Historical Events and Current Affairs on January 31

1504 : By treaty of Lyons, French cede Naples to Ferdinand of Aragon
1531 : Kings Ferdinand of Austria/J nos Z polyai of Hungary accept each other
1560 : Spanish king Philip II marries Elisabeth van Valois
1578 : Battle of Gembloers
1596 : Catholic League disjoins
1609 : Wisselbank of Amsterdam established
1627 : Spanish government goes bankrupt
1675 : Cornelia/Dina Olfaarts found not guilty of witchcraft
1679 : Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera "Bell‚rophon," premieres in Paris
1696 : Revolt of undertakers after funeral reforms (Amsterdam)
1779 : Charles Messier adds M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra) to his catalog
1804 : British vice-admiral William Blighs fleet reaches Cura‡ao
1817 : Franz Grillparzer's "Die Ahnfrau," premieres in Vienna
1842 : John Tyler's daughter Elizabeth marries in White House
1849 : Corn Laws abolished in Britain
1851 : Gail Borden announces invention of evaporated milk
1851 : SF Orphan's Asylum, 1st in Calif, founded
1854 : Dutch KNMI established (Royal Meteorological Institute)
1855 : Western railroads blocked by snow
1861 : Friedrich Hebbel's "Siegfrieds Tod," premieres in Weimar
1861 : State of Louisiana takes over US Mint at New Orleans
1862 : Telescope maker Alvin Clark discovers dwarf companion of Sirius
1863 : 1st black Civil War regiment, SC Volunteers, mustered into US army
1865 : Congress passes 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America (121-24)
1865 : Gen Robert E Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies
1871 : Millions of birds fly over western SF, darkens sky
1874 : Jesse James gang robs train at Gads Hill, Missouri
1893 : "Westminster Gazette" begins publishing
1895 : Jos‚ Mart¡ & others leave NYC for invasion of Spanish Cuba
1901 : Boer general John Smuts & De la Rey conqueror Mud river Transvaal
1901 : Chekhov's "Three Sisters" opens at Moscow Art Theater
1901 : Winnipeg Victorias sweep Montr‚al Shamrocks in 2 for Stanley Cup
1904 : B‚la Bart¢k's symphony "Kossuth," premieres
1905 : 1st auto to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), A G MacDonald, Daytona Beach
1905 : Carroll Wright appointed 1st US Commissioner of Labor
1906 : Strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake, Colombia, 8.6 Richter
1911 : Congress names SF as Panama Canal opening celebration site
1915 : 1st (German) poison gas attack, against Russians
1916 : Dutch Girl Guides form
1917 : Germany notifies US that U-boats will attack neutral merchant ship
1920 : 1st Ukrainian daily newspaper in US (NYC) begins publication
1920 : Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, at Howard University, incorporates
1925 : Premier Ahmed Zogu becomes president of Angola
1927 : Cardinals & play for the Giants
1927 : Intl allies military command in Germany disbands
1927 : NL Pres John Heydler rules Rogers Hornsby can't hold stock in the
1928 : Scotch tape 1st marketed by 3-M Company
1929 : Erich Maria Remarques publishes "Im West nieces Neues" in Berlin
1929 : Leon Trotsky expelled from Russia to Turkey
1930 : 1st US glider flight from a dirigible, Lakehurst, NJ
1931 : NHL's Quebec Bulldogs' Joseph Malone scores a record 7 goals
1931 : Philip Barry's "Tomorrow & Tomorrow," premieres in NYC
1932 : US railway unions accept 10% wage reduction
1933 : French govt of Daladier takes power
1933 : Hitler promises parliamentary democracy
1934 : FDR devalus dollar in relation to gold at $35 per ounce
1936 : "Green Hornet" radio show is 1st heard on WXYZ Radio in Detroit
1940 : 40 U boats sunk this month (111,000 ton)
1940 : C Turney & J Horwin's "My Dear Children," premieres in NYC
1941 : 21 U boats sunk this month (127,000 ton)
1941 : Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem Netherlands
1941 : Joe Louis KOs Red Burman in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
1942 : 62 U boats sunk this month (327,000 ton)
1943 : 39 U boats sunk this month (203,100 ton)
1943 : Chile breaks contact with Germany & Japan
1943 : Gen Friedrich von Paul surrenders to Russian troops at Stalingrad
1944 : Operation-Overlord (D-Day) postponed until June
1944 : U-592 sunk off Ireland
1944 : US forces invade Kwajalein Atoll
1945 : US 4th Infantry division occupies Elcherrath
1946 : Yugoslavia adopts new constitution, becomes a federal republic
1948 : J D Salinger's "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish" appears in NY
1948 : Magnetic tape recorder developed by Wireway
1949 : 1st daytime soap on TV "These Are My Children" (NBC in Chicago)
1950 : Pres Truman OKs building of hydrogen bomb
1952 : Dutch Lutheran Church reunites after 1« centuries
1952 : Harry Heilmann & Paul Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1953 : "Princess Victoria" capsized off Stanraer Scotland; 133 die
1953 : Hurricane-like winds flood Netherlands drowning 1,835
1953 : NY, Cleveland, & Boston retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the Browns
