On this day in History - Oct. 31

• 445 BC - Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 9:1, NLTse).
• 0475 - Romulus Augustus was proclaimed Roman Emperor.
• 1147 - Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester dies. English politician.
• 1214 - Leonora of England dies (b. 1162). Queen of Alfonso VIII of Castile.
• 1291 - Philippe de Vitry was born (d. 1361). French composer.
• 1345 - King Fernando I of Portugal was born (d. 1383).
• 1391 - King Duarte of Portugal was born (d. 1438).
• 1424 - King Wladislaus III of Poland was born (d. 1444).
• 1448 - John VIII Palaeologus dies (b. 1390). Byzantine Emperor.
• 1451 - Nascimento do descobridor da América, Cristóvão Colombo (1451-1506), em Génova, Itália.
• 1512 - Vaticano: se inauguran los frescos de la Capilla Sixtina, pintados por Miguel Ángel.
• 1517 - Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church.
• 1517 - Fra Bartolommeo dies (b. 1472). Italian artist.
• 1538 - Caesar Baronius was born (d. 1607). Italian cardinal and historian.
• 1587 - Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
• 1599 - Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles was born (d. 1680). English statesman and writer.
• 1618 - Santa Mariana de Jesus - Mariana de Jesus de Paredes y Flores - was born in Quito (d. 26 May 1644). Ecuadorian saint who was canonized on 9 Jul 1950.
• 1620 - John Evelyn was born († 1706). English diarist.
• 1622 - Pierre Paul Puget was born (d. 1694). French artist.
• 1632 - Johannes Vermeer date of baptism (d. 1675). Flemish painter.
• 1636 - Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria was born (d. 1679).
• 1641 - Cornelis Jol dies (b. 1597). Dutch admiral and privateer.
• 1659 - John Bradshaw dies (b. 1602). English judge.
• 1692 - Comte de Caylus was born (d. 1765). French archaeologist.
• 1705 - Pope Clement XIV was born (1774).
• 1711 - Laura Bassi was born (d. 1778). Italian scholar.
• 1723 - Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany dies (b. 1642).
• 1724 - Christopher Anstey was born (d. 1805). English writer.
• 1732 - Victor Amadeus II of Savoy dies (b. 1666).
• 1733 - Eberhard IV Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg dies (b. 1676).
• 1737 - James Lovell was born (d. 1789). American educator.
• 1744 - Leonardo Leo dies (b. 1694). Italian composer.
• 1750 - Marquess of Alorna (D. Leonor de Almeida Lorena e Lencastre) was born. Portuguese writer.
• 1765 - Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland dies (b. 1721). English military leader.
• 1768 - Francesco Maria Veracini dies (b. 1690). Italian composer.
• 1784 - José Rafael de Gallegos y Alvarado was born. President of Costa Rica (1833-1835 and 1845-1846).
• 1784 - Jose Maria Perez de Urdininea was born. President of Bolivia (18 Apr 1828- 02 Aug 1828).
• 1795 - John Keats was born (d. 1821). British poet.
• 1815 - Karl Weierstraß was born (d. 1897). German mathematician.
• 1822 - Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempted to dissolve the Mexican Empire.
• 1825 - Charles Lavigerie was born (d. 1892). French cardinal.
• 1827 - Richard Morris Hunt was born (d. 1895). American educator.
• 1828 - Joseph Swan was born. English physicist and chemist, most famous for the development of the light bulb.
• 1831 - Paolo Mantegazza was born (d. 1910). Italian neurologist.
• 1835 - Krišjānis Barons was born (d. 1923). Latvian writer.
• 1835 - Adolf von Baeyer was born (d. 1917). German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1838 - King Luís I de Portugal was born (d. 1889).
• 1848 - Boston Custer was born (d. 1876). Brother of George Armstrong Custer.
• 1851 – Lovisa of Sweden was born (d. 1926). Queen of Denmark.
• 1860 - Juliette Low was born. American founder of the Girl Scouts.
• 1860 - Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald dies (b. 1775). British admiral.
• 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.
• 1875 - Eugene Meyer was born (d. 1954). American businessman and newspaper publisher
• 1875 - Vallabhbhai Patel was born (d. 1950). Indian freedom fighter and statesman.
• 1876 - A monster cyclone ravages India, resulting in over 200,000 human deaths.
• 1879 - Sara Allgood was born (d. 1950). Irish actress.
• 1879 - Jacob Abbott dies (b. 1803). American author.
• 1879 - Joseph Hooker dies (b. 1814). American General.
• 1883 - Marie Laurencin was born (d. 1956). French painter.
