31 January
January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 334 days remaining, (335 in leap years).
Events
- 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon.
- 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I of England.
- 1747 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Dock Hospital.
- 1849 - Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
- 1876 - The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
- 1814 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.
- 1915 - World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russians.
- 1917 - World War I: Germany announces its U-boats will engage in unrestricted submarine warfare.
- 1929 - The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky.
- 1930 - 3M Markets Scotch Tape.
- 1936 - The Green Hornet radio show debuts.
- 1944 - World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
- 1945 - Eddie Slovik is executed, the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.
- 1946 - Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
- 1950 - President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
- 1956 - Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1958 - The first successful American satellite, Explorer I, is launched into orbit.
- 1958 - James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.
- 1961 - Ham the Chimp travels into outer space
- 1968 - Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon.
- 1968 - Nauru declares independence from Australia.
- 1971 - Apollo program: Astronauts aboard Apollo 14 lift off for a mission to the moon.
- 1988 - Super Bowl XXII: The Washington Redskins win their second championship of the 1980s, 42-10.
- 1990 - The first McDonald's opens in Moscow, Russia.
- 1993 - Super Bowl XXVII: The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Buffalo Bills, 52-17.
- 1995 - President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.
- 1996 - An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.
- 1999 - Super Bowl XXXIII: The Denver Broncos defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-19.
- 2000 - An Alaska Airlines MD-83 crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Malibu, California killing 131
- 2001 - In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crash into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
- 2003- Man in Miami steals US Mail truck, taking hostages with him. Later, he releases the hostages and surrenders to police.
Births
- 1752 - Gouverneur Morris, lawmaker and diplomat, (d. 1816)
- 1797 - Franz Schubert, composer, (d. 1828)
- 1872 - Zane Grey, writer, (d. 1939)
- 1884 - Theodor Heuss, politician and publicist, (d. 1963)
- 1892 - Eddie Cantor, actor, singer, (d. 1964)
- 1901 - Marie Luise Kaschnitz, writer, (d. 1974)
- 1902 - Alva Mydral, politician, (d. 1986)
- 1902 - Tallulah Bankhead, actress, (d. 1968)
- 1905 - Christian Dior, couturier, (d. 1957)
- 1905 - John O'Hara, writer, (d. 1970)
- 1914 - Jersey Joe Walcott, boxer, (d. 1994)
- 1919 - Jackie Robinson, baseball player, (d. 1972)
- 1920 - Paul Warnke, diplomat, (d. 2001)
- 1921 - Carol Channing, actress
- 1921 - Mario Lanza, singer, actor, (d. 1959)
- 1923 - Norman Mailer, writer and journalist
- 1925 - Benjamin Hooks, head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
- 1929 - Jean Simmons, actress
- 1931 - Ernie Banks, Baseball Hall of Famer
- 1937 - Suzanne Pleshette, actress
- 1937 - Philip Glass, composer
- 1938 - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
- 1941 - Richard Gephardt, American politician
- 1942 - Derek Jarman, director, writer, (d. 1994)
- 1946 - Terry Kath, musician, (d. 1978)
- 1947 - Nolan Ryan, baseball player
- 1949 - Ken Wilber, philosopher
- 1956 - Johnny Rotten, musician (The "Sex Pistols")
- 1970 - Minnie Driver, actress
- 1974 - Ian Huntley, responsible for the Soham murders
- 1981 - Justin Timberlake, musician
Deaths
- 1606 - Guy Fawkes, executed for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, (b. 1570)
- 1907 - Timothy Eaton, department store founder, (b. 1834)
- 1933 - John Galsworthy, writer, (b. 1867)
- 1945 - Eddie Slovik, American soldier, (b. 1920)
- 1956 - A. A. Milne, author (Winnie the Pooh), (b. 1882)
- 1970 - Slim Harpo, blues singer, (b. 1924)
- 1974 - Samuel Goldwyn, film studio executive, (b. 1882)
- 1992 - Willie Dixon, blues musician, (b. 1915)
- 1995 - George Abbott, director and producer on Broadway, dies at 107, (b. 1887)
- 2000 - Gil Kane, comic book writer
- 2001 - Gordon R. Dickson, science fiction writer, (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Eleanor Holm - American swimmer
Holidays and observances
See Also:
January 30 - February 1 - December 31 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Referenced By
41 for Freedom | Capital punishment in the United Kingdom | Chester Nimitz | Chester W. Nimitz | Emanuel Sperner | Ernst August of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland | Federal councillors of Switzerland | George Washington class submarine | HMAS Anzac | HMAS Farncomb | HMAS Murchison | HMAS Parramatta | HMS Greyhound | HMS Ocelot | Henry Atkins | Henry Forster | Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster of Lepe | Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne | Henry William Forster | Isham Jones | James A. Beaver | James Addams Beaver | James Beaver | Justine Henin | Justine Henin-Hardenne | Lamine Zeroual | Lewis Harcourt | Lewis Vernon Harcourt | Liamine Zéroual | List of JAG episodes | List of Presidents of Algeria | List of Presidents of the Dominican Republic | List of human spaceflights, 1961-1986 | List of human spaceflights, 1986-1999 | List of human spaceflights, 1987-1999 | List of individuals executed in Texas | List of members of the Swiss Federal Council | Member of the Swiss Federal Council | Members of the Swiss Federal Council | Mimail.R | MyDoom | Mydoom Worm | Novarg | Novarg/Mydoom | Operation Flintlock | Operation Uranus | Portia de Rossi | President of Algeria | Shimgapi | Slim Harpo | USS Admiralty Islands | USS Admiralty Islands (CVE-99) | USS America (CV-66) | USS America (CVA-66) | USS Arnold J. Isbell | USS Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869) | USS Biloxi | USS Biloxi (CL-80) | USS Boston (CA-69) | USS Boston (CAG-1) | USS California (BB-44) | USS Dace (SS-247) | USS Delaware (BB-28) | USS Franklin (AVT-8) | USS Franklin (CV-13) | USS Franklin (CVA-13) | USS Franklin (CVS-13) | USS Grayback (SS-208) | USS Houston (CA-30) | USS Huron (CA-9) | USS Idaho (BB-42) | USS Indiana (BB-01) | USS Indiana (BB-1) | USS Intrepid (CV-11) | USS Intrepid (CVA-11) | USS Intrepid (CVS-11) | USS Mackerel (SST-1) | USS Marlin (SST-2) | USS Maryland (BB-46) | USS Mississippi (BB-41) | USS Nathanael Greene | USS Nathanael Greene (SSBN-636) | USS New Jersey (BB-62) | USS New Mexico | USS New Mexico (BB-40) | USS Oriskany | USS Oriskany (CV-34) | USS Oriskany (CVA-34) | USS Pickerel (SS-524) | USS Pompano (SS-181) | USS Princeton (CVL-23) | USS Sangamon (CVE-26) | USS Santa Fe (CL-60) | USS Santee (CVE-29) | USS Saratoga (CC-3) | USS Saratoga (CV-3) | USS Saratoga (CV-60) | USS Saratoga (CVA-60) | USS Scorpion (SSN-589) | USS Sealion (APSS-315) ...
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