From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 334 days remaining (335 in leap years).
[edit] 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 Lock Hospital.
- 1910 - The Portuguese republican revolution broke out in the northern city of Porto.
- 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.
- 1900 - Datu Muhammad Salleh is shot dead in Kampung Teboh, Tambuan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion
- 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.
- 1919 - 1919 Battle of George Square
- 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.
- 1953 - A flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands.
- 1956 - Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.
- 1957 - Three students on a junior high school playground in Pacoima, California are among the eight persons killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet above the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles.
- 1958 - Explorer program: Explorer I - The first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit.
- 1958 - James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.
- 1961 - Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2 - Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
- 1968 - Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon.
- 1968 - Nauru declares independence from Australia.
- 1971 - Project Apollo: Apollo 14 Mission - Astronauts, Shepard, Roosa, & Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro.
- 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.
- 1980 - Thirty-nine people burned to death in the occupation of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala.
- 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. 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 Oxnard, California killing all 88 aboard.
- 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.
- 2002 - A large section of the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf begins disintegrating, eventually consuming about 3,250 km² (1,254 miles²) over a 35-day period.
- 2003 - Waterfall train disaster, NSW, Australia.
- 2004 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 ends its run on the Sci-Fi Channel.
- 2005 - The child molestation trial of superstar Michael Jackson begins in California.
- 2006 - Incapacitated Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon officially exits politics after three decades.
[edit] Births
- 1338 - King Charles V of France (d. 1380)
- 1512 - King Henry of Portugal (d. 1580)
- 1543 - Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun of Japan (d. 1616)
- 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 laureate (d. 1928)
- 1872 - Zane Grey, American Western writer (d. 1939)
- 1881 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)
- 1884 - Theodor Heuss, 1st President of Germany (Bundespräsident) (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)
- 1896 - Sofya Yanovskaya], Russian mathematician (b. 1896)
- 1902 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1902 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1986)
- 1905 - John O'Hara, American writer (d. 1970)
- 1913 - Don Hutson, American football player (d. 1997)
- 1914 - Sri Daya Mata, Hindu religious figure
- 1914 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (d. 1994)
- 1914 - Carey Loftin, American actor and stuntman (d. 1997)
- 1915 - Alan Lomax, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1915 - Thomas Merton, American monk (d. 1968)
- 1915 - Garry Moore, American comedian (d. 1993)
- 1919 - Jackie Robinson, American 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 (d. 1959)
- 1922 - Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1923 - Norman Mailer, American writer and journalist
- 1925 - Benjamin Hooks, American civil rights leader
- 1929 - Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1929 - Jean Simmons, English actress
- 1930 - Lynn Carlin, American actress
- 1931 - Ernie Banks, American baseball player
- 1935 - Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese writer, Nobel 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, British director and writer (d. 1994)
- 1944 - Charlie Musselwhite, American musician
- 1945 - Joseph Kosuth, American conceptual artist
- 1946 - Terry Kath, American musician (d. 1978)
- 1947 - Jonathan Banks, American actor
- 1947 - Nolan Ryan, American baseball player
- 1948 - Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
- 1949 - Ken Wilber, American philosopher
- 1950 - Alexander Korzhakov, Boris Yeltsin's bodyguard
- 1951 - Dave Benton, Aruban-born singer
- 1951 - Harry Wayne Casey, American singer and musician (KC and the Sunshine Band)
- 1952 - Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (d. 1969)
- 1954 - Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch musician (Whitesnake)
- 1956 - Johnny Rotten, British singer (Sex Pistols)
- 1959 - Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor
- 1959 - Kelly Moore, American stock car driver
- 1960 - Grant Morrison, British comic book author
- 1961 - Lloyd Cole, British singer
- 1964 - Jeff Hanneman, American musician (Slayer)
- 1964 - Billey Shamrock, Swedish singer
- 1967 - Fat Mike, American musician
- 1970 - Minnie Driver, British actress
- 1971 - Lee Young Ae, South Korean actress
- 1971 - Patrick Kielty, Northern Irish comedian
- 1973 - Portia de Rossi, Australian actress
- 1974 - Wil Anderson, Australian comedian
- 1975 - Preity Zinta , Indian actress
- 1976 - Buddy Rice, American race car driver
- 1977 - Jim Kleinsasser, American football player
- 1977 - Mark Dutiaume, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 - Ray Shah, Irish DJ, TV, Radio presenter
- 1980 - Tiffany Limos, American actress
- 1981 - Justin Timberlake, American singer
- 1982 - Andreas Görlitz, German footballer
- 1982 - Brad Thompson, American baseball player
- 1982 - Bruno Nogueira, Portuguese actor, comedian and TV host
- 1982 - Helena Paparizou, Greek singer
- 1982 - Jānis Sprukts, Latvian ice hockey player
- 1999 - Lily Mo Sheen, British actress
[edit] Deaths
- 743 - Muhammad al-Baqir, Shia Imam (b. 676)
- 1398 - Emperor Sukō (b. 1334)
- 1435 - Xuande, Emperor of China (b. 1398)
- 1561 - Bairam Khan, Great Mughal General, regent for Akbar
- 1561 - Menno Simons, Dutch Mennonite leader (b. 1496)
- 1580 - Henry of Portugal (b. 1512)
- 1606 - Gunpowder Plot conspirators:
- 1615 - Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit (b. 1543)
- 1632 - Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
- 1665 - Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philosopher (b. 1622)
- 1686 - Jean Mairet, French dramatist (b. 1604)
- 1720 - Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English privy councilor (c. 1654)
- 1729 - Jakob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
- 1736 - Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (b. 1678)
- 1788 - Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (b. 1720)
- 1790 - Thomas Lewis, Irish-born Virginia settler (b. 1718)
- 1794 - Marriott Arbuthnot, British admiral (b. 1711)
- 1815 - José Félix Ribas, Venezuelan independentist leader (b. 1775)
- 1844 - Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general (b. 1773)
- 1888 - John Bosco, Italian priest, youth worker, educator, founder of the Salesian Society (b. 1815)
- 1892 - Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and evangelist (b. 1834)
- 1907 - Timothy Eaton, Canadian department store founder (b. 1834)
- 1923 - Eligiusz Niewiadomski, assassin of Gabriel Narutowicz (b. 1869)
- 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, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1865)
- 1956 - A. A. Milne, English author (b. 1882)
- 1966 - GeneralArthur Ernest Percival, British Army Officer(b. 1887)
- 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, Polish-born film studio executive (b. 1882)
- 1976 - Ernesto Miranda, American litigant (b. 1941)
- 1981 - Cozy Cole, American jazz drummer (b. 1909)
- 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, American 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)
- 2006 - Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (The Red Shoes) and ballerina (b. 1926)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
January 30 - February 1 - December 31 - February 28 (February 29) — listing of all days
