Today in History: Jan. 31

Arrest of Guy Fawkes in cellars of Parliament, 1605 (19th century). Gunpowder Plot, Roman Catholic conspiracy to blow up English Houses of Parliament on 5 November 1605 when James I due to open new session. 19th century wood engraving. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)
In 1606, Guy Fawkes, convicted of treason for his part in the “Gunpowder Plot” against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed.  (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)
In this photo taken Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Chicago, is the signature of president Abraham Lincoln on a rare, restored copy of the 13th Amendment that ended slavery. The 147-year-old document, written on vellum “paper” an animal skin, was signed by President Lincoln and lawmakers who voted for it, was carefully treated to flatten and strengthen the remaining ink at the Graphic Conservation Co. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
In 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery, sending it to states for ratification. (The amendment was adopted in December 1865.) Gen. Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of the Confederate States Army by President Jefferson Davis. In this photo taken Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Chicago, is the signature of president Abraham Lincoln on a rare, restored copy of the 13th Amendment that ended slavery. The 147-year-old document, written on vellum “paper” an animal skin, was signed by President Lincoln and lawmakers who voted for it, was carefully treated to flatten and strengthen the remaining ink at the Graphic Conservation Co. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
William Picketing, James Van Allen, and German scientist Wernher von Braun (from L to R) brandish a model of the first American satellite "Explorer 1", 31 January 1958 after the satellite was launched of by a "Jupiter C" rocket at Cap Canaveral Space Center. Wernher von Braun's team developed the Jupiter-C, a modified Redstone rocket, which successfully launched Explorer 1. This event signaled the birth of America's space program. Von Braun, who was pivotal in Germany's pre-war rocket development program and was responsible for the design and realization of the V-2 combat rocket during World War II, entered the United States at the end of the war through the then-secret Operation Paperclip. (Photo credit should read OFF/AFP/Getty Images)
In 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I.  (OFF/AFP/Getty Images)
A three-year-old chimpanzee, named Ham, in the biopack couch for the MR-2 suborbital test flight. On January 31, 1961, a Mercury-Redstone launch from Cape Canaveral carried the chimpanzee "Ham" over 640 kilometers down range in an arching trajectory that reached a peak of 254 kilometers above the Earth. The mission was successful and Ham performed his lever-pulling task well in response to the flashing light. NASA used chimpanzees and other primates to test the Mercury Capsule before launching the first American astronaut Alan Shepard in May 1961. The successful flight and recovery confirmed the soundness of the Mercury-Redstone systems.  (NASA/MCT via Getty Images)

In 1961, NASA launched Ham the Chimp aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket from Cape Canaveral; Ham was recovered safely from the Atlantic Ocean following his 16 1/2-minute suborbital flight.  (NASA/MCT via Getty Images)

