October 31

October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 61 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Thursday or Friday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Sunday (56).

Events

• 475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor.
• 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down.
• 802 – Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Conspirators place Nikephoros, the minister of finance, on the Byzantine throne.
• 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.
• 1614 – First performance of Ben Jonson's comedy Bartholomew Fair by the Lady Elizabeth's Men company at the Hope Theatre in London.
• 1822 – Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempts to dissolve the Congress of 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 resume 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.
• 1903 – The Purdue Wreck, a railroad train collision in Indianapolis, kills 17 people, including 14 players of the Purdue University football team.
• 1913 – Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across United States.
• 1913 – The Indianapolis Streetcar Strike and subsequent riot begins.
• 1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba: The "last successful cavalry charge in history".
• 1918 – World War I: Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• 1922 – Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy
• 1923 – The first of 160 consecutive days of 100° Fahrenheit at Marble Bar, Western 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 – Last issue of the independent Italian newspaper Il Mondo, thereafter suppressed by the Mussolini regime
• 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 possible German invasion.
• 1941 – After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.
• 1941 – World 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.
• 1943 – World War II: An F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception by a United States Navy or Marine Corps aircraft.
• 1956 – Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
• 1961 – In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Vladimir Lenin's Tomb.
• 1963 – An explosion at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now Pepsi Coliseum) in Indianapolis kills 74 people and injures another 400 during an ice skating show. A faulty propane tank connection in a concession stand is 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 aboard a hijacked helicopter that landed in the exercise yard.
• 1979 – Western Airlines Flight 2605 crashes on landing in Mexico City, killing 73 people.
• 1984 – Indian 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.
• 1996 – TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashes in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 99 people.
• 1998 – Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
• 1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
• 1999 – EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, killing all 217 people on board.
• 2000 – Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.
• 2000 – Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crashes on takeoff from Taipei, killing 83.
• 2002 – A 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.
• 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.
• 2011 – The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.
• 2015 – Metrojet Flight 9268 is bombed over the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.

Births

• 1291 – Philippe de Vitry, French composer, poet, and theorist (d. 1361)
• 1345 – Ferdinand I, king of Portugal (d. 1383)
• 1391 – Edward, king of Portugal (d. 1438)
• 1424 – Władusław III, king of Poland (d. 1444)
• 1445 – Hedwig, Abbess of Quedlinburg, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg (d. 1511)
• 1472 – Wang Yangming, Chinese Neo-Confucian scholar (d. 1529)
• 1542 – Henriette of Cleves, Duchess of Nevers, Countess of Rethel (d. 1601)
• 1599 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English politician (d. 1680)
• 1620 – John Evelyn, English gardener and author (d. 1706)
• 1632 – Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
• 1636 – Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1679)
• 1686 – Senesino, Italian singer and actor (d. 1758)
• 1692 – Anne Claude de Caylus, French archaeologist and author (d. 1765)
• 1694 – Yeongjo of Joseon (d. 1776)
• 1705 – Pope Clement XIV (d. 1774)
• 1711 – Laura Bassi, Italian physician, physicist, and academic (d. 1778)
• 1724 – Christopher Anstey, English author and poet (d. 1805)
• 1729 – Alonso Núñez de Haro y Peralta, Spanish cleric, Archbishop of Mexico, Viceroy of New Spain (d. 1800)
• 1737 – James Lovell, American educator and politician (d. 1789)
• 1760 – Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese artist and printmaker (d. 1849)
• 1795 – John Keats, English poet (d. 1821)
• 1815 – Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (d. 1897)
• 1825 – Charles Lavigerie, French-Algerian cardinal and academic (d. 1892)
• 1831 – Paolo Mantegazza, Italian neurologist, physiologist, and anthropologist (d. 1910)
• 1835 – Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 27th Governor of Mississippi (d. 1933)
