Portal:United States/Anniversaries/May/May 31
- 1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
- 1909 – The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the NAACP, convenes for the first time.
- 1918 – Poet, essayist, and journalist Walt Whitman (pictured) is born. Often called the father of free verse, Whitman ranks among the most influential poets in the American canon.
- 1921 – The Tulsa Race Riot breaks out in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- 1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the previously fixed date of May 30.
- 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System completed.
On this day for the United States
January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December
| << | May | >> | ||||
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 | ||||
Events
- 1759 – The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions.
- 1775 – American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolves adopted in North Carolina
- 1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 English. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, 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.
- 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.
- 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System completed.
- 1985 – 1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
- 1985 – Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) became a Schedule I drug in the United States.