Today in History: Wednesday, May 31

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455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome. 1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus' and Cumans. 1578 – King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, France. 1669 – Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary. 1775 – American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolves are adopted in the Province of North Carolina. 1790 – Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790. 1909 – The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convenes for the first time. 1910 – The creation of the Union of South Africa. 1924 – The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Beijing government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China," whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promises to respect. 1942 – Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia. 1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30. 1973 – 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. 1985 – Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, leaving 76 dead. 2005 – Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat." 2013 – The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.