May 31st, 1897

Born on May 31st, 1897

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 46,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 647 days, exactly on February 4th, 2026, people who were born on May 31st, 1897 will be 47,000 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, 1897

89

Margalo Gillmore

American actress (1897-1986)

*May 31st, 1897, London †June 30th, 1986, Manhattan

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

99

Maurice Allais

French economist (1911–2010)

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

93

Bernhard Hassenstein

German biologist

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

70

Michael Wittenborn

German actor

*May 31st, 1953, Bielefeld

95

Norman Vincent Peale

American writer and minister (1898-1993)

*May 31st, 1898, Bowersville †December 24th, 1993, Pawling

82

Karin Tietze-Ludwig

German television presenter

*May 31st, 1941, Siegen

60

Viktor Orbán

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

*May 31st, 1963, Székesfehérvár

93

Clint Eastwood

American actor and film director (born 1930)

*May 31st, 1930, San Francisco

47

Colin Farrell

Irish actor (born 1976)

*May 31st, 1976, Dublin

101

Bernard Lewis

British-American historian (1916–2018)

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

61

Fred Allen

American comedian

*May 31st, 1894, Cambridge †March 17th, 1956, New York City

58

Brooke Shields

American actress (born 1965)

*May 31st, 1965, Manhattan

88

Jim Bolger

Prime minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997

*May 31st, 1935, Ōpunake

100

Germán List Arzubide

Mexican poet

*May 31st, 1898, Puebla City †October 17th, 1998, Mexico City

34

Marco Reus

German footballer (born 1989)

*May 31st, 1989, Dortmund

81

Pius XI

Pope of the Catholic Church from 1922 to 1939

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

42

Gregor Strasser

German politician, rival of Adolf Hitler inside the Nazi Party (1892-1934)

*May 31st, 1892, Geisenfeld †June 30th, 1934, Berlin

89

Frei Otto

German architect (1925-2015)

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

45

Jim Hutton

Actor (1934-1979)

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

72

Walt Whitman

American poet, essayist and journalist

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

Same year
Born in 1897

82

Dirk Stikker

Politician and badminton player (1897-1979)

*February 5th, 1897, Winschoten †December 23rd, 1979, Wassenaar

64

William Faulkner

American writer (1897–1962)

*September 25th, 1897, New Albany †July 6th, 1962, Byhalia

66

Pierre Loeb

French Jewish galerist and art dealer persecuted by Nazis (1897-1964)

*September 24th, 1897, Paris †May 4th, 1964

41

Amelia Earhart

American aviation pioneer and author

*July 24th, 1897, Atchison †January 5th, 1939, Howland Island

80

Ludwig Erhard

Chancellor of West Germany (1963–1966)

*February 4th, 1897, Fürth †May 5th, 1977, Bonn

76

Paavo Nurmi

Finnish middle and long distance runner (1897-1973)

*June 13th, 1897, Turku †October 2nd, 1973, Helsinki

80

Paul VI

Head of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978

*September 26th, 1897, Concesio †August 6th, 1978, Castel Gandolfo

58

Irène Joliot-Curie

French scientist (1897-1956)

*September 12th, 1897, 13th arrondissement of Paris †March 17th, 1956, Paris

64

Georges Bataille

French intellectual and literary figure

*September 10th, 1897, Billom †July 9th, 1962, Paris

47

Joseph Goebbels

Nazi politician and Propaganda Minister (1897–1945)

*October 29th, 1897, Rheydt †May 1st, 1945, Berlin

96

Marian Anderson

African-American contralto (1897–1993)

*February 21st, 1897, Philadelphia †April 8th, 1993, Portland

94

Judith Anderson

Australian stage and screen actress (1897–1992)

*February 10th, 1897, Adelaide †January 3rd, 1992, Santa Barbara

76

Kate O'Brien

Irish novelist, playwright and activist

*December 3rd, 1897, Limerick †August 13th, 1974, Canterbury

90

Viola Dana

Actress (1897-1987)

*June 26th, 1897, Brooklyn †July 3rd, 1987, Woodland Hills

78

Thornton Wilder

American playwright and novelist (1897–1975)

*April 17th, 1897, Madison †December 7th, 1975, Hamden

78

Alfredo Bracchi

Italian writer and actor (1897-1976)

*December 30th, 1897, Milan †October 11th, 1976, Milan

94

Frank Capra

Italian-born American film director (1897–1991)

*May 18th, 1897, Bisacquino †September 3rd, 1991, La Quinta

75

Lester B. Pearson

14th Prime Minister of Canada, from 1963 to 1968

*April 23rd, 1897, Toronto †December 27th, 1972, Ottawa

72

Everett Bradley

American pentathlete

*May 19th, 1897, Cedar Rapids †July 25th, 1969, Wichita

105

Mary Ellis

American opera singer (1897–2003)

*June 15th, 1897, New York City †January 30th, 2003, London

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 1897 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1897