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.
It is the last day of the fifth sixth of the year.
Up to 1950
- 475 – Romulus Augustus is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
- 1517 – Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church.
- 1587 – Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
- 1822 – Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempts to dissolve the Mexican Empire.
- 1848 - Vienna's October Revolution ends.
- 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.
- 1876 - A monster cyclone hits India, killing around 200,000 people.
- 1878 - A massive fire breaks out on Kungsholmen Island, Stockholm.
- 1892 – Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- 1912 – The Musketeers of Pig Alley, directed by D.W. Griffith, debuts as the first gangster movie.
- 1912 – Dominican Republic becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires Convention.
- 1913 - Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway in the United States.
- 1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba – "last successful cavalry charge in history".
- 1918 - Hungary withdraws from the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which dissolves as a result. On the same day, Hungarian Prime Minister Istvan Tisza is shot dead.
- 1922 – Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest Premier in the history of Italy.
- 1923 - First of 160 consecutive days when the temperature is at, or over, 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Marble Bar, Western Australia.
- 1924 – World Savings Day was declared in Milano/Italy, by the Italian Professor Ravizza 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 try 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: 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.
1951 – 2000
- 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.
- 1956 - George Dufek makes the first landing at the Geographical South Pole. It relates to the building of the Amundsen-Scott Research Station.
- 1961 – In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Tomb.
- 1961 - Hurricane Hattie destroys Belize City, Belize.
- 1963 - An explosion occurs at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum in Indianapolis, killing 74 people and injuring over 400, during an ice skating show.
- 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 stop of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
- 1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots soon start in New Delhi and nearly 2,000 innocent Sikhs are killed.
- 1991 - Zambia holds its first democratic elections, in which Frederick Chiluba is elected President.
- 1992 - Pope John Paul II removes the Edict of Inquisition on Galileo Galilei.
- 1994 – An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 64 passengers.
- 1996 – A Brazilian TAM Fokker-100 crashes into several houses in São Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground.
- 1997 - Letsie III is officially crowned King of Lesotho.
- 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.
- 2000 – A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 crashes immediately after takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 81
- 2000 – A chartered Antonov AN-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50
- 2000 – The last Multics machine is shut down.
From 2001
- 2002 - A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hits the regions of Molise and Puglia in Italy, killing 28 people; 26 of them are schoolchildren in the town of San Giacomo di Puglia.
- 2003 – Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after 22 years in power.
- 2004 - The first round of the Presidential election in Ukraine results in a run-off between Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych on November 21.
- 2010 – Dilma Rousseff is elected the first female President of Brazil.
- 2011 – According to UN estimates, the world population reaches 7 billion.
- 2011 - UNESCO votes to admit Palestine as a member.
- 2014 - President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaoré resigns after 27 years in power following violent protests in the capital Ouagadougou against his intention to extend his rule. The military takes over the running of the country.
- 2014 - Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo crashes in the Mojave Desert in California, killing one person. It is seen as a blow to Richard Branson's ambitions on space tourism.
- 2015 - Kogalymavia Flight 9268, a Russian airliner, crashes on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula while travelling from Sharm-el-Sheikh to Saint Petersburg, killing all 224 people on board.
- 2015 - New Zealand win the 2015 Rugby union World Cup in England, defeating Australia 34-17 in the final. They become the first team to win the competition twice in-a-row.
- 2016 - Michel Aoun becomes President of Lebanon.
- 2017 - Germany holds a national holiday to mark 500 years since the start of the Protestant Reformation.
- 2017 - 2017 New York City attack: A vehicle-ramming attack near the southern end of Manhattan, New York City, results in the deaths of 8 people, including 5 friends from Argentina.
- 2019 - Fire breaks out in the main halls of Shurijo, Okinawa, Japan.
- 2019 - A train fire on the Karachi to Peshawar railway line in Pakistan kills 74 people.
Up to 1850
- 1291 – Philippe de Vitry, French composer (d. 1361)
- 1345 – King Fernando I of Portugal (d. 1383)
- 1391 – King Duarte of Portugal (d. 1438)
- 1424 – Wladyslaw III of Poland (d. 1444)
- 1620 – John Evelyn, English writer and diarist (d. 1706)
- 1632 – Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
- 1636 - Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1679)
- 1686 - Senesino, Italian singer (d. 1758)
- 1692 - Comte de Caylus, French archaeologist (d. 1756)
- 1694 - Yeongjo of Joseon of Korea (d. 1776)
- 1705 – Pope Clement XIV (d. 1774)
- 1711 – Laura Bassi, Italian university professor (d. 1778)
- 1737 – James Lovell, American educator (d. 1789)
- 1740 - William Paca, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1799)
- 1750 - Leonor de Almeida Portugal, 4th Marquies of Alorna, Portuguese noblewoman, painter and poet (d. 1839)
- 1795 – John Keats, English poet (d. 1821)
- 1802 - Charlotte Bonaparte, sister-in-law of Napoleon (d. 1839)
- 1815 - Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician (d. 1897)
- 1815 - Thomas Chapman, English-Australian politician, 5th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1884)
- 1817 - Heinrich Graetz, Prussian historian (d. 1891)
- 1821 - Karel Havlicek Borovsky, Czech poet, writer, politician and journalist (d. 1856)
- 1825 - Charles Lavigerie, French-Algerian cardinal (d. 1892)
- 1826 - Joseph Roswell Hawley, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1905)
- 1827 - Richard Morris Hunt, American educator (d. 1895)
- 1828 - Joseph Wilson Swan, English physicist and chemist (d. 1914)
- 1831 - Paolo Mantegazza, Italian neurologist (d. 1910)
- 1835 – Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist (d. 1917)
- 1835 - Adelbert Ames, American politician (d. 1933)
- 1835 - Krisjanis Barons, Latvian writer (d. 1923)
- 1838 – King Louis I of Portugal (d. 1889)
- 1847 - Galileo Ferraris, Italian engineer and physicist (d. 1897)
- 1848 - Boston Custer, American general (d. 1876)
1851 – 1900
- 1851 – Lovisa of Sweden, Queen of Denmark (d. 1926)
- 1854 – Otto Sverdrup, Norwegian polar explorer (d. 1930)
- 1856 - Carlos Antonio Mendoza, 3rd President of Panama (d. 1916)
- 1857 - Axel Munthe, Swedish physician and psychiatrist (d. 1949)
- 1860 - Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of America (d. 1927)
- 1864 – Einar Benediktsson, Icelandic poet and lawyer (d. 1940)
- 1868 - John Weir Tory, American journalist and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Alaska (d. 1942)
- 1875 - Eugene Meyer, 1st President of the World Bank (d. 1959)
- 1875 - Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian freedom fighter and statesman (d. 1950)
- 1880 - Mikhail Tomsky, Soviet-Russian politician (d. 1936)
- 1883 - Marie Laurencin, French painter (d. 1956)
- 1883 - Anthony Wilding, New Zealand tennis player (d. 1915)
- 1887 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese Nationalist politician, President of the Republic of China (d. 1975)
- 1887 - Newsy Lalonde, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1970)
- 1888 - Napoleon Lapathiotis, Greek poet (d. 1941)
- 1888 - George Hubert Wilkins, Australian-born British explorer (d. 1958)
- 1892 - Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player (d. 1946)
- 1895 - B. H. Liddell Hart, British soldier and military historian (d. 1970)
- 1896 – Ethel Waters, American actress and singer (d. 1977)
1901 – 1950
- 1903 - Bertrand Jouvenel, French political philosopher (d. 1987)
- 1908 - Muriel Duckworth, Canadian activist (d. 2009)
- 1912 - Dale Evans, American singer and actress (d. 2001)
- 1912 - Ollie Johnston, American animator (d. 2003)
- 1914 - Robert E. Smylie, American politician, 24th Governor of Idaho (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Carl Johan Bernadotte, Swedish prince (d. 2012)
- 1917 - William H. McNeill, Canadian-American historian (d. 2016)
- 1918 - Griffin Bell, 72nd United States Attorney General (d. 2009)
- 1919 - Magnus Wenninger, American mathematician (d. 2017)
- 1920 – Dick Francis, British writer and jockey (d. 2010)
