May 31st, 1872

Born on May 31st, 1872

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 55,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 517 days, exactly on September 26th, 2025, people who were born on May 31st, 1872 will be 56,000 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, 1872

101

Charles Greeley Abbot

American astrophysicist and the 5th Secretary of the Smithsonian

*May 31st, 1872, Wilton †December 17th, 1973, Washington, D.C.

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

93

Bernhard Hassenstein

German biologist

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

99

Maurice Allais

French economist (1911–2010)

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

81

Pius XI

Pope of the Catholic Church from 1922 to 1939

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

70

Michael Wittenborn

German actor

*May 31st, 1953, Bielefeld

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

72

Walt Whitman

American poet, essayist and journalist

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

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

101

Bernard Lewis

British-American historian (1916–2018)

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

88

Jim Bolger

Prime minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997

*May 31st, 1935, Ōpunake

45

Jim Hutton

Actor (1934-1979)

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

27

Normani

American singer and dancer

*May 31st, 1996, Atlanta

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

78

Rosa May Billinghurst

British suffragist (1875-1953)

*May 31st, 1875, Lewisham †July 29th, 1953, Twickenham

66

Jim Craig

American ice hockey goaltender

*May 31st, 1957, Easton

Same year
Born in 1872

55

Roald Amundsen

Norwegian explorer; first person to reach the South Pole

*July 16th, 1872, Borge Municipality †June 18th, 1928, Arctic Ocean

59

Herbert Baddeley

Tennis and badminton player

*January 11th, 1872, London Borough of Bromley †July 20th, 1931, Cannes

57

Wilfred Baddeley

Tennis player and sports administrator

*January 11th, 1872, London Borough of Bromley †January 24th, 1929, Menton

89

Max Pohlenz

German classical philologist

*July 30th, 1872, Kolkwitz †January 5th, 1962, Göttingen

60

Calvin Coolidge

President of the United States from 1923 to 1929

*July 4th, 1872, Plymouth Notch †January 5th, 1933, Northampton

97

Bertrand Russell

British philosopher and logician (1872–1970)

*May 18th, 1872, Trellech †February 2nd, 1970, Plas Penrhyn

33

Paul Laurence Dunbar

American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries

*June 27th, 1872, Dayton †February 9th, 1906, Dayton

46

Anna Held

Broadway stage performer (1872–1918)

*March 19th, 1872, Warsaw †August 12th, 1918, New York City

92

Helena Rubinstein

Polish-American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist

*December 25th, 1872, Kraków †April 1st, 1965, New York City

79

Alexandra Kollontai

Soviet diplomat (1872-1952)

*March 31st, 1872, Saint Petersburg †March 9th, 1952, Moscow

80

Cicely Hamilton

British actress and writer

*June 15th, 1872, Paddington †December 5th, 1952, Chelsea

83

Pio Baroja

Spanish writer (1872-1956)

*December 28th, 1872, San Sebastián †October 30th, 1956, Madrid

74

Paul Langevin

French physicist, philosopher of science and pedagogue

*January 23rd, 1872, Paris †December 19th, 1946, Paris

69

Richard Willstätter

German chemist (1872–1942)

*August 13th, 1872, Karlsruhe †August 3rd, 1942, Muralto

77

Léon Blum

French politician (1872–1950)

*April 9th, 1872, Paris †March 30th, 1950, Jouy-en-Josas

94

Norman Angell

British politician (1872-1967)

*December 26th, 1872, Holbeach †October 7th, 1967, Croydon

78

Aurobindo Ghosh

Indian Bengali philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet and nationalist (1872–1950)

*August 15th, 1872, Sri Aurobindo Bhawan †December 5th, 1950, Pondicherry

71

Piet Mondrian

Dutch painter (1872–1944)

*March 7th, 1872, Amersfoort †February 1st, 1944, New York City

80

Carlo Sforza

Italian politician (1872-1952)

*January 23rd, 1872, Montignoso †September 4th, 1952, Rome

54

Robert de Flers

French playwright, opera librettist, and journalist

*November 25th, 1872, Pont-l'Évêque †July 30th, 1927, Vittel

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: 1872 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 1872