31 May Births

May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 214 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56).

Births

1443 – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (d. 1509)
1462 – Philipp II, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1504)
1469 – Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
1556 – Jerzy Radziwiłł, Catholic cardinal (d. 1600)
1557 – Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)
1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
1641 – Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem (d. 1707)
1683 – Jean-Pierre Christin, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer, invented the Celsius thermometer (d. 1755)
1732 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (d. 1812)
1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter and educator (d. 1817)
1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German poet, author, and critic (d. 1853)
1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1887)
1815 – Adye Douglas, English-Australian cricketer and politician, 15th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1906)
1818 – John Albion Andrew, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1867)
1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (d. 1892)
1835 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (d. 1869)
1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English economist and philosopher (d. 1900)
1842 – John Cox Bray, Australian politician, 15th Premier of South Australia (d. 1894)
1847 – William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Canadian-Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (d. 1924)
1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentinian explorer and academic (d. 1919)
1852 – Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist, invented the Petri dish (d. 1921)
1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
1858 – Graham Wallas, English socialist, social psychologist, and educationalist (d. 1932)
1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
1863 – Francis Younghusband, Indian-English captain and explorer (d. 1942)
1866 – John Ringling, one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus (d. 1936)
1879 – Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian soprano (d. 1952)
1882 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (d. 1956)
1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
1885 – Alois Hudal, Austrian bishop (d. 1963)
1885 – Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (d. 1967)
1887 – Saint-John Perse, French poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1968)
1892 – Erich Neumann, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1951)
1892 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian poet and author (d. 1968)
1892 – Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1934)
1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian, radio host, game show panelist, and author (d. 1956)
1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (d. 1993)
1901 – Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
1908 – Nils Poppe, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2000)
1909 – Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2000)
1909 – Aurore Gagnon, French Canadian girl, victim of child abuse (d. 1920)
1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
1912 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American experimental physicist (d. 1997)
1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer and educator (d. 2006)
1916 – Bert Haanstra, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
1916 – Bernard Lewis, English-American historian and author
1919 – Robie Macauley, American editor, novelist and critic (d. 1995)
1921 – Edna Doré, English actress (d. 2014)
1921 – Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)
1921 – Alida Valli, Austrian-Italian actress and singer (d. 2006)
1922 – Denholm Elliott, English-Spanish actor (d. 1992)
1923 – Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (d. 2015)
1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
1924 – Russell Endean, South African cricketer (d. 2003)
1925 – Julian Beck, American actor and director (d. 1986)
1927 – James Eberle, English admiral
1927 – Michael Sandberg, Baron Sandberg, English lieutenant and banker
1928 – Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (d. 2001)
1929 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (d. 2014)
1930 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, musician, and producer
1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano and actress (d. 2010)
1932 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian pianist, bassist, and composer (d. 2012)
1932 – Jay Miner, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 1994)
1933 – Henry B. Eyring, American religious leader, educator, and author
1934 – Jim Hutton, American actor (d. 1979)
1935 – Jim Bolger, New Zealand businessman and politician, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
1938 – John Prescott, British sailor and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1938 – Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1939 – Terry Waite, English humanitarian and author
1940 – Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Ukrainian hammer thrower and coach
1940 – Augie Meyers, American musician and singer-songwriter
1940 – Gilbert Shelton, American illustrator
1941 – June Clark, Welsh nurse and educator
1941 – Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress
1943 – Joe Namath, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
1944 – Samantha Juste, English singer and television host (d. 2014)
1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
1945 – Laurent Gbagbo, Ivorian academic and politician, 4th President of Côte d'Ivoire
1945 – Bernard Goldberg, American journalist and author
1946 – Ted Baehr, American publisher and critic
1946 – Steve Bucknor, Jamaican cricketer and umpire
1946 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat (d. 2009)
