Historical Events on January 31

Publish date: 2024-10-15

January 31 Calendar

Events 1 - 200 of 212

314 St Silvester I begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1531 King Ferdinand of Austria and King John Zapolya of Hungary officially recognise each other
1578 Battle of Gembloux (Gembloers); Spanish forces win decisive victor over coalition rebel forces
1596 Catholic League disbanded
1609 Wisselbank of Amsterdam established
1616 Rounding of Cape Horn for the first time by Dutch expedition of Jacques Le Maire and Willem Corneliszoon Schouten (they name Cape Hoorn after Schouten’s hometown) [1]
1627 Spanish government goes bankrupt
1675 Cornelia/Dina Olfaarts found not guilty of witchcraft
1679 Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera "Bellerophon" premieres at the Palais-Royal in Paris
1696 Revolt by undertakers after funeral reforms (Amsterdam)
1747 The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital, London

Messier Adds to Catalog

1779 French astronomer Charles Messier adds M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra) to his catalog

Bligh Reaches Curacao

1804 British vice-admiral William Blighs fleet reaches Curacao

1814 Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.
1817 Franz Grillparzer's "Die Ahnfrau" premieres in Vienna
1846 After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1849 Corn Laws abolished in Britain
1851 San Francisco Orphan's Asylum founded, 1st in California
1854 Dutch KNMI established (Royal Meteorological Institute)
1855 Government of Lord Aberdeen in the United Kingdom falls, following heavy scrutiny of the Crimean War
1855 Treaty of Neah Bay: Makah Reservation established in US Territory of Washington for Makah nation, preserving tribal rights but ceding over 300,000 acres to the US government [1]
1855 Western railroads blocked by snow
1861 Friedrich Hebbel's play "Siegfrieds Tod" premieres in Weimar
1861 State of Louisiana takes over US Mint at New Orleans (U.S Civil War)
1862 Astronomer Alvan Graham Clark makes first observation of Sirius B (first known white dwarf star) in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts while testing his new telescope
1863 1st black Civil War regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, mustered into US army
1865 Congress passes, by vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States – except as punishment for a crime [1] [2]

General Lee Commander-in-Chief

1865 General Robert E. Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies during US Civil War

1867 Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria
1871 Millions of birds fly over western San Francisco, darkening the sky

Jesse James Robbery

1874 Jesse James gang robs a train at Gads Hill, Missouri

1891 First attempt of a republican revolution breaks out in the northern city of Porto, Portugal
1893 "Westminster Gazette" begins publishing
1895 Jose Martí & others leave NYC for invasion of Spanish Cuba
1900 Final report of the USA's Philippine Commission is released, favoring territorial government for the islands with home rule in local affairs, but with US assumptions of ultimate responsibility for the government.

"Three Sisters"

1901 Anton Chekhov's play "Three Sisters" opens at Moscow Art Theater

1901 Austro-Hungarian Empire: The Reichsrath, dissolved on September 7, 1900, by Emperor Franz Joseph, reopens after the recent elections sees the defeat of extremists

1901 Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Winnipeg Victorias edge Montreal Shamrocks, 2-1 to sweep challenge series, 2-0
1905 1st automobile to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), British daredevil Arthur Macdonald drive a Napier six-cylinder racing car named 'Samson' on sands of Daytona Beach, Florida, notching a top speed of 104 mph
1905 Carroll Wright appointed 1st Commissioner of Labor, USA
1906 Strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake then recorded at 8.8 on the Richter Scale, occurs off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia killing over 1,00 people
1911 Congress names San Francisco as Panama Canal opening celebration site
1916 Dutch Girl Guides form
1917 Germany notifies US that U-boats will attack neutral merchant ship
1917 Mexican President Carranza announces a new constitution with many liberal elements, most of which his regime is unable to implement
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: troops deployed against protesters for fear of a Bolshevik uprising
1920 1st daily Ukrainian language US newspaper, "Ukraïns'ki Shchodenni Visti "(Ukrainian Daily News), begins publishing in New York City; publication initially sponsored by the Ukrainian Section of the Communist Party
1920 Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity incorporates at Howard University

