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Today October 31st 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor.
1517 – Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
1587 – Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
1822 – Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempts 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 resumes as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron begin their Invasion of the Waikato.
1864 – Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
1876 – A monster cyclone ravages India, resulting in over 200,000 deaths.
1913 – Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across United States.
1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba – last successful cavalry charge in history.
1918 – Banat Republic is founded
1923 – The first of 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees at Marble Bar, Australia.
1924 – World Savings Day is announced in Milan, Italy by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks).
1926 – Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured.
1936 – The Boy Scouts of the Philippines is formed.
1938 – Great Depression: In an effort to 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: The Battle of Britain ends – the United Kingdom prevents a German invasion.
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. It is the first U.S. Navy vessel sunk by enemy action in WWII.
1941 – A fire in a clothing factory in Huddersfield, England kills 49
1943 – World War II: An F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception.
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.
1959 – Lee Harvey Oswald attempts to renounce his American citizenship at the US Embassy in Moscow, USSR.
1961 – In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin s body is removed from Lenin s Tomb.
1963 – An explosion at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now Pepsi Coliseum) in Indianapolis kills 74 people during an ice skating show. The explosion also injures 400. A faulty propane tank connection in a concession stand was blamed.
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.
1973 – Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape. Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escape from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, Republic of Ireland aboard a hijacked helicopter that lands in the exercise yard.
1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots soon break out in New Delhi and nearly 2,000 Sikhs are killed.
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.
1994 – An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 68 passengers and crew.
1996 – A Fokker F100 operating as TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 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.
1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
2000 – A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 operating as Flight 006 collides with construction equipment upon takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 79 passengers and four crew members.
2000 – A chartered Antonov An-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50.
2002 – A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas formally indicts 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 and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir s 22 years in power.
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)
1692 – Comte de Caylus, French archaeologist (d. 1765)
1705 – Pope Clement XIV (d. 1774)
1711 – Laura Bassi, Italian scholar (d. 1778)
1724 – Christopher Anstey, English writer (d. 1805)
1737 – James Lovell, American educator (d. 1789)
1795 – John Keats, British poet (d. 1821)
1815 – Karl Weierstraß, German mathematician (d. 1897)
1825 – Charles Lavigerie, French cardinal (d. 1892)
1827 – Richard Morris Hunt, American educator (d. 1895)
1831 – Paolo Mantegazza, Italian neurologist (d. 1910)
1835 – Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1917)
1835 – Krišjanis Barons, Latvian writer (d. 1923)
1838 – King Louis of Portugal (d. 1889)
1848 – Boston Custer, brother of George Armstrong Custer (d. 1876)
1851 – Lovisa of Sweden, queen of Denmark (d. 1926)
1860 – Juliette Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts (d. 1927)
1875 – Eugene Meyer, American businessman and newspaper publisher (d. 1954)
1875 – Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian freedom fighter and statesman (d. 1950)
1879 – Sara Allgood, Irish actress (d. 1950)
1883 – Marie Laurencin, French painter (d. 1956)
1887 – Chiang Kai-shek, Nationalist Chinese leader, former Republic of China president (d. 1975)
1887 – Newsy Lalonde, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1970)
1888 – Napoleon Lapathiotis, Greek poet (d. 1944)
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)
1902 – Abraham Wald, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1950)
1912 – Dale Evans, American singer and actress (d. 2001)
1912 – Ollie Johnston, American animator (d. 2008)
1914 – Joe Carcione, American consumer advocate (d. 1988)
1914 – John Hugenholtz, Dutch race track designer (d. 1995)
1916 – Carl Johan Bernadotte, formerly Prince of Sweden
1917 – Thomas Hill, Canadian actor
1918 – Ian Stevenson, American parapsychologist (d. 2007)
1919 – Magnus Wenninger, American priest, author of Polyhedron models