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 1971 file photo, Apollo 14 astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. conducts an experiment near a lunar crater, using an instrument from a two-wheeled cart carrying various tools. On Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, a California-led research team reported that the moon formed within 60 million years of the birth of the solar system. Previous estimates ranged within 100 million years, all the way out to 200 million years of the solar system’s creation. (NASA via AP)
On Jan. 31, 1971, astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon. In this Feb. 13, 1971 file photo, Apollo 14 astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. conducts an experiment near a lunar crater, using an instrument from a two-wheeled cart carrying various tools. On Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, a California-led research team reported that the moon formed within 60 million years of the birth of the solar system. Previous estimates ranged within 100 million years, all the way out to 200 million years of the solar system’s creation. (NASA via AP)
RUSSIA - NOVEMBER 01:  The Economic Crisis In Moscow On November 1St,1990 - Line In Front Of Mcdonald'S  (Photo by Alexis DUCLOS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
In 1990, McDonald’s Corp. opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow.  (Photo by Alexis DUCLOS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Nancy Fry of Oxnard Calif., arranges balloons and a basket at a  memorial on Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2001, created in memory of the 88 victims of the Jan. 31, 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261.  The twin-engine MD-83 was on its way to San Francisco and then Seattle when it started pitching, then spiraled from nearly 18,000 feet into the Pacific Ocean.  (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
In 2000, an Alaska Airlines MD-83 jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Port Hueneme (wy-NEE’-mee), California, killing all 88 people aboard. Nancy Fry of Oxnard Calif., arranges balloons and a basket at a memorial on Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2001, created in memory of the 88 victims of the Jan. 31, 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. The twin-engine MD-83 was on its way to San Francisco and then Seattle when it started pitching, then spiraled from nearly 18,000 feet into the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
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Arrest of Guy Fawkes in cellars of Parliament, 1605 (19th century). Gunpowder Plot, Roman Catholic conspiracy to blow up English Houses of Parliament on 5 November 1605 when James I due to open new session. 19th century wood engraving. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)
In this photo taken Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Chicago, is the signature of president Abraham Lincoln on a rare, restored copy of the 13th Amendment that ended slavery. The 147-year-old document, written on vellum “paper” an animal skin, was signed by President Lincoln and lawmakers who voted for it, was carefully treated to flatten and strengthen the remaining ink at the Graphic Conservation Co. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
William Picketing, James Van Allen, and German scientist Wernher von Braun (from L to R) brandish a model of the first American satellite "Explorer 1", 31 January 1958 after the satellite was launched of by a "Jupiter C" rocket at Cap Canaveral Space Center. Wernher von Braun's team developed the Jupiter-C, a modified Redstone rocket, which successfully launched Explorer 1. This event signaled the birth of America's space program. Von Braun, who was pivotal in Germany's pre-war rocket development program and was responsible for the design and realization of the V-2 combat rocket during World War II, entered the United States at the end of the war through the then-secret Operation Paperclip. (Photo credit should read OFF/AFP/Getty Images)
A three-year-old chimpanzee, named Ham, in the biopack couch for the MR-2 suborbital test flight. On January 31, 1961, a Mercury-Redstone launch from Cape Canaveral carried the chimpanzee "Ham" over 640 kilometers down range in an arching trajectory that reached a peak of 254 kilometers above the Earth. The mission was successful and Ham performed his lever-pulling task well in response to the flashing light. NASA used chimpanzees and other primates to test the Mercury Capsule before launching the first American astronaut Alan Shepard in May 1961. The successful flight and recovery confirmed the soundness of the Mercury-Redstone systems.  (NASA/MCT via Getty Images)
FILE - In this Feb. 13, 1971 file photo, Apollo 14 astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. conducts an experiment near a lunar crater, using an instrument from a two-wheeled cart carrying various tools. On Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, a California-led research team reported that the moon formed within 60 million years of the birth of the solar system. Previous estimates ranged within 100 million years, all the way out to 200 million years of the solar system’s creation. (NASA via AP)
RUSSIA - NOVEMBER 01:  The Economic Crisis In Moscow On November 1St,1990 - Line In Front Of Mcdonald'S  (Photo by Alexis DUCLOS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Nancy Fry of Oxnard Calif., arranges balloons and a basket at a  memorial on Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2001, created in memory of the 88 victims of the Jan. 31, 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261.  The twin-engine MD-83 was on its way to San Francisco and then Seattle when it started pitching, then spiraled from nearly 18,000 feet into the Pacific Ocean.  (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Today is Thursday, Jan. 31, the 31st day of 2019. There are 334 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Jan. 31, 1971, astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.

On this date:

In 1606, Englishman Guy Fawkes, convicted of high treason for his part in the “Gunpowder Plot,” was set to be hanged, drawn and quartered, but broke his neck after falling or jumping from the scaffold.

In 1863, during the Civil War, the First South Carolina Volunteers, an all-black Union regiment composed of former slaves, was mustered into federal service at Beaufort, South Carolina.

In 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery, sending it to states for ratification. (The amendment was adopted in December 1865.) Gen. Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of the Confederate States Army by President Jefferson Davis.

In 1917, during World War I, Germany served notice that it was beginning a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

In 1929, revolutionary Leon Trotsky and his family were expelled from the Soviet Union.

In 1945, Pvt. Eddie Slovik, 24, became the first U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion as he was shot by an American firing squad in France.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman announced he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb.

In 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite, Explorer 1, from Cape Canaveral.

In 1961, NASA launched Ham the Chimp aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket from Cape Canaveral; Ham was recovered safely from the Atlantic Ocean following his 16 1/2-minute suborbital flight.

In 1990, McDonald’s Corp. opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow.

In 2000, an Alaska Airlines MD-83 jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Port Hueneme (wy-NEE’-mee), California, killing all 88 people aboard.

In 2005, Jury selection began in Santa Maria, California, for Michael Jackson’s child molestation trial. (Jackson was later acquitted.)

Ten years ago: Iraqis passed through security checkpoints and razor-wire cordons to vote in provincial elections considered a crucial test of the nation’s stability. A gasoline spill from a crashed truck erupted into flames in Molo, Kenya, killing at least 115 people. Serena Williams routed Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 to win her fourth Australian Open. Bruce Smith and Rod Woodson were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility; they were joined by Bob Hayes, Randall McDaniel, Derrick Thomas and Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson.

Five years ago: The long-delayed, controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a major hurdle toward approval as the U.S. State Department reported no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion project. A week of peace talks aimed at stemming Syria’s civil war ended in Geneva with no concrete progress.

One year ago: A train carrying dozens of Republican members of Congress to a strategy retreat crashed into a garbage truck in rural Virginia, killing one person in the truck and injuring others; there were no serious injuries aboard the chartered Amtrak train. Republican congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who became known for leading a House panel’s investigation into the 2012 attacks against Americans in Benghazi, Libya, announced that he would be retiring from Congress after his term expired. Much of the world was treated to a rare triple lunar treat – a total lunar eclipse combined with a particularly close full moon that was also the second full moon of the month.

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