31 January
The January 31 (in Austria and South Tyrol : January 31 ) is the 31st day of the Gregorian calendar , so stay 334 days (335 days in leap years) by year end.
Historic anniversaries December · January · February |
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Events
Politics and world events
- 1208 : Erik Knutsson wins the Battle of Lena against Sweden's King Sverker II , who then fled to Denmark. The battle is part of longstanding power struggles between the Erik and Sverker families for the Swedish throne.
- 1542 : The Spaniard Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca is the first European to discover the Iguazú waterfalls .
- 1606 : The last Catholic conspirators in the Gunpowder plot against the Protestant King James I of England are executed. Among them is the main actor Guy Fawkes .
- 1638 : Warriors of the Tokugawa shogunate defeat around 20,000 rebellious farmers of the Shimabara uprising , who then retreat to Shimabara .
- 1773 : Frederick the Great forms the new province of West Prussia by cabinet order .
- 1793 : The royalist aligned County of Nice is after the invasion of French revolutionary troops of France annexed . The department Alpes-Maritimes arises.
- 1846 : Three places in the US state of Wisconsin merge to form the city of Milwaukee .
- 1850 : The constitution introduced in Prussia provides for three-class suffrage , which gives wealthy people a voting advantage in the election of members of parliament.
- 1865 : General Robert Edward Lee becomes Commander in Chief of the entire Confederate Army during the Civil War .
- 1876 : In the USA , the indigenous people are ordered to the Indian reservations by the government .
- 1891 : The Battle of Mankon takes place in Bafut ( Cameroon ) .
- 1915 : Karl Helfferich becomes State Secretary in the Reich Treasury , responsible for the financing of war in the German Reich .
- 1927 : The Inter-Allied Military Control Commission of the victorious powers of the First World War officially declares that Germany has fulfilled the disarmament in accordance with the Versailles Treaty .
- 1929 : Leon Trotsky , disempowered by Josef Stalin in the Soviet Union , is exiled to Alma-Ata together with other opposition members .
- 1933 : In Mössingen finds only major strike against the " seizure of power " Hitler instead.
- 1939 : The license to practice medicine for Jewish pharmacists, dentists and veterinarians expires due to an ordinance on the Reich Citizenship Law .
- 1942 : The Japanese invasion of the Malay Peninsula in the Pacific War ends successfully on the mainland. The Allies withdraw to the island of Singapore. The battle for Singapore between Japanese and Allied troops under British command , which lasts until February 15, begins.
- 1943 : Field Marshal General Friedrich Paulus surrenders with the German units trapped in the southern basin in the Battle of Stalingrad in the Russian campaign of World War II .
- 1944 : During the Battle of the Marshall Islands , the American forces succeed in landing on the Kwajalein atoll and subsequently develop it into an important deployment and supply base in the Pacific War .
- 1945 : Eddie Slovik is the only US soldier to be executed for desertion since the Civil War .
- 1946 : The Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia receives a constitution as a federal state with 6 republics ( Slovenia , Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , Serbia and Macedonia ) and two autonomous provinces within the Republic of Serbia ( Vojvodina and Kosovo ).
- 1948 : The Malay Union , which came into being under British pressure on April 1, 1946, is dissolved and replaced on February 1 by the Malaya Federation .
- 1950 : In a radio address, Elly Heuss-Knapp announces the establishment of the German Mothers' Convalescence Association .
- 1950 : US President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb a few months after the first Soviet nuclear weapon test . She is tested as Ivy Mike in 1952 .
- 1968 : Nauru in the Western Pacific, administered in trust by Australia on behalf of the UN , becomes independent. Hammer DeRoburt becomes the first president of the island state .
- 1974 : Members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine raid the Japanese embassy in Kuwait . At the same time, members of the Japanese Red Army storm a Shell plant on an island off Singapore and take five hostages.
- 1995 : To cope with the Tequila crisis approved US President Bill Clinton for an international aid package in favor of Mexico accounts for twenty billion dollars .
- 1996 : Suicide bombings by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam with a truck full of explosives on the central bank of Sri Lanka and on a high-rise in Colombo cause a total of 88 deaths and around 1,000 injuries.
- 2020 : Great Britain leaves the European Union ( Brexit )
economy
- 1609 : The Amsterdam currency exchange bank starts operations. It credits accepted cash in any currency to its depositors' accounts in bank guilders . She settles demands of her customers among themselves cashless on the accounts kept with her. The bank is prohibited from granting credit and discounting bills of exchange .
- 1747 : London Lock Hospital opens in the British capital as the first clinic to specialize in skin and venereal diseases. Syphilis patients are their customers in the early years.
- 1858 : After a previous failed attempt on November 3, 1857 successful launch of the British sailing steamer Great Eastern . The construction of Isambard Kingdom Brunel was three decades remain the world's largest ship.
- 1939 : The last issues of the traditional Austrian newspapers with high circulation, Neues Wiener Journal and Neue Freie Presse, appear. The National Socialists merged them with the Neue Wiener Tagblatt , which was incorporated into the Ostmärkische Zeitungsverlagsgesellschaft .
- 1983 : Founding of the Senior Expert Service in Germany.
- 1989 : The SPD party executive decided to discontinue the party's newspaper Vorwärts for reasons of cost. Its employees oppose the end of the traditional paper.
- 1990 : The first Soviet McDonald’s restaurant opens in Moscow .
- 1990 : The coal -promoting Radbod in Bockum-Hoevel is shut down.
- 2006 : Alan Greenspan retires after 18 years at the helm of the US Federal Reserve System . He is succeeded by Ben Bernanke .
science and technology
- 1895 : William Ramsay and John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh announce the discovery of a new chemical element, the noble gas argon , which they isolated from the air. From 1898, Ramsay discovered three other elements in the isolated argon, the noble gases neon , krypton and xenon .
