January 31

Birthdays:

1981 ~ Justin Timberlake, American singer and actor.

1970 ~ Minnie Driver, English actress.

1954 ~ Mark Slavin (d. Sept. 6, 1972), Russian-born Israeli wrestler.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He died at age 18.

1949 ~ Norris Church Mailer (née Betty Jean Davis, d. Nov. 21, 2010), American model and widow of Norman Mailer.  She was born on Norman Mailor’s 26^th birthday.  She died of cancer at age 61.

1947 ~ Nolan Ryan (né Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr.), American baseball player.

1943 ~ Richard Walter Quick (d. June 10, 2009), American head swim coach at Stanford University.  He coached the US swim team in six Olympic competitions.  He died of a brain tumor at age 66.

1938 ~ James Gaius Watt, 43^rd United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Ronald Reagan.

1938 ~ Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.  She was Queen from April 1980 until she abdicated in April 2013 in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander.

1937 ~ Suzanne Pleshette (d. Jan. 19, 2008), American actress.  She died of respiratory failure just 12 days before her 71^st birthday.

1937 ~ Philip Morris Glass, American avant garde composer.

1935 ~ Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese writer and recipient of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1933 ~ Ruedi Rymann (né Rudolf Rymann, d. Sept. 10, 2008), Swiss yodeler who was a national icon.  He died at age 75.

1933 ~ Nora Johnson (d. Oct. 5, 2017), American author who chronicled a Hollywood childhood.  She is best known for her novel, The World of Henry Orient.  She died at age 84.

1932 ~ Rick Hall (né Roe Erister Hall, d. Jan. 2, 2018), American record producer who crafted the Muscle Shoals sound.  He died of prostate cancer 29 days before his 86^th birthday.

1931 ~ Ernie Banks (d. Jan. 23, 2015), African-American baseball player.  He was the optimistic shortstop who played for the Chicago Cubs and was known as “Mr. Cub.”  He died 8 days before his 84^th birthday.

1929 ~ Jean Merilyn Simmons (d. Jan. 22, 2010), English actress who brought quiet strength to her roles.  She died 9 days before her 81^st birthday.

1929 ~ Rudolf Mössbauer (d. Sept. 14, 2011), German physicist and recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 82.

1925 ~ Benjamin Lawson Hooks (d. Apr. 15, 2010), African-American minister, civil rights activist and attorney.  He died at age 85.

1924 ~ A. Alfred Taubman (né Adolph Alfred Taubman, d. Apr. 17, 2015), the American developer who pioneered indoor malls.  He died at age 91.

1923 ~ Norman Mailer (d. Nov. 10, 2007), American author and journalist.  He died at age 84.

1921 ~ Carol Elaine Channing, American actress and singer.

1920 ~ Stewart Lee Udall (d. Mar. 20, 2010), 37^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from January 1961 until January 1969.  He died at age 90.

1919 ~ Jackie Robinson (d. Oct. 24, 1972), American baseball player.  He was the first African-American to play in the Major League.  He was the subject of the 2013 movie 42, which was the number on his baseball uniform.  He died of a heart attack at age 53.

1915 ~ Garry Moore (né Thomas Garrison Morfit, III, d. Nov. 28, 1993), American game show host.  He died of throat cancer at age 78.

1905 ~ John O’Hara (d. Apr. 11, 1970), American author.  He died at age 65.

1902 ~ Tallulah Bankhead (d. Dec. 12, 1968), American actress.  She died at age 66 of pneumonia.

1902 ~ Alva Myrdal (d. Feb. 1, 1986), Swedish sociologist and politician and recipient of the 1982 Nobel Peace Prize.  She died 1 day after her 84^th birthday.

1896 ~ Sofya Yanovskaya (d. Oct. 24, 1966), Russian mathematician.  She died from complications of diabetes at age 70.

1892 ~ Eddie Cantor (né Edward Israel Iskowitz, d. Oct. 10, 1964), American actor and singer.  He died at age 72.

1881 ~ Irving Langmuir (d. Aug. 16, 1957), American chemist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 76.

1872 ~ Zane Grey (né Pearl Zane Grey, d. Oct. 23, 1939), American dentist and author of western novels.  He is best known for his novel Riders of the Purple Sage.  He died at age 67.

1868 ~ Theodore William Richards (d. Apr. 2, 1928), American chemist and recipient of the 1914 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 60.

1854 ~ David Emmanuel (d. Feb. 4, 1941), Romanian mathematician.  He died 4 days after his 87^th birthday.

1820 ~ William Barrett Washburn (d. Oct. 5, 1887), 28^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He was Governor from January 1872 until April 1874, when he became a United States Senator following the death of Charles Sumner.  He died at age 67.

