What happened on 31 January?

5 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 2020 UK leaves the European Union Britain formally leaves the EU after 47 years of membership.
2. 1797 Born: Franz Schubert Viennese composer of immense melodic gift; master of the lied.
3. 1977 Centre Pompidou opens Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers turn the building inside-out; high-tech architecture is born.
4. 1958 Explorer 1: first American satellite Four months after Sputnik, von Braun's Juno rocket answers — and Explorer 1's Geiger counter discovers the Van Allen radiation belts, spaceflight's first scientific discovery.
5. 1968 Battle of Hue Brutal month-long urban combat during the Tet Offensive; US and South Vietnamese forces retook the city.