◆ On this day

January 31

3 sourced moments from January 31 in history: The U.S. Congress passes the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery (1865); How Explorer 1 helped discover the Van Allen radiation belts (1958); and Ham the chimpanzee flew to space before any US astronaut (1961).

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3 things happened on January 31

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1961 Space · Space Exploration

Ham the chimpanzee flew to space before any US astronaut

On January 31, 1961, a 37-pound chimp pulled levers through a 16.5-minute suborbital flight that went badly off-plan, clearing the way for Alan Shepard.

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1958 Space · Space Exploration

How Explorer 1 helped discover the Van Allen radiation belts

America's first satellite launched on January 31, 1958, and its Geiger counter, backed by Explorer 3, found belts of radiation circling Earth.

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1865 Society & Economy · Politics & Law

The U.S. Congress passes the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery

After a year of bruising defeat, the House finally cleared the amendment that would write abolition into the Constitution.

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