- 1920 - Takashi Kano, Japanese footballer (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Gunnar Gren, Swedish footballer (d. 1991)
- 1920 – Fritz Walter, German footballer (d. 2002)
- 1920 - Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan activist (d. 1957)
- 1922 – Norodom Sihanouk, former King of Cambodia (d. 2012)
- 1922 - Illinois Jacquet, American jazz musician (d. 2004)
- 1922 - Anatoli Papanov, Soviet actor (d. 1987)
- 1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1925 – John Pople, British chemist (d. 2004)
- 1926 - Mario Abramovich, Argentine violinist and composer (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Jimmy Savile, British television personality and sexual abuser (d. 2011)
- 1927 - Edmund Gettier, American philosopher
- 1928 - Cleo Moore, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1929 - Eddie Charlton, Australian snooker player (d. 2004)
- 1929 - Bud Spencer, Italian movie and television actor (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Michael Collins, American astronaut
- 1931 – Dan Rather, American journalist
- 1932 - Jacques Pic, French chef (d. 1992)
- 1933 - Phil Goyette, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1933 - Narriman Sadek, Queen of Egypt (d. 2005)
- 1935 - Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egyptian general and former caretaker-President
- 1936 – Michael Landon, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1937 - Tom Paxton, American singer-songwriter
- 1939 - Tom O'Connor, English comedian and actor
- 1939 - Ali Farka Touré, Malian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
- 1939 – Ron Rifkin, American actor
- 1941 - Sally Kirkland, American actress
- 1942 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor (d. 2018)
- 1942 - George Brizan, Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 2012)
- 1943 - Paul Frampton, English physicist
- 1944 - Kinky Friedman, American country musician, writer and politician
- 1945 - Russ Ballard, English rock music singer, songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 - Brian Doyle-Murray, American actor
- 1947 - Carmen Alborch, Spanish writer and politician (d. 2018)
- 1947 – Herman Van Rompuy, Belgian politician
- 1947 - Alberto Bigon, Italian footballer
- 1948 - Michael Kitchen, British actor
- 1949 - Bob Siebenberg, American musician
- 1950 - Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-born British architect (d. 2016)
- 1950 – John Candy, Canadian actor (d. 1994)
1951 – 1975
- 1951 - Dave Trembley, American baseball manager
- 1953 - John Lucas II, American basketball player and coach
- 1953 - Michael S. Anderson, American actor
- 1953 - José Costa, Portuguese footballer
- 1957 - Brian Stokes Mitchell, American singer and actor
- 1958 - Debbie McGee, English television personality
- 1959 - Neal Stephenson, American actor
- 1959 - Michael DeLorenzo, American actor, singer and director
- 1960 - Reza Pahlavi, former Prince of Iran
- 1960 - Arnaud Desplechin, French movie director
- 1960 - Luis Fortuño, 9th Governor of Puerto Rico
- 1961 – Peter Jackson, New Zealand movie director
- 1961 – Larry Mullen Jr., Irish musician (U2)
- 1961 - Alonzo Babers, American athlete
- 1963 - Sarah Jane Brown, wife of Gordon Brown
- 1963 - Mikkey Dee, Swedish musician
- 1963 – Dermot Mulroney, American actor
- 1963 – Rob Schneider, American actor
- 1963 - Johnny Marr, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 - Sanjeev Bhaskar, English actor
- 1963 – Dunga, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1964 – Marco van Basten, Dutch footballer
- 1964 - Colm O Ciosoig, Irish drummer and songwriter
- 1964 - Marty Wright, American professional wrestler
- 1965 - Rob Rackstraw, English voice actor
- 1966 - Ad-Rock, American rapper, producer and actor
- 1966 - Mike O'Malley, actor
- 1967 - Irina Pantaeva, Russian model and actress
- 1967 – Vanilla Ice, American rapper
- 1968 - Fred McGriff, American baseball player
- 1970 - Linn Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter (Ace of Base)
- 1970 - Mitch Harris, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 - Johnny Moeller, American guitarist
- 1970 - Nolan North, American actor
