Famous people born on 31 May

• Walt WhitmanAmerican poet, essayist and journalist · 1819–1892
  72 yrs
• Alexander PopeEnglish poet · 1688–1744
  56 yrs
• Pius XIPope of the Catholic Church from 1922 to 1939 · 1857–1939
  81 yrs
• Philip II of SpainKing of Spain, Portugal, Naples and Sicily; King consort of England, lived 1527-1598 · 1527–1598
  71 yrs
• Saint-John PerseFrench poet and diplomat · 1887–1975
  88 yrs
• Maurice AllaisFrench economist · 1911–2010
  99 yrs
• John Robert SchriefferAmerican physicist · 1931–2019
  88 yrs
• Chien-Shiung Wu ↗Chinese-American physicist (1912–1997) (death at 85 years) · 1912–1997
  84 yrs
• Rainer Werner Fassbinder ↗German filmmaker, playwright and actor · 1945–1982
  37 yrs
• Rainier III, Prince of Monaco ↗Prince of Monaco from 1949 to 2005 · 1923–2005
  81 yrs
• Ludwig Tieck ↗German poet, writer, and critic · 1773–1853
  79 yrs
• John Bonham ↗English drummer · 1948–1980
  32 yrs
• Don Ameche ↗American actor · 1908–1993
  85 yrs
• Konstantin Paustovsky ↗Russian writer · 1892–1968
  76 yrs
• Charles Greeley Abbot ↗American astrophysicist and the 5th Secretary of the Smithsonian · 1872–1973
  101 yrs
• Alida Valli ↗Italian actress · 1921–2006
  84 yrs
• Frei Otto ↗German architect · 1925–2015
  89 yrs
• Nur Jahan ↗Padshah Begum of the Mughal Empire · 1577–1645
  68 yrs
• Bernard Lewis ↗British-American historian · 1916–2018
  101 yrs
• Lauri Kristian Relander ↗Finnish politician; the 2nd President of Finland · 1883–1942
  58 yrs
• Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki ↗King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania · 1640–1673
  33 yrs
• Gregor Strasser ↗German politician, rival of Adolf Hitler inside the Nazi Party · 1892–1934
  42 yrs
• Mikhail Nesterov ↗Russian artist · 1862–1942
  80 yrs
• Julius Richard Petri ↗German microbiologist · 1852–1921
  69 yrs
• Margaret Beaufort ↗Noblewoman; Mother of King Henry VII · 1443–1509
  66 yrs
• Andrea de Cesaris ↗Italian racing driver · 1959–2014
  55 yrs
• Denholm Elliott ↗British actor · 1922–1992
  70 yrs
• Georg Herwegh ↗Poet and politician · 1817–1875
  57 yrs
• Marin Marais ↗French composer and viol player · 1656–1728
  72 yrs
• Norman Vincent Peale ↗American writer and minister · 1898–1993
  95 yrs
• Fred Allen ↗American comedian · 1894–1956
  61 yrs
• Henry Sidgwick ↗English philosopher · 1838–1900
  62 yrs
• John George Kemeny ↗Jewish-Hungarian American mathematician, computer scientist, educator, and President of Dartmouth College · 1926–1992
  66 yrs
• Emperor Shenzong of Song ↗6th emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty · 1048–1085
  36 yrs

Only people with a known day of birth are listed, and only people who have died. Dates are from Wikidata (CC0), last updated 22 October 2026.

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