in 1856

83

Jens Bratlie

13th Prime Minister of Norway

*January 17th, 1856, Nordre Land Municipality †September 15th, 1939, Oslo

83

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis (1856–1939)

*May 6th, 1856, Příbor †September 23rd, 1939, London

86

Nikola Tesla

Serbian-American inventor (1856–1943)

*July 10th, 1856, Smiljan †January 7th, 1943, New York City

94

George Bernard Shaw

Irish playwright, critic, and polemicist (1856–1950)

*July 26th, 1856, Dublin †November 2nd, 1950, Ayot St Lawrence

67

Woodrow Wilson

President of the United States from 1913 to 1921

*December 28th, 1856, Woodrow Wilson Birthplace †February 3rd, 1924, Woodrow Wilson House

73

Georg von der Marwitz

German general (1856–1929)

*July 7th, 1856, Słupsk †October 27th, 1929, Unichowo

85

Anna Elizabeth Klumpke

American portrait and genre painter (1856-1942)

*October 28th, 1856, San Francisco †February 9th, 1942, San Francisco

62

Alexander Bernewitz

Latvian theologian (1856-1919)

*May 26th, 1856, Kandava †January 16th, 1919, Kandava

62

L. Frank Baum

American author of children's books (1856–1919)

*May 15th, 1856, Chittenango †May 6th, 1919, Hollywood

95

Philippe Pétain

French military and political leader (1856–1951)

*April 24th, 1856, Cauchy-à-la-Tour †July 23rd, 1951, Port-Joinville

69

John Singer Sargent

American painter (1856–1925)

*January 12th, 1856, Florence †April 15th, 1925, London

64

Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg

German politician (1856–1921)

*November 29th, 1856, Hohenfinow †January 1st, 1921, Hohenfinow

80

Frank B. Kellogg

American politician (1856-1937)

*December 22nd, 1856, Potsdam †December 21st, 1937, Saint Paul

83

J. J. Thomson

British physicist (1856-1940)

*December 18th, 1856, Cheetham Hill †August 30th, 1940, Cambridge

62

Karl Adolph Gjellerup

Danish writer

*November 30th, 1856, Roholte †October 13th, 1919, Klotzsche

59

Booker T. Washington

African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor (1856-1915)

*April 5th, 1856, Hale's Ford †November 14th, 1915, Tuskegee

45

Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper

German botanist (1856–1901)

*May 12th, 1856, Strasbourg †September 9th, 1901, Basel

59

William Wallace Denslow

American illustrator and caricaturist

*May 25th, 1856, Philadelphia †May 27th, 1915, Knickerbocker Hospital

60

Diamond Jim Brady

American businessman

*August 12th, 1856, New York City †April 13th, 1917, Atlantic City

55

Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo

Spanish author

*November 3rd, 1856, Santander †May 19th, 1912, Santander

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

Yes: 1856 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
May 1856