Today in History for 31st May 2025
Historical Events
1923 – The South African Indian Congress (SAIC) forms in Durban, South Africa, with Omar Hajee Amod Jhaveri as President
1928 – First aerial crossing of the Pacific takes off from Oakland
1937 – 1st quadruplets to finish college (Baylor University)
1958 – Dick Dale invents “surf music” with “Let’s Go Trippin”
1970 – KDUB TV channel 40 in Dubuque, IA (ABC) begins broadcasting
Famous Birthdays
1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (Wife at University), born in Skipton, Yorkshire, England (d. 1900)
1892 – Willem Ravelli, Dutch baritone singer (St Matthew Passion), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1980)
1893 – Janet Sobel [Jennie Olechovsky], Ukrainian-American abstract expressionist and drip-paint pioneering artist (Milky Way), born in Katerynoslav, Russian Empire (now Dnipro, Ukraine) (d. 1968)
1904 – Stan Brenders, Belgian jazz pianist and bandleader, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1969)
1929 – Neil Shaw, Canadian-British businessman and CEO of sugar company Tate and Lyle, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2023)
Famous Deaths
1198 – Moses ben Solomon Ha-Cohen, rabbi of Mainz, dies
1957 – Leopold Staff, Polish Modernist poet , dies at 78
1960 – Walther Funk, German economist and Nazi politician, dies at 69
2000 – Johnnie Taylor, American RandB and multi-genre singer (“Disco Lady”; “I Believe In You”), dies at 66
2021 – Phil Johnstone, British songwriter, keyboardist, and record producer (Robert Plant), dies at 63
