Apart from being National Backwards day, January 31 is a big day for world wars and astro-apes, not to mention it’s the independence day of Nauru and Street Children’s Day in Austria.

1848

An explorer, soldier and sailor – as well as the first ever Republican party candidate for the office of United States president – John C. Frémont was court-martialed for mutiny and disobeying orders.

1865

The 13th Amendment to the United States constitution was passed and submitted to the states for ratification, abolishing slavery.

1915

The first large-scale use of poison gas in World War I occurred when Germany bombarded Russian infantry with a type of tear gas during the battle for Bolimów. Fortunately, the gas proved ineffective due to a mixture of the cold weather and unideal wind.

1919

During a campaign for shorter working hours, the Battle of George Square took place between city police and striking workers in Glasgow, Scotland.

1930

The first Scotch Tape began to be marketed by 3M.

1943

The Battle of Stalingrad concluded with German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus and his troops surrendering, ending one of the fiercest battles of World War II.

1949

The first daytime soap opera, These Are My Children, was aired by NBC.

1953

A flood from the North Sea devastates the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, causing over 2,000 deaths.

1958

Explorer 1, the first successful American satellite, detected the Van Allen radiation belt – an astronomical phenomenon in which radiation is accumulated by a planet’s electromagnetic field.

1961

The American space program, Project Mercury, put Ham the Chimp into Earth’s orbit, making him the first non-human hominid to enter space.

1968

The island nation of Nauru gained its independence from Australia.

1971

A group of American Vietnam veterans in Detroit called the Vietnam Veterans Against the War began the Winter Soldier Investigation, an initiative to publicize war crimes and atrocities committed by Americans and allies during the Vietnam War.

2009

An oil spillage in Molo, Kenya ignited and caused a massive fire, resulting in over 300 casualties.