On this day: January 31
POSTED: 11:08 PM MST Jan 30, 2013
UPDATED: 12:00 AM MST Jan 31, 2013
The first Social Security check is issued, America launches its first satellite into orbit, McDonald's comes to Moscow, and "Avatar" hits the $2 billion mark, all on this day.
National Portrait Gallery, London
1606: Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against the English Parliament and King James I. Fawkes was part of a conspiracy to blow up the Palace of Westminster in London to destroy the House of Lords. He was discovered and arrested while guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars under the palace. While the head of the conspiracy, Robert Catesby, would be killed as the conspirators fled the city, eight would be tried and convicted for the plot.