• 1884 - Marie Bashkirtseff dies (b. 1858). Russian painter.
• 1887 - Chiang Kai-shek was born (d. 1975). Nationalist Chinese leader, Republic of China president
• 1887 - Newsy Lalonde was born (d. 1970). Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1888 - Napoleon Lapathiotis was born (d. 1944). Greek poet.
• 1889 - Santa-Rita Pintor was born (d. 1918). Portuguese futurist painter.
• 1892 - Alexander Alekhine was born (d. 1946). Russian chess player.
• 1892 - Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
• 1895 - Basil Liddell Hart was born (d. 1970). British military historian.
• 1896 - Ethel Waters was born (d. 1977). American singer and actress.
• 1896 - Pedro de Freitas Branco was born. Portuguese conductor.
  
• 1902 - Carlos Drummond de Andrade was born (d. 1987). Brazilian cronist and poet.
• 1902 - Abraham Wald was born (d. 13 Dec 1950). Hungarian mathematician.
• 1902 - Guilherme Gomes Fernandes dies in Lisbon (b. 1849). Portuguese benemerit.
• 1912 - António Vilar was born in Lisbon (d. 16 Aug 1995). Portuguese actor.
• 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.
• 1912 - Dale Evans was born (d. 2001). American singer and actress.
• 1912 - Ollie Johnston was born. American animator.
• 1913 - Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across America.
• 1913 - William Evans-Gordon dies (b. 1857). British politician.
• 1914 - Joe Carcione was born (d. 1988). American consumer advocate.
• 1914 - John Hugenholtz was born (d. 1995). Dutch race track designer.
• 1915 - João de Scantimburgo was born im Dois Córregos, São Paulo. Brazilian journalist and writer
• 1916 - Charles Taze Russell dies (b. 1852). American founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses
• 1917 - World War I: Battle of Beersheba - "last successful cavalry charge in history"
• 1917 - Thomas Hill was born. Canadian actor.
• 1918 - Hungary: The Faster Revolution triumphs in Budapest, and Count Mihály Károlyi becomes Prime Minister.
• 1918 - Banat Republic founded.
• 1918 - Ian Stevenson was born. American parapsychologist.
• 1918 - Egon Schiele dies (b. 1890). Austrian painter.
• 1919 – Magnus Wenninger was born. American priest, author of Polyhedron models.
• 1920 - Dick Francis was born. Welsh novelist.
• 1920 - Helmut Newton was born (d. 2004). German photographer.
• 1920 - Dedan Kimathi was born (d. 1957). Kenyan rebel leader.
• 1920 - Fritz Walter was born (d. 2002). German football player.
• 1920 - Alphonse Desjardins dies (b. 1854). Founder of the Caisses populaires Desjardins.
• 1922 - Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest Premier in the history of Italy.
• 1922 – Anatoli Papanov was born (d. 1987). Soviet actor.
  
• 1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes was born (d. 2005). American actress.
  
• 1922 – Illinois Jacquet was born (d. 2004). American saxophonist.
  
• 1922 – King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia was born
  
• 1923 - 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees at Marble Bar, Australia begins.
• 1923 - National Institute of Post Office Banking in Milan is founded.
• 1924 - World Savings Day was announced in Milano/Italy by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks).
• 1925 - John Anthony Pople was born (d. 2004). English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1925 - Max Linder dies (b. 1883). French actor, director and screenwriter.
• 1926 - Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured.
• 1926 - Jimmy Saville was born. English entertainer.
• 1926 - Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured (b. 1874). Hungarian-born American magician.
• 1927 - Lee Grant was born. American actress.
• 1928 - Cleo Moore was born (d. 1973). American actress.
• 1929 - Bud Spencer was born. Italian actor.
• 1929 - Eddie Charlton was born (d. 1994). Australian snooker player.
• 1929 - José Relvas dies (b. 5 Mar 1858). Portuguese politician.
• 1929 - António José de Almeida dies (b. 27 Jul 1866). Portuguese proeminent republican personality and President of Portugal.
• 1930 - Michael Collins was born. American astronaut.
• 1931 - Dan Rather was born. American television journalist.
• 1933 - Phil Goyette was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1936 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.
• 1936 - Michael Landon was born (d. 1991). American actor.
• 1936 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.
• 1937 - Tom Paxton was born. American singer.
• 1937 - Claudete Soares was born. Brazilian singer.
• 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.
• 1939 - Ron Rifkin was born. American actor.
• 1939 - Tom O'Connor was born. British comedian.
• 1939 - Alui Farka Touré was born. Malian musician.
