Osun Defender History Corner: January 31 In Focus

Today, on the history corner, we take a trip in the realm of flashback and recall some events that marked this day.

January 31, 1606

Guy Fawkes is executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot in England.

January 31, 1747

The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.

January 31, 1865

The United States Congress passes the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery.

January 31, 1915

Germany conducts the first successful unrestricted submarine warfare in World War I.

January 31, 1945

US Army private Eddie Slovik becomes the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.

January 31, 1950

U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces the development of the hydrogen bomb.

January 31, 1958

Explorer 1, the first successful U.S. satellite, is launched into orbit.

January 31, 1971

Apollo 14, the third manned mission to the moon, is launched.

January 31, 1990

McDonald’s opens its first restaurant in Moscow, Russia.

January 31, 2000

Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashes into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 people on board.

January 31, 2001

In the “Netherlands Train Hostage Crisis,” a mentally ill man hijacks a train with hostages in the Netherlands.

January 31, 2003

The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon re-entry, tragically killing all seven crew members.

January 31, 2010

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake strikes Chile, triggering a tsunami.

January 31, 2011

The revolution in Egypt begins as protesters demand the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

January 31, 2019

The United Kingdom officially withdraws from the European Union, commonly known as Brexit.

January 31, 2020

The World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

January 31, 2020

Kobe Bryant, the basketball legend, and his daughter Gianna die in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.

January 31, 2021

Captain Sir Tom Moore, a British World War II veteran, dies after raising millions for the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.

January 31, 2021

The military seizes power in Myanmar in a coup d’état.

January 31, 2022

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is successfully deployed in space.

Please note that these are just a few historical events that happened on January 31. History is full of numerous other significant events on this day, ranging from politics and warfare to cultural and scientific milestones.