Malone's Record 7 Goals

1920 Quebec Bulldogs center Joe Malone sets NHL record with 7 goals in a 10-6 win against Toronto St. Patricks at the Quebec Arena

1923 Montreal Canadiens beat Hamilton Tigers, 5-4 at the Mount Royal Arena, Montreal; first penalty-free game played in NHL history

1924 Austrians Helene Engelmann & Alfred Berger win the pairs skating gold medal at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; beat Finnish pair Ludowika Jakobsson & Walter Jakobsson by just 0.39 points

1924 Herma Szabo of Austria wins the ladies figure skating gold medal at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; only women's event at the Games
1925 Premier Ahmed Zogu becomes president of Angola
1927 Internationall allied military command in Germany disbands

NL Rules on Hornby

1927 NL rules future Baseball Hall of Fame infielder Rogers Hornsby can't hold stock in the St. Louis Cardinals and play for the NY Giants; earns $2,916 dividend on same day

1928 Scotch tape 1st marketed by 3-M Company

"Nothing New in the West"

1929 Erich Maria Remarque publishes his anti-war novel "Im Westen nichts Neues" (Nothing New in the West) in Berlin

1930 1st US glider flight from a dirigible, Lakehurst, New Jersey
1931 Philip Barry's play "Tomorrow & Tomorrow" premieres in NYC
1932 US railway unions accept 10% wage reduction

FDR Devalues Dollar

1934 FDR devalues US dollar in relation to gold at $35 per ounce

1936 "Green Hornet" radio show is 1st heard on WXYZ Radio in Detroit
1940 C Turney & J Horwin's "My Dear Children" premieres in NYC
1941 Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem, Netherlands
1941 British army Layforce commando units set sail

Louis vs. Burman

1941 In his 13th title defense Joe Louis KOs Red Burman in the 5th round at Madison Square Garden, New York to retain NYSAC heavyweight boxing crown

1943 Chile breaks off relations with Germany & Japan

1944 Operation-Overlord (D-Day) postponed until June

1944 U-592 sunk off Ireland
1944 US forces invade Kwajalein Atoll
1945 Soviet troops reach the Oder River, less that 50 miles from Berlin
1945 US 4th Infantry division occupies Elcherrath
1946 Yugoslavia adopts new constitution, becomes a federal republic
1948 An unprecedented 3-way tie for the silver medal in the 500m speed skating at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Americans Robert Fitzgerald & Ken Bartholomew, and Thomas Byberg of Norway are equal on 43.2s; Finn Helgesen of Norway wins gold, 43.1s

"A Perfect Day for Banana Fish"

1948 J. D. Salinger's short story "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish" appears in the New Yorker

1948 Magnetic tape recorder developed by Wireway
1948 Sweden sweeps the medals in the 18km cross country event at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Martin Lundström takes gold ahead of countrymen Nils Östensson and Gunnar Eriksson
1948 Swiss pair Felix Endrich & Friedrich Waller beat countrymen Fritz Feierabend & Paul Eberhard to win the 2-man bobsleigh gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; silver medallist Feierabend is team coach
1949 1st US daytime soap on TV "These Are My Children" (NBC in Chicago)

Truman Supports Hydrogen Bomb

1950 US President Harry Truman publicly announces support for the development of a hydrogen bomb

1952 Detroit Tigers Harry Heilmann & Pittsburgh Pirates Paul Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1952 Dutch Lutheran Church reunites after 1½ centuries
1953 "Princess Victoria" capsized off Stanraer Scotland; 133 die
1953 Hurricane-like winds flood Netherlands, drowning 1,835

Retaliation Against Veeck

1953 MLB New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, & Boston Red Sox retaliate against St. Louis Browns Bill Veeck for trying to relocate the team, scheduling the Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues

1955 RCA demonstrates 1st music synthesizer
1956 Austrian skier Toni Sailer wins the slalom at the Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics for his 2nd gold medal of the Games; sweeps all 3 alpine skiing events

1956 Juscelino Kubitschek becomes president of Brazil
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.
1957 Trans-Iranian oil pipe line finished

"Jackpot Bowling"

1958 "Jackpot Bowling" premieres on NBC with Leo Durocher as host

1958 US launches their 1st artificial satellite, Explorer 1 - leads to the discovery of Earth's radiation belt by James van Allen and his team at Iowa University

