January 31

January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 334 days remaining until the end of the year (335 in leap years).

Events

• 314 – Pope Sylvester I succeeds Pope Miltiades.
• 1504 – France cedes Naples to Aragon.
• 1578 – The Battle of Gembloux takes place.
• 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for plotting against Parliament and King James.
• 1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
• 1801 – John Marshall is appointed the Chief Justice of the United States.
• 1814 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina).
• 1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unify as the City of Milwaukee.
• 1848 – John C. Frémont is court-martialed for mutiny and disobeying orders.
• 1849 – Corn Laws are abolished in the United Kingdom pursuant to legislation in 1846.
• 1862 – Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5-inch (47 cm) telescope now located at Northwestern University.
• 1865 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery and submits it to the states for ratification.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
• 1867 – Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Bey Karam leaves Lebanon on board a French ship bound for Algeria.
• 1891 – History of Portugal: The first attempt at a Portuguese republican revolution breaks out in the northern city of Porto.
• 1897 – Czechoslav Trade Union Association is founded in Prague.
• 1900 – Datu Muhammad Salleh is assassinated in Kampung Teboh, Tambunan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion.
• 1915 – World War I: Germany is the first to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare in the Battle of Bolimów against Russia.
• 1917 – World War I: Germany announces that its U-boats will resume unrestricted submarine warfare after a two-year hiatus.
• 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 – The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1929 – The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky.
• 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.
• 1942 – World War II: Allied forces are defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreat to the island of Singapore.
• 1943 – World War II: German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to the Soviets at Stalingrad, followed 2 days later by the remainder of his Sixth Army, ending one of the war's fiercest battles.
• 1944 – World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
• 1944 – World War II: During the Anzio campaign the 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby's Rangers) is destroyed behind enemy lines in a heavily outnumbered encounter at Battle of Cisterna, Italy.
• 1945 – US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier since the Civil War.
• 1945 – World War II: About 3,000 inmates from the Stutthof concentration camp are forcibly marched into the Baltic Sea at Palmnicken (now Yantarny, Russia) and executed.
• 1945 – World War II: The end of fighting in the Battle of Hill 170 during the Burma Campaign, in which the British 3 Commando Brigade repulsed a Japanese counterattack on their positions and precipitated a general retirement from the Arakan Peninsula.
• 1946 – Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling that of the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
• 1946 – The Democratic Republic of Vietnam introduces the đồng to replace the French Indochinese piastre at par.
• 1949 – These Are My Children, the first television daytime soap opera is broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.
• 1950 – United States President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
• 1953 – A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands and over 300 in the United Kingdom
• 1957 – Eight people on the ground in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.
• 1958 – The first successful American satellite detects the Van Allen radiation belt.
• 1961 – Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2: Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
• 1966 – The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.
• 1968 – Nauru gains independence from Australia.
• 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on 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, begins in Detroit.
• 1990 – The first McDonald's in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow.
• 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 of Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.
• 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake.
• 2000 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crash: An MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 aboard.
• 2001 – In the Netherlands, a Scottish court convicts Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and acquits another Libyan citizen for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
• 2003 – The Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia.
• 2007 – Suspects are arrested in Birmingham in the UK, accused of plotting the kidnap, holding and eventual beheading of a serving Muslim British soldier in Iraq.
• 2009 – In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.
• 2010 – Avatar becomes the first film to gross over $2 billion worldwide.
• 2011 – A winter storm hits North America for the second time in the same month, causing $1.8 billion in damage across the United States and Canada and killing 24 people.
• 2013 – An explosion at the Pemex Executive Tower in Mexico City kills at least 33 people and injures more than 100.

