Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on May 31st?

Big Ben - The Great Clock starts ticking and the Great Bell's strikes are heard for the first time on July 11.  A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower

The Boer War, the armed conflict between Britain and the two Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State in South Africa, often called the Boer War, ends with the signing of the Treaty of Unity and the annexation of Transvaal by Britain. More

The Union of South Africa is created becoming a sovereign state within the British empire as General Louis Botha forms a government as prime minister.

Battle of Jutland - World War I’s biggest naval conflict off the coast of Denmark marks the first and only showdown between German and British naval forces during World War I.

The Tulsa Race Riots began. A two-day-long riot when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deputies and armed by city government officials, attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. More

A 7.7 earthquake takes place at Quetta, Balochistan, British India (now part of Pakistan), close to the border with southern Afghanistan. Between 30,000 and 60,000 people died from the impact. More

The government of South Africa proclaims the Republic of South Africa and withdraws from the CON and Governor-General Charles Robert Swart formally takes office as State President. More

A 7.75 on the Richter scale earthquake off the coast of Peru causes much destruction and triggers the world's deadliest avalanche in the Peruvian town of Yungay, Ancash, totally destroying the town and ten nearby villages; killing between 66,000-70,000 people. More

The last weld of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAPS) is completed, allowing transportation of oil from Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska to the Valdez Marine Terminal in Prince William Sound. The 800 miles (1,300 km), 48 inches in diameter pipeline system began construction in April 1974 and it cost $8 billion to complete. It is one of the world's largest pipeline systems. The first oil flowed June 20, 1977. More