• 1835 – Krišjānis Barons, Latvian linguist and author (d. 1923)
• 1835 – Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
• 1838 – Luís I of Portugal (d. 1889)
• 1847 – Galileo Ferraris, Italian physicist and engineer (d. 1897)
• 1848 – Boston Custer, American soldier (d. 1876)
• 1849 – Marie Louise Andrews, American story writer and journalist (d. 1891)
• 1851 – Louise of Sweden (d. 1926)
• 1856 – Charles Leroux, American balloonist and skydiver (d. 1889)
• 1860 – Juliette Gordon Low, American scout leader, founded the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (d. 1927)
• 1868 – John Weir Troy, American journalist and politician, 5th Governor of the Territory of Alaska (d. 1942)
• 1875 – Eugene Meyer, American businessman and publisher (d. 1954)
• 1875 – Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American poet and playwright (d. 1972)
• 1879 – Karel Hašler, Czech actor, director, and composer (d. 1941)
• 1880 – Julia Peterkin, American author (d. 1961)
• 1880 – Mikhail Tomsky, Soviet politician, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (d. 1936)
• 1881 – Toshizō Nishio, Japanese general (d. 1960)
• 1883 – Marie Laurencin, French painter and illustrator (d. 1956)
• 1883 – Anthony Wilding, New Zealand tennis player, cricketer, and soldier (d. 1915)
• 1887 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (d. 1975)
• 1887 – Newsy Lalonde, Canadian ice hockey player and lacrosse player (d. 1970)
• 1888 – Napoleon Lapathiotis, Greek poet and author (d. 1944)
• 1892 – Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player and author (d. 1946)
• 1895 – Les Darcy, Australian boxer (d. 1917)
• 1895 – B. H. Liddell Hart, English soldier, historian, and theorist (d. 1970)
• 1896 – Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (d. 1977)
• 1902 – Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet (d. 1987)
• 1902 – Julia Lee, American blues singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1958)
• 1902 – Abraham Wald, Romanian mathematician and economist (d. 1950)
• 1907 – Edgar Sampson, American musician and composer (d. 1973)
• 1908 – Muriel Duckworth, Canadian activist (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Dale Evans, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Ollie Johnston, American animator and voice actor (d. 2008)
• 1914 – John Hugenholtz, Dutch engineer and designer (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Jane Jarvis, American pianist and composer (d. 2010)
• 1916 – Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg (d. 2012)
• 1917 – William H. McNeill, Canadian-American historian and author (d. 2016)
• 1917 – Gordon Steege, Australian soldier and pilot (d. 2013)
• 1918 – Ian Stevenson, American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2007)
• 1919 – Daphne Oxenford, English actress (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Magnus Wenninger, American mathematician and author (d. 2017)
• 1920 – Dick Francis, Welsh-Caymanian jockey and author (d. 2010)
• 1920 – Joseph Gelineau, French priest and composer (d. 2008)
• 1920 – Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Fritz Walter, German footballer (d. 2002)
• 1922 – Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Illinois Jacquet, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Lawrence A. Cremin, American historian and author (d. 1990)
• 1925 – John Pople, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1925 – Robert B. Rheault, American colonel (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Jimmy Savile, English radio and television host (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Andrew Sarris, American critic and educator (d. 2012)
• 1929 – William Orchard, Australian water polo player and psychiatrist (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Bud Spencer, Italian swimmer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Michael Collins, American general, pilot, and astronaut
• 1930 – Booker Ervin, American saxophonist (d. 1970)
• 1931 – Dan Rather, American journalist
• 1933 – Phil Goyette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1933 – Iemasa Kayumi, Japanese voice actor (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Dale Brown, American basketball player and coach
• 1935 – Ronald Graham, American mathematician and theorist
• 1935 – David Harvey, English-American geographer and academic
• 1936 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
• 1939 – Tom O'Connor, English actor and game show host
• 1939 – Ron Rifkin, American actor
• 1939 – Ali Farka Touré, Malian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
• 1940 – Craig Rodwell, American businessman and activist, founded the Oscar Wilde Bookshop (d. 1993)
• 1940 – Judith Wilcox, Baroness Wilcox, English businesswoman and politician
• 1941 – Dan Alderson, American scientist and academic (d. 1989)
• 1941 – Derek Bell, English race car driver
• 1941 – Sally Kirkland, American actress
• 1941 – Werner Krieglstein, Czech-American philosopher and academic
• 1943 – Elliott Forbes-Robinson, American race car driver
• 1943 – Paul Frampton, English-American physicist and academic
• 1943 – Aristotelis Pavlidis, Greek politician, 13th Greek Minister for the Aegean and Island Policy
