On This Day: 31 May

31 May in Indian history

• 1973Indian Airlines Flight 440 crashes near Palam Airport in Delhi, killing 48.India
• 1935A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Balochistan in British India, now part of Pakistan, killing between 30,000 and 60,000 peopleIndia

31 May in world history

• 2017A car bomb exploded near the German embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing more than 90 people and injuring 463 others.
• 2016Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the Manbij offensive, in order to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
• 2013An extremely large, powerful, and erratic tornado struck Central Oklahoma, killing eight people and injuring more than 150 others.
• 2013The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.
• 2008Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-124 carrying the second portion of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station.
• 1991Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II peacekeeping mission.
• 1985United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
• 1962The West Indies Federation dissolves.
• 1955The U.S. Supreme Court expands on its Brown v. Board of Education decision by ordering district courts and school districts to enforce educational desegregation "at all deliberate speed."
• 1942World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
• 1941World War II: German forces dropped four bombs on neutral Ireland, killing 28 people and damaging Áras an Uachtaráin, the residence of the President of Ireland.
• 1906The attempted regicide of Spanish King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie on their wedding day instead kills 24.
• 1862American 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.
• 1775American 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 the Parliament of Great Britain.
• 1223Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': Mongol forces defeated a Kievan Rus' army at the Battle of the Kalka River in present-day Ukraine.
• 1215A Mongol army under Genghis Khan captured Zhongdu (modern Beijing), the capital of the Jin dynasty of China.

Born on 31 May

• 1962Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1950Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment
• 1928Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (died 2001)India
• 1898Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (died 1993)
• 1863Francis Younghusband, Indian-English captain and explorer (died 1942)India
• 1725Ahilyabai Holkar, Queen of the Malwa Kingdom under the Maratha Empire (died 1795)India

Died on 31 May

• 2022Krishnakumar Kunnath, Indian singer (born 1968)India
• 2022Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Colombian drug lord (born 1939)
• 1998Charles Van Acker, Belgian-American race car driver (born 1912)
• 1987John Abraham, Indian director and screenwriter (born 1937)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 31 May in history?

2017: A car bomb exploded near the German embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing more than 90 people and injuring 463 others. 2016: Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the Manbij offensive, in order to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 2013: An extremely large, powerful, and erratic tornado struck Central Oklahoma, killing eight people and injuring more than 150 others. 2013: The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.

What happened on 31 May in Indian history?

1973: Indian Airlines Flight 440 crashes near Palam Airport in Delhi, killing 48. 1935: A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Balochistan in British India, now part of Pakistan, killing between 30,000 and 60,000 people.

Which famous people were born on 31 May?

Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (1962); Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment (1950); Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (died 2001) (1928); Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (died 1993) (1898).

Which day is observed on 31 May?

World No Tobacco Day; Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei); Kaamatan, harvest festival in the state of Sabah and the federal territory of Labuan (Malaysia); World No Tobacco Day (International); Borobi Day (Australia).