Famous people born on May 31 — and what else happened that day
If your birthday is May 31, you share it with Walt Whitman, Clint Eastwood, Brooke Shields — and you were born under Gemini, the sign of the curious, quick-witted, and endlessly social.
Birthday basics for May 31
Gemini ♊
Zodiac sign
Emerald
Birthstone
Lily of the Valley
Birth flower
151st
Day of the year
May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years), with 214 days still to come.
Famous people born on May 31
Walt Whitman — American poet and author of Leaves of Grass (born 1819).
Clint Eastwood — American actor and Oscar-winning film director (born 1930).
Brooke Shields — American actress and model (born 1965).
Also sharing the day:
Norman Vincent Peale (b. 1898) — minister and author of the best-seller The Power of Positive Thinking.
Joe Namath (b. 1943) — "Broadway Joe," the Jets quarterback who guaranteed and delivered a Super Bowl III upset.
Colin Farrell (b. 1976) — Irish actor and Golden Globe winner for In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin.
May 31 in history
1790 — President George Washington signed the first United States copyright law.
1859 — Big Ben began keeping time over the Houses of Parliament in London.
1911 — The RMS Titanic was launched in Belfast before a crowd of 100,000 people.
1868 — The first formal bicycle race was held in a Paris park and won by Englishman James Moore.
1879 — Werner von Siemens demonstrated the world's first electric passenger railway in Berlin.
2005 — Former FBI official Mark Felt was revealed as "Deep Throat," the secret Watergate source.
May 31 birthday questions
What zodiac sign is May 31?
Anyone born on May 31 is a Gemini — curious, quick-witted, and endlessly social.
What is the birthstone for May 31?
The birthstone for a May 31 birthday is Emerald, and the birth flower is the Lily of the Valley.
Who is the most famous person born on May 31?
Walt Whitman is among the best known — American poet and author of Leaves of Grass (born 1819).
What happened on May 31?
In 1790, President George Washington signed the first United States copyright law.
What day of the year is May 31?
May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years), with 214 days still to come.
Make their day unforgettable
Know someone born on May 31? See the full story of their exact birthday — the headlines, the #1 song, what things cost — and turn it into a personalized front-page newspaper they can keep.