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On this Day May 31

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Celebrity Birthdays

1819 – Poet Walt Whitman (d. 1892)

1908 – Actor Don Ameche ( “Trading Places,” “Cocoon”) (d. 1993)

1930 – Oscar-winning actor-director Clint Eastwood (“A Fistful of Dollars,” “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and the “Dirty Harry” movies, “Unforgiven,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Mystic River,” “Gran Torino,” “American Sniper,” “Sully”)

1938 – Singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary

1943 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, who was a star quarterback for the New York Jets

1949 – Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Tom Berenger (“Platoon,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Rough Riders,” “Training Day,” “Inception,” “Hatfields & McCoys”)

1960 – Emmy-winning actor-comedian-writer Chris Elliott (“The David Letterman Show,” “Get a Life,” “Groundhog Day,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “How I Met Your Mother”)

1961 – Actress Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future” trilogy, “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Caroline in the City”)

1965 – Actress-model Brooke Shields (“Pretty Baby,” “The Blue Lagoon,” “Endless Love,” “Suddenly Susan”)

1976 – Golden Globe-winning actor Colin Farrell (“Tigerland,” “American Outlaws,” “Phone Booth,” “Minority Report,” “In Bruges,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Crazy Heart,” “Miami Vice,” “True Detective”)

History Highlights

1790 – The first U.S. copyright law is enacted to protect books, maps and other original materials.

1889 – Heavy rains cause the South Fork Dam to collapse, sending 20 million tons of water into Johnstown, Pennsylvania and claiming the lives of more than 2,200 people.

1911 – An estimated 100,000 people gather in Belfast, Ireland for the launch of the RMS Titanic into the River Lagan. The ill-fated passenger liner, still missing its distinctive smokestacks, is towed to a berth where its engines, stacks and superstructure are installed and the interior is fitted out. Less than a year later, in one of the world’s greatest disasters, the ship sinks on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. More than 1,500 passengers are crew are killed.

1921 – In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a White mob begins a horrific two-day attack on Black residents of the city’s thriving Greenwood district, burning homes and businesses to the ground and killing at least 300 Black Americans. Long misrepresented as a race riot rather than mass murder, the Tulsa Race Massacre becomes one of the bloodiest incidents of racial violence in American history.

1962 – The architect of the Holocaust is executed in Israel. Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer who organized Adolf Hitler’s “final solution of the Jewish question,” hangs for his crimes against humanity.

1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is completed. Built after the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States, it is one of the largest pipeline systems in the world.

1996 – Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres is narrowly defeated in national elections by Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Musical Milestones

1966 – British vocalist Lulu and actor Sidney Poitier begin shooting scenes for the movie “To Sir, With Love” at England’s Pinewood Studios. Poitier plays a teacher in London’s tough East End and Lulu is one of his students.

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, is in the midst of a five-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1975 – Freddy Fender claims the No. 1 slot on the singles chart with “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”

1980 – “Funkytown,” by Lipps Inc., is the No.1 single and holds the top spot for four weeks. The track, off the band’s “Mouth to Mouth” album, is considered the swan song for the disco era.

1997 – The sibling trio, Hanson, rules the pop chart with “MMMBop.”

2000 – Soul singer Johnnie Taylor dies of a heart attack shortly after his 62nd birthday. Taylor had been a member of The Highway QCs and The Five Echoes, and in 1957, replaced Sam Cooke in The Soul Stirrers. He is best known for his 1976 chart-topper, “Disco Lady.”

2008 – “Lollipop,” by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major, kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

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