What Happened On
Cicely Tyson as Jane Pittman
Cicely Tyson as Jane Pittman
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
January 31, 1974
The TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman starring Cicely Tyson airs. It went on to win nine Emmy awards, including Actress of the Year for Tyson.
First Hominid in Space
January 31, 1961
The U.S. launches the chimpanzee (a hominid) Ham the Astrochimp into space aboard a Mercury test flight by NASA. Ham had been trained to respond to lights and operate controls. He survived the mission and lived in zoos until his death in 1983.
The "Computer" team
The "Computer" team
First U.S. Satellite
January 31, 1958
Explorer I is launched. It discovered the Van Allen radiation belt and remained in orbit until 1970.
The trajectory calculations were performed by hand by an all-female team of "computers" who were women recruited out of high school. The term "computer" was used to refer to a person rather than a machine.
Execution of Private Slovik
January 31, 1945
24-year-old U.S. Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion. He was the only U.S. soldier executed for desertion during World War II and the only U.S. soldier executed for desertion since the American Civil War.
While serving in German-occupied France, Slovik turned himself in to authorities with a note saying he had deserted and that he would desert again if sent back into battle. He was given several chances to return to duty and have the charges dropped, but refused. He assumed he would be dishonorably discharged and given a prison sentence that would be commuted after the war was over. However, he was sentenced to death. Slovik had a prison record prior to being drafted into the service, and as he was being prepared for execution, he said "They're not shooting me for deserting the United States Army, thousands of guys have done that. They just need to make an example out of somebody and I'm it because I'm an ex-con. I used to steal things when I was a kid, and that's what they are shooting me for. They're shooting me for the bread and chewing gum I stole when I was 12 years old."
Although over 21,000 U.S. soldiers were sentenced for desertion during World War II, Slovik was the only one executed.
The TV movie The Execution of Private Slovik (1974), starring Martin Sheen, was based on his execution.
The Lone Ranger Airs on Radio
January 31, 1933
First radio broadcast of The Lone Ranger radio program. It was initially aired on WXYZ out of Detroit, Michigan, with George Seaton (aka George Stenius) voicing the Lone Ranger. Although originally aimed at children, its audience was about half adults.
Opening Announcer: "In the early days of the western United States, a masked man and an Indian rode the plains, searching for truth and justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when from out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again!"
The Lone Ranger also became a successful television program in 1949.
German submarine sinking a British ship, by Willy Stöwer
German submarine sinking a British ship, by Willy Stöwer
World War I Submarine Warfare
January 31, 1917
Germany announces it will begin unrestricted submarine warfare. On March 17, German submarines sank three U.S. merchant vessels, and the U.S. declared war on Germany in April.
Photo Credit: André Karwath aka Aka
Photo Credit: André Karwath aka Aka
13th Amendment
January 31, 1865
The constitutional amendment abolishing slavery in the U.S. is passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It would then go on to the states for ratification, which was completed the following December.
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
McDonald's
January 31, 1990
The fast food giant McDonald's opens its first Russian restaurant in Moscow.
32 Children
January 31, 1989
Mrs. Maria Olivera of San Juan, Argentina gives birth to her 32nd child.
Apollo 14
January 31, 1971
Apollo 14 lifts off for a manned mission to the Moon. Alan Shepard would play the first round of lunar golf.
"Pistol" Pete Maravich Breaks Record
January 31, 1970
The LSU basketball legend "Pistol" Pete Maravich breaks Oscar Robertson's record 2,973 NCAA career points. He went on to score 3,667 points in his college career.
First photo taken from Moon's surface
First photo taken from Moon's surface
First Successful Soft Landing of a Manmade Object on the Moon
January 31, 1966
Soviet Luna 9 is launched; it landed on the Moon February 3rd and transmitted back the first photos taken from the Moon's surface.
Scotch Tape
January 31, 1930
3M markets Scotch Tape.
Gregorian Calendar Adopted by Russia
January 31, 1918
The following day became February 14th.
American Indians - General Custer
January 31, 1876
U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant extends the deadline for all Native Americans to move onto reservations. The Second Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) had guaranteed to the Lakota, Dakota Sioux, and Arapaho Indians exclusive possession of the Dakota territory west of the Missouri River. However, white gold miners were settling into sacred lands. Unwilling to remove the settlers and unable to persuade the Lakota to sell the territory, on December 6, 1875, the U.S. Commissioner on Indian Affairs ordered the Indians to return to their designated reservations by January 31, 1876. This deadline was untenable since the Indians had already settled into their winter quarters. Eventually, the army was brought in, leading to General Custer's ill-fated assault on the Indians the following June.
Photo Credit: Ken Lund
Photo Credit: Ken Lund
Campus
January 31, 1774
Earliest known use of the word "campus" - Latin for "field" - in a letter from Charles C. Beatty on this date discussing Princeton: "Last week to show our patriotism, we gathered all the steward's winter store of tea, and having made a fire in the Campus, we there burnt near a dozen pounds, tolled the bell and made many spirited resolves."
First Venereal Diseases Clinic
January 31, 1747
The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Dock Hospital.