1797 ~ Franz Peter Schubert (d. Nov. 19, 1828), Austrian composer.  He died at age 31.

1512 ~ King Henry of Portugal (d. Jan. 31, 1580).  He was king from August 1578 until his death on this date in 1580.  He died on his 68^th birthday.

Events that Changed the World:

2001 ~ A Scottish court convicted Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (1952 ~ 2012) of Libya for his part in the bombing of the Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.  He was sentenced to life in prison, however, was released in August 2009 on “compassionate” grounds, alleging that he was dying of cancer.  He survived for another 2 and a half years before succumbing in May 2012.

1990 ~ The first McDonald’s restaurant in the Soviet Union opened in Moscow.

1968 ~ The Viet Cong attacked the United States embassy in Saigon.  That attack, as well as others, later became known as the Tet Offensive during the Viet Nam War.

1958 ~ James Van Allen (1914 ~ 2006) discovered the radiation belt that now bears his name.

1950 ~ President Harry Truman (1884 ~ 1972) announced a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.

1949 ~ The first daytime television soap opera, These Are My Children, began broadcasting by the NBC station in Chicago.

1942 ~ Allied forces were defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreated to Singapore during World War II.

1930 ~ The 3M company began marketing Scotch Tape.

1929 ~ Leon Trotsky (1879 ~ 1940) was exiled by the Soviet Union.

1915 ~ Germany began using wide-scale use of poison gas during the Battle of Bolimów against Russia during World War I.

1865 ~ The United States Congress passed the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery.  The Amendment was then sent to the States for ratification.

1801 ~ John Marshall (1755 ~ 1835) was appointed as the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

1747 ~ The first venereal disease clinic opened at London Lock Hospital.

314 ~ Pope Silvester I began his reign succeeding Pope Miltiades.

Good-Byes:

2015 ~ Lizabeth Scott (née Emma Matzo, b. Sept. 29, 1922), American actress known for her smoky-voice.  She played the femme fatale in many 1940s and 1950s film noir.  She was 92.

2007 ~ Molly Ivins (b. Aug. 30, 1944), American political humorist.  She died at age 62 of breast cancer.

1976 ~ Ernesto Miranda (b. Mar. 9, 1941), American riminal who was convicted of kidnap, rape and armed robbery based on his confession under police interrogation.  He was the Miranda in the US Supreme Court Case, Miranda v. Arizona, which ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their Constitutional rights.  This case set the police standard of reading arrestees their Constitutional rights.  He was stabbed to death in a bar fight at age 34.

1974 ~ Samuel Goldwyn (né Szmuel Gelbfizs, b. Aug. 17, 1882), Polish-born film studio executive and co-founder of Goldwyn Pictures.  He died at age 94.

1973 ~ Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch (b. Mar. 3, 1895), Norwegian economist and recipient of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 77.

1956 ~ A.A. Milne (né Alan Alexander Milne, b. Jan. 18, 1882), English author, best known for his Winnie the Pooh series of children’s books.  He died 2 weeks after his 74^th birthday.

1955 ~ John Mott (b. May 25, 1865), American evangelist and recipient of the 1946 Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 89.

1954 ~ Edwin Armstrong (b. Dec. 18, 1890), American engineer and inventor of the FM radio.  He died at age 63.

1945 ~ Eddie Slovik (né Edward Donal Slovik, b. Feb. 18, 1920), American Army private who was executed for desertion.  He was the first such execution of an American soldier since the American Civil War.  He was executed 18 days before his 25^th birthday.

1933 ~ John Galsworthy (b. Aug. 14, 1867), British novelist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 65.

1856 ~ 11^th Dalai Lama (né Khedrup Gyasto, b. Nov. 1, 1838).  He died at age 17.

1788 ~ Charles Edward Stuart (b. Dec. 31, 1720), pretender to the British Throne.  He died a month after his 67^th birthday.

1632 ~ Jost Bürgi (b. Feb. 28, 1552), Swiss clockmaker and mathematician.  He died 28 days before his 80^th birthday.

1606 ~ Guy Fawkes (b. Apr. 13, 1570), English Catholic conspirator.  He was the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot, which was a plot against Parliament and King James.  He was captured on November 5, 1605, hence that day is known as Guy Fawkes Day.  He was hanged two months later at age 35.

1580 ~ King Henry of Portugal (b. Jan. 31, 1512).  He was King from August 1578 until his death on this date in 1580.  He died on his 68^th birthday.

1435 ~ Xuande (b. Mar. 16, 1399), 5^th Emperor of the Ming dynasty.  His personal name was Zhu Zhanji.  He ruled f rom June 1425 until his death in January 1435.  He died of an illness at age 35.