Births

• 36 BC – Antonia Minor, Greek daughter of Mark Antony (d. 38 AD)
• 877 – Taejo of Goryeo (d. 943)
• 1512 – Henry, King of Portugal (d. 1580)
• 1543 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (d. 1616)
• 1550 – Henry I, Duke of Guise (d. 1588)
• 1597 – John Francis Regis, French priest and saint (d. 1640)
• 1624 – Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher and academic (d. 1669)
• 1673 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (d. 1716)
• 1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian missionary and explorer (d. 1758)
• 1752 – Gouverneur Morris, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1816)
• 1759 – François Devienne, French flute player and composer (d. 1803)
• 1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1828)
• 1820 – William B. Washburn, American politician, 28th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1887)
• 1835 – Lunalilo of Hawaii (d. 1874)
• 1854 – David Emmanuel, Romanian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
• 1865 – Henri Desgrange, French cyclist and journalist (d. 1940)
• 1865 – Shastriji Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader, founded BAPS (d. 1951)
• 1868 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
• 1872 – Zane Grey, American author (d. 1939)
• 1881 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
• 1884 – Theodor Heuss, German journalist and politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Azerbaijani scholar and politician, 1st President of The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (d. 1955)
• 1889 – Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
• 1892 – Eddie Cantor, American singer-songwriter, actor, and dancer (d. 1964)
• 1894 – Isham Jones, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1956)
• 1896 – Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1966)
• 1902 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded White Spot (d. 1978)
• 1902 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
• 1905 – Diana Napier, English actress (d. 1982)
• 1905 – John O'Hara, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
• 1906 – Roosevelt Sykes, American singer and pianist (d. 1983)
• 1909 – Miron Grindea, Romanian-English journalist (d. 1995)
• 1911 – Eddie Byrne, English-Irish actor (d. 1981)
• 1913 – Don Hutson, American football player and coach (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Carey Loftin, American actor and stuntman (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Daya Mata, American religious leader (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer and police officer (d. 1994)
• 1915 – Bobby Hackett, American trumpet player and cornet player (d. 1976)
• 1915 – Alan Lomax, American historian, author, and scholar (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
• 1915 – Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
• 1917 – Fred Bassetti, American architect and academic, founded Bassetti Architects (d. 2013)
• 1919 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1972)
• 1920 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2010)
• 1921 – John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Carol Channing, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1921 – E. Fay Jones, American architect, designed the Thorncrown Chapel (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Mario Lanza, American tenor and actor (d. 1959)
• 1922 – Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Norman Mailer, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Benjamin Hooks, American minister, lawyer, and activist (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Tom Alston, American baseball player (d. 1993)
• 1927 – Norm Prescott, American animator, producer, and composer, co-founded Filmation Studios (d. 2005)
• 1928 – Eric Ash, German-English engineer and academic
• 1928 – Chuck Willis, American singer-songwriter (d. 1958)
• 1928 – Irma Wyman, American computer scientist and engineer
• 1929 – Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010)
• 1930 – Joakim Bonnier, Swedish race car driver (d. 1972)
• 1930 – Al De Lory, American composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Miron Babiak, Polish captain (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Camille Henry, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1997)
• 1933 – Bernardo Provenzano, Italian mob boss
• 1934 – Ernesto Brambilla, Italian motorcycle racer and race car driver
• 1934 – Gene DeWeese, American author (d. 2012)
• 1934 – James Franciscus, American actor and producer (d. 1991)
• 1934 – Bob Turner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1936 – Can Bartu, Turkish former basketball and football player
• 1937 – Regimantas Adomaitis, Lithuanian actor
• 1937 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian educator and politician, 39th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 2007)
• 1937 – Philip Glass, American composer
• 1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
• 1938 – Beatrix of the Netherlands
• 1938 – Lynn Carlin, American actress
• 1938 – James G. Watt, American lawyer and politician, 43rd United States Secretary of the Interior
• 1939 – Claude Gauthier, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
• 1940 – Kitch Christie, South African rugby player and coach (d. 1998)
• 1941 – Dick Gephardt, American lawyer and politician
• 1941 – Gerald McDermott, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
• 1941 – Jessica Walter, American actress
• 1942 – Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
• 1942 – Derek Jarman, English director, stage designer, and author (d. 1994)
• 1944 – Connie Booth, American-English actress and psychotherapist
