What happened today
1969
Famous birthdays
1925
Get history's greatest tales
Subscribe to our HistoryNet Now! newsletter for a blast from the past each week in your inbox.
more events on May 31
-
1988
President Ronald Reagan arrives in Moscow, the first American president to do so in 14 years.
-
1979
Zimbabwe proclaims its independence.
-
1974
Israel and Syria sign an agreement on the Golan Heights.
-
1969
John Lennon and Yoko Ono record “Give Peace a Chance.”
-
1962
Adolf Eichmann, the former SS commander, is hanged near Tel Aviv, Israel.
-
1955
The Supreme Court orders that states must end racial segregation “with all deliberate speed.”
-
1941
An armistice is arranged between the British and the Iraqis.
-
1930
Clint Eastwood, American film actor and director.
-
1928
The first flight over the Pacific takes off from Oakland.
-
1925
Julian Beck, theater manager.
-
1916
British and German fleets fight in the Battle of Jutland.
-
1915
A German zeppelin makes an air raid on London.
-
1913
The 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for direct election of senators, is ratified.
-
1909
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) holds its first conference.
-
1902
The Boer War ends with the Treaty of Vereeniging.