- 1958 : The first US satellite , Explorer 1 , is launched into Earth orbit 4 months after the Russian Sputnik satellite . Under the direction of James Van Allen , he succeeds in proving the Van Allen radiation belt around the earth.
- 1961 : The chimpanzee Ham takes off into space with NASA's Mercury Redstone 2 mission from Cape Canaveral . He spends about six minutes in weightlessness and a little later goes down with his capsule unharmed in the Atlantic.
- 1966 : The Soviet space probe Luna 9 takes off on its way to the moon , where it will make the first soft landing of a probe on February 3rd .
- 1971 : Apollo 14 starts with the astronauts Stuart Roosa , Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell on board towards the moon .
Culture
- 1474 : The City Council of Bern and mayor Adrian von Bubenberg grant of Diebold Schilling the Elder an order for a chronicle of Bern .
- 1732 : The Teatro Argentina in Rome opens its performances with the opera Berenice by Domenico Sarro .
- 1786 : The world premiere of the opera Orpheus og Euridice by Johann Gottlieb Naumann takes place in Copenhagen .
- 1817 : The Ahnfrau , a tragedy in five acts by Franz Grillparzer , premiered at the Vienna Theater an der Wien and received very controversial criticism.
- 1863 : The novel Cinq semaines en ballon ( Five weeks in a balloon ) by Jules Verne appears in France.
- 1880 : At the Teatro Regio in Turin the world premiere of the fantastic drama Elda by Alfredo Catalani takes place .
- 1882 : The opera Gudrun by August Klughardt is premiered in Neustrelitz.
- 1884 : The opera Pedro de Zalaméa by Benjamin Godard is premiered at the Théâtre Royal in Antwerp .
- 1912 : The singer Jack Judge performs for the first time the song It’s a Long Way to Tipperary , composed by him , in Stalybridge , which became famous worldwide during the First World War through British soldiers.
- 1914 : The world premiere of the operetta The First Kiss by Ludwig Rochlitzer takes place at the Carltheater in Vienna .
- 1934 : The chamber opera The Tale of the Wandering Scholar by Gustav Holst is premiered in Liverpool.
- 1972 : Rosa von Praunheim's film Not the homosexual is perverse, but the situation in which he lives is shown for the first time on German television by Westdeutscher Rundfunk .
- 1977 : The Center National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou , designed by Renzo Piano , Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini, opens in Paris .
- 1990 : Italian premiere of Federico Fellini's film The Voice of the Moon (La voce della luna) .
Disasters
- 1906 : An earthquake of magnitude 8.8 in Colombia and Ecuador about calls for 1,000 deaths.
- 1918 : In the " Battle of the Isle of May " in the Scottish collide Firth Firth of Forth several British submarines K-Class , with two boats sink and over a hundred sailors find death.
- 1953 : The Holland storm flood on the night of February 1st flooded large parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Denmark and England. According to official figures, 1,853 people die in the Netherlands alone.
- 1994 : The Gran Teatre del Liceu opera house in Barcelona , which opened in 1847 and is the second largest opera house in the world after the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, is destroyed by fire.
Minor accidents are listed in the sub-articles of Catastrophe .
nature and environment
- 2002 : The Larsen B Ice Shelf , a 3250 km² ice sheet that has remained stable for more than 10,000 years, breaks away from the Antarctic .
Sports
- 1892 : The first ski jumping competition takes place on Holmenkollen in Oslo . The Norwegian Arne Ustvedt wins with a jump of 21.5 meters.
- 1930 : The 4th Ice Hockey World Championship - the first not taking place as part of the Olympic Games - opens in Chamonix. It is also the 15th European ice hockey championship .
- 1999 : The Denver Broncos win Super Bowl XXXIII against the Atlanta Falcons at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida, 34:19. For most valuable player is John Elway named.
Entries of track and field world records can be found under the respective discipline under track and field .
