Monthly Archives: January 2024
On This Day – January 31
On This Day – January 31
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2011 Myanmar’s first elected parliament in half a century convenes
The event underlined a general move towards democracy in the country.
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2000 Alaska Airlines flight 261 crashes into the sea
The MD-83 experienced horizontal stabilizer problems before descending into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 on board.
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1996 A suicide bombing in Sri Lanka kills 91 people
Separatist Tamil Tigers detonated a truck loaded with explosives in front of the central bank in Colombo.
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1961 Ham the Chimp travels into outer space
The chimpanzee survived the US Mercury Program test flight with just a bruised nose.
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1865 The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed
The Amendment, which officially abolished slavery, was adopted on December 6, 1865.
On This Day – January 30
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1982 The first computer virus is released “into the wild”
Elk Cloner was created by 15-year-old Richard Skrenta as a practical joke.
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1972 On “Bloody Sunday”, British troops kill 13 unarmed protesters
It was one of the most significant events of the Northern Ireland conflict.
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1969 The Beatles give their last public performance
The concert was played on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row in London.
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1945 9,400 people die in the deadliest maritime disaster in history
The “Wilhelm Gustloff” was sunk by a Soviet submarine during World War II.
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1933 Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
The “Machtergreifung” marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of the “Third Reich”.
On this day January 29
Today in History
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2002 George W. Bush coins the term “axis of evil” as part of his State of the Union Address
The term used to describe “regimes that sponsor terror” became exemplary for the terminology used by the Bush administration to promote its “war on terror”.
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1996 France stops nuclear testing
President Jaques Chirac announced the “definite end” to France’s nuclear testing program just 1 day after the country exploded a nuclear device in the South Pacific.
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1967 The Mantra-Rock Dance takes place in San Francisco
The event is considered to have been the major spiritual event of the San Francisco hippy era.
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1886 German engineer Carl Benz patents the first modern automobile
His “Benz Patent-Motorwagen Nummer 1” was the first gasoline-driven car.
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1845 Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is published
The narrative poem first appeared in the New York Evening Mirror.
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2007 Canadiens Retire Dryden’s #29
Ken Dryden’s #29 jersey is retired by the Montreal Canadiens