So you want to have a drink but you aren't sure why? Here are some GREAT reasons to call your friends over and have a party.

May 31st


- Castile-La Mancha Day (Castile-La Mancha)
- Christian Feast Day
- Royal Brunei Armed Forces Day (Brunei)
- Syaday (Discordianism)
- The second day of Kaamatan harvest festival. (Labuan, Sabah)
- Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)
- World No Tobacco Day (International)

May 31st


- 2010 - Shayetet 13 soldiers tried to stop the flotilla that wanted to break the blockade on Gaza Strip. During the boarding on the MV Mavi Marmara ship, a violent confrontation had started. It caused the death of 9 activists who were on board, and several more injured activists. Moreover, several Israeli soldiers were injured.
- 2005 - Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was Deep Throat.
- 1991 - Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II mission.
- 1985 - 1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
- 1981 - Burning of Jaffna library, Sri Lanka, It is one of the violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the twentieth century.
- 1977 - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System completed.
- 1973 - The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.
- 1971 - In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in , observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
- 1970 - The Ancash earthquake causes a landslide that buries the town of Yungay, Peru; more than 47,000 people are killed.
- 1962 - The West Indies Federation dissolves.
- 1962 - Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
- 1961 - Republic of South Africa created.
- 1943 - Zoot Suit Riots begin
- 1942 - World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
- 1941 - A Luftwaffe air raid in Dublin, Ireland claims 38 lives.
- 1935 - A 7.7 Mw earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan: 40,000 dead.
- 1929 - The first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse, "The Karnival Kid", is released.
- 1927 - The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
- 1924 - The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Peking government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promises to respect.
- 1921 - Tulsa Race Riot: A civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, the official death toll is 39, but recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
- 1916 - World War I: Battle of Jutland – The British Grand Fleet under the command of Sir John Jellicoe & Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Reinhard Scheer & Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
- 1911 - The ocean liner R.M.S. Titanic is launched.
- 1910 - Creation of the Union of South Africa.
- 1902 - Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
- 1889 - Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
- 1884 - Arrival at Plymouth of Tawhiao, King of Maoris, to claim protection of Queen Victoria
- 1866 - In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
- 1864 - American Civil War Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor – The Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee engages the Army of the Potomac under Ulysses S. Grant & George G. Meade.
- 1862 - American Civil War Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) – Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & G. W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.
- 1859 - The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.
- 1854 - The civil death procedure is abolished in France.
- 1813 - In Australia, Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.
- 1805 - French and Spanish forces begin the assault against British forces occupying Diamond Rock
- 1790 - Alferez Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- 1790 - The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
- 1790 - French Revolution: the Revolutionary Tribunal is suppressed.
- 1775 - American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolutions adopted in the Province of North Carolina
- 1759 - The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions.
- 1678 - The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.
- 1669 - Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
- 1578 - Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool's gold, used to pave streets in London.
- 1578 - King Henri III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris.
- 1279 - 1279 BC – Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
- 1223 - Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River – Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans.
- 526 - A devastating earthquake strikes Antioch, Turkey, killing 250,000.

