What are the important events that happened on January 31? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
January 31: Facts & Myths About This Day
January 31 is the 31st day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 335 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is January 18, 2024 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 474,072 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘triacontahenagon’ day.
Aquarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 10 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,058 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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January 31 Historical Events
- 1862 –Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5 in telescope now located at Northwestern University.
- 1900 –Datu Muhammad Salleh is assassinated in Kampung Teboh, Tambunan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion
- 1918 –A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
- 1929 –The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky.
- 1944 –World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
- 1944 –World War II: During Anzio campaign 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby’s Rangers) is destroyed behind enemy lines in a heavily outnumbered encounter at Battle of Cisterna, Italy.
- 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.
- 1971 –The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begin in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1995 –President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.
- 2033 –New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Water Ox in Chinese astrology.
Who were born on January 31?
- 1624 –Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher (d. 1669)
- 1673 –Louis de Montfort, French catholic priest and saint (d. 1716)
- 1752 –Gouverneur Morris, American lawmaker and diplomat (d. 1816)
- 1929 –Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1937 –Regimantas Adomaitis, Lithuanian actor
- 1941 –Jessica Walter, American actress
- 1966 –Dr Umar Alisha, Indian Sufi master
- 1967 –Irene Wan, Hong Kong actress
- 1968 –Matt King, British actor and comedian
- 1982 –Andreas Görlitz, German football player
Who died on January 31?
- 1435 –Emperor Xuande of China (b. 1398)
- 1836 –John Cheyne (physician), British physician, surgeon and author (b. 1777)
- 1888 –John Bosco, Italian priest, youth worker, educator, founder of the Salesian Society (b. 1815)
- 1892 –Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and evangelist (b. 1834)
- 1955 –John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
- 1969 –Meher Baba, Indian guru (b. 1894)
- 1973 –Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
- 1976 –Ernesto Miranda, American litigant (b. 1941)
- 1989 –Sir William Samuel Stephenson, Canadian soldier, W.W.II codename, Intrepid. Inspiration for James Bond. (b. 1896)
- 2007 –Molly Ivins, American political columnist and author (b. 1944)
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