• 1944 – John Inverarity, Australian cricketer and coach
• 1944 – Charlie Musselwhite, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player
• 1945 – Rynn Berry, American historian and author (d. 2014)
• 1945 – Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, English lawyer, judge, and academic
• 1945 – Joseph Kosuth, American sculptor and theorist
• 1946 – Sylvia Hitchcock, American model, Miss Universe 1967 (d. 2015)
• 1946 – Terry Kath, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Chicago) (d. 1978)
• 1947 – Jonathan Banks, American actor
• 1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player
• 1947 – Matt Minglewood, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 – Glynn Turman, American actor, director, and producer
• 1948 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer
• 1948 – Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
• 1949 – Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and journalist
• 1949 – Norris Church Mailer, American model and educator (d. 2010)
• 1949 – Ken Wilber, American sociologist, philosopher, and author
• 1950 – Denise Fleming, American author and illustrator
• 1950 – Alexander Korzhakov, Russian general and bodyguard
• 1950 – Janice Rebibo, American-Israeli author and poet (d. 2015)
• 1951 – Dave Benton, Aruban-Estonian singer and drummer
• 1951 – Harry Wayne Casey, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (KC and the Sunshine Band)
• 1951 – Phil Manzanera, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Roxy Music, Quiet Sun, and 801)
• 1951 – Won Sei-hoon, South Korean intelligence officer
• 1952 – Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (d. 1969)
• 1953 – Ovidiu Lipan, Romanian drummer (Transsylvania Phoenix)
• 1954 – Faoud Bacchus, Guyanese cricketer
• 1954 – Mark Slavin, Israeli wrestler (d. 1972)
• 1954 – Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch guitarist and sngwriter (Whitesnake, Vandenberg, and Manic Eden)
• 1955 – Virginia Ruzici, Romanian tennis player and manager
• 1956 – John Lydon, English singer-songwriter (Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd)
• 1956 – Stefan Majewski, Polish footballer and coach
• 1957 – Shirley Babashoff, American swimmer
• 1958 – Armin Reichel, German footballer and manager
• 1959 – Anthony LaPaglia, Australian footballer, actor, and producer
• 1959 – Kelly Lynch, American model and actress
• 1959 – Mickey Simmonds, English keyboard player and songwriter (Renaissance and Camel)
• 1960 – Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and author
• 1960 – Grant Morrison, Scottish author and screenwriter
• 1960 – Željko Šturanović, Montenegrin politician, 31st Prime Minister of Montenegro (d. 2014)
• 1961 – Elizabeth Barker, Baroness Barker, English politician
• 1961 – Fatou Bensouda, Gambian lawyer and judge
• 1961 – Lloyd Cole, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Lloyd Cole and the Commotions)
• 1961 – Mako Ishino, Japanese singer and actress
• 1961 – Fatih Kısaparmak, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1963 – John Dye, American actor (d. 2011)
• 1963 – Madis Eek, Estonian architect
• 1963 – Gwen Graham, American lawyer and politician
• 1964 – Sylvie Bernier, Canadian diver
• 1964 – Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (Slayer) (d. 2013)
• 1964 – Martha MacCallum, American journalist
• 1964 – Dawn Prince-Hughes, American anthropologist and ethologist
• 1964 – Billey Shamrock, Swedish singer-songwriter and actor
• 1965 – Giorgos Gasparis, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1965 – Ofra Harnoy, Israeli-Canadian cellist
• 1966 – Umar Alisha, Indian journalist and philanthropist
• 1966 – Dexter Fletcher, English actor and director
• 1966 – Jorge González, Argentinian basketball player and wrestler (d. 2010)
• 1967 – Chad Channing, American singer and drummer (Nirvana and Child's Play)
• 1967 – Jason Cooper, English drummer (The Cure and My Life Story)
• 1967 – Fat Mike, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (NOFX, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and False Alarm)
• 1967 – Michelle Ruff, American voice actress
• 1967 – Joey Wong, Taiwanese-Hong Kong actress
• 1968 – Matt King, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician, 2nd Swedish Minister for Infrastructure
• 1968 – Patrick Stevens, Belgian sprinter
• 1969 – Dov Charney, Canadian-American fashion designer and businessman, founded American Apparel
• 1970 – Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1970 – Danny Michel, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1971 – Patrick Kielty, Northern Irish comedian and television host
• 1971 – Patricia Velásquez, Venezuelan model, actress, and producer
• 1971 – Lee Young-ae, South Korean actress
• 1973 – Portia de Rossi, Australian-American actress
• 1974 – Wil Anderson, Australian comedian and radio host
• 1974 – Othella Harrington, American basketball player and coach
• 1974 – Ariel Pestano, Cuban baseball player
• 1975 – Fred Coleman, American football player and coach
• 1975 – Jackie O, Australian radio and television host
• 1976 – Traianos Dellas, Greek footballer and manager
• 1976 – Buddy Rice, American race car driver
• 1976 – Paul Scheer, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 – Shingo Katori, Japanese singer and actor (SMAP)
• 1977 – Jim Kleinsasser, American football player
• 1977 – Bobby Moynihan, American actor
• 1977 – Sergei Pareiko, Estonian footballer
• 1977 – Anthony Rosano, American porn actor
• 1977 – Katherine Shindle, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1977 – Kerry Washington, American actress
• 1978 – Fabián Caballero, Argentinian footballer and manager
• 1978 – Brad Rutter, American game show contestant on Jeopardy!
