Today in History: January 31, US declares public health emergency over coronavirus

Today is Friday, Jan. 31, the 31st time of 2025. There are 334 days near successful the year.

Today successful history:

On Jan. 31, 2020, the United States declared a nationalist wellness exigency implicit the caller coronavirus, and President Donald Trump signed an bid to temporarily barroom introduction to overseas nationals, different than contiguous household of U.S. citizens, who traveled successful China successful the preceding 14 days.

Also connected this date:

In 1863, during the Civil War, the First South Carolina Volunteers, an all-Black Union regiment composed of galore escaped slaves, was mustered into national work astatine Beaufort, South Carolina.

In 1945, Pvt. Eddie Slovik, 24, became the archetypal U.S. worker since the Civil War to beryllium executed for desertion arsenic helium was changeable by an American firing squad successful France.

In 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its archetypal palmy motorboat of a satellite, Explorer 1, from Cape Canaveral.

In 1971, astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted disconnected aboard Apollo 14 connected a ngo to the moon.

In 1988, Doug Williams, the archetypal Black backmost to play successful the Super Bowl, led the Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders) to a 42-10 triumph implicit the Denver Broncos and was named Super Bowl MVP.

In 2000, an Alaska Airlines MD-83 pitchy crashed into the Pacific Ocean disconnected Port Hueneme (wy-NEE’-mee), California, sidesplitting each 88 radical aboard.

In 2001, a Scottish tribunal sitting successful the Netherlands convicted 1 Libyan and acquitted a 2nd successful the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 implicit Lockerbie, Scotland. (Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi was fixed a beingness condemnation but was released aft 8 years connected compassionate grounds by Scotland’s government. He died successful 2012.)

Today’s birthdays:

• Composer Philip Glass is 88.
• Blues singer-musician Charlie Musselwhite is 81.
• Actor Glynn Turman is 78.
• Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is 78.
• Actor Jonathan Banks is 78.
• Rock vocalist John Lydon is 69.
• Actor Anthony LaPaglia is 66.
• News anchor Martha MacCallum is 61.
• Actor Minnie Driver is 55.
• Actor Portia de Rossi is 52.
• Actor-comedian Bobby Moynihan is 48.
• Actor Kerry Washington is 48.
• Singer Justin Timberlake is 44.
• Country vocalist Tyler Hubbard (Florida Georgia Line) is 38.
• Musician Marcus Mumford (Mumford and Sons) is 38.