Important Events From This day in History January 31st

 

1961 Chimp in Space

1961 : A chimpanzee named Ham sent into space by the United States has been recovered alive and well. The test was one of many planned to ensure that a human being could survive space flight, think clearly and perform useful functions outside the Earth's atmosphere.

2000 Dr Harold Shipman

Family GP Dr Harold Shipman is jailed for life for murdering 15 of his patients, he was also suspected of killing more than 100 other patients but did not confess to them. Dr Harold Shipman is now Britain's most prolific convicted serial killer

1953 Europe The Great Storm

A major storm with winds in excess of 100 MPH caused flooding in 3 countries with North Sea coastal areas killing a total of more than 2,000 people in the Netherlands Great Britain and Belgium.

1917 Submarine Warfare

Germany restarts unlimited submarine warfare in the Atlantic, and German torpedo armed submarines announce they will attack any and all ships, including civilian passenger ships.

1929 - Sunday Sports

1929 : Sunday sports were to be permitted in Boston as of this day. Therefore, the Boston Braves and the Boston Red Sox were allowed to play on Sundays after Mayor Malcolm E. Nichols had signed an ordinance regarding this matter.

This permission did not come without cost, however. The Braves were to be required to pay $2,500 for a permit and the Red Sox were required to pay $1,000.

The reason why they were required to pay different rates was because of the difference in renting capacity of the parks each of these two teams would play in. Apparently the Braves playing field was bigger than the Red Sox playing field.

1942 Car Production Stops

No longer were civilian vehicles made as of this date by companies such as Chevrolet or DeSoto. From this time on until the end of the war only military vehicles were produced.

1945 World War II Burma Route Opened

A main route was created from India to China for the purpose of transporting Allied military troops (troops opposing Hitler and his army). This path was established via the country of Burma, which provided the link from the two above-mentioned countries. The Bridge on the River Kwai was part of that route.

1945 Private Eddie Slovik

Private Eddie Slovik is executed by firing squad near the village of Ste-Marie aux Mines, France after being court martial for desertion to avoid hazardous duty and became the only U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.

1949 These Are My Children

1949 : The first daytime soap opera "These Are My Children," was broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago Soap Operas got the name because they were targeted at mothers and the soap manufacturers such as Procter and Gamble, were major sponsors ( Advertisers ) .

1950 Hydrogen Bomb

President Truman approved U.S. construction of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon potentially 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb

1953 Princess Victoria car ferry Sinks

The British Railways, Princess Victoria car ferry has sunk in the Irish Sea in one of the worst gales in living memory claiming the lives of more than 130 passengers and crew.

1957 Plane Crash

A Jet and a Douglas DC-7B transport plane collide before the wreckage dropped onto three schools in California killing 3 children in the playground at Pacoima Junior High School.

1961 Americans Jailed for Bringing Arms

Six Americans were sentenced to prison for 30 years in Cuba. These prisoners were serving a sentence after being charge with bringing arms to anti-Castro "guerrillas."

The Americans that were arrested and tried guilty said they had stolen a boat to use to defend the Castro revolution. Minister Fidel Castro himself was said to have taken up this case.

1968 Viet Cong Suicide Squad

A 19 man Viet Cong suicide squad seized the U.S. Embassy in Saigon and held it for six hours until an assault force of U.S. paratroopers landed by helicopter on the building's roof and took back control. This signaled the beginning of the Offensive began by Viet Cong forces.

1971 Apollo 14

1971 : Apollo 14, is launched and piloted by astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, and Stuart A. Roosa, on a manned mission to the moon

1972 Argentina Robbery

On this date, the police hunted for terrorist robbery suspects to no avail. A total of 14 armed terrorists had held up the National Development Bank for over a period of eight hours on the weekend prior to this hunt.

The group that admitted to the terrorist crime described above was the Trotskyite People's Revolutionary Army. According to the press, it is also documented that the Trotskyite Army also confessed to having run off with $450,000 dollars for the purpose of furthering their revolution.

The robbery guerrillas also seemingly bragged about the fact that they stole documents which prove that bourgeois sectors have committed fraud.

1983 New Seatbelt Law

The new seatbelt law comes into force meaning drivers and front seat passengers must wear seat belts at all times, the law has been bought in to improve road safety hoping the compulsory wearing of front seat belts will save 1,000 lives a year.

1990 Mc Donald's in Moscow

On this day in history the first Mc Donald's was opened in Russia, in the city of Moscow. This restaurant had served at least 30,000 people in its first day

1995 US Loans $20 Billion Mexico

Following the devaluation of the Mexican to an all-time low, President Clinton exercised his executive power to authorize the Treasury Department to issue a $20 billion loan through the Exchange Stabilization Fund. This was the first time the fund had been used to help stabilize a foreign currency.

1996 Sri Lanka Terrorist Bombs

Fifty dead in Sri Lanka suicide bombing by Tamil Tigers after a truck loaded with explosives is crashed into the central bank in the heart of Colombo's financial district.

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