January 31
Activity of the day
Today is . . .
- International Leprosy Day
- Independence day in Nauru
- Feast day of John Bosco, patron saint of editors and publishers
On this day . . .
- Guy Fawkes is executed for plotting against Parliament (1606)
- The U.S. House of Representatives passes a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery (1865)
- Nelson's Column in London is completed (1867)
- 3M start marketing clear Scotch tape (1928)
- The first TV daytime soap opera, ''These Are My Children,'' is first broadcast in the U.S. (1949)
- RCA demonstrates the first musical synthesizer (1955)
- Explorer I, the first U.S. earth satellite, is launched (1958)
- The population of the world reaches 4 billion (1976)
- Wearing seat belts becomes compulsory in the U.K. (1983)
- McDonald's opens its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow (1990)
- The Liceu Opera House in Barcelona is destroyed by fire (1994)
Births
- Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (1797)
- Anna Pavlova, Russian ballerina (1881)
- Norman Mailer, American writer (1923)
- Derek Jarman, British film director (1942)
- Phil Collins, English musician (1951)
- Philip Glass, American composer (1937)
- John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), English singer (1956)
- Lloyd Cole, British singer (1961)
- Dexter Fletcher, English actor (1966)
- Minnie Driver, English actress (1970)
- Justin Timberlake, American singer (1981)
Deaths
- Guy Fawkes, conspirator in Gunpowder Plot, hanged (1606)
- Bonnie Prince Charlie died in Rome (1788)
- John Galsworthy, English novelist (1933)
- A. A. Milne, English author (1956)
- Sam Goldwyn, American film producer (1974)