- 1504 By treaty of Lyons, French cede Naples to Ferdinand of Aragon
- 1504 France cedes Naples to Aragon.
- 1531 Kings Ferdinand of Austria/János Zápolyai of Hungary accept each other
- 1560 Spanish king Philip II marries Elisabeth van Valois
- 1578 Battle of Gembloers
- 1605 In Tokaido, Japan a major earthquake causes 5,000 deaths. and generates a Tsunami.
- 1606 Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I of England.
- 1606 Guy Fawkes, convicted of treason against England's King James I, is executed.
- 1609 Wisselbank of Amsterdam established
- 1627 Spanish government goes bankrupt where did all the New World gold go to?
- 1675 Cornelia/Dina Olfaarts found not guilty of witchcraft
- 1696 Revolt of undertakers after funeral reforms (Amsterdam)
- 1747 Grand Pre, Nova Scotia Arthur Noble d1747 British commander at Grand Pre surprised by Villiers; loses 500 men
- 1747 The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
- 1779 Charles Messier adds M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra) to his catalog
- 1804 British Vice-Admiral William Bligh's fleet reaches Curaçao
- 1842 John Tyler's daughter Elizabeth marries in the White House
- 1846 After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee.
- 1849 Corn Laws abolished in Britain
- 1851 Gail Borden announces invention of evaporated milk
- 1851 In Hamilton Ontario Hamilton Gas Light Company installs first lamps.
- 1851 San Francisco Orphan's Asylum, first in California founded
- 1854 Dutch KNMI established (Royal Meteorological Institute)
- 1855 Western railroads blocked by snow
- 1858 UK hist 'Great Eastern' launched
- 1861 State of Louisiana takes over US Mint at New Orleans
- 1862 Telescope maker Alvin Clark discovers dwarf companion of Sirius
- 1863 The first black Civil War regiment, SC Volunteers, mustered into US army
- 1865 Congress passes 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America (121-24)
- 1865 General Robert E Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies
- 1867 Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria
- 1871 Millions of birds fly over western San Francisco, darken the sky
- 1874 Jesse James gang robs train at Gads Hill MO
- 1876 The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
- 1880 An Ice Railway is opened between Longueuil and Montreal by the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway. A railway track was placed on large timbers laid on the ice of the St. Lawrence River. During the summer months the QMO&O used a car ferry. An ice railway was laid each winter until 1883.
- 1893 "Westminster Gazette" begins publishing
- 1895 Jose Marti & others leave New York City NY for invasion of Spanish Cuba
- 1900 Datu Muhammad Salleh is shot dead in Kampung Teboh, Tambuan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion
- 1901 Boer General John Smuts & De la Rey conqueror Mud river Transvaal
- 1905 Carroll Wright appointed first US Commissioner of Labor
- 1905 The first auto to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), A G MacDonald, Daytona Beach
- 1906 In Ecuador one of the 10 Largest Earthquakes of the World at 8.8 occurs
- 1907 Timothy Eaton, founder of the T. Eaton Company of Canada, dies; an innovative retailer, he maintained fixed prices and cash sales, with satisfaction guaranteed
- 1910 The Portuguese republican revolution broke out in the northern city of Porto.
- 1911 Congress names San Francisco as Panama Canal opening celebration site
- 1912 In Prince William Sound, Alaska one of the Largest Earthquakes inthe United States measured at 7.0
- 1915 World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russians.
- 1916 Dutch Girl Guides form
- 1917 Germany notifies US that U-boats will attack neutral merchant ship
- 1918 A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
- 1919 1919 Battle of George Square
- 1920 The first Ukrainian daily newspaper in US (New York City NY) begins publication
- 1922 West of Eureka, California One of the Largest Earthquakes of the United States measured at 7.3
- 1925 Premier Ahmed Zogu becomes President of Angola
- 1927 International allies military command in Germany disbands
- 1928 Scotch tape first marketed by 3M Company
- 1929 Leon Trotsky expelled from Russia to Turkey
- 1932 US railway unions accept 10% wage reduction
- 1933 French government of Daladier takes power
- 1933 Hitler promises parliamentary democracy
- 1934 FDR devalues the dollar in relation to gold at $35 per ounce
- 1935 30.5 cm (12.0") of rain falls, Quinault RS WA (state record)
- 1936 "Green Hornet" radio show is first heard on WXYZ Radio in Detroit
- 1936 The Green Hornet makes its broadcast premiere today on Detroit, Michigan radio station WXYZ.
