TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: MAY 31
1279 BC Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty)
0070 Rome captures 1st wall of the city of Jerusalem
1578 Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England, to Frobisher Bay, Canada. Eventually mines fools gold, famously used to pave the streets of London.
1678 The Godiva procession, commemorating Lady Godiva’s legendary ride while naked, becomes part of the Coventry Fair
1790 The first U.S. Copyright Law was enacted, protecting books, maps, and other original materials.
1854 The Kansas-Nebraska Act passed by the U.S. Congress.
1859 The Great Clock housing Big Ben starts keeping time
1862 At the Battle of Fair Oaks, Union General George B. McClellan defeats Confederates outside of Richmond.
1879 New York’s Madison Square Garden opens its doors for the first time.
1889 Heavy rains caused the South Fork Dam to collapse, sending 20 million tons of water into Johnstown, Pa. Over 2,200 people were killed and the town was nearly destroyed.
1900 U.S. troops arrive in Peking to help put down the Boxer Rebellion.
1909 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) holds its first conference.
1910 Union of South Africa declares its independence from the United Kingdom
1913 The 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for direct election of senators, is ratified.
1916 Battle of Jutland: Largest naval battle of World War I between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet which killed 8,645 in an inconclusive battle but strategic British victory. German fleet never puts to sea again in WWI.
1941 1st issue of “Parade” goes on sale
1955 The Supreme Court orders that states must end racial segregation “with all deliberate speed.”
1958 Dick Dale invents “surf music” with “Let’s Go Trippin”
1962 Adolf Eichmann, the former SS commander, is hanged near Tel Aviv, Israe
1969 John Lennon & Yoko Ono record “Give Peace a Chance”
1974 Israel and Syria sign an agreement on the Golan Heights.
1977 The trans-Alaska oil pipeline was finished after 3 years of construction.
1988 President Ronald Reagan arrives in Moscow, the first American president to do so in 14 years.
1995 Bob Dole singled out Time Warner for “the marketing of evil” in movies and music. Dole later admitted that he had not seen or heard much of what he had been criticizing.
2003 In North Carolina, Eric Robert Rudolph was captured. He had been on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list for five years for several bombings including the 1996 Olympic bombing.
2005 Deep Throat reveals himself
2010 Nine people are dead after an Israeli navy commando attacks a flotilla of cargo ships and passenger boats on their way to Gaza to provide aid and supplies for the area.
2013 The widest tornado ever recorded hits El Reno, Oklahoma
REFERENCE: HISTORY.NET, ONTHISDAY.COM, TIMEANDDATE.COM, INFOPLEASE.COM, FACTMONSTER.COM, SCOPESYS.COM, ON-THIS-DAY.COM, THEPEOPLEHISTORY.COM
