January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 334 days remaining, (335 in leap years). Also, this is the final 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2004 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 ends its run on the Sci-Fi Channel.
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)
- 1894 - Isham Jones, jazz musician (d. 1956)
- 1901 - Marie Luise Kaschnitz, writer (d. 1974)
- 1902 - Alva Mydral, politician (d. 1986)
- 1902 - Tallulah Bankhead, actress (d. 1968)
- 1905 - John O'Hara, writer (d. 1970)
- 1914 - Jersey Joe Walcott, boxer (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Thomas Merton, monk and author (d. 1968)
- 1915 - Garry Moore, American comedian, game show host (d. 1993)
- 1915 - Alan Lomax, American singer and musicologist (d. 2002)
- 1919 - Jackie Robinson, first African-American major league baseball player (d. 1972)
- 1920 - Paul Warnke, diplomat (d. 2001)
- 1921 - Carol Channing, actress
- 1921 - Mario Lanza, singer, actor (d. 1959)
- 1921 - E. Fay Jones, architect
- 1921 - John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1922 - Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
- 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
- 1934 - James Franciscus, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1937 - Suzanne Pleshette, actress
- 1937 - Philip Glass, composer
- 1938 - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
- 1938 - James G. Watt, former American politician
- 1940 - Stuart Margolin, American actor
- 1940 - Jessica Walter, American actress
- 1941 - Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt, American politician
- 1942 - Derek Jarman, director, writer (d. 1994)
- 1942 - Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
- 1944 - Charlie Musselwhite, blues musician
- 1946 - Terry Kath, musician (d. 1978)
- 1947 - Nolan Ryan, Baseball Hall of Famer
- 1949 - Ken Wilber, philosopher
- 1956 - Johnny Rotten, British singer with the Sex Pistols
- 1959 - Kelly Lynch, American actress
- 1959 - Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor
- 1961 - Lloyd Cole, British singer and songwriter
- 1963 - John Dye, American actor
- 1964 - Billey Shamrock, Swedish singer and songwriter.
- 1970 - Minnie Driver, actress
- 1973 - Portia DeRossi, Australian actress
- 1974 - Ian Huntley, responsible for the Soham murders
- 1976 - Buddy Rice, race car driver, winner of the 2004 Indianapolis 500
- 1977 - Kerry Washington, American actress
- 1980 - Tiffany Limos, actress
- 1981 - Justin Timberlake, musician
Deaths
- 743 - Muhammad al-Baqir, Shia Imam
- 1561 - Menno Simons, founder of Mennonite church (b. 1496)
- 1606 - Guy Fawkes, executed for his part in the Gunpowder Plot (b. 1570)
- 1851 - David Spangler Kaufman, American politician, first Jewish Congressman from Texas (b. 1813)
- 1892 - Charles Spurgeon, preacher and evangelist
- 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)
- 1967 - Eddie Tolan, American athlete (b. 1908)
- 1970 - Slim Harpo, blues singer (b. 1924)
- 1974 - Samuel Goldwyn, film studio executive (b. 1882)
- 1976 - Ernesto Miranda, Miranda v. Arizona litigant
- 1990 - Rashad Khalifa, imam, stabbed to death (b. 1935)
- 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)
- 2002 - Francis S. Gabriski, American flying ace
- 2004 - Eleanor Holm, American swimmer
Holidays and observances
January 30 - February 1 - December 31 - February 28 (February 29) -- listing of all days
af:01-31
ar:31 يناير
be:31 студзеня
bg:31 януари
bs:Januar 31
ca:31 de gener
cs:31. leden
cy:31 Ionawr
da:31. januar
de:31. Januar
et:31. jaanuar
es:31 de enero
eo:31-a de januaro
eu:Urtarrilaren 31
fr:31 janvier
fy:31 jannewaris
gl:31 de xaneiro
ko:1월 31일
hr:31. siječnja
io:31 di januaro
is:31. janar
it:31 gennaio
he:31 בינואר
lb:31. Januar
lt:Sausio 31
hu:Janur 31
nl:31 januari
ja:1月31日
no:31. januar
oc:31 de genir
nds:31 Januar
pl:31 stycznia
pt:31 de Janeiro
ro:31 ianuarie
ru:31 января
sk:31. janur
sl:31. januar
sr:31. јануар
fi:31. tammikuuta
sv:31 januari
tr:31 Ocak
uk:31 січня
wa:31 di djanv
zh:1月31日
ie:31 januar
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