May 31
1790
The first U.S. Copyright Law was enacted, protecting books, maps, and other original materials.
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.
1911
The hull of the Titanic was launched in Belfast. At the ceremony, a White Star Line employee claimed, “Not even God himself could sink this ship.”
1961
South Africa became an independent republic.
1962
Former Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel.
1970
An earthquake in Peru left more than 50,000 dead.
2004
Alberta Martin, 97, one of the last widows of a U.S. Civil War veteran, died. She had married Confederate veteran William Martin in 1927 when she was 21 and he was 81.
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.
Birthdays
Patricia Roberts Harris
1924–85, U.S. government official, born in Mattoon, Ill.
Walt Whitman
poet (1819)
Norman Vincent Peale
clergyman (1898)
Rainier III
prince of Monaco (1923)
Clint Eastwood
actor, director, producer (1930)
Joe Namath
American Football Player (1943)
Brooke Shields
actress, model (1965)