31 May: Big Day in S. African History; No Clear Victor Off Jutland

By The Associated Press 14 mins ago Today is Sunday, May 31, the 151st day of 2009. There are 214 days left in the year. Other stuff from the AP. A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On May 31, 1889, more than 2,000 people perished when a dam break sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pa.On this date: In 1790, U.S. President George Washington signed into law the first U.S. copyright law. Two hundred years ago, in 1809, composer Franz Joseph Haydn died in Vienna at age 77. In 1819, poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, N.Y.In 1902, Britain and South Africa signed a peace treaty ending the Boer War. In 1910, the Union of South Africa was founded. In 1916, during World War I, British and German fleets fought the naval Battle of Jutland off Denmark; there was no clear-cut victor, although the British suffered heavier losses. Sixty years ago, in 1949, former State Department official Alger Hiss went on trial in New York, charged with perjury. (The jury ended up deadlocked, but Hiss was convicted in a second trial.) In 1961, South Africa became an independent republic. In 1962, Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel for his role in the Holocaust.

In 1970, tens of thousands of people died in an earthquake in Peru. In 1977, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making, was completed. Twenty years ago, in 1989, House Speaker Jim Wright, dogged by questions about his ethics, announced he would resign. (Tom Foley later succeeded him.) Fifteen years ago, in 1994, the United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union. Ten years ago: During a Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery, President Bill Clinton asked Americans to reconsider their ambivalence about Kosovo, calling it "a very small province in a small country. But it is a big test of what we believe in." In Turkey, the treason trial of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan opened. (Ocalan was later convicted and sentenced to death, but the death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2002.) In 2003, bombing suspect Eric Rudolph was arrested outside a grocery store in Murphy, N.C. (He later pleaded guilty to four bombings - including those at a Birmingham. Ala., abortion clinic and at the Atlanta Olympics - and was sentenced to four life terms.) Five years ago: In Memorial Day tributes, President George W. Bush declared that "America is safer" because of its fighting forces while Sen. John Kerry visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A bomb ripped through a Shiite Muslim mosque in Karachi, Pakistan, during evening prayers, killing at least 19 people. Alberta Martin, one of the last widows of a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, died in Enterprise, Ala., at age 97. In 2005, former FBI official W. Mark Felt stepped forward as "Deep Throat," the secret Washington Post source that helped bring down President Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal. One year ago: Space shuttle Discovery and a crew of seven blasted into orbit, carrying a giant Japanese lab addition to the international space station. Month-End Bonus: Currently Dead White Males Born on This Date-- Surgeon William Mayo, founder of the Mayo Clinic, in 1819 (same year as Wally Whitman); radio humorist Fred Allen in 1894;clergyman-author Norman Vincent Peale in 1898; actor Don Ameche in 1908; U.S. Sen. Henry Jackson, D-Wash., in 1912; Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1923; & country singer Johnny Paycheck in 1938.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Elaine Stewart is 80. Actor-director Clint Eastwood is 79. Singer Peter Yarrow is 71. Former Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite is 70. Singer-musician Augie Meyers is 69. Actress Sharon Gless is 66. Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath is 66. Actor Tom Berenger is 59. Actor Gregory Harrison is 59. Actress Roma Maffia is 51. Comedian Chris Elliott is 49. Actor Kyle Secor is 49. Actress Lea Thompson is 48. Singer Corey Hart is 47. Actor Hugh Dillon is 46. Rapper DMC is 45. Actress Brooke Shields is 44.  Today in Entertainment History -- On May 31, 1958, Sheb Wooley's "Purple People Eater" hit the top of the pop charts and stayed there for six weeks.[All the staff here found "Purple People Eater" quite amusing when it first came out, 51 loooong years ago. — Ed.] In 1961, Chuck Berry opened Berry Park, an outdoor amusement park in Wentzville, Mo. In 1976, The Who got into the Guinness Book of World Records as the loudest rock band ever, when their concert in England measured 120 decibels. That record has since been broken. In 1977, Emerson, Lake and Palmer began a tour of the U.S. accompanied by a 70-piece orchestra. In 1978, The Trammps' "Disco Inferno" album went gold. Twenty years ago, in 1989, the first International Rock Awards Ceremony was held in New York City. The Traveling Wilburys' "Volume One" was named album of the year, Guns N' Roses won artist of the year, and newcomer of the year went to Living Colour. [Has it ever been held again? Never heard of it, not that we're exactly up on awards ceremonies. — Ed.] In 1990, "Seinfeld" made its debut as "The Seinfeld Chronicles" on NBC. In 1995, Ted Nugent placed his handprint and signature in cement in the Hollywood Rock Walk. In 1996, singer Elsbeary Hobbs, who sang bass with The Drifters, died of throat and lung cancer in New York. He was 59. In 1998, singer Geri Halliwell, better known as Ginger Spice, quit the Spice Girls. In 2000, singer Johnnie Taylor died of an apparent heart attack at a hospital in Dallas. He was 62. He's probably best known for songs like "Who's Making Love" and "Disco Lady." That same day, Latin bandleader Tito Puente died in New York from complications from open heart surgery. He was 77. In 2006, Katie Couric appeared for the last time on NBC's "Today" show after 15 years on the program. She left to anchor the CBS Evening News."

Thought for Today: "One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it unless it has all been suffering, nothing but suffering." — Jane Austen, British novelist (1775-1817). [Well then, imagine how the editor here feels about your benighted shithole of a planet & the time lost thereon. — Ed.]