• 1939 - Otto Rank dies (b. 1884). Austrian psychologist.
• 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.
• 1941 – Clothing factory fire in Huddersfield, England kills 49.
• 1941 - Derek Bell was born. British racing driver.
• 1941 – Dan Alderson was born. American scientist.
• 1942 - Dave McNally was born (d. 2002). American baseball player.
• 1942 - David Ogden Stiers was born. American actor.
• 1943 - World War II: F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar guided interception.
• 1943 - Brian Piccolo was born (d. 1970). American football player.
• 1943 - Paul Frampton was born. English physicist.
• 1943 - Max Reinhardt dies (b. 1873). German director.
• 1944 - Kinky Friedman was born. American musician and novelist.
• 1944 - Sally Kirkland was born. American actress.
• 1945 - Peru joins to United Nations.
• 1945 - Brian Doyle-Murray was born. American comedian and actor.1945 - Russ Ballard was born. English rock singer/songwriter, guitarist (Argent).
• 1946 - Norman Lovett was born. British actor.
• 1946 - Stephen Rea was born. Irish actor.
• 1947 - Deidre Hall was born. American actress.
• 1947 - Frank Shorter was born. American runner.
• 1949 - Bob Siebenberg was born. American drummer (Supertramp).
• 1950 – Antonio Taguba was born. US Army Major General.
• 1950 - John Candy was born (d. 1994). Canadian comedian and actor.
• 1950 - Jane Pauley was born. American news anchor.
• 1950 – Jozef Stolorz was born. Polish art painter.
• 1950 – Zaha Hadid was born. British architect.
• 1951 – Nick Saban was born. American college football coach.
• 1952 - Bernard Edwards was born (d. 1996). American bass guitarist (Chic).
• 1952 - U Chit Hlaing dies (b. 1879). Burmese politician.
• 1953 - Michael J. Anderson was born. American actor.
• 1953 - John Lucas II was born. American basketball player and coach.
• 1954 - Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
• 1954 - Ken Wahl was born. American actor.
• 1956 - Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
• 1956 - Anders Lago was born. Swedish Social Democratic politician.
• 1957 - Robert Pollard was born. American rocker.
• 1958 - Brian Stokes Mitchell was born. American singer and actor.
• 1958 - Sidney Rezende was born. Brazilian journalist.
• 1958 - Jeannie Longo was born. French cyclist.
• 1958 - John Jairo Torres de la Pava was born. Colombian singer.
• 1959 - Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to renounce his American citizenship at the US Embassy in Moscow, USSR.
• 1959 - Mats Näslund was born. Swedish ice hockey player.
• 1959 - Neal Stephenson was born. American author.
• 1959 - Jean Cabannes dies (b. 1885). French physicist.
• 1960 - Luis Fortuño was born. Puerto Rican delegate to Congress.
• 1960 - Arnaud Desplechin was born. French film director.
• 1960 - Mike Gallego was born. American baseball player.
• 1960 - Reza Pahlavi was born. Former crown prince of Iran.
• 1961 - In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Tomb.
• 1961 – Alonzo Babers was born. American runner.
• 1961 – Kate Campbell was born. American musician.
• 1961 - Larry Mullen was born. Irish drummer (U2).
• 1961 - Peter Jackson was born. New Zealand film director.
• 1963 - Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now Pepsi Coliseum) explosion in Indianapolis kills 74 people during an ice skating show. The mammoth explosion injured 400. A faulty propane tank connection in a concession stand was blamed.
• 1963 - Dunga was born. Brazilian footballer.
• 1963 - Fred McGriff was born. American baseball player.
• 1963 - Rob Schneider was born. American actor.
• 1963 - Mikkey Dee was born. Swedish musician, drummer for Motörhead.
• 1963 - Johnny Marr was born. English guitarist and songwriter (The Smiths).
• 1963 - Dermot Mulroney was born. American actor.
• 1964 - Colm O'Ciosoig was born. Irish drummer (My Bloody Valentine, Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions).
• 1964 - Marco van Basten was born. Dutch footballer.
• 1964 - Marty Wright was born. American professional wrestler.
• 1964 - Darryl Worley was born. American country singer.
• 1965 - Annabella Lwin was born. British singer (Bow Wow Wow).
• 1965 – Rob Rackstraw was born. British voice actor.
• 1966 - Adam Horovitz was born. American singer (Beastie Boys).
• 1966 - Koji Kanemoto was born. Japanese professional wrestler.
• 1966 - Joseph Boyden was born. Canadian novelist.
• 1966 - Mike O'Malley was born. American actor.
