Famous Birthdays for May 31st

Pre-1600[edit]

• 1443 (or 1441) – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (d. 1509)^[19]
• 1462 – Philipp II, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1504)
• 1469 – Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)^[20]
• 1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)^[21]
• 1556 – Jerzy Radziwiłł, Catholic cardinal (d. 1600)
• 1577 – Nur Jahan, Empress consort of the Mughal Empire (d. 1645)

1601–1900[edit]

• 1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
• 1640 – Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (d. 1673)
• 1641 – Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem (d. 1707)
• 1725 – Ahilyabai Holkar, Queen of the Malwa Kingdom under the Maratha Empire (d. 1795)
• 1732 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (d. 1812)
• 1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
• 1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter and educator (d. 1817)
• 1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German poet, author, and critic (d. 1853)
• 1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1887)
• 1812 – Robert Torrens, Irish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1884)^[22]
• 1815 – Adye Douglas, English-Australian cricketer and politician, 15th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1906)
• 1818 – John Albion Andrew, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1867)
• 1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (d. 1892)
• 1827 – Kusumoto Ine, first Japanese female doctor of Western medicine (d. 1903)^[23]
• 1835 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (d. 1869)
• 1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English economist and philosopher (d. 1900)
• 1842 – John Cox Bray, Australian politician, 15th Premier of South Australia (d. 1894)
• 1847 – William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Canadian-Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (d. 1924)
• 1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentinian explorer and academic (d. 1919)
• 1852 – Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist, invented the Petri dish (d. 1921)
• 1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
• 1858 – Graham Wallas, English socialist, social psychologist, and educationalist (d. 1932)
• 1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
• 1863 – Francis Younghusband, Indian-English captain and explorer (d. 1942)
• 1866 – John Ringling, American entrepreneur; one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus (d. 1936)
• 1875 – Rosa May Billinghurst, British suffragette and women's rights activist (d.1953)
• 1879 – Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian soprano (d. 1952)
• 1882 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (d. 1956)
• 1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
• 1885 – Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (d. 1967)
• 1887 – Saint-John Perse, French poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
• 1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1968)
• 1892 – Erich Neumann, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1951)
• 1892 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian poet and author (d. 1968)
• 1892 – Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1934)
• 1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian, radio host, game show panelist, and author (d. 1956)
• 1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (d. 1993)
• 1900 – Lucile Godbold, American athlete (d. 1981)

1901–present[edit]

