Did you know
The cartel emerged to prominence in the early 1990s, and was estimated to control about 80% of the American and 90% of the European cocaine markets in the mid-1990s.
Notable Deaths on May 31
2022 — Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela
Colombian drug lord (born 1939)
May 31 has 115 recorded notable deaths across history, from 455 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
115 source records
455 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on May 31
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 2010 Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while still in international waters trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip; nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed in the ensuing violent affray. Source
- 1947 Ferenc Nagy, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, resigns from office after blackmail from the Hungarian Communist Party accusing him of being part of a plot against the state. This grants the Communists effective control of the Hungarian government. Source
- 1902 Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa. Source
- 1955 The U.S. Supreme Court expands on its Brown v. Board of Education decision by ordering district courts and school districts to enforce educational desegregation "at all deliberate speed." Source
Did you know
Louise Joséphine Bourgeois was a French-American artist.
Did you know
Elizabeth Blackwell was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Kingdom.
Did you know
Joseph Grimaldi was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era.
Did you know
One of the best left-backs of his era, he is best known for his flowing curly blond hair and his performance at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, in which Brazil finished fourth.
More major people who died on May 31
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2010
Louise Bourgeois
French-American sculptor and painter (born 1911)
Louise Joséphine Bourgeois was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker.
1910
Elizabeth Blackwell
English-American physician and educator (born 1821)
Elizabeth Blackwell was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United…
1837
Joseph Grimaldi
English actor, comedian and dancer (born 1779)
Joseph Grimaldi was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era.
2014
Marinho Chagas
Brazilian footballer and coach (born 1952)
Francisco das Chagas Marinho, generally known as Marinho Chagas or Francisco Marinho, was a Brazilian professional footballer.
2025
Stanley Fischer
Israeli-American economist (born 1943)
Stanley Fischer was an American and Israeli economist who served as the 20th vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017. Fischer previously served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013.
1321
Birger
king of Sweden (born 1280)
Birger Magnusson was King of Sweden from 1290 until his deposition in 1318.
1989
Owen Lattimore
American author and academic (born 1900)
Owen Lattimore was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia.
1162
Géza II
king of Hungary (born 1130)
Géza II was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1141 to 1162. He was the oldest son of King Béla the Blind and his wife, Helena of Serbia.
1998
Charles Van Acker
Belgian-American race car driver (born 1912)
Charles Edward "Poncho" Van Acker Sr. was a Belgian-American racing driver. He first attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1946, but was too slow.
1985
Gaston Rébuffat
French mountaineer and author (born 1921)
Gaston Rébuffat was a French alpinist, mountain guide, and author.
1981
Barbara Ward
Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist and journalist (born 1914)
Barbara Mary Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries.
1982
Carlo Mauri
Italian mountaineer and explorer (born 1930)
Carlo Mauri was an Italian mountaineer and explorer. Mauri was born in Lecco.
1989
C. L. R. James
Trinidadian journalist and historian (born 1901)
Cyril Lionel Robert James, who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist, Trotskyist activist, and Marxist writer.
2006
Miguel Ortiz Berrocal
Spanish sculptor (born 1933)
Miguel Ortiz Berrocal was a Spanish figurative and abstract sculptor. He is best known for his puzzle sculptures, which can be disassembled into many abstract pieces.
2024
Robert Pickton
Canadian serial killer (born 1949)
Robert William Pickton, also known as the Pig Farmer Killer or the Butcher, was a Canadian pig farmer and serial killer.
960
Fujiwara no Morosuke
Japanese statesman (born 909)
Fujiwara no Morosuke , also known as Kujō-dono or Bōjō-udaijin, was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the middle Heian period.
1970
Terry Sawchuk
Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1929)
Terrance Gordon Sawchuk was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, and…
1945
Odilo Globocnik
Italian-Austrian SS officer (born 1904)
Odilo Lothar Ludwig Globočnik was a Nazi Party official and a perpetrator of the Holocaust.
1970
Clare Sheridan
English sculptor and author (born 1885)
Clare Consuelo Sheridan was an English sculptor, journalist and writer, known primarily for creating busts for famous sitters and keeping travel diaries.