October 31


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

Events

   * 1517 - Martin Luther posts his 95 theses
   * 1861 - 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
   * 1922 - Benito Mussolini becomes Premier of Italy
   * 1936 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.
   * 1954 - Algerian Revolution begins against France
   * 1956 - United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the
     reopening of the Suez Canal
   * 1961 - Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Tomb

Births

   * 1345 - King Fernando of Portugal
   * 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 Weierstra§, 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 director
   * 1961 - Larry Mullen, Irish drummer for the rock band U2
   * 1961 - Peter Jackson, film director
   * 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
   * 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
   * 2000 - Ring Lardner, Jr., American screenwriter

Holidays and observances

   * Halloween
   * Samhain (an approximate date)