Born
Before the 18th century
- 1512 : Henry I , King and Cardinal of Portugal
- 1543 : Tokugawa Ieyasu , Japanese general, Shogun and one of the "three unificationists"
- 1599 : Juraj Zrinski , Ban of Croatia
- 1607 : James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby , English peer, politician and military man
- 1612 : Heinrich Casimir I , Count of Nassau-Dietz, governor of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe
- 1619 : Florentius Schuyl , Dutch medic and botanist
- 1620 : Georg Friedrich Count Waldeck , German prince
- 1673 : Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort , French people's missionary, writer and founder of an order
- 1684 : Louis Caravaque , French painter
18th century
- 1707 : Friedrich Ludwig von Hannover , Prince of Wales
- 1710 : Johann Christoph Balser , German legal scholar
- 1732 : Wilhelm Christoph Diede zum Fürstenstein , Danish diplomat
- 1734 : Joseph Franz Anton von Auersperg , Austrian bishop, prince-bishop and cardinal
- 1735 : Jean de Crèvecoeur , French-American writer
- 1741 : Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel , Prussian statesman, writer and social critic
- 1741 : Engelhard Benjamin Schwickert , German publisher
- 1746 : Prince Friedrich Ludwig zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen , Prussian general
- 1752 : Governor Morris , American politician, co-author of the United States Declaration of Independence
- 1753 : Kaspar Friedrich Lossius , German Protestant clergyman, educator and writer
- 1759 : François Devienne , French flautist
- 1762 : Lachlan Macquarie , governor of the British colony of New South Wales
- 1766 : Augustin Braig , German theologian and university professor
- 1769 : Charles Cutts , American politician
- 1769 : André-Jacques Garnerin , French aviation pioneer, parachutist and inventor
- 1778 : Karl Gottlieb Anton , German classical philologist
- 1778 : Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky , Austrian statesman
- 1782 : Franz Sinesius Weissenbach , Swiss lawyer and politician
- 1788 : Bonifác Buzek , Bohemian priest, educator, philosopher and educator
- 1788 : Felice Romani , Italian opera librettist
- 1796 : Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann , German geodesist, topographer, astronomer and meteorologist
- 1797 : Franz Schubert , Austrian composer, co-founder of romantic music in German-speaking countries
- 1798 : Henriette von Bissing , German narrator
- 1798 : Carl Gottlieb Reissiger , German composer and court conductor in Dresden
- 1799 : Rodolphe Töpffer , Swiss draftsman and novelist
19th century
1801-1850
- 1802 : Nils Ericson , Swedish engineer
- 1807 : Adolf Christ , Swiss politician
- 1813 : Agostino Depretis , Italian statesman
- 1817 : August Schärttner , leading figure in the German gymnastics movement
- 1820 : Francesco Corradini , Italian philologist
- 1823 : Elise Polko , German poet and singer
- 1824 : Willem Vester , Dutch landscape and animal painter
- 1830 : James G. Blaine , American politician
- 1830 : Henri Rochefort , French journalist and writer
- 1839 : Curt von Knobelsdorff , German pioneer of the Blue Cross
- 1840 : Josef Ferch , Romanian-German composer, church musician and music teacher
- 1841 : Paul von Collas , German infantry general, governor of Mainz
- 1841 : Hugo Merguet , German pedagogue, classical philologist
- 1845 : Armand d'Artois , French writer
- 1849 : August Reinsdorf , German assassin
1851-1900
- 1851 : Peter Emil Isler , Swiss politician
- 1851 : Emil Killinger , German lawyer
- 1853 : Maria Belpaire , Belgian writer
- 1854 : Ludwig von Pastor , German Catholic historian
- 1854 : Stefan Stambolow , Bulgarian politician, Prime Minister
- 1855 : Otto Ehrenfried Ehlers , German explorer and writer
- 1856 : Hermann von François , German general in the First World War
- 1857 : Alfred Ackermann-Teubner , German publisher and bookseller
- 1858 : André Antoine , French theater director
- 1865 : Henri Desgrange , French editor of the sports newspaper L'Auto , founder of the Tour de France
- 1865 : Ulrich Thieme , German art historian
- 1865 : Tikhon , Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church
- 1866 : Emil Strauss , German poet
- 1867 : Mariusz Zaruski , Polish general, sailor, mountaineer, writer, poet and painter
- 1868 : Carl Wilhelm Petersen , German politician, First Mayor of Hamburg
- 1868 : Theodore William Richards , American chemist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1869 : Michael Herty , German track cyclist
- 1872 : Helene Christaller , German writer
- 1872 : Zane Gray , American writer
- 1873 : Melitta Bentz , German company founder, inventor of the coffee filter
- 1874 : Theodor Mollison , German anthropologist
- 1875 : Sepp Straffner , Austrian politician
- 1876 : Minna Bollmann , German politician (SPD), member of the Weimar National Assembly and resistance fighter
- 1878 : Heinrich Delp , German politician, mayor of Darmstadt, victim of National Socialism
- 1880 : Anton Arnold , Austrian opera singer (tenor)
- 1881 : Irving Langmuir , American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1883 : Oskar von Hindenburg , German general, son of President Paul von Hindenburg
- 1883 : Hermann Höpker-Aschoff , German politician and President of the Constitutional Court
- 1884 : Edgar Haßmann , Latvian pastor and evangelical martyr
- 1884 : Theodor Heuss , German political scientist, politician, Member of the Bundestag, first Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany
- 1889 : Albert Aereboe , German painter
