5 / 31 History Vault
Discover public domain milestones, art masterworks, and wisdom quotes. (13)
Famous Pioneer Born on 5/31
Born under Gemini (♊ Gemini), possessing unique vision and inspiration.
"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."
—— Gemini Pioneer
The Persistence of Memory
The Persistence of Memory is a world-class museum collection item preserved at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
Salvador Dalí (Oil on canvas)
Historical Milestone of 5/31
On this day in history (5/31), significant global milestones and breakthroughs were recorded across science, culture, and human society.
An organized mob of police and government-sponsored Sinhalese paramilitary forces began three days of attacks that led to the burning of the Jaffna Public Library (renovated building pictured) in Sri Lanka, destroying more than 97,000 items in one of the most violent 20th-century examples of ethnic biblioclasm.
The Sinhalese people, also known as the Sinhalese or Sinhala people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They are the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, constituting about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and number more than 15.2 million.
Santino_Ferrucci Born
Santino Michael Ferrucci is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 14 Chevrolet for A. J. Foyt Enterprises. He has also previously raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
「Santino Michael Ferrucci is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-...」
—— Santino_Ferrucci
Gable_Steveson Born
Gable Dan Steveson is an American freestyle wrestler, professional mixed martial artist, former professional wrestler and football defensive tackle. He is currently signed to the Heavyweight divisions of both Real American Freestyle and Ultimate Fighting Championship.
「Gable Dan Steveson is an American freestyle wrestler, professional mixed martial arti...」
—— Gable_Steveson
Breece_Hall Born
Breece Maelik Hall is an American professional football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones, where he was a two-time All-American and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Hall was selected by the Jets in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.
「Breece Maelik Hall is an American professional football running back for the New York...」
—— Breece_Hall
Iga_Świątek Born
Iga Natalia Świątek is a Polish professional tennis player. Currently ranked world No. 6 in women's singles by the WTA, she has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 125 weeks, seventh-most of all-time. Świątek has won 25 WTA Tour–level singles titles, including six major titles: four at the French Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open. She has also won the 2023 WTA Finals and eleven WTA 1000 titles. Świątek is the first Pole to win a major singles title.
「Iga Natalia Świątek is a Polish professional tennis player. Currently ranked world No...」
—— Iga_Świątek
American physician George Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country who performed late-term abortions, was shot and killed by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist.
George Richard Tiller was an American physician and abortion provider from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which, at the time, was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide that provided late-term abortions.
An extremely large, powerful, and erratic tornado struck Central Oklahoma, killing eight people and injuring more than 150 others.
The 2013 El Reno tornado was an extremely large, intense, and erratic tornado that occurred and hit a rural part of Central Oklahoma during the early evening of May 31, 2013. This rain-wrapped, multiple-vortex tornado was the widest tornado ever recorded, peaking at 2.6 miles across. It was part of a larger weather system that produced dozens of tornadoes over the preceding days. The tornado initially formed at 6:03 p.m. CDT (23:03 UTC) about 8.3 miles (13.4 km) west-southwest of El Reno, rapidly growing in size and becoming more violent as it tracked through central Canadian County. Remaining over mostly open terrain, the tornado did not impact many structures; however, measurements from mobile weather radars revealed extreme instantaneous winds in excess of 313 mph (504 km/h) within sub-vortices. These are among the highest recorded wind speeds, just slightly lower than the wind speeds of the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado. As it crossed U.S. 81, it had grown to a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km), beating the previous width record set in 2004. Turning northeastward, the tornado soon weakened. Upon crossing Interstate 40, the tornado dissipated around 6:43 p.m. CDT (23:43 UTC), after tracking for 16.2 miles (26.1 km). It avoided affecting more densely populated areas near and within the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
A car bomb exploded near the German embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing more than 90 people and injuring 463 others.
On 31 May 2017, a truck bomb exploded at a crowded intersection in Kabul, Afghanistan, near the German embassy at about 08:25 local time during rush hour, killing over 150 and injuring 413, mostly civilians, and damaging several buildings in the embassy. The attack was the deadliest terror attack to take place in Kabul. The diplomatic quarter—in which the attack took place—is one of the most heavily fortified areas in the city, with three-meter-high (10 ft) blast walls, and access requiring passing through several checkpoints. The explosion created a crater about 4.5 meters (15 ft) wide and 3 meters deep. Afghanistan's intelligence agency NDS claimed that the blast was planned by the Haqqani Network. Although no group has claimed responsibility, the Afghan Taliban were also a suspect but they denied involvement and condemned the attack. It was the single largest attack on the city up till that point.
A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463.
On 31 May 2017, a truck bomb exploded at a crowded intersection in Kabul, Afghanistan, near the German embassy at about 08:25 local time during rush hour, killing over 150 and injuring 413, mostly civilians, and damaging several buildings in the embassy. The attack was the deadliest terror attack to take place in Kabul. The diplomatic quarter—in which the attack took place—is one of the most heavily fortified areas in the city, with three-meter-high (10 ft) blast walls, and access requiring passing through several checkpoints. The explosion created a crater about 4.5 meters (15 ft) wide and 3 meters deep. Afghanistan's intelligence agency NDS claimed that the blast was planned by the Haqqani Network. Although no group has claimed responsibility, the Afghan Taliban were also a suspect but they denied involvement and condemned the attack. It was the single largest attack on the city up till that point.
May_2017_Kabul_bombing
A shooting at a municipal building in Virginia Beach, United States, left 13 people dead, including the gunman, and injured four others.
On May 31, 2019, a mass shooting occurred at a municipal building in the Princess Anne area of Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The gunman, 40-year-old DeWayne Craddock, a disgruntled city employee, fatally shot 12 people and wounded four others before he was killed by responding police officers during an exchange of gunfire. It is the second-deadliest workplace shooting in U.S. history after the 1986 Edmond post office shooting and the deadliest mass shooting in Virginia since the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.
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