• 1966 - Antonio de Arruda Carneiro Leão dies (b. 2 Jul 1887). Brazilian teacher, educator and essayist.
• 1967 - Vanilla Ice was born. American rapper.
• 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.
• 1968 - Vanilla Ice was born. American rapper.
• 1968 - Antonio Davis was born. American basketball player.
• 1969 - David Coburn was born. American actor/voice actor.
• 1970 - Nicky Wu was born. Taiwanese actor and martial arts expert.
• 1970 - Linn Berggren was born. Swedish singer (Ace of Base).
• 1970 - Rogers Stevens was born. American guitarist (Blind Melon)
• 1970 - Mitch Harris was born. American guitarist (Napalm Death, among others).
• 1970 - Johnny Moeller was born. American blues guitarist.
• 1970 - Steve Trachsel was born. American baseball player.
• 1970 - Rogers Stevens was born. American guitarist (Blind Melon).
• 1971 - Alphonso Ford was born (d. 2004). American basketball player.
• 1971 - Ian Walker was born. English footballer.
• 1971 - Toby Anstis was born. British radio presenter.
• 1972 - Shaun Bartlett was born. South African footballer.
• 1972 - Bill Durnan dies (b. 1916). National Hockey League goaltender.
• 1973 - Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape. Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escape from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, Republic of Ireland after a hijacked helicopter landed in the exercise yard.
• 1973 - David Dellucci was born. American baseball player.
• 1973 - Grigorios Georgatos was born. Greek footballer.
• 1973 - Beverly Lynne was born. American erotic film actress.
• 1974 - Muzzy Izzet was born. Turkish footballer.
• 1975 - Queen released their most famous single Bohemian Rhapsody. It spent 9 weeks at number 1# in the UK charts. It has often been credited as the best song of all time.
• 1975 - SD Burman dies (b. 1906). Indian musician.
• 1976 - Piper Perabo was born. American actress.
• 1976 - José María Gutiérrez (Guti) was born. Spanish footballer.
• 1977 - Séverine Ferrer was born. French singer.
• 1977 - Sylviane Félix was botn. French athlete.
• 1978 - España: las Cortes aprueban la Constitución.
• 1978 - Emmanuel Izonritei was born. Nigerian boxer.
• 1978 - Martin Verkerk was born. Dutch tennis player.
• 1978 - Zachary Knighton was born. American actor.
• 1979 - Saaphyri Windsor was born. American reality tv figure
• 1979 - Simão Sabrosa was born at Constantim, Vila Real. Portuguese football player. See his personal page
• 1980 - Eddie Kaye Thomas was born. American actor.
• 1980 - Nicole Neumann [Nicole Unter Ruberbache Neumann] was born in Buenos Aires. Argentinian supermodel and actress.
• 1980 - Samaire Armstrong was born. American actress.
• 1981 - In the Harry Potter novels Voldemort kills James & Lily Potter.
• 1981 - Irina Denezhkina was born. Russian Generation Y writer
• 1981 - Frank Iero was born. American musician (My Chemical Romance, Leathermouth, Pencey Prep; founder of Skeleton Crew)
• 1981 - Selina (Jiaxuan) Ren was born. Member of Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E
• 1981 - Jon Crocker was born. American songwriter.
• 1982 - Tomáš Plekanec was born. Czech ice hockey player.
• 1982 - The Cheeky Girls weas born. British-Romanian singers.
• 1983 - Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour premieres on NBC
• 1983 - George Halas dies (b. 1895). American football player, coach, and team owner.
• 1983 - Raúl Alfonsin is elected President of Argentina
• 1984 - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (b. 1917) is assassinated by two Sikh security guards (riots soon broke out in New Delhi and nearly 2,000 innocent Sikhs were killed).
• 1984 - Eduardo de Filippo dies (b. 1900). Italian actor and screenwriter.
• 1984 - Indira Gandhi dies (b. 1917). Prime Minister of India.
• 1985 - Nikos Engonopoulos dies (b. 1907). Greek painter and poet.
• 1985 - Anton Christoforidis dies (b. 1918). Greek boxer.
• 1985 - Poul Reichhardt dies (b. 1913). Danish actor.
• 1986 - The 5th congress of the Communist Party of Sweden is inaugurated. During the course of the congress the party name is changed to the Solidarity Party and the party ceases to be a communist party.
• 1986 - Chris Alajajian was born. Australian racing driver.
• 1986 - Christie Hayes was born. Australian actress.
• 1986 - Robert S. Mulliken dies (b. 1896). American physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• 1987 - Joseph Campbell dies (b. 1904). American author and expert on mythology.
