On This Day January 31st

 OTD

January 31st is the Thirty-first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 341 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1578 – Eighty Years' War and Anglo-Spanish War: The Battle of Gembloux is a victory for Spanish forces led by Don John of Austria over a rebel army of Dutch, Flemish, English, Scottish, German, French, and Walloons.

1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Four conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, are executed for treason by hanging, drawing, and quartering for plotting against Parliament and King James.

1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.

1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, the United States towns of Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified to create the City of Milwaukee.

1862 – Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5-inch (47 cm) telescope now located at Northwestern University.

1865 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, and submitted it to the states for ratification.

1901 – Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters premieres at Moscow Art Theatre in Russia.

1958 – Cold War: Space Race: The first successful American satellite detects the Van Allen radiation belt.

1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.

1988 – Doug Williams becomes the first African American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl and leads the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII.

2007 – Emergency officials in Boston mistakenly identified battery-powered LED placards depicting characters from Aqua Teen Hunger Force as Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), causing panic.

 

Birthdays

1583 – Peter Bulkley, English and later American Puritan (d. 1659)

1752 – Gouverneur Morris, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1816)

1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1828)

1835 – Lunalilo of Hawaii (d. 1874)

1872 – Zane Grey, American author (d. 1939)

1892 – Eddie Cantor, American singer-songwriter, actor, and dancer (d. 1964)

1915 – Bobby Hackett, American trumpet player and cornet player (d. 1976)

1931 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2015)

1923 – Norman Mailer, American journalist and author (d. 2007)

1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)

1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player

1956 – John Lydon, (Johnny Rotten) English singer-songwriter

1970 – Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress

1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor

1997 – Arnaut Danjuma, Dutch footballer

 

 

Holiday Spotlight

International Zebra Day

  International Zebra Day was most likely founded by a consortium of conservation organizations such as the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and the Conservation Biology Institute. International Zebra Day aims to help raise awareness about the living conditions of zebras and how their numbers can be protected from further decline.

 Presently, three types of zebras can be found in the wild. They are the Grévy’s zebra, the plains zebra, and the mountain zebra. Although the Grévy’s zebra, found in the northern regions of Kenya, are extremely rare, they are an endangered variety, having suffered a loss of more than 54% of its total population. The loss has occurred rapidly in the last three decades because zebras were poached for their hides and pelts.

 Zebras are found in the African Savannah, where their natural habitat has been well preserved, and not all zebras are in danger of disappearing. The other two subspecies of zebra are less endangered than the Grevy’s zebra. Plains zebras are thriving and don’t face threats of endangerment. The mountain zebra lives in South Africa, Angola, and Namibia. Along with the dangers of poaching, these zebras are also in danger from locals who might hunt them for meat when the going gets tough. Zebras have been battling many concerns regarding preserving their population.

 

 Other Include

Appreciate Your Social Security Check Day

Backward Day

Brandy Alexander Day

Eat Brussels Sprouts Day

Hell is Freezing Over Day

Hug an Economist Day

Inspire Your Heart with the Arts Day

National Hot Chocolate Day

Scotch Tape Day

Street Children's Day