• 1901 – Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
• 1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1909 – Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2000)
• 1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
• 1912 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American experimental physicist (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer and educator (d. 2006)
• 1916 – Bert Haanstra, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
• 1918 – Robert Osterloh, American actor (d. 2001)^[24]
• 1918 – Lloyd Quarterman, African American chemist (d. 1982)
• 1919 – Robie Macauley, American editor, novelist and critic (d. 1995)
• 1921 – Edna Doré, English actress (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Andrew Grima, Anglo-Italian jewellery designer (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Alida Valli, Austrian-Italian actress and singer (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Denholm Elliott, English-Spanish actor (d. 1992)
• 1923 – Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Claudio Matteini, Italian football player (d. 2003)^[25]
• 1925 – Julian Beck, American actor and director (d. 1986)
• 1927 – James Eberle, English admiral (d. 2018)
• 1927 – Michael Sandberg, Baron Sandberg, English lieutenant and banker (d. 2017)
• 1928 – Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (d. 2001)
• 1929 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, musician, and producer
• 1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
• 1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano and actress (d. 2010)
• 1932 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian pianist, bassist, and composer (d. 2012)
• 1932 – Jay Miner, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 1994)
• 1933 – Henry B. Eyring, American religious leader, educator, and author
• 1934 – Jim Hutton, American actor (d. 1979)
• 1935 – Jim Bolger, New Zealand businessman and politician, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
• 1938 – John Prescott, British sailor and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1938 – Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1939 – Terry Waite, English humanitarian and author
• 1940 – Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Ukrainian hammer thrower and coach
• 1940 – Augie Meyers, American musician and singer-songwriter
• 1940 – Gilbert Shelton, American illustrator
• 1941 – June Clark, Welsh nurse and educator
• 1941 – Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1941 – William Nordhaus, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress
• 1943 – Joe Namath, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
• 1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
• 1945 – Laurent Gbagbo, Ivorian academic and politician, 4th President of Côte d'Ivoire
• 1945 – Bernard Goldberg, American journalist and author
• 1946 – Ted Baehr, American publisher and critic
• 1946 – Steve Bucknor, Jamaican cricketer and umpire
• 1946 – Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican singer and musician^[26]
• 1946 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat (d. 2009)
• 1946 – Debbie Moore, English model and businesswoman
• 1947 – Junior Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1947 – Gabriele Hinzmann, German discus thrower
• 1948 – Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1948 – John Bonham, English musician, songwriter and drummer (d. 1980)
• 1948 – Martin Hannett, English bass player, guitarist, and record producer (d. 1991)
• 1948 – Duncan Hunter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician
• 1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor, film producer and television writer
• 1950 – Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment
• 1950 – Gregory Harrison, American actor^[27]
• 1950 – Edgar Savisaar, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (d. 2022)
• 1951 – Karl-Hans Riehm, German hammer thrower
• 1952 – Karl Bartos, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player^[28]
• 1953 – Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor and screenwriter
• 1954 – Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
• 1954 – Vicki Sue Robinson, American actress and singer (d. 2000)
• 1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Susie Essman, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
• 1956 – Fritz Hilpert, German drummer and composer
• 1956 – John Young, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1957 – Jim Craig, American ice hockey player
• 1959 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver (d. 2014)
• 1959 – Phil Wilson, English politician
• 1960 – Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman
• 1960 – Chris Elliott, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
• 1960 – Peter Winterbottom, English rugby player
• 1961 – Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1961 – Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician
• 1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress, director, and producer
• 1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1963 – David Leigh, holder of the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at the University of Manchester
• 1963 – Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, 38th Prime Minister of Hungary
• 1963 – Wesley Willis, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2003)
• 1964 – Leonard Asper, Canadian lawyer and businessman
• 1964 – Stéphane Caristan, French hurdler and coach
• 1964 – Yukio Edano, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
• 1964 – Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, American rapper and producer
• 1965 – Brooke Shields, American model, actress, and producer
• 1966 – Diesel, American-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist^[29]
• 1966 – Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lankan cricketer and referee
• 1967 – Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television host and producer
• 1967 – Kenny Lofton, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1971 – Arun Luthra, Indo-Anglo-American saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, and arranger
• 1972 – Christian McBride, American bassist and record producer
• 1972 – Archie Panjabi, British actress
• 1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian skier
• 1972 – Antti Niemi, Finnish international footballer and coach^[30]
• 1972 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player and coach
• 1974 – Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Japanese comedian and singer
• 1975 – Mac Suzuki, Japanese baseball player
• 1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor ^[31]
• 1976 – Matt Harpring, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1977 – Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer
• 1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
• 1979 – Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer
• 1981 – Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer
• 1981 – Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer
• 1981 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player^[32]
• 1981 – Marlies Schild, Austrian skier
• 1982 – Brett Firman, Australian rugby league player^[33]
• 1984 – Andrew Bailey, American baseball player
• 1984 – Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer
• 1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player
• 1985 – Jordy Nelson, American football player
• 1986 – Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
• 1989 – Marco Reus, German footballer^[34]
• 1990 – Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1992 – Michaël Bournival, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1992 – Laura Ikauniece, Latvian heptathlete^[35]
• 1995 – Matthew Lodge, Australian rugby league player^[36]
• 1996 – Normani Kordei Hamilton, American singer^[37]
• 1996 – Brandon Smith, New Zealand rugby league player^[38]
• 1997 – Woo Jin-young, South Korean singer and rapper^[39]
• 1998 – Santino Ferrucci, American race car driver^[40]
• 2001 – Iga Świątek, Polish tennis player^[41]