1606 –  Guy Fawkes was executed on the 31st January 1606, for his plotting against Parliament and James I of England, in the Gunpowder Plot.

1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opened on the 31st January 1747, at London Lock Hospital.

1930 – 3M began marketing Scotch Tape on the 31st January 1930.

1949 – These Are My Children, the first TV daytime soap opera was broadcast on the 31st January 1949, by the NBC station in Chicago.

1953 – The North Sea flood on the 31st January 1953 caused over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands, and over 300 in the United Kingdom.

1958 – Explorer 1, the first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit was on the 31st January 1958.

1958 – James Van Allen discovered the Van Allen radiation belt on the 31st January 1958.

1961 – Ham the Chimp traveled into outer space on the 31st January 1961, in Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2.

1966 – The Soviet Union launched the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft on the 31st January 1966, as part of the Luna program.

1968 – Nauru gained independence from Australia on the 31st January 1968.

1971 – Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard Saturn V, lifted off on the 31st January 1971, for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.

1988 ~ The Wonder Years American television comedy-drama was first broadcast on the 31st January 1988.

1990 – The first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union opened in Moscow on the 31st January 1990.

1995 – President Bill Clinton authorized a $20 billion loan to Mexico on the 31st January 1995, to stabilize its economy.

1996 – Comet Hyakutake was discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake on the 31st January 1996.

2010 – Avatar became the first film to gross over $2 billion worldwide on the 31st January 2010.

Today in History for the 31st January video produced by Associated Press

 Associated Press official website: www.AP.org

1649 – King Charles I of England was beheaded on the 30th January 1649..

1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England was ritually executed on the 30th January 1661, two years after his death, on the anniversary of the execution of the monarch Charles I of England he himself deposed.

1790 – The 1st boat specializing as a lifeboat was tested on the River Tyne on the 30th January 1790.

1847 – Yerba Buena, California was renamed San Francisco on the 30th January 1847.

1878 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare the Estonian author was born on the 30th January 1878 (died 1940).

1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt the American politician and 32nd President of the United States was born on the 30th January 1882 (died 1945).

1922 – Dick Martin the American comedian, actor, and director was born on the 30th January 1922 (died 2008).

1930 – Gene Hackman the American actor and author was born on the 30th January 1930.

1933 – Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany on the 30th January 1933, during Machtergreifung.

1935 – Richard Brautigan the American author and poet was born on the 30th January 1935 (died 1984).

1951 – Phil Collins the English singer-songwriter from Genesis was born on the 30th January 1951.

1964 – Ranger 6 was launched on the 30th January 1964.

1969 – The Beatles‘ last public performance was on the 30th January 1969, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.

1971 – Carole King’s Tapestry album was released on the 30th January 1971, becoming the longest charting album by a female solo artist, selling 24 million copies worldwide.

1980 ~ Wilmer Valderrama the American actor best known for his role of Fez in That ’70s Show, was born in Miami, Florida on the 30th January 1980.

1983 ~ Ella Hooper the Australian rock music singer-songwriter and lead singer of Killing Heidi was born in Violet Town, Victoria on the 30th January 1983. Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/Ella.Hooper.9 | Verified Twitter: www.Twitter.com/Ella_Hooper | Blog: www.LostCluesToFutureNews.blogspot.com.au

1987 – Phil Lester the English YouTube vlogger and radio personality was born on the 30th January 1987. Phil lester presents the Sunday night request show for BBC Radio 1 with Dan Howell. Phil Lester reached 1 million YouTube subscribers on the 6th July 2013. Phil Lester’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/AmazingPhil | Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmazingPhil | Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AmazingPhil

Today in History for the 30th January video produced by Associated Press

 Associated Press official website: www.AP.org

1754 – Horace Walpole coined the word serendipity in a letter to Horace Mann on the 28th January 1754.

1813 – Pride and Prejudice was first published in the United Kingdom on the 28th January 1813.

1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovered the Antarctic continent on the 28th January 1820.

1821 – Alexander Island was first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen on the 28th January 1821.