Fawkes and other conspirators being hanged, drawn, and quartered
Fawkes and other conspirators being hanged, drawn, and quartered
Gunpowder Plot Conspirators Executed
January 31, 1606
Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators are executed for attempting to blow up King James I and the English Parliament. They were going to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament. Fawkes was in charge of the explosives, but after authorities were tipped off by an anonymous letter, he was discovered guarding the 36 barrels of gunpowder. It was enough to reduce the House of Lords to rubble.
Birthdays
Jackie Robinson (Jack Roosevelt Robinson)
Born January 31, 1919 d. 1972
American Hall of Fame baseball player, 1949 MVP. He was the first black to play major league baseball in the modern era (1947, Brooklyn Dodgers), the first black major league MVP, and was the first black inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1962).
In 1944, Robinson was court-martialed by the U.S. Army for insubordination after he refused to move to the back of a military bus. He was eventually acquitted of all charges.
Note: The last African-American to play major league baseball before Robinson was Moses Fleetwood Walker, who played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884.
Zane Grey
Born January 31, 1872 d. 1939
American western novelist. His novels have been adapted into over 100 films. He played minor league baseball and played one major league game with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1903).
Writings: Riders of the Purple Sage (1912, selling over 12,000,000 copies).
André-Jacques Garnerin
Born January 31, 1769 d. 1823
French balloonist, inventor of the frameless parachute. He made the first frameless parachute jump (1797). His parachute was an umbrella-like design of white canvas with a diameter of approximately 23 feet (7 m). Garnerin rode in a basket attached to the bottom of the parachute. The parachute and basket were suspended below a hot air balloon via a rope running through the center pole of the umbrella. At a height of approximately 3,000 feet (1,000 m) he severed the rope connecting his parachute to the balloon. Even though the basket swung wildly during the descent, Garnerin emerged uninjured.
He was killed when he was hit by a wooden beam while making one of his balloons.
Terry Kath
Born January 31, 1946 d. 1978
American rock guitarist. Founding member of the band Chicago and played guitar and sang lead vocals. He accidentally killed himself playing with a gun.
He was at a friend's playing with several of his guns when he pointed a .38 revolver at his head and pulled the trigger. It was not loaded. He then picked up a semi-automatic 9-mm pistol, stating "Don't worry about it, look, the clip is not even in it." Kath then inserted an empty magazine into the gun, placed it against his temple and pulled the trigger. Apparently Kath didn't realize the gun had a round in the chamber. He died instantly.
Mostly self taught, he is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
James G. Watt (James Gaius Watt)
Born January 31, 1938 d. 2023
U.S. Secretary of the Interior under Ronald Reagan (1981-83).
Described as "anti-environmentalist", he opened up nearly all of America's coastal waters to oil and gas drilling, widened access to coal on federal lands, and eased restrictions on strip-mining.
In 1983, he banned The Beach Boys from performing their annual Fourth of July concert on the National Mall on the grounds that rock concerts drew "an undesirable element." Later that year he resigned as a result of a controversial remark that a panel reviewing his coal-leasing policies had "every kind of mixture - I have a Black. I have a woman, two Jews and a cripple."
After resigning, Watt became a lobbyist for builders seeking contracts with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and in 1995 he was indicted on 18 counts of felony perjury and obstruction of justice for making false statements before a federal grand jury investigating influence peddling at HUD and was sentenced to five years' probation.
Suzanne Pleshette
Born January 31, 1937 d. 2008
American actress. Film: The Birds (1963). TV: The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78, Bob's wife Emily).
Jean Simmons
Born January 31, 1929 d. 2010
English Emmy-winning actress. TV: The Thorn Birds (1983, Emmy).
Popular Science, August 1965
Popular Science, August 1965
Inventor of the Sailboard
Sidney Newman Darby, Jr.
Born January 31, 1928 d. 2016
American sign painter. Inventor of the sailboard (1964).
Norman Mailer
Born January 31, 1923 d. 2007
American author, co-winner of a Pulitzer Prize for American History (1969). Writings: The Executioner's Song (1979, Pulitzer winner about Gary Gilmore), and Harlot's Ghost (1991, National Book Award winner).
John Agar
Born January 31, 1921 d. 2002
American actor. First husband of Shirley Temple. Film: Sands of Iwo Jima, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. B Movies: The Mole People and The Brain from Planet Arous.
Garry Moore (Thomas Garrison Morfit)
Born January 31, 1915 d. 1993
American entertainer. TV: The Garry Moore Show, I've Got A Secret (host), and To Tell the Truth (host).
Tallulah Bankhead
Born January 31, 1902 d. 1968
American actress. Stage: The Little Foxes (1939, Regina) and The Skin of Our Teeth (1943, Sabrina). Film: Lifeboat (1944).
Eddie Cantor (Edward Israel Iskowitz)
Born January 31, 1892 d. 1964
American comedian. He starred in the Ziegfeld Follies from 1917 to 1919.
Theodore William Richards
Born January 31, 1868 d. 1928
American Nobel-winning Chemist, known for his research in atomic weights.
James Gillespie Blaine
Born January 31, 1830 d. 1893
American statesman, author, known as the Plumed Knight.