Cronin AL President

1959 Former star MLB shortstop and manager Joe Cronin signs 7 year pact to become American League President

1961 Ham the chimpanzee is 1st primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2
1961 Houston voters approve bond to finance luxury domed stadium
1961 Kanhai completes twin tons (117 & 115) v Aust at Adelaide
1961 NATO Secretary-General Paul-Henri Spaak says he'll resign
1961 USAF launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights
1961 West Indian cricket batsman Rohan Kanhai scores back-to-back centuries in the drawn 4th Test against Australia in Adelaide; follows 1st innings 117 with 115 in 2nd knock
1962 Samuel Gravely assumes command of destroyer escort "USS Falgout", first African American to command a combat ship
1962 USAF General Charles P. Cabell ends term as deputy director of CIA

"What'd I Say"

1963 Tony Sheridan & Beat Brothers (later known as The Beatles) record "What'd I Say" & "Ruby Baby"

Nkrumah President for Life

1964 A rigged constitutional referendum in Ghana sees 99.91% vote in favor, turning the country into a one-party state and making Kwame Nkrumah president for life

1965 19th century pitcher James 'Pud' Galvin elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1966 Belgian state police kills 2 striking mine workers
1966 Bill Lawry (119) & Bob Simpson (225) complete match-winning 244 opening stand in Australia's 1st innings, 4th Test v England in Adelaide
1966 USSR launches Luna 9 towards Moon
1968 Bobby Simpson takes 5-59 v India in his last Test for ten years
1968 Nauru (formerly Pleasant Island) declares independence from Australia
1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1969 Vice Admiral Rufus L Taylor, USN, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1970 Grateful Dead members and entourage busted, down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on LSD charges [1]

1971 Apollo 14 launched, 1st landing in lunar highlands

1971 Special Veterans Committee adds 6 former players and 1 executive to the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Chick Hafey, Harry Hooper, Joe Kelley, Rube Marquard and George Weiss

Mahalia Jackson's Funeral

1972 Aretha Franklin sings at gospel singer Mahalia Jackson's funeral at the Greater Salem Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois

1972 Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev becomes 11th King of Nepal
1972 British Home Secretary Reginald Maudling to House of Commons on 'Bloody Sunday', "The Army returned the fire directed at them with aimed shots and inflicted a number of casualties on those who were attacking them with firearms and with bombs"
1972 Military coup ousts civilian government of Ghana
1972 US launches HEOS A-2 for interplanetary observations (396/244,998)

1976 "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players hits #1
1976 In his final Test, West Indian cricket spin bowler Lance Gibbs dismisses Australian opener Ian Redpath for 101 in 6th Test in Melbourne; becomes highest Test wicket-taker at 308
1977 Frenchman Francois Claustre freed, after 33 months as hostage in Chad

1977 Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie and Al López elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

1977 The Pompidou Centre, designed by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, housing the greatest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe, is inaugurated in Paris [1]
1978 Israel turns 3 milt outposts in West Bank into civilian settlements
1980 Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41
1981 "The Tide Is High" by Blondie hits #1
1981 Gaetan Boucher skates world record 1000m (1:13.39)
1982 10 Arabian oryx (extinct except in zoos) released in Oman
1982 Gustafson skates world record 10 km (14:26.59)
1983 In an effort to reduce driving deaths, a new law in UK requires drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seatbelts
1984 Edwin Newman retires from NBC News after 35 years with the network
1984 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1986 Mary Lund of Minneapolis, 1st female recipient of an artificial heart receives a donor heart
1987 United Steel workers union ratified a concessionary with USX Corp
1988 Barge sinks near Anacortes, WA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil

1988 Super Bowl XXII, Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, CA: Washington Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10; MVP: Doug Williams, Washington, QB