- 1890 : Adolf Bach , German Germanist
- 1891 : Max Drischner , German composer, organist and harpsichordist
- 1892 : Heinrich Bongartz , German fighter pilot in the First World War
- 1892 : Ozaki Kihachi , Japanese writer
- 1893 : Freya Madeline Stark , British writer on the Orient and travel routes
- 1894 : Kojima Masajirō , Japanese writer
- 1885 : Heinrich Quiring , German geologist and paleontologist
- 1896 : Josef Ackermann , German journalist
- 1896 : Marianne Grunthal , German teacher, Nazi victim
- 1896 : Lewis Strauss , American politician and chairman of the Atomic Energy Agency
- 1897 : Ahmad Shah Qajar , Persian Shah, last ruler of the Qajar dynasty
- 1900 : Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov , Bulgarian philosopher and educator
- 1900 : Lisa Korspeter , German politician and Member of the Bundestag
- 1900 : Betty Parsons , American artist and gallery owner ( mother of Abstract Expressionism )
20th century
1901-1925
- 1901 : Marie Luise Kaschnitz , German writer
- 1902 : Tallulah Bankhead , American actress
- 1902 : Alva Myrdal , Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize winner
- 1902 : Willy Spühler , Swiss politician
- 1903 : Joseph Illerhaus , German politician, Member of the Bundestag, MEP
- 1904 : Frederick H. Boland , Irish politician
- 1904 : Max Sulzbachner , Swiss painter
- 1905 : John O'Hara , American writer
- 1905 : Martin Hellberg , German director, actor and author
- 1906 : Benjamin Frankel , British composer
- 1906 : Roosevelt Sykes , American blues pianist
- 1907 : Freddie de Clifford , British racing car driver and peer
- 1907 : Georg Wurzer , German soccer coach
- 1908 : Bill Cantrell , American racing car driver
- 1908 : Atahualpa Yupanqui , Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist and writer
- 1909 : Hans Werner von Aufseß , German lawyer, ministerial official and author
- 1909 : Gregor Hradetzky , Austrian canoeist
- 1910 : Emmy Diemer-Nicolaus , German lawyer and politician, Member of the Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
- 1910 : Ludwig von Moos , Swiss politician
- 1910 : Giorgio Perlasca , Italian businessman, fascist, savior of thousands of Jews in Budapest, Righteous Among the Nations
- 1910 : Nomi Rubel , German writer
- 1911 : Hans Arens , German literary and linguist
- 1911 : Josef Rösing , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1913 : Don Hutson , American football player and coach
- 1913 : Wayne Millner , American football player and coach
- 1913 : Gustav Sichelschmidt , German writer
- 1914 : Hugh Joseph Addonizio , American politician
- 1914 : Julian von Károlyi , German pianist
- 1914 : Carey Loftin , American actor and stunt performer
- 1914 : André Ramseyer , Swiss sculptor
- 1915 : Bobby Hackett , American jazz trumpeter, cornet player and guitarist
- 1915 : Alan Lomax , American folklore and music researcher
- 1915 : Thomas Merton , American Trappist, writer and mystic
- 1916 : Sangoulé Lamizana , Burkinabe politician
- 1916 : Carlos Jiménez Mabarak , Mexican composer
- 1916 : Frank Parker , American tennis player
- 1917 : Hans Posegga , German composer, pianist and conductor
- 1918 : Karl Emerich Krämer , German writer
- 1919 : Hans Katzer , German politician, MEP, Member of the Bundestag, Federal Minister
- 1919 : Jackie Robinson , first African American baseball player in MLB
- 1920 : Ana María González , Mexican singer
- 1920 : Benoîte Groult , French writer and journalist
- 1920 : Stewart Udall , American politician
- 1921 : John Agar , American actor
- 1921 : John Anderson , American trumpeter
- 1921 : Eva-Maria Buch , German resistance fighter, member of the Red Orchestra
- 1921 : Kurt Marti , Swiss pastor and writer
- 1921 : Mario Lanza , American singer
- 1922 : W. Ross Adey , Australian neuroscientist
- 1922 : Marcel Jullian , French author and publicist, director and television producer
- 1923 : Hermann Schmitt-Vockenhausen , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1923 : Norman Mailer , American writer
- 1923 : Jorge María Mejía , Argentine Curia Cardinal
- 1924 : Tengis Abuladze , Georgian film director
- 1924 : João Luiz Areias Netto , Brazilian diplomat
- 1925 : Guido Jendritzko , German sculptor, painter and photographer
- 1925 : Adele Kurzweil , Austrian Holocaust victim
1926-1950
- 1926 : Johannes Joachim Degenhardt , German cardinal and archbishop of Paderborn
- 1926 : Maria Emanuel Margrave of Meißen , German Prince of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, called Margrave of Meißen, head of the House of Wettin
- 1927 : Karl-Otto Habermehl , German doctor and virologist
- 1928 : Chuck Willis , American blues and rhythm and blues singer and songwriter
- 1929 : Girolamo Arnaldi , Italian medieval historian
- 1929 : Kurt Bretterbauer , Austrian geodesist
- 1929 : Rudolf Mößbauer , German physicist, Nobel Prize winner (Mößbauer effect)
- 1929 : Vera Schwarz , German harpsichordist and music researcher
- 1929 : Jean Simmons , British-American actress
- 1930 : Joakim Bonnier , Swedish Formula 1 racing driver
- 1930 : Sergius Golowin , Swiss publicist and mythologist
- 1930 : Friedrich Witt , German double bass player
- 1931 : Hansjörg Felmy , German theater and film actor
- 1932 : Michael Degen , German theater and film actor
- 1933 : Joachim Herrmann , German legal scholar
- 1933 : Bernardo Provenzano , Italian gang leader of the Cosa Nostra
- 1933 : Jun John Sakurai , Japanese physicist
- 1934 : Peter Ackermann , German painter and graphic artist
- 1934 : Ernesto Brambilla , Italian motorcycle and automobile racer