• 1943 – Brian Piccolo, American football player (d. 1970)
• 1945 – Russ Ballard, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1945 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American actor and comedian
• 1945 – Barrie Keeffe, English playwright, screenwriter, and producer
• 1946 – Stephen Rea, Irish actor
• 1947 – Deidre Hall, American actress
• 1947 – Frank Shorter, American runner and sportscaster
• 1947 – Herman Van Rompuy, Belgian academic and politician, 66th Prime Minister of Belgium
• 1948 – Michael Kitchen, English actor and producer
• 1949 – Mart Helme, Estonian journalist and diplomat
• 1949 – Alison Wolf, English economist and academic
• 1950 – John Candy, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
• 1950 – Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (d. 2016)
• 1950 – Jane Pauley, American journalist
• 1950 – Antonio Taguba, Filipino-American general
• 1951 – Nick Saban, American football player and coach
• 1951 – Dave Trembley, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1952 – Bernard Edwards, American bass player and producer (d. 1996)
• 1952 – Joe West, American baseball umpire and actor
• 1953 – John Lucas II, American basketball player and coach
• 1954 – Mari Okamoto, Japanese actress
• 1954 – Ken Wahl, American actor and screenwriter
• 1955 – Michalis Chrisochoidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Public Order
• 1955 – Susan Orlean, American journalist and author
• 1956 – Bruce Bawer, American poet and critic
• 1956 – Christopher de Leon, Filipino actor, director, producer, and politician
• 1956 – Anders Lago, Swedish lawyer and politician
• 1956 – Charles Moore, English journalist and author
• 1957 – Brian Stokes Mitchell, American singer and actor
• 1957 – Robert Pollard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1959 – Mats Näslund, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1959 – Neal Stephenson, American author
• 1960 – Arnaud Desplechin, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
• 1960 – Luis Fortuño, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Puerto Rico
• 1960 – Mike Gallego, American baseball player and coach
• 1960 – Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
• 1961 – Alonzo Babers, American runner and pilot
• 1961 – Kate Campbell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1961 – Peter Jackson, New Zealand actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Larry Mullen, Jr., Irish musician, songwriter, and actor
• 1962 – Jonathan Borden, American neurosurgeon and academic
• 1962 – Anna Geifman, American historian, author, and academic
• 1962 – John Giannini, American basketball player and coach
• 1962 – Mari Jungstedt, Swedish journalist and author
• 1962 – Raphael Rabello, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 1995)
• 1962 – Dan Wood, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1963 – Johnny Marr, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1963 – Dermot Mulroney, American actor
• 1963 – Rob Schneider, American actor and comedian
• 1963 – Dunga, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1964 – Frank Bruni, American journalist and critic
• 1964 – Marco van Basten, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1965 – Paul du Toit, South African painter and sculptor (d. 2014)
• 1965 – Blue Edwards, American basketball player
• 1965 – Denis Irwin, Irish footballer and journalist
• 1965 – Rob Rackstraw, English voice actor
• 1966 – Ad-Rock, American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1966 – Koji Kanemoto, Japanese wrestler
• 1966 – Mike O'Malley, American actor and comedian
• 1967 – Vanilla Ice, American rapper, television personality, and real estate investor
• 1967 – Irina Pantaeva, Russian model and actress
• 1967 – Adam Schlesinger, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
• 1968 – Antonio Davis, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1971 – Alphonso Ford, American basketball player (d. 2004)
• 1971 – Tom Smith, English-Scottish rugby player and coach
• 1971 – Phil Tataurangi, New Zealand golfer
• 1971 – Ian Walker, English footballer and manager
• 1972 – Shaun Bartlett, South African footballer and manager
• 1972 – Matt Dawson, English rugby player
• 1972 – Grigoris Georgatos, Greek footballer
• 1973 – Paul Abrahams, English footballer and coach
• 1973 – Christopher Bevins, American voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Tim Byrdak, American baseball player
• 1973 – David Dellucci, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1974 – Muzzy Izzet, English-Turkish footballer
• 1974 – Roger Manganelli, Brazilian-American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1975 – Fabio Celestini, Swiss footballer and manager
• 1975 – Keith Jardine, American mixed martial artist and actor
• 1975 – Johnny Whitworth, American actor and producer
• 1976 – Guti, Spanish footballer
• 1976 – Piper Perabo, American actress and producer
• 1978 – Inka Grings, German footballer and manager
• 1978 – Emmanuel Izonritei, Nigerian boxer
• 1978 – Marek Saganowski, Polish footballer
• 1978 – Martin Verkerk, Dutch tennis player
• 1979 – Ricardo Fuller, Jamaican footballer
