May 31
1791 - The first U.S. Copyright Law was enacted, protecting books, maps and other original materials.
1819 - Poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hill, New York.
1859 - The Big Ben clock tower in London went into operation.
1889 - More than 2,000 people died when a dam broke and sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
1911 - The hull of the Titanic was launched in Belfast. At the ceremony, a White Star Line employee claimed, "Not even God himself could sink this ship."
1913 - The 17th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for the popular election of U.S. Senators, was declared in effect.
1916 - British and German fleets fought the Battle of Jutland off the coast of Denmark during World War I.
1961 - South Africa became an independent republic as it withdrew from the British Commonwealth.
1962 - Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel for his role in the Holocaust.
1977 - The trans-Alaska oil pipeline was completed after three years of construction.
1990 - The sitcom "Seinfeld" premiered on NBC.
1991 - Angola's 16-year civil war came to an end.
1994 - The United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.
2003 - Eric Rudolph, suspect in bombings at a Birmingham, Alabama abortion clinic and at the Atlanta Olympic Games, was arrested outside a grocery store in Murphy, North Carolina. (He later plead guilty and was sentenced to four life terms.)
2004 - Alberta Martin, age 97, one of the last widows of a U.S. Civil War veteran died. She had married Confederate veteran William Martin in 1927 when she was 21 and he was 81.
2005 - Former FBI official W. Mark Felt stepped forward as "Deep Throat", the secret Washington Post source that helped bring down President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.
2009 - Dr. George Tiller, a provider of late-term abortions, was shot and killed in a Wichita, Kansas church. (Gunman Scott Roeder was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.)
Birthdays
24 - Farrah Abraham (reality TV personality)
30 - Jordy Nelson (football player)
39 - Colin Farrell (actor)
50 - Brooke Shields (actress)
54 - Lea Thompson (actress)
55 - Chris Elliott (actor/comedian)
66 - Tom Berenger (actor)
72 - Sharon Gless (actress)
72 - Joe Namath (football hall of famer)
85 - Clint Eastwood (actor/director)
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Today in Sports History - May 31
1879 - The original Madison Square Garden opened in New York City.
1937 - The Brooklyn Dodgers ended the 24-game win streak of Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants.
2002 - Nebraska defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 7-2 in the first game of the Lincoln Regional
2008 - Nebraska lost to UC-Irvine 3-2 in the second game of the Lincoln Regional.
2008 - Nebraska defeated Binghamton 8-6 in an elimination game at the Stillwater Regional
1791 - The first U.S. Copyright Law was enacted, protecting books, maps and other original materials.
1819 - Poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hill, New York.
1859 - The Big Ben clock tower in London went into operation.
1889 - More than 2,000 people died when a dam broke and sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
1911 - The hull of the Titanic was launched in Belfast. At the ceremony, a White Star Line employee claimed, "Not even God himself could sink this ship."
1913 - The 17th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for the popular election of U.S. Senators, was declared in effect.
1916 - British and German fleets fought the Battle of Jutland off the coast of Denmark during World War I.
1961 - South Africa became an independent republic as it withdrew from the British Commonwealth.
1962 - Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel for his role in the Holocaust.
1977 - The trans-Alaska oil pipeline was completed after three years of construction.
1990 - The sitcom "Seinfeld" premiered on NBC.
1991 - Angola's 16-year civil war came to an end.
1994 - The United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.
2003 - Eric Rudolph, suspect in bombings at a Birmingham, Alabama abortion clinic and at the Atlanta Olympic Games, was arrested outside a grocery store in Murphy, North Carolina. (He later plead guilty and was sentenced to four life terms.)
2004 - Alberta Martin, age 97, one of the last widows of a U.S. Civil War veteran died. She had married Confederate veteran William Martin in 1927 when she was 21 and he was 81.
2005 - Former FBI official W. Mark Felt stepped forward as "Deep Throat", the secret Washington Post source that helped bring down President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.
2009 - Dr. George Tiller, a provider of late-term abortions, was shot and killed in a Wichita, Kansas church. (Gunman Scott Roeder was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.)
Birthdays
24 - Farrah Abraham (reality TV personality)
30 - Jordy Nelson (football player)
39 - Colin Farrell (actor)
50 - Brooke Shields (actress)
54 - Lea Thompson (actress)
55 - Chris Elliott (actor/comedian)
66 - Tom Berenger (actor)
72 - Sharon Gless (actress)
72 - Joe Namath (football hall of famer)
85 - Clint Eastwood (actor/director)
======================================
Today in Sports History - May 31
1879 - The original Madison Square Garden opened in New York City.
1937 - The Brooklyn Dodgers ended the 24-game win streak of Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants.
2002 - Nebraska defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 7-2 in the first game of the Lincoln Regional
2008 - Nebraska lost to UC-Irvine 3-2 in the second game of the Lincoln Regional.
2008 - Nebraska defeated Binghamton 8-6 in an elimination game at the Stillwater Regional