- 1934 : Marwan Kassab-Bachi , Syrian painter
- 1934 : Bobby Lee Trammell , American rockabilly musician and politician
- 1935 : Kenzaburō Ōe , Japanese writer and Nobel Prize winner
- 1935 : Willi Schrade , German actor
- 1936 : Hiroshi Hoshina , Japanese composer and conductor
- 1937 : Regimantas Adomaitis , Lithuanian film and theater actor
- 1937 : Willi Erdmann , German judge at the Federal Court of Justice
- 1937 : Philip Glass , American composer
- 1937 : Johannes Kunisch , German historian
- 1937 : Suzanne Pleshette , American actress
- 1937 : Karin-Huberta Ritter , German federal judge at the Federal Court of Justice
- 1937 : Helke Sander , German director and author
- 1938 : Beatrix , Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess zur Lippe-Biesterfeld (Queen of the Netherlands from April 30, 1980 to April 30, 2013)
- 1938 : Lynn Carlin , American actress
- 1938 : Eike Reuter , German church musician, regional church music director of Thuringia
- 1939 : Helmut Baumann , German dancer, actor and musical director
- 1940 : Peter Andrews , British paleoanthropologist
- 1940 : Helmut Hunger , German soccer player
- 1941 : Eugène Terre'Blanche , South African politician
- 1941 : Jessica Walter , American actress
- 1942 : Daniela Bianchi , Italian actress
- 1942 : Daniel Goeudevert , French writer, car manager and management consultant
- 1942 : Derek Jarman , British film director
- 1943 : Héctor Ramírez , Cuban gymnast
- 1944 : Spartaco Landini , Italian football player
- 1944 : Uwe Kockisch , German actor
- 1944 : Heidi Mahler , German actress
- 1944 : Charlie Musselwhite , American blues musician
- 1944 : Armin Vidal , German ornithologist
- 1945 : Matthias Beltz , German cabaret artist and author
- 1945 : Noah Creshevsky , American composer and music teacher
- 1946 : Terry Alan Kath , American musician
- 1946 : Willi Seebauer , German soccer player
- 1946 : Wolfgang Stumph , German actor and cabaret artist
- 1946 : Wilfried Terno , German judge at the Federal Court of Justice
- 1946 : Bobby Windsor , Welsh rugby player
- 1947 : Paul Hoser , German historian
- 1947 : Rudolf Schieffer , German historian
- 1949 : Maria Rauch-Kallat , Austrian politician, Federal Minister
- 1949 : Ken Wilber , American philosopher
- 1950 : Robert Grubb , Australian actor
- 1950 : Jan Hofer , German news anchor
- 1950 : Wilfried Nippel , German ancient historian
- 1950 : Leili Pärnpuu , Estonian chess player
- 1950 : Karl Sevelda , Austrian bank manager
1951-1975
- 1951 : Farideh Akashe-Böhme , German-Iranian author
- 1951 : Holger Hantke , German musician, composer and music teacher
- 1951 : Wiebke Hendriksen , German table tennis player
- 1951 : Dieter Hillebrand , German politician
- 1951 : Costas Los , Greek racing car driver
- 1951 : Phil Manzanera , British musician
- 1951 : Cristine Rose , American actress
- 1952 : Ulrike Apel-Haefs , German politician, MdL
- 1952 : Rodolfo Daluisio , Argentine composer, bandoneonist and organist, choir director and music teacher
- 1953 : Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff , German federal judge at the Federal Constitutional Court
- 1953 : Andreas Lukoschik , German television presenter, actor and author
- 1953 : Louis Wright , American football player
- 1954 : Mauro Baldi , Italian racing car driver
- 1955 : Virginia Ruzici , Romanian tennis player
- 1956 : Vera Vitalyevna Glagolewa , Soviet / Russian theater and film actress, screenwriter and director
- 1956 : John Lydon , British musician ( Sex Pistols )
- 1956 : Artur Mas , Catalan politician
- 1956 : Klaus Ploghaus , German athlete
- 1957 : Ronald Åhman , Swedish football player
- 1957 : Henrik Dam Kristensen , Danish politician
- 1959 : Pierre Aïm , French cameraman
- 1959 : Kelly Lynch , American actress
- 1959 : Alessandro Paganessi , Italian racing cyclist
- 1959 : Petar Popangelow , Bulgarian ski racer
- 1960 : Bernhard Kempen , German lawyer and professor
- 1961 : Lloyd Cole , British musician and songwriter
- 1961 : Torsten Michaelis , German actor
- 1962 : Ronald Schweppe , Dutch writer and musician
- 1963 : Manuela Di Centa , Italian cross-country skier
- 1964 : Sharon Cain , American handball player
- 1964 : Jeff Hanneman , American guitarist ( Slayer )
- 1965 : Andri Marteinsson , Icelandic football player
- 1966 : Anne Berge , Norwegian ski racer
- 1966 : Jorge González , Argentine wrestler and basketball player
- 1966 : Rolf Järmann , Swiss cyclist
- 1966 : JJ Lehto , Finnish racing driver, two-time winner of the Le Mans 24-hour race
- 1966 : Brian Mikkelsen , Danish politician
- 1966 : Thomas Treß , German football official
- 1966 : Christopher Truswell , Australian actor and speaker
- 1967 : Stefan Beuse , German writer
- 1967 : Chad Channing , American musician ( Nirvana )
- 1967 : Fat Mike , American musician
- 1967 : Shauna Rolston , Canadian cellist
- 1968 : Markus Foser , Liechtenstein ski racer
- 1968 : Marina Kielmann , German roller and figure skater
- 1968 : Petra Schubert , German badminton player
- 1969 : Katjuša Pušnik , Slovenian ski racer
- 1970 : Minnie Driver , British actress, singer and songwriter
- 1971 : Matthias Berninger , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1971 : Patricia Velásquez , Venezuelan actress
- 1972 : Manfred Kainz , Austrian motorcycle racer and team owner
- 1973 : Portia de Rossi , Australian actress
- 1974 : Regina Aspalter , Austrian farmer and politician
- 1974 : Andrew Lockington , Canadian composer
- 1975 : Birgit Kelle , German journalist and publicist
- 1975 : Preity Zinta , Indian actress
1976-2000
