On This Day: 31 January

31 January in world history

• 2023The last Boeing 747, the first wide-body airliner, is delivered to Atlas Air and operated for ApexLogistics. The aircraft was registered as N863GT and named "Empower".
• 2020The United Kingdom's membership within the European Union ceases in accordance with Article 50, after 47 years of being a member state.
• 2009At least 113 people are killed in Kenya and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.
• 2000Alaska Airlines Flight 261, experiencing problems with its horizontal stabilizer system, crashed in the Pacific Ocean off Anacapa Island, California, killing all 88 people on board.
• 1997Final Fantasy VII, the first video game in the Final Fantasy franchise to use 3-D computer graphics, was released.
• 1988Doug Williams became the first African-American quarterback to play in the Super Bowl, leading the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII.
• 1978The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) goes on public display after being returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.
• 1971Apollo 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.
• 1971The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize alleged war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begins in Detroit.
• 1968Vietnam War: Viet Cong guerrillas attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.
• 1961Aboard NASA's Mercury-Redstone 2, the chimpanzee Ham became the first hominid to be launched into outer space.
• 1957A DC-7B operated by Douglas Aircraft collided in mid-air with a U.S. Air Force F-89 and crashed into a schoolyard in Pacoima, California.
• 1946Cold War: Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling that of the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
• 1945US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier since the Civil War.
• 1919Intense rioting over labour conditions broke out in Glasgow, Scotlan.
• 1918Finnish Civil War: The Suinula massacre, which changes the nature of the war in a more hostile direction, takes place in Kangasala.
• 1850Ute Wars: On behalf of Utah territorial governor Brigham Young, militia leader Daniel H. Wells drafted an order for the Utah Territorial Militia to exterminate Timpanogos men deemed hostile, leading to the Provo River Massacre.
• 1578Eighty Years' War: Spanish forces won a crushing victory at the Battle of Gembloux, threatening the States General of the Netherlands and contributing to its move from Brussels to Antwerp.

Born on 31 January

• 1975Preity Zinta, Indian actress, producer, and television hostIndia
• 1960Grant Morrison, Scottish author and screenwriter
• 1960Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and author
• 1915Alan Lomax, American historian, author, and scholar (died 2002)
• 1865Shastriji Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader, founded BAPS (died 1951)India
• 1797Franz Schubert, Austrian pianist and composer (died 1828)

Died on 31 January

• 2004Suraiya, Indian actress and playback singer (born 1929)India
• 1961Krishna Singh, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Bihar (born 1887)India
• 1958Karl Selter, Estonian politician, 14th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1898)
• 1955John Mott, American activist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1865)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 31 January in history?

2023: The last Boeing 747, the first wide-body airliner, is delivered to Atlas Air and operated for ApexLogistics. The aircraft was registered as N863GT and named "Empower". 2020: The United Kingdom's membership within the European Union ceases in accordance with Article 50, after 47 years of being a member state. 2009: At least 113 people are killed in Kenya and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people. 2000: Alaska Airlines Flight 261, experiencing problems with its horizontal stabilizer system, crashed in the Pacific Ocean off Anacapa Island, California, killing all 88 people on board.

Which famous people were born on 31 January?

Preity Zinta, Indian actress, producer, and television host (1975); Grant Morrison, Scottish author and screenwriter (1960); Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and author (1960); Alan Lomax, American historian, author, and scholar (died 2002) (1915).

Which day is observed on 31 January?

Amartithi (Meherabad, India, followers of Meher Baba); Independence Day (Nauru), celebrates independence from Australia in 1968.; Street Children's Day (Austria).