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Today January 31st 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
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.
1814 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.
1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1848 – John C. Fremont court-martialed on grounds of mutiny and disobeying orders.
1849 – Corn Laws are abolished in the United Kingdom (following legislation in 1846).
1862 – Alvan Graham Clark observes the first white dwarf star, a companion of Sirius, through an eighteen inch telescope at Northwestern University.
1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
1867 – Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria
1876 – The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
1891 – The first attempt of a Portuguese republican revolution breakes out in the northern city of Porto.
1900 – Datu Muhammad Salleh is assassinated in Kampung Teboh, Tambuan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion
1915 – World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russia
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 – The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland.
1929 – The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky.
1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.
1941 – Layforce set sail.
1944 – World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
1944 – World War II: During Anzio campaign 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby s Rangers) was 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.
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 North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands.
1956 – Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.
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 – Explorer program: Explorer 1 – 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.
1966 – The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.
1968 – Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon.
1968 – Nauru declares independence from Australia.
1970 – A Saskatchewan Court convicts 17-year-old hippie David Milgaard of murder; he is sentenced to life in prison. He spent 23 years in jail until April 14, 1992 when DNA evidence proves him innocent of all charges.
1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 Mission – 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, begin in Detroit, Michigan.
1980 – Thirty-nine people burn to death in the occupation of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala.
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.
1999 – Family Guy debuts on American TV.
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.
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.
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.
Births
877 – Taejo of Goryeo, ruler of Korea (d. 943)
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 Francis Regis, French saint (d. 1640)
1624 – Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher (d. 1669)
1673 – Louis de Montfort, French catholic priest and saint (d. 1716)
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)
1820 – William B. Washburn, 28th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1887)
1835 – William Charles Lunalilo, Monarch of Hawaii (d. 1874)
1857 – George Jackson Churchward, Great Western Railway Chief mechanical engineer. (d. 1933)
1865 – Henri Desgrange, Founder of the Tour-de-France (d. 1940)
1865 – Shastriji Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1951)
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)
1881 – Anna Pavlova, Russian ballerina (d. 1931)
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 (d. 1966)
1902 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
1902 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1986)
1905 – John O Hara, American writer (d. 1970)
1911 – Eddie Byrne, British actor (d. 1981)
1913 – Don Hutson, American football player (d. 1997)
1914 – Carey Loftin, American actor and stuntman (d. 1997)
1914 – Sri Daya Mata, Hindu religious figure
1914 – Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (d. 1994)
1915 – Alan Lomax, American musicologist (d. 2002)
1915 – Thomas Merton, American author and monk (d. 1968)
1915 – Garry Moore, American comedian (d. 1993)
1919 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player, and the first black player in Major League Baseball (d. 1972)
1921 – John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
1921 – Carol Channing, American actress and singer
1921 – E. Fay Jones, American architect (d. 2004)
1921 – Mario Lanza, American singer (d. 1959)
1922 – Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
1923 – Norman Mailer, American writer and journalist (d. 2007)
1925 – Benjamin Hooks, American civil rights leader
1926 – Tom Alston, American baseball player (d. 1993)
1928 – Chuck Willis, American singer and songwriter (d. 1958)
1929 – Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist, Nobel laureate
1929 – Jean Simmons, English actress
1930 – Lynn Carlin, American actress
1930 – Joakim Bonnier, Swedish racecar driver (d. 1972)
1931 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player
1931 – Christopher Chataway, English athlete, newscaster and politician
1933 – Camille Henry, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1997)
1933 – Bernardo Provenzano , Mafia Boss
1934 – James Franciscus, American actor (d. 1991)
1934 – Bob Turner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
1935 – Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese writer, Nobel laureate
1937 – Regimantas Adomaitis, Lithuanian actor
1937 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
1937 – Philip Glass, American composer
1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)
1938 – Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
1938 – James G. Watt, American politician
1939 – Claude Gauthier, Canadian singer and songwriter
1940 – Kitch Christie, South African rugby union coach (d. 1998)
1941 – Richard A. Gephardt, American politician
1941 – Jessica Walter, American actress
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 (Chicago) (d. 1978)
1947 – Jonathan Banks, American actor
1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player
1948 – Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
1949 – Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and sports journalist
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)
1951 – Phil Manzanera, English guitarist (Roxy Music, Quiet Sun, 801)
1952 – Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (d. 1969)
1954 – Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch musician (Whitesnake)
1956 – John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten, English singer (Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd.)
1959 – Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor
1959 – Kelly Lynch, American actress
1959 – Kelly Moore, American stock car driver
1960 – Grant Morrison, British comic book author
1961 – Lloyd Cole, British singer
1962 – Sophie Muller, Music video director
1964 – Sylvie Bernier, Quebec diver
1964 – Jeff Hanneman, American musician (Slayer)
1964 – Billey Shamrock, Swedish singer
1966 – Dr Umar Alisha, A Sufi Master was Born at Pithapuram.