• 1978 – Ellen Stagg, American photographer
• 1978 – Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Douro
• 1979 – Daniel Tammet, English author and educator
• 1979 – Emmett J. Scanlan, Irish actor and producer
• 1980 – James Adomian, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1981 – Julio Arca, Argentinian footballer
• 1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (*NSYNC)
• 1982 – Maret Ani, Estonian tennis player
• 1982 – Yuniesky Betancourt, Cuban baseball player
• 1982 – Andreas Görlitz, German footballer
• 1982 – Salvatore Masiello, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Allan McGregor, Scottish footballer
• 1982 – Bruno Nogueira, Portuguese comedian and actor
• 1982 – Elena Paparizou, Swedish-Greek singer-songwriter (Antique)
• 1982 – Jānis Sprukts, Latvian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Yukimi Nagano, Swedish singer-songwriter (Little Dragon)
• 1982 – Brad Thompson, American baseball player
• 1983 – James Sutton, English actor
• 1983 – Fabio Quagliarella, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Vernon Davis, American football player
• 1984 – Josh Johnson, Canadian-American baseball player
• 1984 – Jeremy Wariner, American runner
• 1984 – Alessandro Zanni, Italian rugby player
• 1985 – Adam Federici, Australian footballer
• 1985 – Mario Williams, American football player
• 1986 – Megan Ellison, American film producer, founded Annapurna Pictures
• 1986 – George Elokobi, Cameroonian footballer
• 1986 – Yves Ma-Kalambay, Belgian footballer
• 1986 – Pauline Parmentier, French tennis player
• 1987 – Tyler Hubbard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Florida Georgia Line)
• 1987 – Marcus Mumford, American-English singer-songwriter (Mumford & Sons and The New Basement Tapes)
• 1988 – Justine Ozga, German tennis player
• 1988 – Brett Pitman, English footballer
• 1988 – Taijo Teniste, Estonian footballer
• 1990 – Jacopo Fortunato, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Kati Ojaloo, Estonian hammer thrower
• 1990 – Kota Yabu, Japanese singer and actor (Hey! Say! JUMP)
• 1992 – Christopher, Danish singer
• 1992 – Tyler Seguin, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1994 – Kenneth Zohore, Danish footballer
• 1995 – Sten Olmre, Estonian basketball player
• 1996 – Joel Courtney, American actor

Deaths

• 632 – Máedóc of Ferns, Irish bishop and saint (b. 550)
• 1216 – Theodore II of Constantinople
• 1398 – Emperor Sukō of Japan (b. 1334)
• 1418 – Mircea I of Wallachia (b. 1355)
• 1435 – Xuande Emperor of China (b. 1398)
• 1561 – Bairam Khan, Mughalan general (b. 1501)
• 1561 – Menno Simons, Dutch minister and theologian (b. 1496)
• 1580 – Henry, King of Portugal (b. 1512)
• 1606 – Guy Fawkes, English conspirator, leader of the Gunpowder Plot (b. 1570)
• 1606 – Ambrose Rookwood, English criminal (b. 1578)
• 1606 – Thomas Wintour, English criminal (b. 1571)
• 1615 – Claudio Acquaviva, Italian priest, 5th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1543)
• 1632 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
• 1665 – Johannes Clauberg, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1622)
• 1686 – Jean Mairet, French playwright (b. 1604)
• 1720 – Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1654)
• 1729 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
• 1736 – Filippo Juvarra, Italian architect and set designer, designed the Basilica of Superga (b. 1678)
• 1788 – Charles Edward Stuart, Italian husband of Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern (b. 1720)
• 1790 – Thomas Lewis, Irish-American lawyer and surveyor (b. 1718)
• 1794 – Mariot Arbuthnot, English admiral and politician, 12th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1711)
• 1811 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (b. 1763)
• 1815 – José Félix Ribas, Venezuelan soldier (b. 1775)
• 1828 – Alexander Ypsilantis, Greek general (b. 1792)
• 1836 – John Cheyne, English physician and author (b. 1777)
• 1844 – Henri Gatien Bertrand, French general (b. 1773)
• 1856 – 11th Dalai Lama (b. 1838)
• 1870 – Cilibi Moise, Moldavian-Romanian journalist and author (b. 1812)
• 1888 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator, founded the Salesian Society (b. 1815)
• 1892 – Charles Spurgeon, English pastor and author (b. 1834)
• 1907 – Timothy Eaton, Canadian businessman, founded Eaton's (b. 1834)
• 1923 – Eligiusz Niewiadomski, Polish painter and critic (b. 1869)
• 1933 – John Galsworthy, English author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
• 1942 – Henry Larkin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
• 1942 – Rolf Wenkhaus, German actor (b. 1917)
• 1944 – Jean Giraudoux, French author and playwright (b. 1882)
• 1945 – Eddie Slovik, American soldier (b. 1920)
• 1954 – Edwin Howard Armstrong, American engineer, invented FM radio (b. 1890)
• 1954 – Vivian Woodward, English captain and footballer (b. 1879)
• 1955 – John Mott, American activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
• 1956 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright, created Winnie-the-Pooh (b. 1882)
• 1958 – Karl Selter, Estonian politician, 14th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1898)
