is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 334 days remaining (335 in leap years).

Events

• 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon.
• 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I of England.
• 1747 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
• 1910 - The Portuguese republican revolution broke out in the northern city of Porto.
• 1814 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.
• 1849 - Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom.
• 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
• 1867 - Maronite nationalist leader Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria
• 1876 - The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
• 1915 - World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russians.
• 1917 - World War I: Germany announces its U-boats will engage in unrestricted submarine warfare.
• 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.
• 1930 - 3M markets Scotch Tape.
• 1936 - The Green Hornet radio show debuts.
• 1944 - World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
• 1945 - US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed, the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.
• 1946 - Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
• 1950 - President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
• 1953 - A flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands.
• 1956 - Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.
• 1958 - The first successful American satellite, Explorer I, is launched into orbit.
• 1958 - James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.
• 1961 - Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
• 1968 - Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon.
• 1968 - Nauru declares independence from Australia.
• 1971 - Apollo program: Astronauts aboard Apollo 14 lift off for a mission to 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.
• 1980 - Takedown of the embassy of Spain in Guatemala, then the embassy was set on fire killing 36 people in this tragic incident.
• 1988 - Super Bowl XXII: The Washington Redskins win their second championship of the 1980s, 42-10.
• 1990 - The first McDonald's opens in Moscow, Russia.
• 1993 - Super Bowl XXVII: The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Buffalo Bills, 52-17.
• 1995 - President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.
• 1996 - An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.
• 1999 - Super Bowl XXXIII: The Denver Broncos defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-19. After the game, the TV show Family Guy airs its pilot episode.
• 2000 - An Alaska Airlines MD-83 crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Malibu, California killing all 88 aboard.
• 2001 - In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
• 2002 - A large section of the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf begins disintegrating, eventually consuming about 3,250 km² (1,254 miles²) over a 35-day period.
• 2003 - Waterfall train disaster, NSW, Australia
• 2004 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 ends its run on the Sci-Fi Channel.
• 2005 - The child molestation trial of superstar Michael Jackson begins in California.
• 2006 - Incapacitated Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon officially exited politics after three decades when his Kadima party submitted its list of candidates for the upcoming election.

Births

• 1338 - King Charles V of France (d. 1380)
• 1512 - King Henry of Portugal (d. 1580)
• 1543 - Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun of Japan (d. 1616)
• 1550 - Henry I, Duke of Guise, French Catholic leader (d. 1588)
• 1597 - John Regis, French saint (d. 1640)
• 1624 - Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher (d. 1669)
• 1686 - Hans Egede, Norwegian Lutheran missionary (d. 1758)
• 1752 - Gouverneur Morris, American lawmaker and diplomat (d. 1816)
• 1759 - François Devienne, French composer (d. 1803)
• 1797 - Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (d. 1828)
• 1866 - Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
• 1868 - Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
• 1872 - Zane Grey, American Western writer (d. 1939)
• 1881 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
• 1884 - Theodor Heuss, German politician and publicist (d. 1963)
• 1889 - Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
• 1892 - Eddie Cantor, American actor and singer (d. 1964)
• 1894 - Isham Jones, American musician (d. 1956)
• 1902 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1902 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1986)
• 1905 - John O'Hara, American writer (d. 1970)
• 1913 - Don Hutson, American football player (d. 1997)
• 1914 - Sri Daya Mata, Hindu religious figure
• 1914 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (d. 1994)
• 1914 - Carey Loftin, American actor and stuntman (d. 1997)
• 1915 - Alan Lomax, American singer and musicologist (d. 2002)
• 1915 - Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
• 1915 - Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
• 1919 - Jackie Robinson, baseball player (d. 1972)
• 1921 - John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1921 - Carol Channing, American actress
• 1921 - E. Fay Jones, American architect
• 1921 - Mario Lanza, American singer and actor (d. 1959)
• 1922 - Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
• 1923 - Norman Mailer, American writer and journalist
• 1925 - Benjamin Hooks, American head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• 1929 - Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1929 - Jean Simmons, English actress
• 1931 - Ernie Banks, baseball player
• 1935 - Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1937 - Philip Glass, American composer
• 1937 - Suzanne Pleshette, American actress
• 1938 - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
• 1938 - James G. Watt, American politician
• 1940 - Jessica Walter, American actress
• 1941 - Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt, American politician
• 1942 - Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
• 1942 - Derek Jarman, British director and writer (d. 1994)
• 1944 - Charlie Musselwhite, American musician
• 1945 - Joseph Kosuth, American conceptual artist
• 1946 - Terry Kath, American musician (d. 1978)
• 1947 - Jonathan Banks, American actor
• 1947 - Nolan Ryan, baseball player
• 1948 - Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
• 1949 - Ken Wilber, American philosopher
• 1951 - Dave Benton, Aruban-born singer
• 1952 - Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (d. 1969)
• 1954 - Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch guitarist (Whitesnake)
• 1956 - Johnny Rotten, British singer (Sex Pistols)
• 1958 - Dave Finlay, professional wrestler
• 1959 - Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor
• 1960 - Grant Morrison, British comic book author and chaos magician
• 1961 - Lloyd Cole, British singer and songwriter
• 1964 - Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist (Slayer)
• 1964 - Billey Shamrock, Swedish singer and songwriter
• 1967 - Fat Mike, American singer/bassist
• 1970 - Minnie Driver, British actress
• 1971 - Patrick Kielty, Northern Irish comedian and television presenter
• 1973 - Portia de Rossi, Australian actress
• 1974 - Wil Anderson, Australian comedian
• 1976 - Buddy Rice, American race car driver
• 1980 - Tiffany Limos, American actress
• 1981 - Justin Timberlake, American singer
• 1982 - Elena Paparizou, Greek singer
• 1982 - Jānis Sprukts, Latvian ice hockey player
• 1982 - Andreas Görlitz, German international footballer
• 1982 - Brad Thompson, Professional baseball player