- 1941 Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem Netherlands
- 1941 Joe Louis KOs Red Burman in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
- 1941 Layforce set sail.
- 1943 Chile breaks contact with Germany & Japan
- 1943 General Friedrich von Paul surrenders to Russian troops at Stalingrad
- 1944 Operation-Overlord (D-Day) postponed until June
- 1944 U-592 sunk off Ireland
- 1944 U.S. forces begin their invasion of Kwajalein Atoll and the Marshall Islands, during WWII.
- 1945 US 4th Infantry division occupies Elcherrath
- 1945 US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed, the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.
- 1946 Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
- 1947 Whitehorse, Yukon Territory temperature of -52 C (62 degrees below zero Fahrenheit) recorded; record low for all of Canada
- 1948 Magnetic tape recorder developed by Wireway
- 1949 The first daytime soap on TV "These Are My Children" (NBC in Chicago)
- 1950 U.S. President Harry Truman announces that development has started on the hydrogen bomb.
- 1952 Dutch Lutheran Church reunites after 1½ centuries
- 1953 "Princess Victoria" capsized off Stanraer Scotland; 133 die
- 1953 Hurricane-like winds flood Netherlands drowning nearly 2,000
- 1953 UK hist Jan 31-Feb 2: Said to be the biggest civil catastrophe in Britain in the 20th century – severe storm and high tides caused the loss of hundreds of lives –- effects travelled from the west coast of Scotland round to the south-east coast of England [The Netherlands were even worse affected with over a thousand deaths]
- 1955 In Oakville Ontario the l09-day strike of Ford workers at Windsor, Oakville and Etobicoke starts
- 1955 RCA demonstrates first music synthesizer
- 1956 Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.
- 1956 Juscelino Kubitschek becomes President of Brazil
- 1957 Liz Taylor's 2nd divorce (Michael Wilding)
- 1957 Three students on a junior high school playground in Pacoima, California are among the eight persons killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet above the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles.
- 1957 Trans-Iranian oil pipe line finished
- 1958 In Ottawa Ontario James Gladstone takes his seat as Canada's first native Senator; Alberta Blood Indian is appointed by the Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
- 1958 James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.
- 1958 The U.S. enters the space race with the successful launch of the Explorer One satellite.
- 1961 David Ben-Gurion resigns as premier of Israel
- 1961 Ham is first primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2
- 1961 Kanhai completes twin tons (117 & 115) vs Australia at Adelaide
- 1961 NATO secretary-General Paul-Henri Spaak says he'll resign
- 1961 Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2 - Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
- 1961 USAF launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights
- 1962 General Charles P Cabell, USAF, ends term as deputy director of CIA
- 1963 Number one hit on UK music charts - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan - Diamonds
- 1963 Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers record "What'd I Say" & "Ruby Baby"
- 1964 US report "Smoking & Health" connects smoking to lung cancer
- 1966 Belgian state police kills 2 striking mine workers
- 1966 USSR launches Luna 9 toward the Moon
- 1966 Visitor posting - Dr Umar Alisha was Born at Pithapuram.
- 1966 Visitor posting - Jan 31 1966 Clement Michaud was born in St. Rose Dulac Manitoba
- 1968 Bobby Simpson takes 5-59 vs India in his last Test for ten years
- 1968 Nauru (formerly Pleasant Island) declares independence from Australia
- 1968 Number one hit on UK music charts - Love Affair - Everlasting Love
- 1968 Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb, 32"), at Agata, USSR
- 1968 Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon.
- 1969 A Saskatchewan Court convicts 17-year-old hippie David Milgaard of murder; he is sentenced to life in prison. He spent 23 years in jail until April 14, 1992 when DNA evidence proves him innocent of all charges.
- 1969 Beatles perform last live gig (42-minute concert on roof of Apple HQs)
- 1969 Vice Admiral Rufus L Taylor, USN, ends term as deputy director of CIA
- 1970 Grateful Dead members busted on LSD charges
- 1970 Number one hit on UK music charts - Edison Lighthouse - Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)
- 1971 "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison hit #1 on UK pop chart
- 1971 American astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blast off to the moon aboard apollo 14.
