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.
| October | ||||||
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
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| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 | |||||
| 2005 | ||||||
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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.
- 1912 - Dominican Republic becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 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.
- 1923 - 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees at Marble Bar, Australia begins.
- 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 October surprise: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.
- 1981-In the Harry Potter novels Voldemort kills James & Lily Potter.
- 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.
- 1997 - 19-year-old British au pair Louise Woodward, convicted by a Cambridge, Massachusetts, jury of second-degree murder the day before, is sentenced to life in prison.
- 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 operating as Flight 006 collides with construction equipment upon takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 79 passengers and 4 crew members
- 2000 - A chartered Antonov AN-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50
- 2000 - The last Multics machine was shut down.
- 2002 - A federal grand jury in Houston formally indicted former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.
- 2003 - A bankruptcy court approves MCI's reorganization plans, essentially clearing the telecommunications company to exit bankruptcy.
- 2003 - Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after 22 years in power.
- 2005 - BSkyB starts broadcasting Sky Three on Sky, ntl and Freeview throughout the United Kingdom.
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Births
- 1291 - Philippe de Vitry, French composer (d. 1361)
- 1345 - King Fernando I of Portugal (d. 1383)
- 1391 - King Duarte of Portugal (d. 1438)
- 1424 - King Wladislaus III of Poland (d. 1444)
- 1538 - Caesar Baronius, Italian cardinal and historian (d. 1607)
- 1599 - Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English statesman and writer (d. 1680)
- 1620 - John Evelyn, English diarist (d. 1706)
- 1622 - Pierre Paul Puget, French artist (d. 1694)
- 1632 - (baptism) Johannes Vermeer, Flemish painter (d. 1675)
- 1636 - Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1679)
- 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)
- 1860 - Juliette Low, American 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, Russian chess player (d. 1946)
- 1895 - Basil Liddell Hart, British military historian (d. 1970)
- 1896 - Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (d. 1977)
- 1912 - Dale Evans, American singer and actress (d. 2001)
- 1918 - Ian Stevenson, American parapsychologist
- 1920 - Dick Francis, Welsh novelist
- 1920 - Helmut Newton, German photographer (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Fritz Walter, German footballer
- 1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1922 - Illinois Jacquet, American saxophonist (d. 2004)
- 1922 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
- 1925 - John Anthony Pople, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Lee Grant, American actress
- 1928 - Cleo Moore, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1929 - Eddie Charlton, Australian snooker player (d. 1994)
- 1930 - Michael Collins, astronaut
- 1931 - Dan Rather, American television journalist
- 1936 - Michael Landon, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1937 - Tom Paxton, American singer
- 1939 - Ron Rifkin, American actor
- 1944 - Kinky Friedman, American musician and novelist
- 1945 - Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian and actor
- 1946 - Stephen Rea, Irish actor
- 1947 - Deidre Hall, American actress
- 1947 - Frank Shorter, American runner
- 1950 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)
- 1950 - Jane Pauley, American news anchor
- 1953 - Michael J. Anderson, American actor
- 1958 - Jeannie Longo, French cyclist
- 1959 - Neal Stephenson, American 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, American actor
- 1964 - Marco van Basten, Dutch football player
- 1965 - Annabella Lwin, British singer (Bow Wow Wow)
- 1966 - Adam Horovitz, American singer (Beastie Boys)
- 1968 - Vanilla Ice, American rapper
- 1968 - Antonio Davis, American basketball player
- 1970 - Linn Berggren, Swedish singer, member of Ace of Base
- 1970 - Rogers Stevens, American guitarist (Blind Melon)
- 1971 - Alphonso Ford, American basketball player (d. 2004)
- 1981 - Frank Iero, American guitarist (My Chemical Romance)
- 1981 - Irina Denezhkina, Russian Generation Y writer
- 1986 - Christie Hayes, Australian actress
- 1984 - Peggie Tobin, Goon Wench
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Deaths
- 1147 - Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, English politician
- 1214 - Leonora of England, queen of Alfonso VIII of Castile (b. 1162)
- 1448 - John VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1390)
- 1517 - Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (b. 1472)
- 1659 - John Bradshaw, English judge (b. 1602)
- 1723 - Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1642)
- 1732 - Victor Amadeus II of Savoy (b. 1666)
- 1733 - Eberhard IV Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1676)
- 1744 - Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (b. 1694)
- 1768 - Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (b. 1690)
- 1860 - Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, British admiral (b. 1775)
- 1879 - Jacob Abbott, American author (b. 1803)
- 1916 - Charles Taze Russell, American founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses (b. 1852)
- 1926 - Harry Houdini, Hungarian-born magician (b. 1874)
- 1939 - Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist (b. 1884)
- 1943 - Max Reinhardt, German director (b. 1873)
- 1983 - George Halas, American football player, coach, and team owner (b. 1895)
- 1984 - Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (b. 1917)
- 1986 - Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1896)
- 1987 - Joseph Campbell, American author and expert on mythology (b. 1904)
- 1988 - John Houseman, Romanian-born actor and director (b. 1902)
- 1991 - Joseph Papp, American theatrical producer (b. 1921)
- 1993 - Federico Fellini, Italian director (b. 1920)
- 1993 - River Phoenix, American actor (drug overdose) (b. 1970)
- 1995 - Rosalind Cash, American actress (b. 1938)
- 1999 - Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (b. 1975)
- 2000 - Ring Lardner, Jr., American screenwriter (b. 1915)
- 2002 - Lionel Poilâne, French baker and entrepreneur (b. 1945)
- 2003 - Dharmsamrat Paramhans Swami Madhavananda, Indian guru (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Richard Neustadt, American political historian (b. 1919)
- 2003 - Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Indian singer (b. 1908)
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Holidays and observances
- R.C. Saints - October 31 is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:
- St. Antoninus
- St. Arnulf
- St. Bega
- St. Notburga
- St. Quentin
- St Urban
- St. Wolfgang
- Also see October 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Protestant Church - Reformation Day: Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Wittenberg church on this day in 1517
- October 31th is Halloween; also see Samhain (an approximate date)
- Cornwall - Allantide
- Wikipedia - Wikipedia:Tim Starling Day