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 .
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 )
1851 - Princess Louise of Sweden (d. 1926 )
1860 - Juliette Low , founder of the Girl Scouts
1875 - Eugene Meyer , American businessman and newspaper publisher (The Washington Post ) (d. 1954)
1887 - Chiang Kai-shek , Nationalist Chinese leader (d. 1975 )
1892 - Alexander Alekhine , chess player (d. 1946 )
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 football player
1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes , actress
1922 - Illinois Jacquet , musician
1922 - Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
1925 - John Anthony Pople , British theoretical chemist (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 news anchor
1936 - Michael Landon , actor (d. 1991 )
1937 - Tom Paxton , folk music singer
1939 - Ron Rifkin , actor
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 - 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 for the rock band 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 ("The Beastie Boys ")
1968 - Vanilla Ice , rap music singer
1968 - Antonio Davis , professional basketball player
1971 - Alphonso Ford , Euroleague superstar (d. 2004)
1981 - S.H.E member, Selina Ren; Taiwanese girl-band
1986 - Christie Hayes , Australian actress
Deaths
1448 - John VIII Palaeologus , Byzantine Emperor
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
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
External links
October 30 - November 1 - September 30 - November 30 -- listing of all days
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