- 1976 : Buddy Rice , American racing car driver
- 1976 : Traianos Dellas , Greek football player
- 1977 : Torri Edwards , American athlete
- 1977 : Eddie Gustafsson , Swedish football player
- 1977 : Olessya Kulakova , German national volleyball player
- 1977 : Sergei Pareiko , Estonian football goalkeeper
- 1977 : Kerry Washington , American actress
- 1979 : Fərid Abbasov , Azerbaijani chess player and coach
- 1979 : Brahim Asloum , French boxer, Olympic champion
- 1979 : Bartosz Jurecki , Polish handball player and coach
- 1979 : Felix Sturm , German boxer
- 1979 : Jenny Wolf , German speed skater
- 1980 : Joel Brown , American athlete
- 1980 : Ramona Kühne , German professional boxer
- 1980 : Nick Leventis , British racing car driver and racing team owner
- 1980 : Mohamed Mokrani , French-Algerian handball player
- 1981 : Amrita Arora , Indian film actress
- 1981 : Justin Timberlake , American pop musician ( * NSYNC ) and actor
- 1981 : Selçuk Şahin , Turkish football player
- 1981 : Antal Zalai , Hungarian violinist
- 1982 : Ekaterina Sergejewna Ananina , Russian badminton player
- 1982 : Maret Ani , Estonian tennis player
- 1982 : Enrico Gaede , German soccer player
- 1982 : Ronny Göhl , German handball player
- 1982 : Andreas Görlitz , German soccer player
- 1982 : Elena Paparizou , Greek singer
- 1983 : Adriano Angeloni , Italian cyclist
- 1983 : Elizabeth Armstrong , American water polo player
- 1983 : Fabio Quagliarella , Italian football player
- 1983 : Katharina Thewes , German handball player
- 1984 : Franziska Garcia-Almendaris , German handball player
- 1984 : Alexander Ludwig , German soccer player
- 1984 : Alessandro Rosina , Italian soccer player
- 1984 : Jeremy Wariner , American athlete
- 1985 : Christophe Berra , Scottish football player
- 1985 : Adam Federici , Australian soccer player
- 1986 : Cassandra Engel , German handball player
- 1986 : Yves Makabu-Makalambay , Belgian football player
- 1986 : Sascha Pichler , Austrian soccer player
- 1987 : Raúl Richter , German actor
- 1988 : Line Røddik Hansen , Danish soccer player
- 1988 : Cathy Hummels , German presenter
- 1988 : Daniel Wessig , German handball player
- 1989 : Rafael Midchatowitsch Akhmetov , Russian ice hockey player
- 1989 : Joanna Atkins , American sprinter
- 1989 : Nikki Chooi , Canadian violinist
- 1989 : Sanna Nyassi , Gambian soccer player
- 1990 : Cro , German rapper, singer and music producer
- 1990 : Marco Holz , German soccer player
- 1990 : Shannon Woeller , Canadian soccer player
- 1991 : Ju Wenjun , Chinese chess player
- 1992 : Linnéa Claeson , Swedish handball player and network activist
- 1992 : Victor Crone , Swedish singer
- 1992 : Katja Großkinsky , German actress
- 1992 : Alexander Wiktorowitsch Loginow , Russian biathlete
- 1992 : Meo Wulf , German actor and speaker
- 1993 : Angela Malestein , Dutch handball player
- 1994 : Silke Lippok , German swimmer
- 1994 : Jaron Siewert , German handball player
- 1994 : Florian Stritzel , German soccer goalkeeper
- 1996 : Joel Courtney , American actor
2001-2025
- 2001 : Ahed Tamimi , Palestinian activist
- 2008 : Leander Menzel , young German actor
Died
Before the 16th century
- 876 : Hemma , Queen of East Franconia
- 1030 : William V , Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitiers
- 1039 : Hartwig , Bishop of Brixen
- 1119 : Otbert von Lüttich , Bishop of Lüttich
- 1156 : Hermann von Horn , Bishop of Utrecht
- 1179 : Frederick I , Bishop of Prague
- 1197 : William de Longchamp , Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Ely
- 1208 : Knut Birgersson , Jarl of Sweden
- 1208 : Magnus Minnesköld , Swedish nobleman and district judge
- 1216 : Theodor II Eirenikos , Patriarch of Constantinople
- 1228 : Guido von Montfort , lord of Castres, La Ferté-Alais and Bréthencourt, crusader and regent of the county of Sidon
- 1256 : William of York , Bishop of Salisbury
- 1330 : John I , Count of Namur
- 1375 : Margaret Drummond , Queen of Scotland
- 1398 : Sukō , Japanese emperor at the north court
- 1418 : Mircea cel Bătrân , voivode of Wallachia
- 1435 : Xuande , fifth Chinese emperor of the Ming dynasty
- 1465 : Ulrich Maier , Swiss Benedictine monastery, abbot of the Muri monastery
- 1466 : Arnold Westphal , Bishop of Lübeck
- 1484 : Elisabeth von Künsberg , abbess of the Himmelkron monastery
16th to 18th century
- 1513 : Pedro de Ayala , Spanish ambassador to England
- 1526 : Elisabetta Gonzaga , Duchess of Urbino
- 1561 : Menno Simons , Dutch theologian; Anabaptist reformer and namesake of the Mennonites
- 1580 : Henry I , last King of Portugal from the House of Avis, cardinal
- 1587 : Juraj Drašković von Trakošćan , Croatian nobleman, bishop and cardinal
- 1606 : Guy Fawkes , English Catholic officer and assassin
- 1615 : Claudio Acquaviva , Italian superior general of the Societas Jesu ( Jesuits )
- 1628 : Abraham van den Blocke , architect and sculptor of Flemish origin
- 1632 : Jost Bürgi , Swiss-German watchmaker, instrument maker and astronomer
- 1635 : Bartholomäus Gölnitz , German legal scholar
- 1644 : Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pascha , Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
- 1665 : Johannes Clauberg , German theologian and philosopher
- 1701 : Andreas Schweimb , German master organ builder
- 1704 : Christian Andreas Siber , German educator and Lutheran theologian
- 1719 : Þormóður Torfason , Icelandic historian in the Danish service
- 1727 : Johann Wilhelm Petersen , German theologian, mystic and chiliast
- 1729 : Jakob Roggeveen , Dutch navigator and explorer