Deaths

• 743 - Muhammad al-Baqir, Shia Imam (b. 676)
• 1398 - Emperor Suko of Japan (b. 1334)
• 1435 - Xuande, Emperor of China (b. 1398)
• 1561 - Bairam Khan, Great Mughal General, regent for Akbar
• 1561 - Menno Simons, Dutch Mennonite leader (b. 1496)
• 1580 - King Henry of Portugal (b. 1512)
• 1606 - Gunpowder Plot conspirators executed:
  • Guy Fawkes (b. 1570)
  • Ambrose Rokewood
  • Thomas Wintour (b. 1571)
• 1615 - Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit (b. 1543)
• 1632 - Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
• 1665 - Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philsopher (b. 1622)
• 1686 - Jean Mairet, French dramatist (b. 1604)
• 1720 - Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English privy councilor
• 1729 - Jakob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
• 1736 - Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (b. 1678)
• 1788 - Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (b. 1720)
• 1790 - Thomas Lewis, Irish-born Virginia settler (b. 1718)
• 1794 - Marriott Arbuthnot, British admiral (b. 1711)
• 1815 - José Félix Ribas, Venezuelan independentist leader (b. 1775)
• 1844 - Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general (b. 1773)
• 1851 - David Spangler Kaufman, American politician (b. 1813)
• 1888 - John Bosco, Italian priest, youth worker, educator, founder of the Salesian Society (b. 1815)
• 1892 - Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and evangelist (b. 1834)
• 1907 - Timothy Eaton, Canadian department store founder (b. 1834)
• 1933 - John Galsworthy, English writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
• 1944 - Jean Giraudoux, French writer (b. 1882)
• 1945 - Eddie Slovik, American soldier (b. 1920)
• 1955 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
• 1956 - A. A. Milne, English author (b. 1882)
• 1967 - Eddie Tolan, American athlete (b. 1908)
• 1970 - Slim Harpo, American singer (b. 1924)
• 1973 - Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (b. 1895)
• 1974 - Samuel Goldwyn, American film studio executive (b. 1882)
• 1976 - Ernesto Miranda, American litigant (b. 1941)
• 1981 - Cozy Cole, American jazz drummer (b. 1909)
• 1990 - Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-born imam (stabbed) (b. 1935)
• 1992 - Willie Dixon, American musician (b. 1915)
• 1995 - George Abbott, American stage director and producer (b. 1887)
• 1997 - John Joseph Scanlan, Irish Catholic prelate (b. 1930)
• 1999 - Norm Zauchin, baseball player (b. 1929)
• 2000 - Gil Kane, Latvian-born comic book writer (b. 1926)
• 2001 - Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian writer (b. 1923)
• 2004 - Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (b. 1913)
• 2006 - Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (The Red Shoes) and ballerina (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism - Feast day of St. John Bosco, patron saint of educators, circus artists and magicians.
• Saint Pedro Nolasco
• Saint Marcella
• Saint Geminianus
• Blessed Ludovica

External links

• On this day in Canada
• NY Times: On this day
• BBC: On This Day

Days

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