• 1988 - Sébastien Buemi was born. Swiss racing driver.
• 1988 - John Houseman dies (b. 1902). Romanian-born actor and director.
• 1988 - Alfred Pellan dies (b. 1906). Québécois painter.
• 1989 - Turquey: Turgut Ozal becomes President.
• 1990 - Lil' JJ was born. American comedian.
• 1991 - A three day long snow and ice storm, dubbed the Halloween Blizzard, begins over portions of the Upper Midwest of the United States.
• 1991 - Jordan-Claire Green was born. American actress.
• 1991 - Joseph Papp dies (b. 1921). American theatrical producer.
• 1991 - Gene Anderson dies (b. 1933). American professional wrestler.
• 1993 - Federico Fellini dies (b. 1920). Italian director.
• 1993 - River Phoenix dies (drug overdose) (b. 1970). American actor.
• 1994 - An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 64 passengers.
• 1994 - Em Lusaca, assinatura de um acordo de Paz entre o Governo de Luanda e a UNITA.
• 1995 - Rosalind Cash dies (b. 1938). American actress.
• 1996 - A Brazilian TAM Fokker-100 crashes into several houses in São Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground.
• 1996 - Jean Chrétien becomes UN special envoy to the African Great Lakes.
• 1996 - Marcel Carné dies(b. 1906). French film director.
• 1997 - Entrada em vigor das sanções da ONU à UNITA, por este movimento não cumprir as acções necessárias para implementar o acordo de Lusaca.
• 1997 - Um desabamento de lama, provocado por intensas chuvadas, causa a morte a 29 pessoas, na localidade de Ribeira Quente, em S. Miguel, Açores.
• 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.
• 1998 - Elmer Vasko dies (b. 1935). National Hockey League defenceman.
• 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.
• 1999 - Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
• 1999 - Greg Moore dies (b. 1975). Canadian race car driver
• 2000 - Ikram Antaki dies (9 Jul 1948). Sirian-born Mexican writer.
• 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.
• 2000 - Watanabe Kazuki dies (b. 1981). Japanese musician (Raphael).
• 2000 - Ring Lardner, Jr. dies (b. 1915). American screenwriter.
• 2001 - Régine Cavagnoud dies (b. 1970). French skier.
• 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.
• 2002 - Lionel Poilâne dies (b. 1945).French baker and entrepreneur.
• 2002 - Michail Stasinopoulos dies (b. 1903). Greek politician, former president of Greece.
• 2002 - Raf Vallone dies (b. 17 Feb 1916). Italian actor.
• 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.
• 2003 - Dharmsamrat Paramhans Swami Madhavananda dies (b. 1923). Indian guru.
• 2003 - Richard Neustadt dies (b. 1919). American political historian.
• 2003 - Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer dies (b. 1908). Indian singer.
• 2004 - Tabaré Vázquez is elected President of Uruguay
• 2004 - Passenger airline service ends at Mirabel International Airport in Montreal, Canada.
• 2005 - President George W. Bush nominates Appeals court judge Samuel Alito to join the Supreme Court of the United States.
• 2005 - Infanta Leonor of Spain was born. Daughter of Felipe, Prince of Asturias and Letizia, Princess of Asturias.
• 2005 - Hal Anger dies (b. 1920). American biophysicist.
• 2005 - John "Beatz" Holohan dies (b. 1974). American drummer (Bayside).
• 2005 - Mary Wimbush dies (b. 1924). English actress.
• 2006 - NASA is expected to announce whether or not there will be a space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. If the decision is made to fly the mission, designated STS-125, the crew will also be announced.
• 2006 – Peter Fryer dies (b. 1927). English Marxist writer and journalist.
• 2006 - Pieter Willem Botha dies (b. 1916). President of South Africa.
• 2007 - Ray Gravell dies (b. 1951). Welsh rugby union footballer.
• 2008 - Studs Terkel dies (b. 1912). American author, oral historian, actor, radio personality.
• 2009 - Qian Xuesen dies (b. 1911). Chinese scientist.
• 2009 – Tom Wheatcroft dies (b. 1922). English businessman.
  
• R.C. Saints - October 31 is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints: St. Arnulf, St. Bega, St. Quentin, St Urban, St. Wolfgang
• Protestant Church - Reformation Day: Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Wittenberg church on this day in 1517.
• October 31th is Halloween / Dia das Bruxas.
• International Savings Day/ Dia Mundial da Poupança.
• Cornwall - Allantide.
• Wikipedia - Wikipedia: Tim Starling Day.