- 1971 The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begin in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1972 Aretha Franklin sings at Mahalia Jackson's funeral
- 1972 Birenda, becomes leader of Nepal
- 1972 Military coup ousts civilian government of Ghana
- 1972 US launches HEOS A-2 for interplanetary observations (396/244,998)
- 1975 Barry Manilow's "Mandy" goes gold
- 1976 "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players hits #1
- 1976 Lance Gibbs becomes highest Test wicket-taker at 308
- 1976 Number one hit on UK music charts - Abba - Mamma Mia
- 1977 Frenchman François Claustre freed, after 33 months as hostage in Chad
- 1978 Israel turns 3 military outposts in West Bank into civilian settlements
- 1980 Ontario to rebate up to $700 in sales tax for purchasers of 1979 model cars; effort to help slumping car sales
- 1980 Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41
- 1981 "The Tide Is High" by Blondie hits #1
- 1981 38th Golden Globes Ordinary People, Coal Miner's Daughter
- 1981 Gaetan Boucher 1958- skates the 1000m in a world record time of 1:13.39; native of Charlesbourg, Quebec will go on to win gold in the 1000m and 1500m, and a bronze in the 500m at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics
- 1982 10 Arabian oryx (extinct except in zoos) released in Oman
- 1982 In Ottawa Ontario Pierre Elliott Trudeau urges end to Polish martial law on the 'Let Poland be Poland' TV broadcast; supporting the Polish Solidarity movement
- 1983 UK hist Seat belt law comes into force
- 1984 Edwin Newman retires from NBC News after 35 years with the network
- 1984 NBC TV news reporter Edwin Newman retires after 35 years with the network.
- 1986 Mary Lund of Minnesota, is first female recipient of an artificial heart
- 1986 Ohio records a 5.0 earthquake seventeen people treated for minor injuries and some damage (VI) sustained in the Painesville-Mentor area.
- 1987 44th Golden Globes Platoon, Marlee Matlin win
- 1987 Cut-price airline People Express flies its last flights before becoming part of Continental Airlines.
- 1987 United Steelworkers union ratified a concessionary contract with USX Corp
- 1988 Barge sinks near Anacortes WA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil
- 1990 George Cohon, head of Canadian franchise subsidiary opens first McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Pushkin Square, the world's biggest McDonald's Moscow Russia
- 1990 McDonald's opens its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow.
- 1990 The first McDonald's in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow, USSR.
- 1991 Robert Gibson flies record 27,040 feet altitude
- 1992 MTA raised tolls on most New York City NY bridges from $2.50 to $3.00
- 1992 Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires
- 1994 Dow Jones hits a record 3,978.36
- 1996 Visitor posting - AlexiA Booms was born in France. My pet speaks English.
- 1996 An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.
- 1997 A state of emergency has been lifted in Durham, Ontario where flooding earlier this month forced the evacuation of 120 homes and businesses. The waters of the Saugeen River have finally stabilized. Damage is estimated at 1.1 million dollars, and 15 families are still unable to return home.
- 1997 The U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz class aircraft carrier with a flight deck the size of three football fields, is paying a courtesy visit to Victoria British Columbia today.
- 1998 STS 89 (Endeavour 12) lands
- 1998 Visitor posting - Hannah Lawson is born in San Diego, California My pet is a hamster named Chewy. - USA
- 1999 The Denver Broncos repeat as NFL champions, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII.
- 2000 An Alaska Airlines MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 persons aboard.
- 2001 In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
- 2001 The Montreal Canadians Hockey team is sold by Molsons to an American
- 2002 A large section of the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf begins disintegrating, eventually consuming about 3,250 km (1,254 miles) over a 35-day period.
- 2003 Waterfall train disaster, NSW, Australia.
- 2006 Samuel A. Alito Jr. assumes office as the 110th Supreme Court justice of the United States.
- 2007 Suspects are arrested in Birmingham in the UK, accused of plotting the kidnap, holding and eventual beheading of a serving Muslim British soldier in Iraq.
More historical events added daily - keep checking back