1920 – Dick Francis, Welsh novelist
1920 – Joseph Gelineau French composer (d. 2008)
1920 – Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan rebel leader (d. 1957)
1920 – Helmut Newton, German photographer (d. 2004)
1920 – Fritz Walter, German footballer (d. 2002)
1922 – Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (d. 2005)
1922 – Anatoli Papanov, Soviet actor (d. 1987)
1922 – Illinois Jacquet, American saxophonist (d. 2004)
1922 – King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
1925 – John Pople, English chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
1926 – Jimmy Savile, English entertainer
1927 – Lee Grant, American actress
1928 – Cleo Moore, American actress (d. 1973)
1929 – Eddie Charlton, Australian snooker player (d. 2004)
1929 – Bud Spencer, Italian actor
1930 – Michael Collins, American astronaut
1931 – Dan Rather, American television journalist
1933 – Phil Goyette, Canadian ice hockey player
1936 – Michael Landon, American actor (d. 1991)
1937 – Tom Paxton, American singer-songwriter
1939 – Ron Rifkin, American actor
1939 – Tom O Connor, British comedian
1939 – Alui Farka Touré, Malian musician (d. 2006)
1941 – Derek Bell, British racing driver
1941 – Dan Alderson, American scientist
1942 – Dave McNally, American baseball player (d. 2002)
1942 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor
1943 – Paul Frampton, English physicist
1943 – Brian Piccolo, American football player (d. 1970)
1944 – Kinky Friedman, American musician and novelist
1944 – Sally Kirkland, American actress
1945 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian and actor
1945 – Russ Ballard, English rock singer/songwriter, guitarist (Argent)
1946 – Stephen Rea, Irish actor
1946 – Norman Lovett, British actor
1947 – Deidre Hall, American actress
1947 – Frank Shorter, American runner
1948 – Michael Kitchen, British actor
1949 – Bob Siebenberg, American drummer (Supertramp)
1950 – John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)
1950 – Jozef Stolorz, Polish art painter
1950 – Jane Pauley, American news anchor
1950 – Zaha Hadid, British architect
1950 – Antonio Taguba, US Army Major General
1951 – Nick Saban, American college football coach
1951 – Dave Trembley, Major League Baseball manager (Baltimore Orioles)
1952 – Bernard Edwards, American bass guitarist (Chic) (d. 1996)
1953 – Michael J. Anderson, American actor
1953 – John Lucas II, American basketball player and coach
1954 – Ken Wahl, American actor
1956 – Anders Lago, Swedish Social Democratic politician
1957 – Robert Pollard, American rocker (Guided by Voices)
1957 – Brian Stokes Mitchell, American singer and actor
1958 – Jeannie Longo, French cyclist
1959 – Neal Stephenson, American author
1959 – Mats Näslund, Swedish ice hockey player
1960 – Luis Fortuño, Puerto Rican delegate to Congress
1960 – Arnaud Desplechin, French film director
1960 – Mike Gallego, American baseball player
1960 – Reza Pahlavi, former crown prince of Iran
1961 – Peter Jackson, New Zealand film director
1961 – Larry Mullen, Irish drummer (U2)
1961 – Alonzo Babers, American runner
1961 – Kate Campbell, American musician
1963 – Mikkey Dee, Swedish musician, drummer for Motörhead
1963 – Dunga, Brazilian footballer and manager
1963 – Johnny Marr, English guitarist and songwriter (The Smiths, Modest Mouse)
1963 – Fred McGriff, American baseball player
1963 – Dermot Mulroney, American actor
1963 – Rob Schneider, American actor
1964 – Colm Ó Cíosóig, Irish drummer (My Bloody Valentine, Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions)
1964 – Marco van Basten, Dutch footballer and manager
1964 – Marty Wright, American professional wrestler
1964 – Darryl Worley, American country singer
1965 – Denis Irwin, Irish footballer
1965 – Annabella Lwin, British singer (Bow Wow Wow)
1965 – Rob Rackstraw, voice actor
1966 – Adam Horovitz (Adrock), American rapper (Beastie Boys)
1966 – Koji Kanemoto, Japanese professional wrestler
1966 – Joseph Boyden, Canadian novelist
1966 – Mike O Malley, American actor
1967 – Vanilla Ice, American rapper
1968 – Antonio Davis, American basketball player
1969 – David Coburn, American actor/voice actor
1970 – Nicky Wu, Taiwanese actor and martial arts expert
1970 – Linn Berggren, Swedish singer (Ace of Base)
1970 – Rogers Stevens, American guitarist (Blind Melon)
1970 – Mitch Harris, American guitarist (Napalm Death, among others)
1970 – Johnny Moeller, American blues guitarist
1970 – Steve Trachsel, American baseball player
1971 – Alphonso Ford, American basketball player (d. 2004)
1971 – Ian Walker, English footballer
1971 – Toby Anstis, British radio presenter
1972 – Shaun Bartlett, South African footballer
1972 – Matt Dawson, English rugby union footballer
1973 – Tim Byrdak, American baseball player
1973 – David Dellucci, American baseball player
1973 – Grigorios Georgatos, Greek footballer
1973 – Beverly Lynne, American erotic film actress
1974 – Muzzy Izzet, Turkish footballer
1974 – Natasja Saad, Danish hip hop and reggae artist (d. 2007)
1975 – Fabio Celestini, Swiss footballer
1976 – Guti, Spanish footballer
1976 – Piper Perabo, American actress
1977 – Sylviane Félix, French athlete
1977 – Séverine Ferrer, French singer
1978 – Emmanuel Izonritei, Nigerian boxer
1978 – Zachary Knighton, American actor
1978 – Martin Verkerk, Dutch tennis player
1979 – Saaphyri Windsor, American reality tv figure