Franz Peter Schubert
Born January 31, 1797 d. 1828
Austrian composer.
Deaths
Original Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed toys. Tigger, Kanga, Winnie-the-Pooh, Eeyore, and Piglet
Original Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed toys. Tigger, Kanga, Winnie-the-Pooh, Eeyore, and Piglet
Creator of Winnie-the-Pooh
A.A. Milne (Alan Alexander Milne)
Died January 31, 1956 b. 1882
English author. Writings: Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), which were inspired by his real-life son Christopher Robin Milne and his stuffed animal toys.
Armstrong with his wife and a portable radio he built for her (1923)
Armstrong with his wife and a portable radio he built for her (1923)
Inventor of FM Radio
Edwin Howard Armstrong
Died January 31, 1954 b. 1890
American Hall of Fame electrical engineer. He invented the superheterodyne receiver (1918) and wide band FM radio (1933), which is what is used today. He developed his FM radio to reduce the noise and static of AM radio. The rights to his invention were offered to RCA, but they turned it down. Facing financial problems, after a fight with his wife, he jumped to his death from his 13th-floor apartment.
Execution of Private Slovik
Eddie Slovik
Died January 31, 1945 b. 1920
American Army private. He was the only U.S. soldier executed for desertion during World War II, and the first since the Civil War.
While serving in German-occupied France, Slovik turned himself in to authorities with a note saying he had deserted and that he would desert again if sent back into battle. He was given several chances to return to duty and have the charges dropped, but refused. He assumed he would be dishonorably discharged and given a prison sentence that would be commuted after the war was over. However, he was sentenced to death. Slovik had a prison record prior to being drafted into the service, and as he was being prepared for execution, he said "They're not shooting me for deserting the United States Army, thousands of guys have done that. They just need to make an example out of somebody and I'm it because I'm an ex-con. I used to steal things when I was a kid, and that's what they are shooting me for. They're shooting me for the bread and chewing gum I stole when I was 12 years old."
Although over 21,000 U.S. soldiers were sentenced for desertion during World War II, Slovik was the only one executed.
The TV movie The Execution of Private Slovik (1974), starring Martin Sheen, was based on his execution.
Jo-Jo the Dog Faced Boy (Fedor Adrianovich Jeftichew)
Died January 31, 1904 b. 1868
Russian sideshow performer. He had the medical condition hypertrichosis, as did his father, that caused excessive body hair. They toured together until his father's death, after which he joined with P.T. Barnum who exhibited him across the U.S.
First Person to Survive Jumping Off the Brooklyn Bridge (Do a Brodie)
Steve Brodie
Died January 31, 1901 b. 1861
American daredevil. He is the first person to survive jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge (1886). He jumped from a height of 135 feet (41 m) - the same as a 14-story building, landing feet first in the East River. According to one account, a liquor dealer offered to back a saloon for Brodie if he made the jump. He used his fame from the jump to open his saloon and also appeared in vaudeville musicals.
The New York Times backed his account, but others doubted his claim saying he had an accomplice throw a dummy from the bridge with Brodie swimming out from the shore.
The term "do a Brodie" became a common phrase meaning to take a chance or a leap, specifically a suicidal one.
Fawkes and members of the Gunpowder Plot being hanged, drawn, and quartered
Fawkes and members of the Gunpowder Plot being hanged, drawn, and quartered
Guy Fawkes
Died January 31, 1606 b. 1570
English conspirator. He is known for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, in which he and his fellow conspirators attempted to blow up King James I and the English Parliament. They were caught and executed.
George Abbott
Died January 31, 1995 b. 1887
American Pulitzer and Tony-winning director, screenwriter. Stage: Damn Yankees and The Pajama Game.
Jack Douglas
Died January 31, 1989 b. 1908
comedy writer.
Bob Dunn
Died January 31, 1989 b. 1908
American cartoonist. Author and artist for They'll Do It Every Time (1963-89).
Barbara Cowsill
Died January 31, 1985 b. 1928
American singer, member and mother of the singing family The Cowsills (They were the basis for TV's The Partridge Family). Music: The Rain, The Park & Other Things (1967, #2) and the title song for the musical Hair (1969, #2).
Samuel Goldwyn (Samuel Gelbfisz)
Died January 31, 1974 b. 1882
Polish-American film maker. He was the most successful independent filmmaker of his time.
Film: Wuthering Heights (1939), The Little Foxes (1941), and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, Best Picture Oscar).
Known for his "Goldwynisms", some of his quotes include:
• "I don't think anybody should write his autobiography until after he's dead."
• "I'm willing to admit that I may not always be right, but I am never wrong."
• "Include me out."
The quote, "An oral agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on" is often misattributed to him. It was a misreporting of an actual quote praising the trustworthiness of a colleague: "His verbal contract is worth more than the paper it's written on."
Grace Drayton
Died January 31, 1936 b. 1877
American illustrator, cartoonist. Famous for her drawings of The Campbell Kids (1905).
John Galsworthy
Died January 31, 1933 b. 1867
British Nobel-winning novelist. Writings: The Forsyte Saga (1922).