1990 1st ever all-sports daily "National" begins publishing
1990 1st McDonalds in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow
1990 Jushin "Thunder" Liger beats Naoki Sano to become New Japan IWGP champ
1991 "Close-Up", Iranian film directed by Abbas Kiarostami, starring Hossain Sabzian and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, is released
1991 American pilot Robert Gibson flies record 27,040 feet (8,242 m) altitude in horizontal flight, over Houston, Texas (since superseded)
1991 Denver Nuggets Michael Adams becomes shortest NBAer to get a triple-double
1992 MTA raised tolls on most NYC bridges from $2.50 to $3.00
1993 Super Bowl XXVII, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 52-17; MVP: Troy Aikman, Dallas, QB
1994 Barcelona opera theater "Gran Teatro del Liceo", built in 1847, burns down for the second time; re-built and re-opens in 1999
1994 Dow Jones hits a record 3,978.36

"Marimar"

1994 Mexican telenovela "Marimar" starring Thalia and Eduardo Capetillo premieres

US Loan to Mexico

1995 US President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy

1996 50 people die and many more injured in a suicide bombing in Sri Lanka by separatist Tamil Tigers
1997 "Final Fantasy VII" is released by Square and Sony Computer Entertainment to PlayStation
1997 San Antonio forward Dominique Wilkins scores 27 points in the Spurs' 97-95 loss to Minnesota; gives him 26,009 career points; only the 6th NBA player to reach the 26k milestone
1998 STS 89 (Endeavour 12) lands

1999 Super Bowl XXXIII, Pro Player Stadium, Miami, FL: Denver Broncos beat Atlanta Falcons, 34-19; MVP: John Elway, Denver, QB
2000 Alaska Airlines flight 261 MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 persons aboard.
2000 Family GP Dr Harold Shipman is jailed for life for murdering 15 of his patients, making him Britain's most prolific convicted serial killer

Ray Lewis Involved in Murder

2000 Linebacker Ray Lewis involved in a fight resulting in the deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar. Lewis indicted 11 days later on murder and assault charges (murder charges later dropped)

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

2003 The Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia; 7 die when train driver has a heart attack and safety system fails

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 52nd Grammy Awards: "Use Somebody", Zac Brown Band win

"Old Ideas"

2012 Leonard Cohen releases his album "Old Ideas", becomes No.1 in 10 countries

2013 300 people are injured in a train collision in Pretoria, South Africa
2013 36 people are killed and 126 are injured in an explosion at Torre Ejecutiva Pemex, Mexico

Sports History

2014 The Utah Jazz honor Jerry Sloan by raising a banner featuring the number "1223"

Ko Youngest No.1

2015 17-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand becomes the youngest golfer in men's or women's golf history to be ranked No. 1 in the world

2015 Atlanta Hawks set a new NBA monthly win record as they move to 17-0 for January, with a 91-85 win against the Philadelphia 76ers
2015 Australia defeats South Korea in football to win the 2015 AFC Asian Cup
2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees: Junior Seau, Jerome Bettis, Charles Haley, Will Shields, Tim Brown, Mick Tingelhoff
2015 Sergio Mattarella is elected President of Italy
2016 "World's Best Chef" French-Swiss Benoît Violier found dead after apparent suicide weeks after being named world's best by La Liste
2017 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 11, premieres with the Bruckner Orchester Linz conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, at Carnegie Hall in NYC
2017 Romanian government passes emergency decree to release prisoners and decriminalise corruption charges, triggering huge protests in Bucharest

Trump Nominates Gorsuch

2017 US President Donald Trump announces he is nominating 49-year-old Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court

2017 US President Donald Trump fires Attorney General Sally Yates after she instructs Justice Department officials not to defend Trump's travel ban
2018 Houston guard James Harden becomes first player in NBA history to log a 60-point triple-double with 60 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals and a block in Rockets' 114-107 win over Orlando Magic
2018 Trump administration formally suspends the Clean Water Act
2019 At least 20 newborns and children have died in last two months of the cold, trying to get to the Al-Ho Syrian refugee camp according to WHO
2019 Blockbuster NBA trade: NY Knicks send Kristaps Porziņģis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee & Trey Burke to Dallas Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews & 2 future 1st-round picks
2019 Catholic leaders in Texas name 286 priests and others accused of sexually abusing children, dating back to 1940
2019 Colonization of the America's in the late 1500s killed so many people it cooled the planet and led to a "Little Ice Age", according to a scientific report published in "Quaternary Science Reviews"
2019 Leaked Indian government reports says unemployment rate at 6.1% highest since 1972-73, up from 2.2% in 2011-12

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