The 31st o Januar is the 31st day o the year in the Gregorian Calendar, wi 334 days ti come (335 in lowp years).
Events 1953 : Flood in the Netherlands 1958: Explorer 1 1968 : Banner o Nauru 2018: Lunar eclipse ower Japan 1504 - Fraunce cedes Naples tae Aragon .
1606 - The Gunpouder Plot conspirators are executit.
1846 - The ceety o Milwaukee , Wisconsin , is formed.
1865 - American Ceevil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes General-in-Chief.
1906 - A major yirdquauk in Colombie an Ecuador kills 1,000 fowk.
1918 - A series o accidental collisions in the Firth o Forth leads tae the loss of twa Ryal Navy submarines, wi the loss o ower 100 lives.
1919 - The Battle o George Square in Glesga taks place in a fecht for shorter wirkin hours.
1953 - 133 fowk are kilt in the MV Princess Victoria disaster in the North Chainel atween Belfast an Stranrawer .
1953 - A major storm causes massive floodin in the Netherlands , Belgium and Ingland in the nicht tae 1 Februar .
1958 - The Unitit States launches the Explorer 1 satellite.
1961 - Project Mercury: NASA sends Ham the Chimp intae space.
1968 - Nauru gains unthirldom frae Australie .
1968 - Vietnam War : Viet Cong guerrillas attack the US Embassy in Saigon , Sooth Vietnam , as pairt o the Tet Offensive.
1971 - Apollo 14 launches tae the Muin .
1990 - Moscow 's first McDonald's restaurant opens.
1996 - A splosive-filled truck rams intae the gates o the Central Bank o Sri Lanka in Colombo , killin at least 86 fowk.
1999 - Family Guy, creatit bi Seth MacFarlane , is first braidcast.
2000 - Inglis medicinar an serial killer Harold Shipman is conveectit.
2000 - Alaska Airlines Flicht 261 crashes off Californie , killin 88 fowk.
2001 - A Scots coort in the Netherlands finds Abdelbaset al-Megrahi guilty o the bombin o Pan Am Flicht 103 ower Lockerbie in 1988.
2002 - The Larsen B ice shelf breaks aff Antarcticae .
2004 - A fire at the Rosepark nursin hame in Uddingston, Sooth Lanrikshire , kills 14 residents.
2009 - An ile spillage igneetion in Molo, Kenyae , kills 113 fowk an injures aroond 200.
2010 - Andy Murray loses his first Australian Open tennis feenal, agin Roger Federer .
2013 - The Pemex touer explosion in Mexico Ceety kills at least 33 fowk.
2015 - Sergio Mattarella is chosen for the post o Preses o Italy .
2018 - A lunar eclipse coincides wi a Blue Muin (twa full muins in a month) for the first time in the 3rd millennium; the event is referred tae as a "Super Blue Blood Muin".
2020 - COVID-19 pandemic : The Unitit Kinrick , Italy , Roushie , Spain an Swaden each confirm thair first-recordit cases o COVID-19 .
2020 - Brexit : The Unitit Kinrick offeecially leaves the European Union at 11pm (UK Time), stairtin an 11-month transeetion period; it is the first unthirlt member state tae leave the bloc.
Births Jackie Robinson Princess Beatrix o the Netherlands 1543 - Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (d. 1616)
1762 - Lachlan Macquarie, Scots Govrenor o New Sooth Wales (d. 1824)
1797 - Franz Schubert , Austrick componer (d. 1828)
1814 - Andrew Ramsay, Scots geologist (d. 1891 )
1835 - Lunalilo, Keeng o Hawaii (d. 1874)
1868 - Theodore William Richards, American pheesical chemist (d. 1928 )
1884 - Theodor Heuss , 1st Preses o Wast Germany (d. 1963)
1881 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist (d. 1957 )
1902 - Alva Myrdal, Swadish sociologist an politeecian (d. 1986)
1919 - Jackie Robinson, American basebaw player (d. 1972)
1921 - Carol Channing, American actress (d. 2019)
1923 - Norman Mailer, American novelist (d. 2007 )
1925 - Paddy Buckley, Scots fitbawer (d. 2008 )
1929 - Jean Simmons , Inglis-American actress (d. 2010 )
1929 - Rudolf Mössbauer , German pheesicist (d. 2011 )
1931 - Ernie Banks , American basebaw player an coach (d. 2015)
1934 - Eva Mozes Kor , Romanie-born survivor o the Holocaust (d. 2019)
1935 - Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese writer
1937 - Suzanne Pleshette , American actress (d. 2008 )
1938 - Princess Beatrix o the Netherlands
1945 - Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale o Richmond, Inglis juidge
1956 - Artur Mas , Catalan politeecian
1968 - John Collins, Scots fitbawer
1970 - Minnie Driver, Inglis actress
1973 - Portia de Rossi , Australian actress
1977 - Kerry Washington, American actress
1979 - Daniel Tammet, Inglis novelist, poet an translator
1981 - Justin Timberlake, American sangster an actor
1982 - Allan McGregor , Scots fitbawer
1982 - Elena Paparizou, Greek sangster
1985 - Christophe Berra, Scots fitbawer
Daiths 2016: Statue o Sir Terry Wogan in Limerick 1606 - Guy Fawkes, Inglis conspirator, executit (b. 1570)
1729 - Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch splorer (b. 1659)
1788 - Charles Edward Stuart, Jacobite pretender (b. 1720)
1865 - Hugh Falconer, Scots geologist, botanist an palaeontologist (b. 1808)
1900 - John Douglas, 9t Marquess o Queensberry , Scots nobleman (b. 1844)
1933 - John Galsworthy , Inglis novelist an playwricht (b. 1867)
1953 - David Broadfoot, Scots seaman (b. 1899 )
1955 - John Mott , American activist (b. 1865)
1956 - A. A. Milne, Inglis writer (b. 1882)
1982 - Peter Ritchie Calder, Scots author, jurnalist an academic (b. 1906 )
2006 - Moira Shearer, Scots actress an dancer (b. 1926 )
2011 - Stuart Hood , Scots novelist, translator an telly producer (b. 1915 )
2015 - Richard von Weizsaecker, Preses o Germany (b. 1920 )
2016 - Sir Terry Wogan , Erse-Breetish braidcaster (b. 1938 )
2020 - Mary Higgins Clark, American writer (b. 1927 )
Halidays
Wikimedia Commons haes media relatit tae 31 January .