January 31
From Freepedia
January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 334 days remaining, (335 in leap years). January 31 is also the last day of January.
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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.
- 1814 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.
- 1849 - Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
- 1867 - Maronite nationalist leader Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria
- 1876 - The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
- 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.
- 1918 - A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
- 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 - US Army private 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.
- 1971 - The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begin in Detroit, Michigan.
- 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.
- Dragonball Z ends in Japan.
- 1999 - Super Bowl XXXIII: The Denver Broncos defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-19. After the game, the TV show Family Guy airs its pilot episode.
- 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 crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
- 2004 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 ends its run on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Births
- 1338 - King Charles V of France (d. 1380)
- 1512 - King Henry of Portugal (d. 1580)
- 1550 - Henry I, Duke of Guise, French Catholic leader (d. 1588)
- 1597 - John Regis, French saint (d. 1640)
- 1624 - Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher (d. 1669)
- 1686 - Hans Egede, Norwegian Lutheran missionary (d. 1758)
- 1752 - Gouverneur Morris, American lawmaker and diplomat (d. 1816)
- 1759 - François Devienne, French composer (d. 1803)
- 1797 - Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (d. 1828)
- 1866 - Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
- 1868 - Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1872 - Zane Grey, American Western writer (d. 1939)
- 1881 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
- 1884 - Theodor Heuss, German politician and publicist (d. 1963)
- 1889 - Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
- 1892 - Eddie Cantor, American actor and singer (d. 1964)
- 1894 - Isham Jones, American musician (d. 1956)
- 1902 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1902 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1986)
- 1905 - John O'Hara, American writer (d. 1970)
- 1914 - Sri Daya Mata, Hindu religious figure
- 1914 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Alan Lomax, American singer and musicologist (d. 2002)
- 1915 - Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
- 1915 - Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
- 1919 - Jackie Robinson, baseball player (d. 1972)
- 1921 - John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1921 - Carol Channing, American actress
- 1921 - E. Fay Jones, American architect
- 1921 - Mario Lanza, American singer and actor (d. 1959)
- 1922 - Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1923 - Norman Mailer, American writer and journalist
- 1925 - Benjamin Hooks, American head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
- 1929 - Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 - Jean Simmons, English actress
- 1931 - Ernie Banks, baseball player
- 1935 - Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Philip Glass, American composer
- 1937 - Suzanne Pleshette, American actress
- 1938 - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
- 1938 - James G. Watt, American politician
- 1940 - Jessica Walter, American actress
- 1941 - Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt, American politician
- 1942 - Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
- 1942 - Derek Jarman, American director and writer (d. 1994)
- 1944 - Charlie Musselwhite, American musician
- 1946 - Terry Kath, American musician (d. 1978)
- 1947 - Jonathan Banks, American actor
- 1947 - Nolan Ryan, baseball player
- 1949 - Ken Wilber, American philosopher
- 1951 - Dave Benton, Aruban-born singer
- 1952 - Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (d. 1969)
- 1956 - Johnny Rotten, British singer (Sex Pistols)
- 1959 - Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor
- 1959 - Kelly Lynch, American actress
- 1961 - Lloyd Cole, British singer and songwriter
- 1964 - Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist (Slayer)
- 1964 - Billey Shamrock, Swedish singer and songwriter
- 1970 - Minnie Driver, British actress
- 1971 - Patrick Kielty, Irish Comedian
- 1973 - Portia de Rossi, Australian actress
- 1976 - Buddy Rice, American race car driver
- 1980 - Tiffany Limos, American actress
- 1981 - Justin Timberlake, American musician
- 1982 - Helena Paparizou, Swedish singer
Deaths
- 743 - Muhammad al-Baqir, Shia Imam (b. 676)
- 1398 - Emperor Suko of Japan (b. 1334)
- 1435 - Xuande, Emperor of China (b. 1398)
- 1561 - Menno Simons, Dutch Mennonite leader (b. 1496)
- 1580 - King Henry of Portugal (b. 1512)
- 1606 - Gunpowder Plot conspirators executed:
- Guy Fawkes (b. 1570)
- Ambrose Rokewood
- Thomas Wintour (b. 1571)
- 1615 - Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit (b. 1543)
- 1632 - Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
- 1665 - Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philsopher (b. 1622)
- 1686 - Jean Mairet, French dramatist (b. 1604)
- 1720 - Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English privy councilor
- 1729 - Jakob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
- 1736 - Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (b. 1678)
- 1851 - David Spangler Kaufman, American politician (b. 1813)
- 1892 - Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and evangelist (b. 1834)
- 1907 - Timothy Eaton, Canadian department store founder (b. 1834)
- 1933 - John Galsworthy, English writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
- 1944 - Jean Giraudoux, French writer (b. 1882)
- 1945 - Eddie Slovik, American soldier (b. 1920)
- 1955 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
- 1956 - A. A. Milne, English author (b. 1882)
- 1967 - Eddie Tolan, American athlete (b. 1908)
- 1970 - Slim Harpo, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1973 - Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
- 1974 - Samuel Goldwyn, American film studio executive (b. 1882)
- 1976 - Ernesto Miranda, American litigant (b. 1941)
- 1990 - Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-born imam (stabbed) (b. 1935)
- 1992 - Willie Dixon, American musician (b. 1915)
- 1995 - George Abbott, American stage director and producer (b. 1887)
- 1997 - John Joseph Scanlan, Irish Catholic prelate (b. 1930)
- 1999 - Norm Zauchin, baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2000 - Gil Kane, Latvian-born comic book writer (b. 1926)
- 2001 - Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian writer (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (b. 1913)
Holidays and observances
- Catholicism - Feast day of St. John Bosco.
External links
January 30 - February 1 - December 31 - February 28 (February 29) -- listing of all days
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