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On this dayOctober 31

Through history51 events, 244 births and 109 deaths in Wikipedia's lists for the date

Today

A hundred years before

The front pages of October 31, 1926

What 9 American newspapers printed that day, as the Library of Congress keeps them.

MEDIA
The front page of Evening star, Washington, D.C., October 31, 1926Evening starWashington, D.C.Read it, zoom in, mark it →

All 9 front pages at the Library of Congress ↗From Chronicling America. Public domain: in the Library's words, newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.

What happened

On October 31

The anniversaries Wikipedia's editors chose for the date, oldest first.

REFERENCE
  1. 4751,551 years ago

    Romulus Augustulus took the throne as the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

    Photo: ANSCC0
  2. 1517509 years ago

    Martin Luther (pictured) posted his Ninety-five Theses onto the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. · All Saints' Church, Wittenberg

    Photo: Lucas Cranach the ElderPublic domain
  3. 1913113 years ago

    Public-transportation workers in Indianapolis went on strike (pictured), shutting down mass transit in the city. · Indianapolis streetcar strike of 1913

    Photo: Carol M. HighsmithPublic domain
  4. 1917109 years ago

    World War I: Allied forces defeated Turkish troops in Beersheba in Southern Palestine at the Battle of Beersheba, with the battle involving one of the last successful cavalry charges. · Allies of World War I

    Photo: Collection DocAnciens/docpix.frPublic domain
  5. 194185 years ago

    100 crew members of the USS Reuben James (pictured) perished when their vessel became the first U.S. Navy ship sunk by hostile action during World War II after it was torpedoed by the German submarine U-552. · USS Reuben James (DD-245) · United States Navy

    Photo: Ted Stone, U.S. NavyPublic domain
  6. 194185 years ago

    Approximately 400 workers completed the 60-foot (18 m) busts of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

    Photo: Philip PikartCC BY-SA 3.0
  7. 196363 years ago

    A gas explosion at the · 1963 Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum gas explosion · Corteva Coliseum

    Photo: William H. Bass Photo Company, Indianapolis, IndianaPublic domain
  8. 197353 years ago

    Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escaped from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin aboard a hijacked helicopter that landed in the prison's exercise yard. · Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape

  9. 198442 years ago

    Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her own Sikh bodyguards, sparking riots that killed thousands of Sikhs. · Assassination of Indira Gandhi · Sikhism

  10. 199630 years ago

    TG4, the world's first Irish language television station, began broadcasting.

  11. 199927 years ago

    All 217 people on board EgyptAir Flight 990 perished when the aircraft suddenly crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. · EgyptAir Flight 990

  12. 199927 years ago

    Australian sailor Jesse Martin arrived in Melbourne, becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop, and unassisted. · List of youth solo sailing circumnavigations

    Photo: YosailCC BY-SA 4.0
  13. 200026 years ago

    Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collided with construction equipment while attempting to take off from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan during heavy rain, killing 83 people aboard. · Singapore Airlines Flight 006 · Taoyuan International Airport

    Photo: 國家運輸安全調查委員會（Taiwan Transportation Sefety Board）Public domain
  14. 200323 years ago

    After 22 years in power, Mahathir Mohamad retired as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

    Photo: kremlin.ruCC BY 4.0
  15. 200521 years ago

    The discovery of the Plutonian moons Nix and Hydra, based on photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope nearly five months prior, was announced. · Moons of Pluto

    Photo: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest…Public domain
  16. 20179 years ago

    An Uzbek immigrant drove a rented truck into cyclists and runners in Lower Manhattan, New York City, killing eight people. · 2017 New York City truck attack

    Photo: Gh9449CC BY-SA 4.0
All 51 events Wikipedia lists for October 31, by year

Reading the list…

Born

On October 31

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1760Katsushika HokusaiJapanese artist and printmaker (died 1849)177 languagesPhoto: missing nameCC0
  2. 1795John KeatsEnglish poet (died 1821)145 languagesPhoto: William HiltonPublic domain
  3. 1887Chiang Kai-shekChinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (died 1975)138 languages
  1. 1632Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter (died 1675)116
  2. 1961Peter Jackson, New Zealand actor, director, producer, and screenwriter101
  3. 1950Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (died 2016)96
  4. 1947Herman Van Rompuy, Belgian academic and politician, 66th Prime Minister of Belgium92
  5. 1922Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (died 2012)91
  6. 1964Marco van Basten, Dutch footballer and manager89
  7. 1930Michael Collins, American general, pilot, and astronaut (died 2021)87
  8. 1997Marcus Rashford, English footballer87
  9. 1815Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (died 1897)86
  10. 1892Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player and author (died 1946)85
  11. 1875Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian lawyer, freedom fighter and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of India (died 1950)83
  12. 1705Pope Clement XIV (died 1774)79
  13. 1835Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1917)79
  14. 1929Bud Spencer, Italian swimmer, actor, and screenwriter (died 2016)74
  15. 1963Dunga, Brazilian footballer and manager69
  16. 1960Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran66
  17. 2005Leonor, Princess of Asturias66
  18. 2002Ansu Fati65
  19. 1942David Ogden Stiers, American actor (died 2018)64
  20. 1963Rob Schneider, American actor and comedian61
  21. 1925John Pople, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004)58
Everyone else born on October 31: 220 more, by year

Reading the list…

Died

On October 31

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1984Indira GandhiIndian politician, Prime Minister of India (born 1917)173 languages
  2. 1993Federico FelliniItalian director and screenwriter (born 1920)162 languagesPhoto: ItaliamiaPublic domain
  3. 2020Sean ConneryScottish actor (born 1930)145 languagesPhoto: author on the file pageCC BY-SA 4.0
  1. 1926Harry Houdini, American magician and stuntman (born 1874)96
  2. 1918Egon Schiele, Austrian painter (born 1890)74
  3. 1986Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1896)64
  4. 1993River Phoenix, American actor and singer (born 1970)61
  5. 1925Mikhail Frunze, Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917 (born 1885)59
  6. 2006P. W. Botha, South African soldier and politician, State President of South Africa (born 1916)58
  7. 2005Amrita Pritam, Indian author and poet (born 1919)56
  8. 2011Flórián Albert, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1941)54
  9. 1448John VIII Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1390)52
  10. 1732Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy (born 1666)51
  11. 1806Kitagawa Utamaro, Japanese artist and printmaker (born ca. 1753)50
  12. 1916Charles Taze Russell, American minister (born 1852)50
  13. 1939Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist, author, and educator (born 1884)50
  14. 1884Marie Bashkirtseff, Ukrainian-Russian painter and sculptor (born 1858)49
  15. 1996Marcel Carné, French director and screenwriter (born 1906)49
  16. 1517Fra Bartolomeo, Italian artist (born 1472)46
  17. 1984Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1900)44
  18. 1988John Houseman, Romanian-born American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1902)44
  19. 932Al-Muqtadir, Abbasid caliph (born 895)42
  20. 2023Ken Mattingly, American astronaut (born 1936)42
  21. 2020MF Doom, British-American rapper and record producer (born 1971)41
Everyone else died on October 31: 85 more, by year

Reading the list…

Observed

On October 31

Holidays, feast days and observances, as Wikipedia lists them for the date.

REFERENCE

Christian feast day

Halloween and related celebrations

Events, births, deaths and observances are Wikipedia's On this day for October 31, in its editors' words (CC BY-SA 4.0); the counts of languages are Wikidata's (CC0). Dates are the UTC day, as Wikipedia keeps them. Discover brings one of these at a time.