1946 – Debbie Moore, English model and businesswoman
1947 – Junior Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1947 – Gabriele Hinzmann, German discus thrower
1948 – Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate
1948 – John Bonham, English musician, songwriter and drummer (d. 1980)
1948 – Martin Hannett, English bass player, guitarist, and record producer (d. 1991)
1948 – Duncan Hunter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician
1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor
1950 – Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment
1950 – Gregory Harrison, American actor
1950 – Edgar Savisaar, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior
1951 – Karl-Hans Riehm, German hammer thrower
1952 – Karl Bartos, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1953 – Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor and screenwriter
1953 – Linda Riordan, English politician
1953 – Lynne Truss, English journalist and author
1954 – Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
1954 – Vicki Sue Robinson, American actress and singer (d. 2000)
1955 – Bruce Adolphe, American pianist, composer, and scholar
1955 – Ben de Lisi, American fashion designer
1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1955 – Susie Essman, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
1956 – Fritz Hilpert, German drummer and composer
1956 – John Young, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1957 – Jim Craig, American ice hockey player
1959 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian race car driver (d. 2014)
1959 – Phil Wilson, English politician
1960 – Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman
1960 – Chris Elliott, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
1960 – Peter Winterbottom, English rugby player
1961 – Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 – Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician
1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress, director, and producer
1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
1963 – David Leigh, holder of the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at the University of Manchester
1963 – Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, 38th Prime Minister of Hungary
1963 – Wesley Willis, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2003)
1964 – Leonard Asper, Canadian lawyer and businessman
1964 – Stéphane Caristan, French hurdler and coach
1964 – Yukio Edano, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
1964 – Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, American rapper and producer
1965 – Todd McKenney, Australian entertainer
1965 – Brooke Shields, American model, actress, and producer
1966 – Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lankan cricketer and referee
1967 – Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
1967 – Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television host and producer
1967 – Kenny Lofton, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
1968 – John Connolly, Irish journalist and author
1968 – Stéphane E. Roy, Canadian actor and comedian
1970 – Paolo Sorrentino, Italian director and screenwriter
1971 – Diana Damrau, German operatic soprano
1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian skier
1972 – Antti Niemi, Finnish footballer and coach
1972 – Archie Panjabi, English actress
1972 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player and coach
1974 – Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Japanese comedian and singer
1974 – Chad Campbell, American golfer
1974 – Tristram Hunt, English historian and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Education
1975 – Mac Suzuki, Japanese baseball player
1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor
1976 – Matt Harpring, American basketball player and sportscaster
1976 – Mashona Washington, American tennis player
1977 – Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-Greek volleyball player
1977 – Phil Devey, Canadian baseball player
1977 – Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer
1977 – Scott Klopfenstein, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player
1977 – Greg Leeb, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
1977 – Joachim Olsen, Danish shot putter and politician
1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
1977 – Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player
1979 – Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer
1980 – Craig Bolton, Australian footballer and sportscaster
1981 – Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer
1981 – Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer
1981 – Andy Hurley, American musician
1981 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player
1981 – Kōsaku Satoyama, Japanese sumo wrestler
1982 – Brett Firman, Australian rugby league player
1983 – David Hernandez, American singer and reality television star
1983 – Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer
1984 – Andrew Bailey, American baseball player
1984 – Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer
1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player
1985 – Navene Koperweis, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
1985 – Ian Vougioukas, Greek basketball player
1986 – Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
1989 – Lauren Barnes, American soccer player
1989 – Bas Dost, Dutch footballer
1989 – Noah Gundersen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1989 – Marco Reus, German footballer
1989 – Chase Stanley, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
1990 – Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player
1991 – Azealia Banks, American rapper
1992 – Michaël Bournival, Canadian ice hockey player
1992 – Laura Ikauniece, Latvian heptathlete
1993 – Jason Taumalolo, New Zealand rugby league player
1996 – Connor Watson, Australian rugby league player
1997 – Inês Murta, Portuguese tennis player

Source: wikipedia