The Top 5 Historical Events of May 31
May 31st in history has seen many important events that have had a lasting effect on the world. From architectural wonders to the quest for justice, these occasions demonstrate just how many different kinds of milestones have occurred.
1. The Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster (Big Ben) Starts Keeping Time (1859)
Big Ben started ticking on May 31, 1859. As a result, the Palace of Westminster in London diverged. While it’s actually the Great Bell in the clock tower, which is possibly called Big Ben, the actual name Big Ben is applicable to the British culture. The clock in the tower of the Clock Tower and designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and made by clock-maker Edward John Dent was celebrated and was one of the choices of precision clocks. The sound of the clock has been heard for centuries and has become synonymous with resilience and continuity and particularly with national events in history. During the Second World War, the sound of Big Ben’s hour was focused on great hopes and hopes. You can hear a noise that still crashes every hour from 1500 hours. Victorian engineering and architecture is proof of the existence born in the spirit of British people.
2. The Union of South Africa is Established (1910)
May 31, 1910, the Union of South Africa, uniting four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal Colony, Transvaal Colony, and Orange River Colony actually happened. This unification marked the beginning of modern South Africa that forms the basis of its later politics as well as its society. The impact of the establishment of the Union of South Africa in the history is very serious in order to firmly Britist ruling of the region. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that the construction of the Union of South Afric introduced, a complicates administrative model hence it will continue to impact this country for more than hundred years. On May 31, 1910, therefore, a blend brewed combining unification and the difficult process of reconciling South Africa’s various races.
3. Adolf Eichmann Executed in Israel (1962)
The day was May 31, 1962, when Adolf Eichmann was executed. Known for making the Holocaust run smoothly, Eichmann was caught in Argentina by Israeli agents in 1960. After his capture, Eichmann was taken back to Jerusalem to stand trial. The world turned its head to Jerusalem for the trial and the world realized the extent of the genocide. When Eichmann was put on trial, he was targeted for specific reasons: his ability to work with the German government and his hatred for the Jews. When the verdict was announced, Eichmann was given the death penalty for his crimes against humanity and his war crimes. Not only did it impact prosecutorial history, it brought closure to the Second World War. By killing this one Nazi officer, the Jewish army and the Jews who got lucky and escaped Germany could but the Second World War behind them, and so could the Germans. After the trial, the Nuremburg Trials became less popular. By killing this one Nazi war criminal, the Jews were able to close the book on the Holocaust and move on with the rest of their lives.
4. Vanity Fair Reveals “Deep Throat” Identity (2005)
President Richard Nixon
The mysterious person called “Deep Throat” who had played an essential role in the Watergate scandal became public, as Vanity Fair announced on May 31, 2005, that W. Mark Felt, a former assistant director of the FBI, had been Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s secret source of vital information. Suddenly, a completely new light was shed on the most important political scandal in American history.
When Mark Felt revealed himself to the world as “Deep Throat,” it became clear that not just the president but also his chief political associates and closest advisers were deeply involved in numerous illegal activities. Watergate had played itself out in courtrooms across the land, but with Felt’s helping hand, Woodward and Bernstein had discovered that the real trial was taking place outside the courtroom. Secret slush funds, campaign spying, heavy-handed pressure tactics, burglary, and bugging, were all part of the game plan for officials of the Nixon administration. And Assistant Director Mark Felt was roundly castigated for his participation in these activities.
Felt’s shocking revelation as the person deep in the darkness known as “Deep Throat” underscored the importance of investigative journalism and of whistleblowing in a democracy devoted to governmental accountability. The Washington Post’s Pulitzer-Prize–winning coverage of Watergate not only resulted in the resignation of a president, which was what had happened in the Post’s world, but also elevated journalism itself to the category of presidency-toppling institution. Mark Felt’s actions—for, rather than against, honesty and justice—had shown that individuals like him were heroes in an age when people destroyed the society they sought to preserve.
5. The Earthquake in Peru (1970)
Remembered as a day of deep tragedy in Peru, May 31, 1970 saw a massive earthquake devastate the area. Registering 7.9 on the Richter scale, the quake caused a massive avalanche of ice, rock and mud that buried Yungay forever. The disaster killed perhaps 70,000 people, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in South American history.
In the weeks and months after the earthquake, international aid poured in, as did gangs of volunteers of all ages and walks of life, who banded together to rebuild the crippled towns. In the face of unspeakable loss—their towns, their families—they discovered a deep well of resolve and shared humanity. A disaster so large was a wake-up call about the need for preparedness and response to mega-disasters, and a holistic approach to surviving and preventing them in the future.
