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On This Day
31 May

On This Day: 31 May

Joan of Arc burnt at the stake at Rouen Click to show or hide the answer
Samuel Pepys discontinues writing his diary, owing to poor eyesight Click to show or hide the answer
France's Reign of Terror begins Click to show or hide the answer
Rossini's The Thieving Magpie first performed, in Vienna (Milan?) Click to show or hide the answer
Universal right to vote abolished in France Click to show or hide the answer
Big Ben (and the other bells of St. Stephen's Tower) ring for the first time Click to show or hide the answer
Battle of Fair Oaks begins (Union forces overcame Confederates next day) Click to show or hide the answer
2,200 die in a great flood at Johnston, Pennsylvania Click to show or hide the answer
Trans–Siberian Railway begun Click to show or hide the answer
Peace of Vereeniging ends the Boer War Click to show or hide the answer
Nine people killed when a bomb is thrown at the wedding procession of King Alfonso XIII of Spain in Madrid Click to show or hide the answer
Cape Province, Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal join to form the Union of South Africa Click to show or hide the answer
Titanic launched at Belfast Click to show or hide the answer
Australian airman Harry Hawker reaches a record height of 11,450 feet Click to show or hide the answer
Battle of Jutland begins Click to show or hide the answer
The 15,007,003rd and last Model 'T' Ford leaves the assembly line Click to show or hide the answer
Daily News and Daily Chronicle merge to form the News Chronicle Click to show or hide the answer
Sir Oswald Moseley interned under emergency powers Click to show or hide the answer
Germany officially abandons Gothic (black letter) type for Roman Click to show or hide the answer
Richard Heydrich, Nazi 'protector' of Bohemia and Moravia, assassinated Click to show or hide the answer
TV licences go on sale in the UK (?) Click to show or hide the answer
German bombers raid Canterbury in retaliation to the devastation of Cologne Click to show or hide the answer
Volga–Don Canal opens Click to show or hide the answer
US playwright Arthur Miller convicted of contempt of court for refusing to name other Communists Click to show or hide the answer
Union of South Africa becomes a republic and leaves the Commonwealth Click to show or hide the answer
Adolf Eichmann, Nazi war criminal, hanged in Tel Aviv Click to show or hide the answer
The Beatles play the Royal Variety Performace (again – see 4 Nov 1963) Click to show or hide the answer
Jim Clark becomes the first non–US driver to win the Indianapolis 500 Click to show or hide the answer
18,000 killed by an earthquake at Yungay, Huascaran, Peru Click to show or hide the answer
Jim Wright, speaker of the House of Representatives, resigns over a financial scandal Click to show or hide the answer
Angolan Civil War ends after 17 years Click to show or hide the answer
France lose 0–1 to Senegal in the opening game of the World Cup finals tournament, in Seoul Click to show or hide the answer
W. Mark Felt, former Associate Director of the FBI, confirms that he was Deep Throat, the Watergate whistleblower Click to show or hide the answer
John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister – on his 68th birthday – bows to growing pressure and announces that he is to give up his grace and favour residence, Dorneywood (Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire) after the Mail on Sunday prints photographs of him playing croquet there while deputising for the Prime Minister who was on holiday at the time Click to show or hide the answer

© Haydn Thompson 2019