- 1736 : Filippo Juvarra , Italian architect
- 1736 : Bruno Mauricio de Zabala , Spanish military and colonial administrator, Capitán General del Río de la Plata
- 1738 : Ehrgott Bernhard Bendl , German sculptor and plasterer
- 1741 : Heinrich von Hessen-Darmstadt , German prince, imperial general
- 1749 : Roger Morris , English architect
- 1780 : Jonathan Carver , American-British explorer
- 1783 : Caffarelli , Italian opera singer (castrato)
- 1788 : Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie), exiled British pretender to the throne
- 1793 : Alois Friedrich von Brühl , Electoral Saxon-Polish court official and theater writer
- 1799 : Georg Heinrich Borz , German mathematician
19th century
- 1811 : Hanns Moritz von Brühl , Prussian director of the highways
- 1822 : Rudolf Schadow , German sculptor
- 1825 : Johann Friedrich Neidhart , German educator and headmaster
- 1825 : Johann Theodor Reinke , German engineer
- 1828 : Alexander Ypsilantis , Greek freedom fighter
- 1836 : John Cheyne , British physician
- 1840 : Joseph von Utzschneider , German technician and entrepreneur
- 1844 : Henri-Gatien Bertrand , French general
- 1863 : Friedrich Friese , German organist and organ builder
- 1864 : Fischel Arnheim , German politician and lawyer
- 1864 : Hamilton Rowan Gamble , American politician
- 1864 : Michael Sachs , German-Jewish scholar and pulpit speaker
- 1865 : Hugh Falconer , British paleontologist, botanist and geologist from Scotland
- 1866 : Friedrich Rückert , German poet, translator and orientalist
- 1868 : Josef Körösi , Austro-Hungarian industrialist
- 1874 : Enno Wilhelm Hektor , German author
- 1878 : Franz Joseph von Buß , German lawyer, constitutional lawyer, Catholic politician
- 1882 : James Spriggs Payne , President of Liberia
- 1883 : Wilhelm von Lenz , German music writer
- 1884 : Franz Senn , Austrian priest, founder of the German Alpine Club
- 1888 : Johannes Bosco , Italian priest and founder of the order
- 1891 : Ernest Meissonier , French painter
- 1892 : Charles Haddon Spurgeon , British Baptist pastor and preacher
- 1896 : William Alexander Adams , English engineer and entrepreneur
- 1896 : George A. Anderson , American politician
- 1900 : John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry , Marquis, Scottish nobleman
20th century
1901-1950
- 1905 : José Reyes , Dominican composer and musician
- 1908 : Carl von Voit , German physiologist
- 1911 : Paul Singer , German manufacturer, SPD co-founder and Member of the Bundestag
- 1914 : James Addams Beaver , American politician
- 1914 : Casimiro Gennari , Italian clergyman, cardinal to the Curia
- 1917 : Otto Finsch , German explorer
- 1918 : Johann Puluj , Ukrainian physicist
- 1919 : Paul Lindau , German writer, playwright and theater director
- 1920 : Gilda Langer , Austrian actress
- 1920 : Wilhelm Pfeffer , German botanist and plant physiologist
- 1921 : Justus Knecht , German Catholic theologian and writer
- 1922 : Friedrich Pützer , German architect and church builder
- 1924 : Curt von Bardeleben , German chess player
- 1924 : Ludwig Barnay , Hungarian-German actor and director
- 1925 : George Washington Cable , American writer
- 1925 : Ulrich Wille , Swiss general in the First World War
- 1929 : Jan Karafiát , Czech pastor of the Bohemian Evangelical Brother Church, writer
- 1933 : John Galsworthy , British writer and Nobel Prize for Literature
- 1933 : Rodolfo Tartini , Swiss Roman Catholic clergyman
- 1935 : Otto Aichel , German embryologist, anatomist, anthropologist and university professor
- 1935 : Helene Glatzer , German communist resistance fighter
- 1936 : Georgios Kondylis , Greek general and politician
- 1940 : René Schickele , German-French writer, essayist and translator
- 1942 : Otto Kern , German classical philologist and archaeologist
- 1942 : Rolf Wenkhaus , German film actor
- 1944 : Jean Giraudoux , French writer
- 1944 : Theodor Habicht , German National Socialist politician
- 1944 : Thomas W. Hardwick , American politician
- 1944 : William Allen White , American journalist, politician, and writer
- 1944 : Árpád Weisz , Hungarian football player and coach
- 1945 : Franz Aschenwald , Austrian skier
- 1945 : Al Blozis , American football player
- 1945 : Eddie Slovik , only American soldier executed for desertion in World War II
- 1946 : Pietro Boetto , Italian religious, Archbishop of Genoa and Cardinal
- 1946 : Václav Radimský , Czech painter
- 1949 : Otto Hupp , German graphic artist
- 1950 : Alfonso Esparza Oteo , Mexican composer, pianist and singer
1951-2000
- 1952 : Georg Kohl , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1952 : Pedro Prado , Chilean writer
- 1954 : Alfred Auerbach , German actor and writer
- 1955 : Henry Ernest Atkins , English chess player
- 1955 : John Raleigh Mott , American theologian, President of the YMCA World Federation , Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
- 1956 : AA Milne , British writer
- 1957 : Christian Hülsmeyer , German inventor of the radar and entrepreneur
- 1960 : Harry Blanchard , American racing car driver
- 1960 : Auguste Herbin , French painter
- 1962 : Vlasta Burian , Czech actor and comedian
- 1964 : Walther Adam , German industrialist and art collector
- 1966 : Arthur Ernest Percival , British general, was responsible for the greatest surrender in British military history
- 1967 : Otto Dibelius , German Protestant theologian, Bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg
- 1967 : Oskar Fischinger , German filmmaker, pioneer of abstract film
- 1967 : Geoffrey O'Hara , Canadian singer and composer
