What happened on January 31 News and Events on This Day in History

Space

1961 Space Chimp in Space 31st January, 1961 : A chimpanzee named Ham sent into space by the United States has been recovered alive and well. The test was one of many planned to ensure that a human being could survive space flight, think clearly and perform useful functions outside the Earth's atmosphere.

UK 2000 England Dr Harold Shipman 31st January, 2000 : Family GP Dr Harold Shipman is jailed for life for murdering 15 of his patients, he was also suspected of killing more than 100 other patients but did not confess to them. Dr Harold Shipman is now Britain's most prolific convicted serial killer

Netherlands 1953 Netherlands England and Belgium The Great Storm 31st January, 1953 : A major storm with winds in excess of 100 MPH caused flooding in 3 countries with North Sea coastal areas killing a total of more than 2,000 people in the Netherlands Great Britain and Belgium.

Germany 1917 Germany Submarine Warfare 31st January, 1917 : Germany restarts unlimited submarine warfare in the Atlantic, and German torpedo armed submarines announce they will attack any and all ships, including civilian passenger ships.

U.S. 1929 U.S.A. Sunday Sports 31st January, 1929 : Sunday sports were to be permitted in Boston as of this day. Therefore, the Boston Braves and the Boston Red Sox were allowed to play on Sundays after Mayor Malcolm E. Nichols had signed an ordinance regarding this matter.
This permission did not come without cost, however. The Braves were to be required to pay $2,500 for a permit and the Red Sox were required to pay $1,000.
The reason why they were required to pay different rates was because of the difference in renting capacity of the parks each of these two teams would play in. Apparently the Braves playing field was bigger than the Red Sox playing field.

U.S. 1942 U.S.A. Car Production Stops 31st January, 1942 : No longer were civilian vehicles made as of this date by companies such as Chevrolet or DeSoto. From this time on until the end of the war only military vehicles were produced.

Burma 1945 World War II Burma Route Opened 31st January, 1945 : A main route was created from India to China for the purpose of transporting Allied military troops (troops opposing Hitler and his army). This path was established via the country of Burma, which provided the link from the two above-mentioned countries. The Bridge on the River Kwai was part of that route.

France 1945 World War II Private Eddie Slovik 31st January, 1945 : Private Eddie Slovik is executed by firing squad near the village of Ste-Marie aux Mines, France after being court martial for desertion to avoid hazardous duty and became the only U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.

U.S. 1949 U.S.A. These Are My Children 31st January, 1949 : The first daytime soap opera "These Are My Children," was broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago Soap Operas got the name because they were targeted at mothers and the soap manufacturers such as Procter and Gamble, were major sponsors ( Advertisers ) .

U.S. 1950 U.S.A. Hydrogen Bomb 31st January, 1950 : President Truman approved U.S. construction of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon potentially 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb

UK 1953 England Ferry Sinks 31st January, 1953 : The British Railways, Princess Victoria car ferry has sunk in the Irish Sea in one of the worst gales in living memory claiming the lives of more than 130 passengers and crew.

U.S. 1957 U.S.A. Plane Crash 31st January, 1957 : A Jet and a Douglas DC-7B transport plane collide before the wreckage dropped onto three schools in California killing 3 children in the playground at Pacoima Junior High School.

Cuba 1961 Cuba Americans Jailed for Bringing Arms 31st January, 1961 : Six Americans were sentenced to prison for 30 years in Cuba. These prisoners were serving a sentence after being charge with bringing arms to anti-Castro “guerrillas.”
The Americans that were arrested and tried guilty said they had stolen a boat to use to defend the Castro revolution. Minister Fidel Castro himself was said to have taken up this case.

Vietnam 1968 Vietnam Viet Cong Suicide Squad 31st January, 1968 : A 19 man Viet Cong suicide squad seized the U.S. Embassy in Saigon and held it for six hours until an assault force of U.S. paratroopers landed by helicopter on the building's roof and took back control. This signaled the beginning of the Offensive began by Viet Cong forces.

U.S. 1971 U.S.A. Apollo 14 31st January, 1971 : Apollo 14, is launched and piloted by astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, and Stuart A. Roosa, on a manned mission to the moon

Argentina 1972 Argentina Robbery 31st January, 1972 : On this date, the police hunted for terrorist robbery suspects to no avail. A total of 14 armed terrorists had held up the National Development Bank for over a period of eight hours on the weekend prior to this hunt.
The group that admitted to the terrorist crime described above was the Trotskyite People’s Revolutionary Army. According to the press, it is also documented that the Trotskyite Army also confessed to having run off with $450,000 dollars for the purpose of furthering their revolution.
The robbery guerrillas also seemingly bragged about the fact that they stole documents which prove that bourgeois sectors have committed fraud.

UK 1983 England New Seatbelt Law 31st January, 1983 : The new seatbelt law comes into force meaning drivers and front seat passengers must wear seat belts at all times, the law has been bought in to improve road safety hoping the compulsory wearing of front seat belts will save 1,000 lives a year.

Russia 1990 Russia Mc Donald’s in Moscow 31st January, 1990 : On this day in history the first Mc Donald’s was opened in Russia, in the city of Moscow. This restaurant had served at least 30,000 people in its first day

Mexico 1995 Mexico US Loans $20 Billion Mexico 31st January, 1995 : Following the devaluation of the Mexican to an all-time low, President Clinton exercised his executive power to authorize the Treasury Department to issue a $20 billion loan through the Exchange Stabilization Fund. This was the first time the fund had been used to help stabilize a foreign currency.

Sri Lanka 1996 Sri Lanka Terrorist Bombs 31st January, 1996 : Fifty dead in Sri Lanka suicide bombing by Tamil Tigers after a truck loaded with explosives is crashed into the central bank in the heart of Colombo's financial district

Australia 2003 Australia Train Crash 31st January, 2003 : A Tangara inter city train coming from Central Station Sydney leaves Waterfall railway station on route to Port Kembla Station Train Driver suffers a heart attack and the train approaches a curve rated for 37MPH at over 73 mph causing the train to derail, overturn and collide with the rocky walls of the gorge.

UK 2004 England Security Terrorism Prevention 31st January, 2004 : Six U.S.-bound flights from England, Scotland and France were canceled because of security concerns

U.S. 2006 U.S.A. Ben Bernanke 31st January, 2006 : Ben Bernanke is approved as chairman to succeed Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve by The Senate and takes over the next day February 1, 2006 ( The position of Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve ) is considered to be one of the most powerful people in the world.

India 2008 India Internet Access 31st January, 2008 : A break in submerged cable systems in the Mediterranean cause India to lose 60% Internet access and international telephone services. Due to the number of call centers located in India a large number of call cent res were also unavailable.
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Burma   2011 Burma Burmese Parliament Convenes 31st January, 2011 :  The Burmese Parliament met for the first time in over twenty years after elections in 2010. This event marked the end of a fifty year military rule and the creation of a new constitution for the country. Despite these steps forward, critics of the new government stated that the military will still retain a large amount of control.