1855 – A locomotive, on the Panama Railway, was run from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time on the 28th January 1855.

1878 – Yale Daily News became the first daily college newspaper in the United States on the 28th January 1878.

1887 – A snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, recorded the world’s largest snowflakes on the 28th January 1887, at a size of 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.

1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person to be convicted of speeding on the 28th January 1896. Walter was fined 1 shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), breaking the speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).

1902 – The Carnegie Institution of Washington was founded in Washington, D.C. on the 28th January 1902, with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.

1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress created the United States Coast Guard on the 28th January 1915.

1917 – Municipally owned streetcars took to the streets of San Francisco, California on the 28th January 1917.

1934 – The first ski tow in the United States began operation in Vermont on the 28th January 1934.

1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road was broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 on the 28th January 1938, at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).

1956 – Elvis Presley made his first US TV appearance on the 28th January 1956.

1958 – The Lego company patented the design of its Lego bricks on the 28th January 1958, which are still compatible with the Lego bricks produced today.

1958 – The last episode of the British radio comedy programme Goon Show was broadcasted on the 28th January 1958.

1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada was chosen on the 28th January 1965, by an act of Parliament.

1973 ~ Barnaby Jones the television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether was first broadcast on the 28th January 1973, on CBS, until the 3rd April 1980. YouTube video: Barnaby Jones intro…

1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 was on the 28th January 1977. There was a dump of 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow in one-day in Upstate New York.

1980 ~ Nick Carter the American singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, entertainer, author and actor was born Nickolas Gene Carter in Jamestown, New York on  the 28th January 1980. Nick Carter is best known as a member of the pop group Backstreet Boys ~ official website: www.BackstreetBoys.com | Nick Carter’s official website: www.NickCarter.net | Nick Carter’s Twiter verified: www.Twitter.com/NickCarter | Nick Carter’s official Facebook: www.facebook.com/NickCarter

1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) recorded the hit single We Are the World on the 28th January 1985, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.

1986 –  Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart after liftoff on the 28th January 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.

Today in History for the 28th January video produced by Associated Press

 Associated Press official website: www.AP.org

1606 – The trial of Guy Fawkes in the Gunpowder Plot, with the other conspirators began on the 27th January 1606, ending with their execution on the 31st January.

1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart the Austrian composer was born on the 27th January 1756 (died 1791 aged 35).

1785 – The University of Georgia was founded on the 27th January 1785, becoming the first public university in the United States.

1832 – Lewis Carroll the English author was born on the 27th January 1832 (died 1898).

1888 – The National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, D.C. on the 27th January 1888.

1933 – Mohamed Al-Fayed the Egyptian-Monacan businessman was born on the 27th January 1933.

1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was on the 27th January 1939.

1956 – Mimi Rogers the American actress was born on the 27th January 1956.

1964 – Bridget Fonda the American actress was born on the 27th January 1964.

1967 – The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sigedn the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C. on the 27th January 1967, banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.

1969 ~ Patton Oswalt the American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor was born on the 27th January 1969. Patton Oswalt is best known for his roles as Spencer Olchin in The King of Queens, and voicing Remy in Ratatouille.

1972 – Mark Owen the English singer-songwriter from Take That was born on the 27th January 1972.

1974 – The Brisbane River breached its banks on the 27th January 1974, causing the largest flood to affect the city of Brisbane in the 20th century.

1976 ~ Laverne & Shirley the American television sitcom was first broadcast on the 27th January 1976, until 10th May 1983. The show was originally titled Laverne De Fazio & Shirley Feeney in the first season. YouTube video: Laverne & Shirley Season 1 Opening (1976)…

1984 – Pop singer Michael Jackson suffered second degree burns to his scalp during the filming of a Pepsi commercial on the 27th January 1984, in the Shrine Auditorium.

1996 – Germany first observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 27th January 1996.

2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria on the 27th January 2002, killed about 1,100 people and displacing over 20,000 others.

2006 – Western Union discontinued its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services on the 27th January 2006 .

Today in History for the 27th January video produced by Associated Press

 Associated Press official website: www.AP.org