May 31st


- 1984 - Nate Robinson, American basketball player
- 1984 - Jason Smith, Australian actor
- 1984 - Milorad ?avi?, Serbian swimmer
- 1983 - David Hernandez, American singer
- 1983 - Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer
- 1983 - Reggie Yates, English television presenter
- 1982 - Jonathan Tucker, American actor
- 1981 - Jake Peavy, American baseball player
- 1981 - Tasha Reid, Korean rapper
- 1980 - Craig Bolton, Australian rules footballer
- 1980 - Andy Hurley, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
- 1977 - Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
- 1977 - Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-born Greek volleyball player
- 1977 - Debbie King, English TV presenter
- 1977 - Scott Klopfenstein, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
- 1977 - Phil Devey, Canadian baseball player
- 1977 - Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer
- 1977 - Greg Leeb, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Joachim Olsen, Danish athlete
- 1977 - Joel Ross, British disc jockey
- 1977 - June Sarpong, British television presenter
- 1977 - Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
- 1977 - Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player
- 1976 - Colin Farrell, Irish actor
- 1976 - Matt Harpring, American basketball player
- 1976 - Tonka Tomicic, Chilean model and television presenter
- 1974 - Chad Campbell, American golfer
- 1974 - Zsolt Erdei, Hungarian light heavyweight boxer
- 1974 - Adrian Tomine, American cartoonist
- 1974 - Sean Kent, American stand-up comedian, actor and writer
- 1973 - Dominique Van Roost, Belgian tennis player
- 1972 - Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1972 - Sarah Murdoch, Australian model
- 1972 - Karl Geary, Irish actor
- 1972 - Dave Roberts, American baseball player
- 1972 - Archie Panjabi, English actress
- 1972 - Antti Niemi, Finnish footballer
- 1971 - Diana Damrau, German soprano
- 1969 - Mindi Abair, American smooth jazz saxophonist
- 1968 - John Connolly, Irish author
- 1967 - Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television personality
- 1967 - Kenny Lofton, American baseball player
- 1967 - Vampiro, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1967 - Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
- 1966 - Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian
- 1966 - Nick Scotti, American actor and singer
- 1965 - Brooke Shields, American actress and supermodel
- 1964 - Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman
- 1964 - Scotti Hill, American rock guitarist
- 1964 - Darryl McDaniels, American musician (Run-D.M.C.)
- 1963 - Hugh Dillon, Canadian musician and actor
- 1963 - Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician
- 1963 - Wesley Willis, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1962 - Corey Hart, Canadian musician
- 1962 - Sebastian Koch, German actor
- 1961 - Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 - Lea Thompson, American actress
- 1961 - Justin Madden, Australian politician and footballer
- 1960 - Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 - Chris Elliott, American comedian
- 1959 - Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver
- 1957 - Jim Craig, American hockey player
- 1956 - Fritz Hilpert, German musician and sound engineer (Kraftwerk)
- 1955 - Tommy Emmanuel, Australian Guitarist CGP
- 1954 - Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)
- 1954 - Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
- 1953 - Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor
- 1952 - Karl Bartos, German musician (Kraftwerk, Electronic)
- 1950 - Gregory Harrison, American actor
- 1949 - Tom Berenger, American actor
- 1949 - Nancy Shade, American opera singer
- 1948 - John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)
- 1948 - Duncan Hunter, American politician
- 1947 - Junior Campbell, British musician and songwriter (The Marmalade)
- 1946 - Steve Bucknor, West Indian Cricket Umpire
- 1946 - Ted Baehr, American media critic
- 1945 - Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German film director (d. 1982)
- 1945 - Bernard Goldberg?, American journalist
- 1943 - Sharon Gless, American actress
- 1943 - Joe Namath, American football player
- 1941 - Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 - Gilbert Shelton, American underground comics illustrator
- 1939 - Terry Waite, British humanitarian
- 1938 - Johnny Paycheck, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1938 - John Prescott, English politician
- 1938 - Peter Yarrow, American folk singer (Peter, Paul and Mary)
- 1935 - Jim Bolger, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1933 - Henry B. Eyring, American religious figure; son of Henry Eyring
- 1932 - Ed Lincoln, Brazilian musician and album producer
- 1932 - Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d. 1994)
- 1931 - John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1931 - Shirley Verrett, American soprano (d. 2010)
- 1930 - Clint Eastwood, American film director and actor
- 1923 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
- 1922 - Denholm Elliott, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1921 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (d. 2006)
- 1921 - Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)
- 1916 - Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (d. 1997)
- 1914 - Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (d. 2006)
- 1912 - Alfred Deller, English countertenor (d. 1979)
- 1911 - Maurice Allais, French economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
- 1909 - Aurore Gagnon, French Canadian child abuse victim (d. 1920)
- 1908 - Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1908 - Nils Poppe, Swedish actor (d. 2000)
- 1905 - Florence Desmond, English actress and comedian (d. 1993)
- 1902 - Billy Mayerl, English pianist and composer.
- 1901 - Alfredo Antonini, American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
- 1898 - Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d. 1993)
- 1894 - Fred Allen, American comedian (d. 1956)
- 1892 - Michel Kikoine, Belarusian painter (d. 1968)
- 1892 - Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian writer (d. 1968)
- 1892 - Gregor Strasser, German Nazi politician (d. 1934)
- 1892 - Erich Neumann, German Nazi politician (d. 1951)
- 1887 - Saint-John Perse, French diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1885 - Alois Hudal, Austrian Roman Catholic bishop (d. 1963)
- 1883 - Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician (d. 1942)
- 1882 - Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian politician (d. 1956)
- 1872 - Heath Robinson, English cartoonist (d. 1944)
- 1863 - Francis Younghusband, British explorer (d. 1942)
- 1860 - Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
- 1857 - Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
- 1852 - Francisco Moreno, Argentine explorer (d. 1919)
- 1838 - Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (d. 1900)
- 1835 - Hijikata Toshiz?, Japanese military leader (d. 1869)
- 1819 - Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)
- 1818 - John Albion Andrew, American politician (d. 1867)
- 1801 - Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist (d. 1887)
- 1773 - Ludwig Tieck, German writer (d. 1853)
- 1754 - Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (d. 1817)
- 1753 - Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French statesman (d. 1793)
- 1732 - Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian Roman Catholic Archbishop (d. 1812)
- 1656 - Marin Marais, French composer (d. 1728)
- 1640 - Michael of Poland (d. 1673)
- 1613 - John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
- 1557 - Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)
- 1535 - Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
- 1469 - Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
- 1443 - Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England (d. 1509)