May 31

1834  Sublette and Campbell start constructing Ft. William, which would later become Ft. Laramie.

1872  A boating club was organized in Cheyenne.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1877   Colonel Nelson Miles reports that 2,300 Sioux have surrendered at the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail Agencies over the past two months..

1903  Theodore Roosevelt attended church in Cheyenne (it was a Sunday) and lunched with Joseph Carey.

1913   The 17th Amendment to the US Constitution, providing for the popular election of U.S. senators, was declared in effect.

1916    So, on the day thousands lost their lives violently at sea, what did the local news look like? May 31, 1916
 

Well, given that the Battle of Jutland was a naval battle, we can't expect it to show up in the day's news, even the late editions, at all.

Indeed, something that's easy to forget about the battle, as we tend to think of the later battles of World War Two a bit more (which also features some large surface engagements, contrary to the myth to the contrary) is that World War One naval battles were exclusively visual in nature.

That's not to say that radio wasn't used, it most certainly was. But targeting was all visual.  And as the battle took place in the North Sea, dense fog and hanging smoke played a prominent role in the battle.

Now, we note that, as while the British and German fleets were using radio communications, they weren't broadcasting the news, and they wouldn't have done that even if it were the 1940s.  And the radio communications were there, but exclusively military.  News of the battle had to wait until the fleets returned home, which is interesting in that the Germans were closer to their ports, so closer to press outlets.  Indeed, the point of the battle was to keep the Germans in port, or at the bottom of the sea.

So, on this day of a major battle, maybe in some ways the major battle of World War One, what news did local residents see?

The death of Mr. Hill, and the draft Roosevelt movement were receiving headline treatment in Sheridan.

I'm surprised that there was a University of Wyoming student newspaper for this day, as I would have thought that the university would have been out of school by then.  Maybe not.  However.  Interesting to note that this was published the day after Memorial Day, so it was a contemporary paper.  Now, the current paper, The Branding Iron, is weekly, I think.  The crises of the times show up in the form of UWs early ROTC making an appearance on Memorial Day.
1921   Guido F. Schlote of Afton received a patent for a coat collar fastener.

1945  1,500,000 lbs of wool reported to have been shipped from Rock Springs during the last six weeks.  Wool was a vital defense fiber during World War Two as it formed the fabric used for all military uniforms used in the ETO and over half used in the Continental United States.  Only in the Pacific was cotton the dominant fiber.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1947  Ft. F. E. Warren becomes an Air Force Base.  Attribution:  On This Day.