1979 – Simão Sabrosa, Portuguese footballer
1979 – Ricardo Fuller, Jamaican footballer
1980 – Eddie Kaye Thomas, American actor,
1980 – Samaire Armstrong, American actress
1980 – Marcel Meeuwis, Dutch footballer
1980 – Alondra de la Parra, Mexican founder and artistic director of the New York-based Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas
1981 – Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer
1981 – Frank Iero, American musician (My Chemical Romance, Leathermouth, Pencey Prep; founder of Skeleton Crew (record label))
1981 – Selina (Jiaxuan) Ren, Taiwanese singer (S.H.E)
1981 – Jon Crocker, American songwriter
1981 – Lollie Alexi Devereaux, French actress & writer
1982 – Jordan Bannister, Australian rules footballer
1982 – Tomáš Plekanec, Czech ice hockey player
1982 – Gabriela Irimia, Romanian/British singer (The Cheeky Girls)
1982 – Monica Irimia, Romanian/British singer (The Cheeky Girls)
1982 – Justin Chatwin, Canadian actor
1983 – Katy French, Irish model (d. 2007)
1986 – Christie Hayes, Australian actress
1986 – Chris Alajajian, Australian racing driver
1986 – Brent Corrigan, American pornographic actor
1988 – Jack Riewoldt, Australian rules footballer
1988 – Sébastien Buemi, Swiss racing driver
1990 – Lil JJ, American comedian
1991 – Jordan-Claire Green, American actress
2000 – Willow Smith, American actress
2005 – Infanta Leonor of Spain, daughter of Felipe, Prince of Asturias and Letizia, Princess of Asturias
Deaths
1147 – Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, English politician (b. c.1090)
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)
1641 – Cornelis Jol, Dutch admiral and privateer (b. 1597)
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)
1765 – Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, English military leader (b. 1721)
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)
1879 – Joseph Hooker, American General (b. 1814)
1883 – Swami Dayananda Saraswati, founder of Arya Samaj (b. 1824)
1884 – Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian painter (b. 1858)
1913 – William Evans-Gordon, British politician (b. 1857)
1916 – Charles Taze Russell, American founder of the Jehovah s Witnesses (b. 1852)
1918 – Egon Schiele, Austrian painter (b. 1890)
1920 – Alphonse Desjardins, founder of the Caisses populaires Desjardins (b. 1854)
1925 – Max Linder, French actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1883)
1926 – Harry Houdini, Hungarian-born magician (b. 1874)
1929 – António José de Almeida, Portuguese politician and 6th President of Portugal (b. 1866)
1939 – Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist (b. 1884)
1952 – U Chit Hlaing, Burmese politician (b. 1879)
1959 – Jean Cabannes, French physicist (b. 1885)
1972 – Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1916)
1975 – SD Burman, Indian musician (b. 1906)
1983 – George Halas, American football player, coach, and team owner (b. 1895)
1984 – Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (b. 1917)
1984 – Eduardo de Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (b. 1900)
1985 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor (b. 1913)
1985 – Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek painter and poet (b. 1907)
1985 – Anton Christoforidis, Greek boxer (b. 1918)
1986 – Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist and chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1896)
1987 – Joseph Campbell, American author and expert on mythology (b. 1904)
1988 – John Houseman, Romanian-born actor and director (b. 1902)
1988 – Alfred Pellan, Québécois painter (b. 1906)
1991 – Joseph Papp, American theatrical producer (b. 1921)
1991 – Gene Anderson, American professional wrestler (b. 1933)
1993 – Federico Fellini, Italian director (b. 1920)
1993 – River Phoenix, American actor (b. 1970)
1995 – Rosalind Cash, American actress (b. 1938)
1996 – Marcel Carné, French film director (b. 1906)
1998 – Elmer Vasko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1935)
1999 – Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (b. 1975)
2000 – Watanabe Kazuki Japanese musician (Raphael) (b. 1981)
2000 – Ring Lardner, Jr., American screenwriter (b. 1915)
2001 – Régine Cavagnoud, French skier (b. 1970)
2002 – Lionel Poilâne, French baker and entrepreneur (b. 1945)
2002 – Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek politician, former president of Greece (b. 1903)
2002 – Raf Vallone, Italian actor (b. 1916)
2003 – Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Indian singer (b. 1908)
2003 – Richard Neustadt, American political historian (b. 1919)
2005 – Mary Wimbush, English actress (b. 1924)
2005 – John Beatz Holohan, American drummer (Bayside) (b. 1974)
2005 – Hal Anger, American biophysicist (b. 1920)
2006 – Pieter Willem Botha, President of South Africa (b. 1916)
2007 – Ray Gravell, Welsh rugby union footballer (b. 1951)
Holidays and observances
Halloween
Cornwall, United Kingdom – Allantide
Slovenia and Protestant Church– Reformation Day
Roman Catholic Saints – October 31 is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:
St. Arnulf
St. Bega
St. Quentin
St. Urban
St. Wolfgang
Orthodox Church
Abaidas
Celts – Samhain
Neopaganism – Samhain in the northern hemisphere, Beltane in the southern hemisphere (or on November 1)
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