31 October
October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining.
Events
- 1517 - Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.
- 1864 - Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
- 1892 - Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- 1912 - The Musketeers of Pig Alley, directed by D.W. Griffith, debuts as the first gangster film.
- 1922 - Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest Premier in the history of Italy.
- 1926 - Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured.
- 1936 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.
- 1938 - Great Depression: In an effort to try restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.
- 1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Great Britain.
- 1941 - After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.
- 1941 - World War II: The destroyer USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 United States Navy sailors.
- 1954 - Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
- 1956 - Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
- 1961 - In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Tomb.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
- 1984 - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards (riots soon broke out in New Delhi and nearly 2,000 innocent Sikhs were killed).
- 1994 - An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 64 passengers.
- 1996 - A Brazilian TAM Fokker-100 crashes into several houses in Sao Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground
- 1998 - Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
- 1999 - EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board.
- 1999 - Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church leaders sign the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, ending a centuries-old doctrinal dispute over the nature of faith and salvation.
- 1999 - An EgyptAir Boeing 767-300 crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing 217
- 2000 - A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 crashes immediately after takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 81
- 2000 - A chartered Antonov AN-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50
- 2000 - The last Multics machine was shut down.
Births
- 1345 - King Fernando of Portugal (†1383)
- 1391 - King Duarte of Portugal (†1438)
- 1620 - John Evelyn, diarist (†1706)
- 1632 - Johannes Vermeer, painter (he was actually baptised on that day, his birthdate is not confirmed) († 1675)
- 1795 - John Keats, British poet (†1821)
- 1815 - Karl Weierstraß, German mathematician († 1897)
- 1851 - Princess Louise of Sweden († 1926)
- 1860 - Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts
- 1887 - Chiang Kai-shek, Nationalist Chinese leader († 1975)
- 1892 - Alexander Alekhine, chess player († 1946)
- 1896 - Ethel Waters, singer, actress († 1977)
- 1912 - Dale Evans, singer, actress († 2001)
- 1920 - Fritz Walter, German football player
- 1920 - Helmut Newton, photographer
- 1920 - Dick Francis, novelist
- 1922 - Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
- 1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes, actress
- 1922 - Illinois Jacquet, musician
- 1925 - John Anthony Pople, British theoretical chemist
- 1927 - Lee Grant, actress
- 1930 - Michael Collins, American astronaut
- 1931 - Dan Rather, American news anchor
- 1936 - Michael Landon, actor († 1991)
- 1937 - Tom Paxton, folk music singer
- 1944 - Kinky Friedman, musician, novelist
- 1945 - Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian and actor
- 1947 - Deidre Hall, soap opera actress
- 1947 - Frank Shorter, marathon runner
- 1949 - Stephen Rea, actor
- 1950 - Jane Pauley, news anchor
- 1950 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor († 1994)
- 1959 - Neal Stephenson, author
- 1961 - Peter Jackson, New Zealand film director
- 1961 - Larry Mullen, Irish drummer for the rock band U2
- 1963 - Rob Schneider, actor
- 1964 - Marco van Basten, Dutch football player
- 1966 - Adam Horovitz, singer ("The Beastie Boys")
- 1968 - Vanilla Ice, rap music singer
Deaths
- 1448 - John VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor
- 1611 - Charles IX of Sweden
- 1732 - Victor Amadeus II of Savoy
- 1768 - Francesco Maria Veracini, composer
- 1879 - Jacob Abbott, American author
- 1926 - Harry Houdini, magician
- 1939 - Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist
- 1943 - Max Reinhardt, German director
- 1983 - George Halas, American football player, coach, team owner
- 1984 - Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India
- 1986 - Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist, chemist
- 1987 - Joseph Campbell, American author and expert on mythology
- 1988 - John Houseman, actor, director, teacher
- 1991 - Joseph Papp, theatrical producer
- 1993 - Federico Fellini, Italian director
- 1993 - River Phoenix, actor
- 1999 - Greg Moore, CART driver
- 2000 - Ring Lardner, Jr., American screenwriter
- 2001 - Régine Cavagnoud, ski athlete
- 2001 - Paul Warnke, politician
- 2002 - Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell), rapper (Run DMC)
- 2003 - Richard Neustadt, political historian
- 2003 - Semmangudy, famous Carnatic vocalist
Holidays and observances
October 30 - November 1 - December 31 - August 31 -- listing of all days
See Also: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Referenced By
Administrator of the Northern Territory of Australia | Anton LaVey | Anton Szandor LaVey | Baroness Wilcox | Battle of Britain | Battle of Coronel | DDG-5 | David R. Porter | David Rittenhouse Porter | Eagle class patrol craft | Federal councillors of Switzerland | George II of England | George II of Great Britain | George II of Hanover | George II of the United Kingdom | Georgia/Government | Gósol, Lleida | HMAS Brisbane | HMAS Cook | HMAS Murchison | HMS Ajax | Henning Scherf | John Evelyn | Joseph Hooker | Judith Wilcox | Legislative Assembly (France) | Light horse | List of Governors-General of Mauritius | List of JAG episodes | List of Prime Ministers of Hungary | List of human spaceflights, 2000-present | List of members of the Swiss Federal Council | Mame | Manchester (United Kingdom) Airport | Manchester International Airport | Member of the Swiss Federal Council | Members of the Swiss Federal Council | Neuberger & Berman | Nitrogen Oxide Protocol | Pascual Orozco | Politics of Georgia | Prime Minister of Hungary | Princess Alice of Battenberg | Princess Andrew of Greece | Remembrance days in Slovakia | Singapore Airlines | U-74 | USS Akron | USS Akron (ZRS-4) | USS Albany (1899) | USS Albany (CL-23) | USS Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617) | USS Altamaha (CVE-6) | USS Amsterdam (CL-59) | USS Augusta (SSN-710) | USS Austin (LPD-4) | USS Badger (1889) | USS Bennington (PG-4) | USS Biddle/Claude V. Rickets (DDG-5) | USS Biddle (DD-955) | USS Card | USS Card (CVE-11) | USS Cheyenne (BM-10) | USS Claude V. Rickets | USS Claude V. Ricketts | USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5) | USS Darter (SS-227) | USS Estero (CVE-42) | USS Farragut | USS Gudgeon (SS-211) | USS Halibut (SS-232) | USS Independence (CVL-22) | USS Katahdin (1861) | USS Kearsarge (1861) | USS Kearsarge (sloop) | USS Kentucky (BB-66) | USS Kete (SS-369) | USS Nautilus (SC-2) | USS Nautilus (SS-168) | USS Oriskany | USS Oriskany (CV-34) | USS Oriskany (CVA-34) | USS Philadelphia (1799) | USS Ponce | USS Ponce (LPD-15) | USS Quincy (CA-39) | USS R-12 | USS R-12 (SS-89) | USS Reuben James (DD-245) | USS Santee (CVE-29) | USS Saratoga (CV-60) | USS Saratoga (CVA-60) | USS Saury | USS Saury (SS-189) | USS Sealion (APSS-315) | USS Sealion (LPSS-315) | USS Sealion (SS-315) | USS Sealion (SSP-315) | USS Starr | USS Starr (AKA-67) ...
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