Calendar Sheet: What Happened on May 31?

This entry from "Kalenderblatt" looks back at significant events, notable birthdays, and death anniversaries connected to May 31st, specifically referencing the date in 2026.

Historical data for May 31st includes several key moments. In 2021, China's Communist Party decided to ease birth policies, allowing couples to have three children amid a declining birthrate and rapid aging of the population. On May 31st, 1996, Bundeswehr soldiers publicly took an oath in Berlin for the first time. A more distant historical event recalls the launch of the luxury liner "Titanic" from Belfast in 1911. Earlier still, the foundation stone for the Göltzschtalbrücke, now considered the world's largest brick bridge, was laid in Vogtland in 1846. The entry also notes Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger's 1811 attempt to fly with a homemade apparatus, which famously ended in the river, earning him the moniker "The Tailor of Ulm."

The calendar also marks birthdays of prominent figures. Actor Colin Farrell, known for films like "The Banshees of Inisherin," turns 50 in 2026. German cabaret artist and writer Frank Goosen, author of "Raketenmänner," celebrates his 60th birthday. The piece also notes the birthday of Karin Tietze-Ludwig, a German television presenter who hosted the ARD lottery number drawings from 1967 to 1998. Children's author James Krüss, known for "Timm Thaler oder Das verkaufte Lachen," is also remembered.

Among the death anniversaries for May 31st is Rupert Neudeck, a German journalist and founder of the Committee Cap Anamur/German Emergency Doctors, who passed away in 2016.