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This day in history

This day in history: 31 October

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Key facts

401 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 31 October.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2020: Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens its doors after nearly 10 years of delays due to construction issues and project corruption.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: Alphonsus Rodriguez

Christian feast day: Ampliatus

Christian feast day: Begu

Christian feast day: Blessed Theodore Romzha (Ruthenian Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: Erc of Slane (in Cornwall)

Christian feast day: Foillan (in Namur)

Christian feast day: Martin Luther (Anglican Communion)

Christian feast day: October 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Paul Shinji Sasaki and Philip Lindel Tsen (Episcopal Church)

Christian feast day: Quentin

Christian feast day: Wolfgang of Regensburg

Día de la Canción Criolla (Peru)

Events

2020Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens its doors after nearly 10 years of delays due to construction issues and project corruption.

2017A truck drives into a crowd in Lower Manhattan, New York City, killing eight people.

2015Metrojet Flight 9268 is bombed over the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.

2014During a test flight, the VSS Enterprise, a Virgin Galactic experimental spaceflight test vehicle, suffers a catastrophic in-flight breakup and crashes in the Mojave Desert, California.

2011The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as the Day of Seven Billion.

2003Mahathir 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.

2002A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron 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.

2000Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crashes on takeoff from Taipei, killing 83.

2000Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.

1999EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, killing all 217 people on board.

1999Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.

1998Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

1996TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashes in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 99 people.

1994American Eagle Flight 4184 crashes near Roselawn, Indiana killing all 68 people on board.

1984Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi and other cities and around 3,000 Sikhs are killed.

1979Western Airlines Flight 2605 crashes on landing in Mexico City, killing 73 people.

1973Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escape from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin aboard a hijacked helicopter that landed in the exercise yard.

1968Great Drought of 1968: Amidst a collapse of hydropower President of Chile Eduardo Frei Montalva decrees the establishment of daylight saving time.

1968Vietnam 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" effect

1963Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum gas explosion: A gas explosion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis kills 81 people and injures another 400 during an ice show.

1961In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Mausoleum, and is buried near the Kremlin Wall under a plain white marker.

1956Hungarian Revolution of 1956: A Revolutionary Headquarters is established in Hungary. Following Imre Nagy's announcement of October 30, banned non-Communist political parties are reformed, and the MDP is replaced by the MSZMP. József Minds

1956Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.

1943World War II: An F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception by a United States Navy or Marine Corps aircraft.

1941After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.

1941World War II: The destroyer USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 U.S. Navy sailors. It is the first U.S. Navy vessel sunk by enemy action in WWII.

1940World War II: The Battle of Britain ends, causing Germany to abandon Operation Sea Lion.

1938Great 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.

1924World 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).

1923The first of 160 consecutive days of 100° Fahrenheit at Marble Bar, Western Australia.

1922Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy.

1918World War I: The Aster Revolution terminates the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, and Hungary achieves full sovereignty.

1917World War I: Battle of Beersheba: The "last successful cavalry charge in history".

1913Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across United States.

1913The Indianapolis Streetcar Strike and subsequent riot begins.

1907The Parliament of Finland approved the Prohibition Act, but the law was not implemented because it was not ratified by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

1903The Purdue Wreck, a railroad train collision in Indianapolis, kills 17 people, including 14 players of the Purdue University football team.

1895The strongest earthquake in the Midwestern United States since 1812 strikes near Charleston, Missouri, causing damage and killing at least two.

1864Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.

1863The New Zealand Wars resume as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron begin their Invasion of the Waikato.

Born on this day

2005Leonor, Princess of Asturias

2000Willow Smith, American singer, actress, and dancer

1999Danielle Rose Russell, American actress

1999Léa Serna, French figure skater

1997Holly Taylor, Canadian-American actress

1997Marcus Rashford, English footballer

1997Siobhán Bernadette Haughey, Hong Kong-Irish swimmer

1997Sydney Park, American actress and comedian

1995Joana Valle Costa, Portuguese tennis player

1993Letitia Wright, Guyanese-British actress

1993Mercedes Arn-Horn, Canadian musician

1993Nadine Lustre, Filipino actress and singer

1992Vanessa Marano, American actress

1990JID, American rapper

1989Scott McGough, American baseball player

1988Cole Aldrich, American basketball player

1988Jack Riewoldt, Australian footballer

1988Lizzy Yarnold, British skeleton racer

1988Sébastien Buemi, Swiss race car driver

1987Jean-Karl Vernay, French race car driver

1987Nick Foligno, Canadian ice hockey player

1986Chris Alajajian, Australian race car driver

1986Christie Hayes, Australian actress and producer

1985Fanny Chmelar, German alpine skier

1985Kerron Clement, American hurdler and sprinter

1984Amanda Pascoe, Australian swimmer

1984Pat Murray, American football player

1983Adam Bouska, American photographer and activist, founded the NOH8 Campaign

1982Jordan Bannister, Australian footballer and umpire

1982Justin Chatwin, Canadian actor

1982Tomáš Plekanec, Czech ice hockey player

1981Frank Iero, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1981Irina Denezhkina, Russian author

1981Mike Napoli, American baseball player

1981Selina Jen, Taiwanese singer and actress

1981Steven Hunter, American basketball player

1980Alondra de la Parra, Mexican-American pianist and conductor

1980Eddie Kaye Thomas, American actor and voice artist

1980Marcel Meeuwis, Dutch footballer

Died on this day

2023Ken Mattingly, American astronaut (born 1936)

2021Peter Philpott, Australian cricketer (born 1934)

2020MF Doom, British-American rapper and record producer (born 1971)

2020Sean Connery, Scottish actor (born 1930)

2018Willie McCovey, American baseball player (born 1938)

2015Gus Savage, American businessman and politician (born 1925)

2014Brad Halsey, American baseball player (born 1981)

2014David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (born 1926)

2014Hitoshi Motoshima, Japanese educator and politician (born 1922)

2014Michael Alsbury, American engineer and pilot (born 1975)

2013Andres Narvasa, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 19th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (born 1928)

2013Bobby Parker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1937)

2013Chris Chase (aka Irene Kane), American actress and author (born 1924)

2013Gérard de Villiers, French journalist and author (born 1929)

2013Johnny Kucks, American baseball player (born 1933)

2013Trevor Kletz, English chemist and author (born 1922)

2012Gae Aulenti, Italian architect and designer (born 1927)

2012John Fitch, American race car driver and engineer (born 1917)

2012John H. Reed, American soldier and politician, 67th Governor of Maine (born 1921)

2011Flórián Albert, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1941)

2011Roberto Lippi, Italian race car driver (born 1926)

2010Ted Sorensen, American lawyer, 8th White House Counsel (born 1928)

2009Mustafa Mahmud, Egyptian physician and author (born 1921)

2009Qian Xuesen, Chinese aerodynamicist and academic (born 1911)

2009Tom Wheatcroft, English businessman, founded the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition (born 1922)

2008Studs Terkel, American historian and author (born 1912)

2007Erdal İnönü, Turkish physicist and politician, Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1926)

2006Peter Fryer, English journalist and author (born 1927)

2006P. W. Botha, South African soldier and politician, State President of South Africa (born 1916)

2005Amrita Pritam, Indian author and poet (born 1919)

Quote of the day

“No man is free who is not master of himself.”

Epictetus

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From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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