October 31

October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October.

Events

• 475 – Romulus Augustus was proclaimed Roman Emperor.
• 1517 – Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church.
• 1587 – Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
• 1822 – Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempted to dissolve the Mexican Empire.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.
• 1863 – The Maori Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
• 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.
• 1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba – "last successful cavalry charge in history"
• 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.
• 1941  – American photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography.
• 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 São 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.
• 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.
• 2003 – Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after 22 years in power.

Births

• 1345 – King Fernando of Portugal (d. 1383)
• 1391 – King Duarte of Portugal (d. 1438)
• 1538 – Caesar Baronius, Italian cardinal and historian (d. 1607)
• 1620 – John Evelyn, English diarist (d. 1706)
• 1632 – (baptism) Johannes Vermeer, Flemish painter (d. 1675)
• 1705 – Pope Clement XIV (d. 1774)
• 1795 – John Keats, British poet (d. 1821)
• 1815 – Karl Weierstraß, German mathematician (d. 1897)
• 1835 – Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
• 1851 – Princess Louise of Sweden (d. 1926)
• 1860 – Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts
• 1875 – Eugene Meyer, American businessman and newspaper publisher (d. 1954)
• 1887 – Chiang Kai-shek, Nationalist Chinese leader (d. 1975)
• 1892 – Alexander Alekhine, chess player (d. 1946)
• 1895 – Basil Liddell Hart, military historian (d. 1970)
• 1896 – Ethel Waters, singer, actress (d. 1977)
• 1912 – Dale Evans, singer, actress (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Dick Francis, novelist
• 1920  – Helmut Newton, photographer
• 1920  – Fritz Walter, German footballer
• 1922 – Barbara Bel Geddes, actress
• 1922  – Illinois Jacquet, musician
• 1922  – Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
• 1925 – John Anthony Pople, English chemist, Nobel Prize recipient (d. 2004)
• 1927 – Lee Grant, actress
• 1928 – Cleo Moore 1950's movie star (d. 1973)
• 1929 – Eddie Charlton, Australian snooker player
• 1930 – Michael Collins, American astronaut
• 1931 – Dan Rather, American television journalist
• 1936 – Michael Landon, actor (d. 1991)
• 1937 – Tom Paxton, folk music singer
• 1939 – Ron Rifkin, actor
• 1944 – Kinky Friedman, musician and novelist
• 1945 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian and actor
• 1947 – Deidre Hall, actress
• 1947  – Frank Shorter, runner
• 1949 – Stephen Rea, actor
• 1950 – John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)
• 1950  – Jane Pauley, news anchor
• 1953 – Michael J. Anderson, American actor
• 1959 – Neal Stephenson, author
• 1961 – Peter Jackson, New Zealand film director
• 1961  – Larry Mullen, Irish drummer (U2)
• 1961  – Alonzo Babers, American runner
• 1963 – Dunga, Brazilian footballer
• 1963 – Fred McGriff, baseball player
• 1963  – Rob Schneider, actor
• 1964 – Marco van Basten, Dutch football player
• 1966 – Adam Horovitz, singer (Beastie Boys)
• 1968 – Vanilla Ice, rapper
• 1968  – Antonio Davis, professional basketball player
• 1970 – Rogers Stevens, guitarist (Blind Melon)
• 1971 – Alphonso Ford, footballer (d. 2004)
• 1986 – Christie Hayes, Australian actress

Deaths

• 1448 – John VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor
• 1517 – Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (b. 1472)
• 1723 – Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1642)
• 1732 – Victor Amadeus II of Savoy
• 1768 – Francesco Maria Veracini, composer
• 1879 – Jacob Abbott, American author
• 1916 – Charles Taze Russell, Jehovah's Witnesses founder
• 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
• 1995 – Rosalind Cash, actress
• 1999 – Greg Moore, CART driver (b. 1975)
• 2000 – Ring Lardner, Jr., American screenwriter
• 2001 – Régine Cavagnoud, ski athlete
• 2001  – Paul Warnke, politician
• 2002 – Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell), rapper (Run DMC)
• 2002  – Lionel Poilâne, French boulanger and entrepreneur
• 2003 – Dharmsamrat Paramhans Swami Madhavananda, Hindu guru
• 2003  – Richard Neustadt, political historian
• 2003  – Semmangudy, famous Carnatic vocalist

Holidays and observances

• Halloween
• Samhain (an approximate date)
• Reformation Day

External links

• BBC: On This Day

October 30 – November 1 – September 30 – November 30 — listing of all days