May 31st, 1917

Born on May 31st, 1917

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 39,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 952 days, exactly on December 5th, 2026, people who were born on May 31st, 1917 will be 40,000 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, 1917

86

Jean Rouch

French film director

*May 31st, 1917, Paris †February 18th, 2004, Birni-N'Konni

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

101

Bernard Lewis

British-American historian (1916–2018)

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

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

70

Michael Wittenborn

German actor

*May 31st, 1953, Bielefeld

82

Karin Tietze-Ludwig

German television presenter

*May 31st, 1941, Siegen

93

Clint Eastwood

American actor and film director (born 1930)

*May 31st, 1930, San Francisco

88

Saint-John Perse

French poet and diplomat

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

60

Viktor Orbán

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

*May 31st, 1963, Székesfehérvár

89

Frei Otto

German architect (1925-2015)

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

88

Jim Bolger

Prime minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997

*May 31st, 1935, Ōpunake

47

Colin Farrell

Irish actor (born 1976)

*May 31st, 1976, Dublin

81

Bert Haanstra

Dutch film director (1916-1997)

*May 31st, 1916, Rijssen-Holten †October 23rd, 1997, Hilversum

58

Brooke Shields

American actress (born 1965)

*May 31st, 1965, Manhattan

45

Jim Hutton

Actor (1934-1979)

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

84

Chien-Shiung Wu

Chinese-American experimental physicist

*May 31st, 1912, Taicang †February 16th, 1997, New York City

70

Denholm Elliott

British actor (1922–1992)

*May 31st, 1922, Ealing †October 6th, 1992, Santa Eulària des Riu

34

Marco Reus

German footballer (born 1989)

*May 31st, 1989, Dortmund

90

Joe Robinson

English actor (1927-2017)

*May 31st, 1927, Newcastle upon Tyne †July 3rd, 2017, Brighton

63

Lloyd Quarterman

American chemist, scientist at Argonne Lab

*May 31st, 1918, Philadelphia †January 1st, 1982, Chicago

76

Gabriele Hinzmann

East German discus thrower

*May 31st, 1947, Schwerin

Same year
Born in 1917

46

John F. Kennedy

President of the United States from 1961 to 1963

*May 29th, 1917, Brookline †November 22nd, 1963, Parkland Memorial Hospital

87

Wee Chong Jin

Singaporean judge

*September 28th, 1917, Penang †June 5th, 2005, Singapore

66

Indira Gandhi

Prime Minister of India (1966–1977, 1980–1984)

*November 19th, 1917, Prayagraj †October 31st, 1984, New Delhi

72

Ferdinand Marcos

President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986

*September 11th, 1917, Sarrat †September 28th, 1989, Honolulu

53

Bourvil

French actor and singer (1917–1970)

*July 27th, 1917, Prétot-Vicquemare †September 23rd, 1970, Paris

79

Ella Fitzgerald

American jazz singer (1917–1996)

*April 25th, 1917, Newport News †June 15th, 1996, Beverly Hills

88

John Raitt

American singer and actor (1917-2005)

*January 29th, 1917, Santa Ana †February 20th, 2005, Pacific Palisades

84

Katharine Graham

American publisher, editor and author (1917–2001)

*June 16th, 1917, New York City †July 17th, 2001, Boise

89

Barry Nelson

American actor (1917–2007)

*April 16th, 1917, San Francisco †April 7th, 2007, Bucks County

90

Arthur C. Clarke

British science fiction writer, inventor, and futurist (1917-2008)

*December 16th, 1917, Minehead †March 19th, 2008, Colombo

67

Heinrich Böll

German writer (1917–1985)

*December 21st, 1917, Cologne †July 16th, 1985, Langenbroich

103

Vera Lynn

British singer (1917–2020)

*March 20th, 1917, East Ham †June 18th, 2020, Ditchling

91

Robert Anderson

American playwright, screenwriter, and theater producer (1917-2009)

*April 28th, 1917, Manhattan †February 9th, 2009, Manhattan

61

Park Chung Hee

Leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979

*November 14th, 1917, Gumi †October 26th, 1979, Jongno District

49

William Tracy

American actor (1917-1967)

*December 1st, 1917, Pittsburgh †July 18th, 1967, Hollywood

99

Kurt Gossweiler

German historian of modern age (1917-2017)

*November 5th, 1917, Stuttgart †May 17th, 2017, Berlin

92

Carl Ballantine

American entertainer (1917-2009)

*September 27th, 1917, Chicago †November 3rd, 2009, Hollywood Hills

87

Ramanand Sagar

Indian film director (1917-2005)

*December 29th, 1917, Lahore †December 12th, 2005, Mumbai

70

Henry Ford II

American automotive industry executive (1917–1987)

*September 4th, 1917, Detroit †September 29th, 1987, Detroit

91

Helga Tiemann

German painter and sculptor (1917–2008)

*October 11th, 1917, Remscheid †October 13th, 2008, Cologne

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 1917 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1917