On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States.

On January 31, 1946, the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was adopted, creating six internal republics. The constitution, modeled on that of the Soviet Union, would serve as the supreme law of Yugoslavia throughout the Cold War before the union dissolved in 1990.

Gunpowder Plot participant Guy Fawkes was hanged, drawn, and quartered on January 31, 1606 for attempting to blow up the British House of Lords with kegs of gunpowder during the State Opening of Parliament. Fawkes and a group of co-conspirators sought to kill King James I over the persecution of Roman Catholics in England. The plot famously failed after the Lords was searched. It is commemorated to this day on November 5, known as "Guy Fawkes Night." Learn more about the Gunpowder Plot and Guy Fawkes.