The temperature on July 31, 1939 was between 13.4 °C and 20.9 °C and averaged 16.6 °C. There was 2.3 mm of rain during 0.5 hours. There was 7.9 hours of sunshine (51%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the southwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from June 24, 1937 to July 25, 1939 the cabinet Colijn IV, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from July 25, 1939 to August 10, 1939 the cabinet Colijn V, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1939 to September 3, 1940 the cabinet De Geer II, with Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU) as prime minister.
April 14 » The Grapes of Wrath, by American author John Steinbeck is first published by the Viking Press.
April 20 » Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday's celebrations in Germany
July 28 » The Sutton Hoo helmet is discovered.
September 17 » World War II: German submarineU-29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMSCourageous.
November 4 » World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Customs Service to implement the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowing cash-and-carry purchases of weapons by belligerents.
December 27 » The 7.8 Mw Erzincan earthquake shakes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). At least 32,700 people were killed.
Day of death May 28, 2003
The temperature on May 28, 2003 was between 9.1 °C and 23.7 °C and averaged 17.3 °C. There was 9.0 hours of sunshine (55%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the east-northeast. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from Monday, July 22, 2002 to Tuesday, May 27, 2003 the cabinet Balkenende I, with Mr.dr. J.P. Balkenende (CDA) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from Tuesday, May 27, 2003 to Friday, July 7, 2006 the cabinet Balkenende II, with Mr.dr. J.P. Balkenende (CDA) as prime minister.
February 1 » Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
March 17 » Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
April 16 » The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union.
August 19 » A car-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.
October 31 » Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir's 22 years in power.
December 26 » The 6.6 Mw Bam earthquake shakes southeastern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving more than 26,000 dead and 30,000 injured.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: James Downs, "Downs Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/downs-tree/I312395498027.php : accessed January 13, 2026), "John Arthur May (1939-2003)".
Copy warning
Genealogical publications are copyright protected. Although data is often retrieved from public archives, the searching, interpreting, collecting, selecting and sorting of the data results in a unique product. Copyright protected work may not simply be copied or republished.
Please stick to the following rules
Request permission to copy data or at least inform the author, chances are that the author gives permission, often the contact also leads to more exchange of data.
Do not use this data until you have checked it, preferably at the source (the archives).
State from whom you have copied the data and ideally also his/her original source.