1967 – Fat Mike, American musician
1967 – Irene Wan, Hong Kong actress
1967 – Joey Wong, Taiwanese actress
1968 – Matt King, British actor and comedian
1968 – Patrick Stevens, Belgian athlete
1970 – Minnie Driver, British actress
1971 – Lee Young Ae, South Korean actress
1971 – Patrick Kielty, Northern Irish comedian
1971 – Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer
1973 – Portia de Rossi, Australian actress
1974 – Wil Anderson, Australian comedian
1974 – Ariel Pestano, Cuban baseball player
1975 – Fred Coleman, former National Football League wide receiver
1975 – Jackie O, Australian radio host
1975 – Preity Zinta, Indian actress
1976 – Traianos Dellas, Greek footballer
1976 – Buddy Rice, American race car driver
1977 – Mark Dutiaume, National Hockey League player
1977 – Shingo Katori, Japanese actor and singer (SMAP)
1977 – Jim Kleinsasser, National Football League tight end
1977 – Kate Shindle, American actress
1977 – Kerry Washington, American actress
1978 – Fabián Caballero, Argentine footballer
1978 – Brad Rutter, Jeopardy! champion
1978 – Ray Shah, Irish DJ, TV, radio presenter
1979 – Daniel Tammet, British autistic savant
1980 – James Adomian, American actor
1980 – Ryan Kienle, American musician
1980 – Tiffany Limos, American actress
1981 – Sergio D. Acosta, Chicano Filmmaker
1981 – Julio Arca, Argentinian football player
1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer
1981 – Amrita Arora, Indian actress
1982 – Yuniesky Betancourt, Major League Baseball shortstop
1982 – Andreas Görlitz, German football player
1982 – Bruno Nogueira, Portuguese actor, comedian and TV host
1982 – Elena Paparizou, Greek singer
1982 – Janis Sprukts, National Hockey League player
1982 – Brad Thompson, Major League Baseball player
1983 – James Sutton, British television actor
1983 – Tom Vangeneugden, Belgian swimmer
1984 – Jeremy Wariner, American 400m runner
1984 – Vernon Davis, NFL player
1985 – Adam Federici, Australian footballer
1985 – Mario Williams, NFL player
1986 – Yves Makabu-Makalambay, Belgian football goalkeeper
1990 – Kota Yabu, Japanese Actor and Singer
Deaths
1398 – Emperor Suko (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 – Guy Fawkes – Gunpowder Plot conspirators (b. 1570)
1606 – Ambrose Rokewood – Gunpowder Plot conspirators (b. c.1578)
1606 – Thomas Wintour – Gunpowder Plot conspirators (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 councillor (b. c. 1654)
1729 – Jakob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
1736 – Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (b. 1678)
1788 – Charles Edward Stuart, the exiled Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland (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)
1828 – Alexander Ypsilantis, Phanariot Greek military commander and national hero of the Greek War of Independence (b. 1792)
1836 – John Cheyne (physician), British physician, surgeon and author (b. 1777)
1844 – Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general (b. 1773)
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, Polish assassin of Gabriel Narutowicz (b. 1869)
1933 – John Galsworthy, English writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1867)
1942 – Henry Larkin, American baseball player (b. 1860)
1942 – Rolf Wenkhaus, German actor (b. 1917)
1944 – Jean Giraudoux, French writer (b. 1882)
1945 – Eddie Slovik, American soldier (b. 1920)
1954 – Edwin Howard Armstrong, American electrical engineer and inventor of the FM radio (b. 1890)
1955 – John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
1956 – A. A. Milne, English author (b. 1882)
1966 – General Arthur Ernest Percival, British Army Officer (b. 1887)
1967 – Eddie Tolan, American athlete (b. 1908)
1969 – Meher Baba, Indian guru (b. 1894)
1970 – Slim Harpo, American singer (b. 1924)
1971 – Viktor Maksimovich Zhirmunsky, Russian literary historian, linguist (b. 1891)
1973 – Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel 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)
1987 – Yves Allégret, French film director (b. 1907)
1990 – Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-born imam (b. 1935)
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)
1999 – Shohei Baba, Japanese professional wrestler
2000 – Gil Kane, Latvian-born comic book writer (b. 1926)
2001 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian writer (b. 1923)
2002 – Francis Gabreski, American fighter pilot (b. 1919)
2004 – Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (b. 1913)
2006 – Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (The Red Shoes) and ballerina (b. 1926)
2007 – Kirka Babitzin, Finnish singer (b. 1950)
2007 – Molly Ivins, American political columnist and author (b. 1944)
2007 – Lee Bergere, American actor (b. 1924)
2007 – Adelaide Tambo, South African activist and wife of Oliver Tambo (b. 1929)
2008 – Zeltim Odie Peterson, famous pug (b. 1997)
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
January 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
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