• 1979 – Simão Sabrosa, Portuguese footballer
• 1980 – Samaire Armstrong, American model, actress, and fashion designer
• 1980 – Alondra de la Parra, Mexican-American pianist and conductor
• 1980 – Marcel Meeuwis, Dutch footballer
• 1980 – Eddie Kaye Thomas, American actor and voice artist
• 1981 – Irina Denezhkina, Russian author
• 1981 – Steven Hunter, American basketball player
• 1981 – Frank Iero, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1981 – Selina Jen, Taiwanese singer and actress
• 1981 – Mike Napoli, American baseball player
• 1982 – Jordan Bannister, Australian footballer and umpire
• 1982 – Tomáš Plekanec, Czech ice hockey player
• 1983 – Adam Bouska, American photographer and activist, founded the NOH8 Campaign
• 1984 – Pat Murray, American football player
• 1984 – Amanda Pascoe, Australian swimmer
• 1985 – Fanny Chmelar, German alpine skier
• 1986 – Chris Alajajian, Australian race car driver
• 1986 – Christie Hayes, Australian actress and producer
• 1987 – Nick Foligno, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Jean-Karl Vernay, French race car driver
• 1988 – Cole Aldrich, American basketball player
• 1988 – Sébastien Buemi, Swiss race car driver
• 1988 – Jack Riewoldt, Australian footballer
• 1989 – Josh Hodgson, English rugby league player
• 1989 – Warren Weir, Jamaican sprinter
• 1993 – Nadine Lustre, Filipino actress and singer
• 1995 – Joana Valle Costa, Portuguese tennis player
• 1997 – Marcus Rashford, English footballer
• 1999 – Léa Serna, French figure skater

Deaths

• 932 – Al-Muqtadir, Arab caliph (b. 895)
• 994 – Wolfgang of Regensburg, German bishop and saint (b. 934)
• 1147 – Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, son of Henry I of England (b. 1100)
• 1214 – Eleanor of England, queen of Castile (b. 1163)
• 1320 – Ricold of Monte Croce, Italian Dominican missionary (b. 1242)
• 1448 – John VIII Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1390)
• 1335 – Marie of Évreux, French noblewoman (b. 1303)
• 1517 – Fra Bartolomeo, Italian artist (b. 1472)
• 1641 – Cornelis Jol, Dutch admiral (b. 1597)
• 1659 – John Bradshaw, English lawyer and judge, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1602)
• 1661 – Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, Ottoman politician, 109th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1575)
• 1723 – Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1642)
• 1732 – Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (b. 1666)
• 1733 – Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1676)
• 1744 – Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (b. 1694)
• 1768 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1690)
• 1806 – Kitagawa Utamaro, Japanese artist and printmaker (b. ca. 1753)
• 1860 – Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Scottish-English admiral and politician (b. 1775)
• 1869 – Charles A. Wickliffe, American politician, 14th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1788)
• 1879 – Jacob Abbott, American author and academic (b. 1803)
• 1879 – Joseph Hooker, American general (b. 1814)
• 1884 – Marie Bashkirtseff, Ukrainian-Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1858)
• 1913 – William Evans-Gordon, English soldier and politician (b. 1857)
• 1916 – Charles Taze Russell, American minister (b. 1852)
• 1918 – Egon Schiele, Austrian painter (b. 1890)
• 1920 – Alphonse Desjardins, Canadian businessman (b. 1854)
• 1925 – Max Linder, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1883)
• 1925 – Mikhail Frunze, Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917 (b. 1885)
• 1926 – Harry Houdini, American magician and stuntman (b. 1874)
• 1929 – António José de Almeida, Portuguese physician and politician, 6th President of Portugal (b. 1866)
• 1929 – Norman Pritchard, Indian-English hurdler and actor (b. 1877)
• 1931 – Octave Uzanne, French journalist and author (b. 1851)
• 1939 – Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist, author, and educator (b. 1884)
• 1952 – Chit Hlaing, Burmese lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
• 1959 – Jean Cabannes, French physicist and academic (b. 1885)
• 1960 – H. L. Davis, American author and poet (b. 1894)
• 1962 – Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion, French astronomer (b. 1877)
• 1963 – Mesut Cemil, Turkish cellist and composer (b. 1902)
• 1972 – Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1916)
• 1973 – Malek Bennabi, Algerian philosopher and author (b. 1905)
• 1977 – C. B. Colby, American author and illustrator (b. 1904)
• 1980 – Jan Werich, Czech actor and playwright (b. 1905)
• 1983 – George Halas, American football player and coach (b. 1895)
• 1983 – Sharof Rashidov, Uzbek politician, CPSU Politburo candidate member (b. 1917)
• 1984 – Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
• 1984 – Indira Gandhi, Indian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of India (b. 1917)
• 1985 – Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek painter and poet (b. 1907)
• 1985 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (b. 1913)
• 1986 – Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
• 1988 – John Houseman, Romanian-born American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1902)
