FRIDAY, Jan. 31, 2025

1865-Congress passes, by vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States – except as punishment for a crime [1] [2]

1943-German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad

1950-U.S. President Harry Truman publicly announces support for the development of a hydrogen bomb

1977-The Pompidou Centre, designed by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, housing the greatest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe, is inaugurated in Paris 

1983-In an effort to reduce driving deaths, a new law in UK requires drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seatbelts

1985-South African President P. W. Botha offers to free Nelson Mandela if he denounces violence

1990-First McDonalds in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow