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What happened in history on this day: January 31?
On January 31 in ...
- 1861 - State of Louisiana, CSA takes over US Mint at New Orleans.
- 1871 - Millions of birds fly over western San Francisco, darkening the sky.
- 1874 - Jesse James gang robs train at Gads Hill, Missouri.
- 1895 - José Martí and others leave New York City, New York for invasion of Spanish Cuba.
- 1905 - Carroll Wright is appointed first US Commissioner of Labor.
- 1911 - US Congress names San Francisco as Panamá Canal opening celebration site.
- 1917 - Germany notifies US that submarines will attack neutral merchant ship.
- 1920 - First Ukrainian daily newspaper in US (New York City, New York) begins publication.
- 1920 - Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, at Howard University, incorporates.
- 1928 - Scotch tape first marketed by 3-M Company.
- 1930 - First US glider flight from a dirigible, Lakehurst, New Jersey.
- 1932 - US railway unions accept 10 percent wage reduction.
- 1934 - US President Franklin Roosevelt devalues the dollar by 40.94 percent in relation to gold by raising price to $35 per ounce (was $20.67 since 1837).
- 1935 - 30.5 cm (12.0 inches) of rain falls, Quinault RS, Washington (state record).
- 1944 - US forces invade Kwajalein Atoll.
- 1945 - American Private Edward Donald Slovik, age 25, is executed by firing squad for desertion, the first such execution since the US Civil War.
- 1945 - US 4th Infantry division occupies Elcherrath.
- 1950 - US President Harry Truman reveals that he ordered the Atomic Energy Commission to develop the hydrogen bomb.
- 1958 - James van Allen discovers radiation belt.
- 1958 - US launches their first artificial satellite, Explorer 1.
- 1961 - "Ham" is first primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2.
- 1961 - US Air Force launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights.
- 1962 - General Charles P Cabell, US Air Force, ends term as deputy director of US Central Intelligence Agency.
- 1964 - US report Smoking and Health connects smoking to lung cancer.
- 1968 - Viet Cong launch Tet Offensive on US embassy in Saigon, Vietnam.
- 1968 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1969 - Vice Admiral Rufus L Taylor, US Navy, ends term as deputy director of US Central Intelligence Agency.
- 1971 - Apollo 14 launched to the Moon.
- 1972 - US launches HEOS A-2 for interplanetary observations (396/244,998).
- 1977 - In Louisville, Kentucky, USA three buildings and a car are struck by a falling meteorite.
- 1984 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1986 - In Ohio, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurs.
- 1986 - Mary Lund of Minnesota is first female recipient of an artificial heart.
- 1987 - United Steelworkers union ratify a concessionary contract with USX Corp.
- 1987 - The last Ohrbach's department store closes in New York City after 64 years of operation.
- 1988 - Barge sinks near Anacortes, Washington, USA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil.
- 1992 - IBM reports a year-end loss, for the first time, of US$564 million, on revenues of US$64.8 billion.
- 1995 - U.S. President Bill Clinton invokes emergency powers to extend a $20 billion loan to help Mexico avert financial collapse.
- 2000 - Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashes off the California coast into the Pacific Ocean, killing 88.
- 2006 - Samuel Alito is sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 2007 - Delta Air Lines creditors officially reject US Airways' hostile takeover bid.
- 2007 - The Mooninite scare occurs in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, when devices used in a guerrilla marketing campaign for the animated television series Aqua Teen Hunger Force are mistaken for improvised explosive devices.
- 2008 - Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for US$44.6 billion: US$31 per share in cash and stock.
- 2023 - Boeing delivers the final 747 jumbo jet, making total production 1574.
Births on January 31
- 1830 - Birth of James Gillespie Blaine in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania; American politician (Representative-Republican-Maine 1863-76/Senator-Republican-Maine 1876-81/Secretary of State 1889-92).
- 1892 - Birth of Eddie Cantor in New York City, New York, USA; comedian (Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater).
- 1894 - Birth of Percy Helton in New York, USA; actor (Jail Busters, Harbor of Missing Men).
- 1902 - Birth of Tallulah Bankhead in Huntsville, Alabama, USA; hostess (The Big Show radio show), actress (Black Widow - Batman TV show (1966)).
- 1903 - Birth of Gardner Cowles in Iowa, USA; publisher/founder (Look Magazine).
- 1903 - Birth of Tallulah Bankhead in Huntsville, Alabama, USA; actress (Lifeboat, Die Die Darling).
- 1905 - Birth of John Henry O'Hara in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, USA; novelist (Butterfield 8, Pal Joey, Appointment at Samarra).
- 1914 - Birth of Carey Lofton in Blountsville, Florida, USA; actor (Skinner - Troubleshooters).
- 1915 - Birth of Bobby Hackett in Providence, Rhode Island, USA; trumpeteer/orchestra leader (Air Time '57).
- 1915 - Birth of Garry Moore AKA Thomas Garrison Morfit in Baltimore, Maryland, USA; host (I've Got A Secret, To Tell the Truth, Club Matinee radio show).
- 1916 - Birth of Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski AKA Frank Andrew Parker AKA Frankie Parker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; tennis champion (US Open-1944).
- 1919 - Birth of Jackie Robinson in Cairo, Georgia, USA; first black major league baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers).
- 1920 - Birth of Stewart L Udall in Saint Johns, Arizona, USA; Secretary of Interior (1961-69).
- 1921 - Birth of Carol Channing in Seattle, Washington, USA; actress (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hello Dolly, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Toast of the Town, Where's Waldo?).
- 1921 - Birth of John Agar in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actor (Fort Apache, Sands of Iwo Jima).
- 1921 - Birth of Mario Lanza in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; actor (Great Caruso, Toast of New Orleans), singer ("Be My Love", "The Loveliest Night of the Year", "Because You're Mine").
- 1922 - Birth of Joanne Dru in Logan, West Virginia, USA; actress (Playhouse 90 TV show, Lux Video Theatre, Ford Television Theatre, Guestward Ho! TV show (1960)).
- 1922 - Birth of William Sylvester in Oakland, California, USA; actor (2001, Gorgo, Gemini Man).
- 1923 - Birth of Eddie Ryder in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Slick Jones - General Hospital).
- 1923 - Birth of Joanne Dru in Logan, West Virginia, USA; actress (Guestward Ho, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon).
- 1923 - Birth of Norman Mailer in New Jersey, New York City, New York, USA; mayoral candidate/novelist (Naked and the Dead).
- 1925 - Birth of Charles Aidman in Frankfort, Indiana, USA; narrator (New Twilight Zone).
- 1930 - Birth of Lynn Carlin in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (Joan Hunter - James at age 15, The Waltons).
- 1934 - Birth of James Franciscus in Clayton, Missouri, USA; actor (Mr Novak TV show, Longstreet, Hunter, Doc Elliot).
- 1937 - Birth of Philip Glass in Baltimore, Maryland, USA; composer ("Einstein on the Beach").
- 1937 - Birth of Steve Karmen in the Bronx, New York, USA; jingle writer ("I Love New York", "This Bud's for You").
- 1937 - Birth of Suzanne Pleshette in New York City, New York, USA; actress (The Birds, Emily - Bob Newhart Show).
- 1938 - Birth of James G Watt in Colorado, USA; US Secretary of Interior (1981-83).
- 1940 - Birth of Jessica Walter in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actress (Play Misty For Me, Amy Prentiss).
- 1940 - Birth of Stuart Margolin in Davenport, Iowa, USA; actor (Love American Style, Angel - The Rockford Files, These Arms of Mine, Beggars and Choosers).
- 1946 - Birth of Glynn Turman in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Lew - Peyton Place, Manimal, Centennial).
- 1946 - Birth of Jonathan Banks in Washington DC, USA; actor (Armed and Dangerous, Cold Steel).
- 1947 - Birth of Lynn Nolan Ryan, Junior in Refugio, Texas, USA; baseball pitcher (New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros).
- 1957 - Birth of Shirley F Babashoff in California, USA; swimmer (Olympics-6 silver/2 gold-1972, 1976).
- 1960 - Birth of Elaine Roque in Santa Monica, California, USA; beach volleyball player (Olympics-1996).
- 1963 - Birth of John Dye in Amory, Massachusetts, USA; actor (Andrew - Touched by an Angel).
- 1963 - Birth of Scott Ian Rosenfeld in Bayside, New York, USA; rocker (Anthrax - "Protest and Survive").
- 1964 - Birth of Sharon Cain in San Antonio, Texas, USA; team handball center back (Olympics-1996).
- 1965 - Birth of Adam Johnson in Portland, Oregon, USA; beach volleyball player (Olympics-1996).
- 1965 - Birth of Bianca Yasmin Salahshourian in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; Miss Connecticut-America (1990).
- 1965 - Birth of Kim Clarke in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA; team handball back court (Olympics-1988, 1992, 1996).
- 1968 - Birth of Steve Phoenix; US baseball pitcher (Oakland Athletics).
- 1971 - Birth of Brandi Sherwood; Miss Idaho-USA (1997, second, succeeded Brook Lee).
Deaths on January 31
- 1864 - Hamilton Rowan Gamble, US judge/Governor of Missouri (1861-64), dies.
- 1945 - American Private Edward Donald Slovik, age 25, is executed by firing squad for desertion, the first such execution since the US Civil War.
- 1954 - Edwin H Armstrong, US radio inventor (FM), commits suicide at age 63.
- 1955 - John R Mott, US theologist/founder (YMCA, Nobel Prize 1946), dies at age 89.
- 1974 - Samuel Goldwyn, Polish/English/US film magnate (MGM), dies at age 91.
- 1995 - George Abbott, American playwright/actor/producer (Damn Yankees), dies at age 107 (born 1887).
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