31 May 1804

An extremely large, powerful, and erratic tornado struck Central Oklahoma, killing eight people and injuring more than 150 others.

American physician George Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country who performed late-term abortions, was shot and killed by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist.

An organized mob of police and government-sponsored Sinhalese paramilitary forces began three days of attacks that led to the burning of the Jaffna Public Library (renovated building pictured) in Sri Lanka, destroying more than 97,000 items in one of the most violent 20th-century examples of ethnic biblioclasm.

World War II: German forces dropped four bombs on neutral Ireland, killing 28 people and damaging Áras an Uachtaráin, the residence of the President of Ireland.

The Second Boer War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in Pretoria, South Africa.

American Civil War: Confederate troops under Joseph E. Johnston and G. W. Smith engaged Union forces under George B. McClellan at the Battle of Seven Pines outside Richmond, Virginia.

American Revolution: The Committee of Safety of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, adopted the Mecklenburg Resolves, which annulled and vacated all laws originating from the authority of the king or the Parliament of Great Britain.

Cardinal Bessarion announced his donation of 746 Greek and Latin codices to the Republic of Venice, forming the Biblioteca Marciana.

Majapahit forces under Raden Wijaya won a major victory in the Mongol invasion of Java, now considered to be the founding date of the Indonesian city of Surabaya.

Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': Mongol forces defeated a Kievan Rus' army at the Battle of the Kalka River in present-day Ukraine.

A Mongol army under Genghis Khan captured Zhongdu (modern Beijing), the capital of the Jin dynasty of China.

Petronius Maximus, the ruler of the Western Roman Empire, was stoned to death by a mob as he fled Rome before Vandal forces arrived and sacked the city.

Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the Manbij offensive, in order to capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.

A record breaking 2.6 mile wide tornado strikes near El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, causing eight fatalities (including three storm chasers) and over 150 injuries.

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.

Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds.

Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-124 carrying the second portion of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station.

Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat".

Air France retires its fleet of Concorde aircraft.

The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.

United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.

The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.