1953 : to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues
1955 : RCA demonstrates 1st music synthesizer
1956 : French govt of Mollet forms
1956 : Juscelino Kubitschek becomes president of Brazil
1957 : Liz Taylor's 2nd divorce (Michael Wilding)
1957 : Trans-Iranian oil pipe line finished
1958 : "Jackpot Bowling" premieres on NBC with Leo Durocher as host
1958 : James van Allen discovers radiation belt
1958 : US launches their 1st artificial satellite, Explorer 1
1959 : Joe Cronin signs 7 year pact to become head of AL
1960 : Songwriter Adolph Green marries actress/singer Phyllis Newman in NYC
1961 : David Ben-Gurion resigns as premier of Israel
1961 : Ham 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
1962 : Gen Charles P Cabell, USAF, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1962 : Samuel Gravely assumes command of destroyer escort "USS Falgout"
1963 : Tony Sheridan & Beat Brothers record "What'd I Say" & "Ruby Baby"
1964 : US report "Smoking & Health" connects smoking to lung cancer
1965 : Pud Galvin elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1966 : Belgian state police kills 2 striking mine workers
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 : Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb, 32"), at Agata, USSR
1968 : US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1968 : Viet Cong's Tet offensive begins
1969 : Beatles perform last live gig (42-min concert on roof of Apple HQs)
1969 : Vice Admiral Rufus L Taylor, USN, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1970 : Grateful Dead members busted on LSD charges
1971 : "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison hit #1 on UK pop chart
1971 : & Dave Bancroft & George Weiss elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1971 : Apollo 14 launched, 1st landing in lunar highlands
1971 : Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Harry Hooper, Rube Marquard, Chick Hafey
1972 : Aretha Franklin sings at Mahalia Jackson's funeral
1972 : Birenda, becomes leader of Nepal
1972 : Military coup ousts civilian government of Ghana
1972 : US launches HEOS A-2 for interplanetary observations (396/244,998)
1974 : MacDonald's founder Ray Kroc buys San Diego Padres
1974 : XXX actress Linda Lovelace arrested for possession of cocaine
1975 : Barry Manilow's "Mandy" goes gold
1975 : John Lennon releases "#9 Dream"
1975 : UCLA wins NCAA basketball championship
1976 : "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players hits #1
1976 : Lance Gibbs becomes highest Test wicket-taker at 308
1977 : Frenchman Fran‡ois Claustre freed, after 33 months as hostage in Chad
1977 : Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie, & Al Lopez elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1978 : "Elvis: The Legend Lives!" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 101 perfs
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 : 38th Golden Globes: Ordinary People, Coal Miner's Daughter
1982 : 10 Arabian oryx (extinct except in zoos) released in Oman
1982 : 12th AFC-NFC pro bowl, AFC wins 16-13
1982 : 32nd NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 120-118 at New Jersey
1982 : NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 16-13
1984 : Edwin Newman retires from NBC News after 35 years with the network
1984 : US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1985 : "Harrigan 'n Hart" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 5 performances
1985 : S Afr pres PW Botha offers to free Mandela if he denounces violence
1986 : Mary Lund of Minn, is 1st female recipient of an artificial heart
1987 : 44th Golden Globes: Platoon, Marlee Matlin win
1987 : United Steel workers union ratified a concessionary with USX Corp
1988 : Barge sinks near Anacortes, WA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil
1988 : Superbowl MVP: Doug Williams, Washington, QB
1988 : Superbowl XXII: Wash Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10 in San Diego
1990 : 1st ever all-sports daily "National" begins publishing
1990 : 1st McDonalds in Russia opens in Moscow, world's biggest McDonalds
1990 : Jushin "Thunder" Liger beats Naoki Sano to become New Japan IWGP champ
1991 : Nugget's Michael Adams becomes shortest NBAer to get a triple-double
1991 : Robert Gibson flies record 27,040 feet altitude
1992 : MTA raised tolls on most NYC bridges from $2.50 to $3.00
1992 : Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires
1993 : "St Joan" opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 49 performances
1993 : 81st Australian Mens Tennis: Jim Courier beats S Edberg (62 61 26 75)
1993 : Superbowl MVP: Troy Aikman, Dallas, QB
1993 : Superbowl XXVII: Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 52-17 in Pasadena
1994 : Barcelona opera theater "Gran Teatro del Liceo" burns down
1994 : Dow Jones hits a record 3,978.36
1998 : 72nd Australian Womens Tennis: Martina Hingis beats C Martinez (63 63)
1998 : STS 89 (Endeavour 12) lands

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