• 1988 – Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and academic (b. 1906)
• 1991 – Joseph Papp, American stage director and producer (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Gary Rippingale, English ice hockey player (b. 1974)
• 1993 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 1993 – River Phoenix, American actor and singer (b. 1970)
• 1995 – Rosalind Cash, American actress and singer (b. 1938)
• 1996 – Marcel Carné, French director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Elmer Vasko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1935)
• 1998 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish nun and saint (Roman Catholic Church) (b. 1926)
• 1999 – Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (b. 1975)
• 2000 – Ring Lardner, Jr., American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Kazuki Watanabe, Japanese songwriter and guitarist (b. 1981)
• 2001 – Régine Cavagnoud, French skier (b. 1970)
• 2002 – Lionel Poilâne, French banker and businessman (b. 1945)
• 2002 – Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, President of Greece (b. 1903)
• 2002 – Raf Vallone, Italian footballer and actor (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Richard Neustadt, American political scientist and historian (b. 1919)
• 2005 – Hal Anger, American biophysicist and engineer (b. 1920)
• 2006 – P. W. Botha, South African soldier and politician, State President of South Africa (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Peter Fryer, English journalist and author (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Amrita Pritam, Pakistani-Indian author and poet (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Ray Gravell, Welsh rugby player, sportscaster, and actor (b. 1951)
• 2007 – Erdal İnönü, Turkish physicist and politician, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1926)
• 2008 – Studs Terkel, American historian and author (b. 1912)
• 2009 – Mustafa Mahmud, Egyptian physician and author (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Tom Wheatcroft, English businessman, founded the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition (b. 1922)
• 2009 – Qian Xuesen, Chinese aerodynamicist and academic (b. 1911)
• 2010 – Ted Sorensen, American lawyer, 8th White House Counsel (b. 1928)
• 2011 – Flórián Albert, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1941)
• 2011 – Roberto Lippi, Italian race car driver (d. 1926)
• 2012 – Gae Aulenti, Italian architect and designer (b. 1927)
• 2012 – John Fitch, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1917)
• 2012 – John H. Reed, American soldier and politician, 67th Governor of Maine (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Chris Chase, American actress and author (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Gérard de Villiers, French journalist and author (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Trevor Kletz, English chemist and author (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Johnny Kucks, American baseball player (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Andres Narvasa, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 19th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Bobby Parker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
• 2014 – David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Michael Alsbury, American engineer and pilot (b. 1975)
• 2014 – John Forzani, Canadian football player and businessman (b. 1947)
• 2014 – Brad Halsey, American baseball player (b. 1981)
• 2014 – Hitoshi Motoshima, Japanese educator and politician (b. 1922)
• 2015 – Gus Savage, American businessman and politician (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Alphonsus Rodriguez
  • Blessed Theodore Romzha (Ruthenian Catholic Church)
  • Martin Luther (Anglican Communion)
  • Paul Shinji Sasaki and Philip Lindel Tsen (Episcopal Church)
  • Quentin
  • Wolfgang of Regensburg
  • October 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which All Saints Day can fall, while November 6 is the latest; celebrated on Saturday between October 31 and November 6 (Finland, Sweden)
• Día de la Canción Criolla (Peru)
• Eve of Winter, the eve of the first day of winter in the Northern hemisphere:
  • Allantide (Cornwall)
  • Halloween (Ireland, Canada, United Kingdom, United States and other places)
  • Hop-tu-Naa (Isle of Man)
  • Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere, Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere; begins on sunset of October 31 (Gaels, Welsh people and Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
  • The first day of the Day of the Dead, celebrated until November 2 (Mexico)
• Girl Scouts Founders Day (United States)
• King Father's Birthday (Cambodia)
• National Unity Day (India)
• Reformation Day (Slovenia, parts of Germany, Chile, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, various Protestant churches with a particular emphasis in Lutheran and Reformed ones)
• Saci day (Brazil)
• World Savings Day

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to October 31.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada