January 31

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

• Catholicism - Feast day of St. John Bosco.

January 30 - February 1 - December 31 -- listing of all days

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Referenced By