These historical events took place on May 31st:
1634: The colony of Massachusetts Bay annexes Maine colony.
1669: Citing poor eyesight, English civil servant Samuel Pepys records the last event in his famous diary.
1821: Cathedral of Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, first United States Catholic cathedral, is dedicated in Baltimore, designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe.
1879: Madison Square Garden opens in New York, named after 4th President James Madison.
1889: Johnstown Flood where 2,209 die in Johnston, Pennsylvania when the South Fork Dam, located on the Little Conemaugh River fails.
1893: Remains of Jefferson Davis moved from New Orleans and re-interred at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, per his widow’s request.
1909: National Conference on the Negro holds its first meeting in United Charities Building, New York which would be the earlier form of the NAACP.
1921: A large-scale race riot breaks out in Tulsa, Oklahoma, later described as the worst incident of racial violence in American history where around 150-300 African Americans are killed.
1955: United States Supreme Court orders school integration “with all deliberate speed.”
1985: Tornado outbreak in the United States and Canada sees 41 tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, leaving 90 dead.
2017: Comedienne Kathy Griffin fired from CNN after photo of her holding bloody head resembling Donald Trump by Tyler Shields posted.
2019: Disgruntled employee shoots and kills 12 people at a United States municipal building in Virginia Beach, Virginia.