Today in History: Germany surrendered to the Russians at Stalingrad ending one of the deadliest battles in history

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on January 31:

1933 – Edouard Daladier takes office as Prime Minister for first time in France.

1943 – German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrendered to the Russians at Stalingrad in World War Two.

1956 – A.A. Milne, author of the “Winnie the Pooh” stories, died.

1990 – Fast-food chain McDonald’s opens its first restaurant in Moscow.

1994 – Palestine Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat visits Switzerland.

1996 – Suicide truck bombers attacked Sri Lanka’s central bank in the heart of the capital, Colombo. At least 80 people were killed.

2000 – An Alaska Airlines MD-83 carrying 88 people plunged 17,000 feet (5,180 metres) into the Pacific off southern California. All aboard were killed.

2010 – Singer Taylor Swift wins four Grammy Awards.

2014 – 102-year-old French cyclist beats own world record by cycling nearly 27 kilometres in an hour.

2014 – Singer Katy Perry reaches 50 million followers on Twitter.

2018 – Super blue moon / total lunar eclipse.

(Reuters)