| Date | Weekday | Event |
|---|
| January 31, 1849 | Wednesday | Corn Laws abolished in Britain |
|
| January 31, 1851 | Friday | SF Orphan's Asylum 1st in Calif founded |
| January 31, 1862 | Friday | Telescope maker Alvin Clark discovers dwarf companion of Sirius |
| January 31, 1871 | Tuesday | Birds fly over SF in such large numbers they actually darken sky |
| January 31, 1911 | Tuesday | Congress names SF as Panama Canal opening celebration site |
| January 31, 1945 | Wednesday | Eddie Slovik 1st American executed for desertion since Civil War |
| January 31, 1950 | Tuesday | Pres Truman authorized production of H-Bomb |
| January 31, 1958 | Friday | 1st US satellite launched Explorer I from Cape Canaveral |
| January 31, 1958 | Friday | James van Allen discovers radiation belt |
| January 31, 1958 | Friday | US launches 1st artificial satellite Explorer 1 |
| January 31, 1961 | Tuesday | Ham is 1st primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2 |
| January 31, 1966 | Monday | Luna 9 launched for moon |
| January 31, 1968 | Wednesday | Nauru gains independence from Australia |
| January 31, 1968 | Wednesday | Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb 32") at Agata USSR |
| January 31, 1971 | Sunday | Apollo 14 launched 1st landing in lunar highlands |