What happened on May 31 ?

1048 - Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1131)

1443 - Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England (d. 1509)

1469 - King Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)

1535 - Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)

1557 - Feodor I, Tsar of Russia (d. 1598)

1613 - John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)

1640 - Micha? Wi?niowiecki, King of Poland (d. 1673)

1656 - Marin Marais, French composer and viol player (d. 1728)

1753 - Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French Revolutionary (d. 1793)

1754 - Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (d. 1817)

1773 - Ludwig Tieck, German poet and writer (d. 1853)

1801 - Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist (d. 1887)

1819 - Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)

1838 - Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (d. 1900)

1852 - Francisco Moreno, Argentine explorer (d. 1919)

1857 - Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)

1860 - Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)

1863 - Francis Younghusband, British explorer (d. 1942)

1872 - Heath Robinson, English cartoonist (d. 1944)

1883 - Lauri Kristian Relander, President of Finland (d. 1942)

1887 - Saint-John Perse, French diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)

1892 - Michel Kikoine, Belarus painter (d. 1968)

1892 - Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (d. 1968)

1894 - Fred Allen, American comedian (d. 1956)

1898 - Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d. 1993)

1908 - Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)

1911 - Maurice Allais, French economist, Nobel Prize laureate

1912 - Alfred Deller, English countertenor (d. 1979)

1916 - Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (d. 1997)

1921 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (d. 2006)

1922 - Denholm Elliott, English actor (d. 1992)

1923 - Prince Rainier III of Monaco (d. 2005)

1930 - Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, and producer

1931 - John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

1931 - Shirley Verrett, American soprano

1932 - Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d. 1994)

1935 - Jim Bolger, Prime Minister of New Zealand

1938 - Johnny PayCheck, American singer (d. 2003)

1938 - John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

1938 - Peter Yarrow, American folk singer (Peter, Paul and Mary)

1939 - Terry Waite, British humanitarian

1941 - Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1943 - Sharon Gless, American actress

1943 - Joe Namath, American football player

1945 - Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German film director (d. 1982)

1948 - John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)

1949 - Tom Berenger, American actor

1950 - Gregory Harrison, American television actor

1954 - Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)

1957 - Jim Craig, American hockey player

1960 - Chris Elliott, American comedian

1961 - Lea Thompson, American actress

1962 - Corey Hart, Canadian singer and songwriter

1963 - Wesley Willis, American musician (d. 2003)

1963 - Hugh Dillon, Canadian actor and musician

1963 - Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian

1964 - Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canwest Global Communications Corp.

1964 - Darryl McDaniels, American musician, also know as D.M.C (Run-D.M.C.)

1965 - Brooke Shields, American model and actress

1967 - Kenny Lofton, baseball player

1967 - Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress

1972 - Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier

1972 - Sarah Murdoch, English model

1975 - Sienna Guillory, English Actress

1976 - Colin Farrell, Irish actor

1977 - Debbie King, English TV Presenter

1977 - Scott Klopfenstein, American Vocalist/Guitarist/Keyboardist for Reel Big Fish and The Littlest Man Band

1980 - Andrew Hurley, American Drummer for Fall Out Boy

1984 - Jason Smith, Australian actor