- 1967 : Eddie Tolan , American sprinter and Olympic champion
- 1969 : Meher Baba , Indian guru
- 1970 : Fritz Bayerlein , German general
- 1970 : Mikhail Leontjewitsch Mil , Russian helicopter designer
- 1970 : Slim Harpo , American blues musician
- 1971 : Hans Schmidt , German soccer player and coach
- 1971 : Henry Vallotton , Swiss politician, diplomat and writer
- 1972 : Hans Breitensträter , German heavyweight boxer
- 1972 : István Szelényi , Hungarian composer
- 1973 : Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch , Norwegian economist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1973 : Johannes Semler , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1974 : Samuel Goldwyn , American film producer
- 1974 : August Sonnefeld , German optician
- 1975 : Otto Andres , German politician
- 1975 : Traugott Vogel , Swiss writer
- 1976 : Buster Brown , American blues and R&B singer and harmonica player
- 1976 : Paul Dupuis , Canadian actor
- 1977 : Margrethe Klenze , German painter
- 1978 : Margit Schenker-Angerer , Hungarian opera and concert singer
- 1979 : Grant Green , American jazz guitarist and composer
- 1980 : Emanuel Sperner , German mathematician
- 1981 : Cozy Cole , American musician
- 1985 : Ishikawa Tatsuzō , Japanese writer
- 1987 : Boris Blinder , American cellist
- 1987 : Benno von Wiese , German literary scholar
- 1989 : Akutagawa Yasushi , Japanese composer
- 1989 : Ty Anderson , American ice hockey player
- 1989 : Friedrich Bundtzen , German glass designer
- 1990 : Juan Francisco Giacobbe , Argentine composer, musicologist and educator
- 1990 : Rashad Khalifa , Egyptian-American biochemist, Islamic scholar and computer scientist
- 1990 : Hans Putz , Austrian actor
- 1991 : Robert J. Havighurst , American educationalist and sociologist
- 1991 : Kostas Mountakis , Greek lyre player
- 1991 : Cosa Rosa , German songwriter, singer and keyboardist
- 1992 : Helene Blum-Gliewe , German stage designer and architectural painter
- 1992 : Rudolf Graber , German Catholic theologian, Bishop of Regensburg
- 1992 : Martin Held , German actor
- 1994 : Erwin Strittmatter , German-Sorbian writer
- 1995 : George Abbott , American writer, director, and actor
- 1997 : Heiner Carow , German director and vice-president of the GDR Academy of the Arts and member of the West Berlin Academy of the Arts
- 1997 : Zahir Pajaziti , co-founder and first commander of the UÇK
- 1997 : Ernst von Khuon , German radio and television journalist and writer
- 1999 : Gabriel Ruiz , Mexican composer
- 2000 : Martin Benrath , German actor
- 2000 : Ross Russell , American jazz producer and writer
- 2000 : Gil Kane , American comic artist
21st century
- 2001 : Evelyn Holt , German actress
- 2001 : Heinz Starke , German politician, MEP, Member of the Bundestag, Federal Minister
- 2002 : Henry Kloss , American audio equipment designer
- 2003 : Werenfried van Straaten , Belgian theologian
- 2004 : Eleanor Holm , American swimmer
- 2004 : Hansjürg Steinlin , Swiss forest scientist
- 2005 : Nel Benschop , Dutch poet
- 2005 : Otto Höpfner , German radio and television presenter
- 2005 : Erich Kästner , German designer
- 2005 : Klaus Mahnert , Austrian politician
- 2006 : Thomas Roberts , American guitarist and songwriter
- 2006 : Moira Shearer , British dancer and actress
- 2007 : Helmut Apffel , German philologist, local historian and educator
- 2007 : Molly Ivins , American newspaper columnist
- 2008 : Veronika Bayer , German actress
- 2008 : Volodia Teitelboim , Chilean writer
- 2010 : Sanna Kiero , Finnish cross-country skier
- 2010 : Tomás Eloy Martínez , Argentine writer, journalist, literary editor, film critic, screenwriter and university lecturer
- 2011 : Bartolomeu Anania , Romanian writer and clergyman
- 2011 : Charles Kaman , American engineer and businessman
- 2011 : Ingrid Roitzsch , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 2012 : Stefano Angeleri , Italian football player and coach
- 2012 : Mike Kelley , American installation and performance artist
- 2012 : Dorothea Tanning , American painter, sculptor and writer
- 2014 : Adegboyega Folaranmi Adedoyin , Nigerian athlete
- 2014 : Nina Andrycz , Polish actress and writer
- 2014 : Irmgard Arnold , German opera singer
- 2014 : Gundi Busch , German figure skater
- 2015 : Udo Lattek , German soccer player and coach
- 2015 : Richard von Weizsäcker , German politician, Governing Mayor of Berlin and Federal President
- 2016 : Wolfgang Rademann , German television producer
- 2017 : Carsten Mohren , German musician, producer, keyboard player, composer and sound engineer
- 2017 : Frank Pellegrino , American actor and restaurateur
- 2017 : Rob Stewart , Canadian film producer, photographer, and conservation biologist
- 2017 : John Wetton , British rock musician
- 2018 : Haim Gouri , Israeli poet, novelist, journalist and documentary filmmaker
- 2019 : Voldemar Herkel , Estonian architect
- 2019 : Lore Jackstädt , German entrepreneur widow and patron
- 2020 : Anne Cox Chambers , US diplomat and entrepreneur
- 2020 : Mary Higgins Clark , American writer
Holidays and memorial days
- Church memorial days
- St. Aidán von Ferns , Irish Bishop (Anglican, Catholic)
- St. John Bosco , Italian priest and founder of the order (Anglican, Catholic)
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon , English revival preacher (Protestant)
- State holidays and memorial days
- Nauru : Independence from Australia (1968)
The list of commemorative and action days contains further entries .
Commons : January 31st - Collection of images, videos and audio files