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
• 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

• 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 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)

October 30 - November 1 - December 31 - August 31 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December