January 31

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

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
  

  

  David Kirkwood being detained by police during the 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
• 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
• 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 Suko of Japan (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:
  • Guy Fawkes (b. 1570)
  • Ambrose Rokewood (c. 1578)
  • 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 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)
• 1851 - David Spangler Kaufman, American politician (b. 1813)
• 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

• Catholicism - Feast day of St. John Bosco, patron saint of Christian apprentices, editors, and publishers
• Saint Pedro Nolasco
• Saint Marcella
• Saint Geminianus
• Blessed Ludovica

[edit] External links

• BBC: On This Day
• NY Times: On this day
• On this day in Canada

January 30 - February 1 - December 31 - February 28 (February 29) — listing of all days