• 1961 – Krishna Singh, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
• 1966 – Arthur Percival, English general (b. 1887)
• 1967 – Eddie Tolan, American sprinter and educator (b. 1908)
• 1969 – Meher Baba, Indian guru and mystic (b. 1894)
• 1970 – Slim Harpo, American singer and harmonica player (b. 1924)
• 1971 – Viktor Zhirmunsky, Russian historian and linguist (b. 1891)
• 1973 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
• 1974 – Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-American film producer, co-founded Goldwyn Pictures (b. 1882)
• 1974 – Glenn Morris, American decathlete and actor (b. 1912)
• 1974 – Emil Väre, Finnish wrestler, referee, and coach (b. 1885)
• 1976 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal, inspired the Miranda rights (b. 1941)
• 1976 – Evert Taube, Swedish author and composer (b. 1890)
• 1985 – Reginald Baker, English-Australian film producer (b. 1896)
• 1985 – Tatsuzō Ishikawa, Japanese author (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Yves Allégret, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
• 1989 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (b. 1896)
• 1990 – Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, German zoologist and academic (b. 1901)
• 1990 – Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-American biochemist and academic (b. 1935)
• 1991 – Kostas Mountakis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
• 1995 – George Abbott, American director and producer (b. 1887)
• 1997 – John Joseph Scanlan, Irish-American bishop (b. 1930)
• 1998 – Leho Laurine, Estonian chess player (b. 1904)
• 1999 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and trainer, co-founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (b. 1938)
• 1999 – Barış Manço, Turkish singer-songwriter (Moğollar and Kurtalan Ekspres) (b. 1943)
• 1999 – Norm Zauchin, American baseball player (b. 1929)
• 2000 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (b. 1926)
• 2001 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian-American author (b. 1923)
• 2002 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Eleanor Holm, American swimmer and actress (b. 1913)
• 2006 – Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and ballerina (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Molly Ivins, American journalist and author (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Saudi Arabian businessman (b. 1957)
• 2007 – Adelaide Tambo, South African activist and politician (b. 1929)
• 2011 – Bartolomeu Anania, Romanian bishop and poet (b. 1921)
• 2011 – Mark Ryan, English guitarist and playwright (Adam and the Ants) (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Mani Ram Bagri, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Anthony Bevilacqua, American cardinal (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Leslie Carter, American singer-songwriter (b. 1986)
• 2012 – Tristram Potter Coffin, American author, scholar, and academic (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Ayelet Galena, American child born with Dyskeratosis congenita (b. 2009)
• 2012 – Dorothea Tanning, American painter and sculptor (b. 1910)
• 2013 – Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, Mexican poet and scholar (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Hassan Habibi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 1st Vice President of Iran (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Caleb Moore, American snowmobile racer (b. 1987)
• 2013 – Ingo Swann, American psychic and author (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Francis M. Fesmire, American cardiologist and physician (b. 1959)
• 2014 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Abdirizak Haji Hussein, Somalian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Christopher Jones, American actor (b. 1941)
• 2015 – Tomás Bulat, Argentinian economist, journalist, and academic (b. 1964)
• 2015 – Don Covay, American singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Vic Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, coach, and journalist (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Lizabeth Scott, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
• 2015 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German captain and politician, 6th President of Germany (b. 1920)
• 2016 – Gil Carmichael, American businessman and politician (b. 1927)
• 2016 – Benoît Violier, French-Swiss chef (b. 1971)
• 2016 – Terry Wogan, Irish-English radio and television host (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Blessed Ludovica
  • Geminianus
  • John Bosco
  • Marcella
  • Samuel Shoemaker (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • January 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Amartithi (Meherabad, India, followers of Meher Baba)
• Independence Day (Nauru), celebrates independence from Australia in 1968.
• Street Children's Day (Austria)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to January 31.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On this day in Canada