- 1970 - Terry Alderton, English comedian
- 1972 – Matt Dawson, English rugby player
- 1973 - Christopher Bevins, American voice actor, director, scriptwriter and producer
- 1973 - Beverly Lynne, American actress
- 1973 - Arzum Onan, Turkish actress and model
- 1974 - Natasja Saad, Danish musician (d. 2007)
From 1976
- 1976 – Guti, Spanish footballer
- 1976 – Piper Perabo, American actress
- 1977 - Chikara Fujimoto, Japanese footballer
- 1978 – Inka Grings, German footballer
- 1979 – Simao Sabrosa, Portuguese footballer
- 1979 – Ricardo Fuller, Jamaican footballer
- 1980 – Kengo Nakamura, Japanese footballer
- 1981 – Frank Iero, rhythm guitarist, back up vocals in My Chemical Romance
- 1981 – Lollie Alexi Devereaux, French actress and writer
- 1982 – Tomas Plekanec, Czech ice hockey player
- 1983 – Katy French, Irish model (d. 2007)
- 1984 – Scott Clifton, American actor
- 1986 – Christie Hayes, Australian actress
- 1988 – Cole Aldrich, American basketball player
- 1988 – Sébastien Buemi, Swiss racing driver
- 1989 – Warren Weir, Jamaican athlete
- 1990 - J.I.D, American rapper
- 1990 - Emiliano Sala, Argentine footballer (d. 2019)
- 1992 – Vanessa Marano, American actress
- 1993 – Letitia Wright, Guyanese-born British actress
- 1997 – Marcus Rashford, English footballer
- 2000 – Willow Smith, American singer
- 2005 – Leonor, Princess of Asturias, Spanish royal
Up to 1950
- 1147 - Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, son of King Henry I of England (b. 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)
- 1723 – Cosimo III de'Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1642)
- 1732 – Victor Amadeus II of Savoy (b. 1666)
- 1744 - Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (b. 1694)
- 1765 – Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (b. 1721)
- 1768 - Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (b. 1690)
- 1879 – Joseph Hooker, American general (b. 1814)
- 1883 - Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual figure (b. 1824)
- 1884 - Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian painter (b. 1858)
- 1916 – Charles Taze Russell, American religious leader, founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses (b. 1852)
- 1918 – Egon Schiele, Austrian painter (b. 1890)
- 1918 - István Tisza, Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1861)
- 1925 - Mikhail Frunze, Russian revolutionary (b. 1885)
- 1925 - Max Linder, French actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1883)
- 1926 - Anteo Zamboni, Italian anarchist (b. 1911)
- 1926 – Harry Houdini, Hungarian-born magician (b. 1874)
- 1929 - António José de Almeida, Portuguese politician (b. 1866)
- 1939 - Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist (b. 1884)
- 1941 - Herwarth Walden, German writer, musician and composer (b. 1878)
1951 – 2000
- 1959 - Jean Cabannes, French physicist (b. 1885)
- 1961 - Augustus John, British painter (b. 1883)
- 1972 - Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1916)
- 1973 - Malek Bennabi, Algerian thinker (b. 1905)
- 1979 - Putte Kock, Swedish sportsman (b. 1901)
- 1980 - Jan Werich, Czech actor, playwright and writer (b. 1905)
- 1983 - George Halas, American professional football 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)
- 1986 – Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist and chemist (b. 1896)
- 1988 - John Houseman, Romanian-born American actor and director (b. 1902)
- 1991 - Joseph Papp, American director and producer (b. 1921)
- 1993 – Federico Fellini, Italian movie director (b. 1920)
- 1993 – River Phoenix, American actor (b. 1970)
- 1995 – Rosalind Cash, American actress (b. 1938)
- 1997 – Hans Bauer, German footballer (b. 1927)
- 1998 - Elmer Vasko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1935)
- 1999 - Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom (b. 1921)
- 2000 - Ring Lardner, Jr., American screenwriter (b. 1915)
From 2001
- 2002 - Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek politician (b. 1903)
- 2005 - Mary Wimbush, British actress (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Pieter Willem Botha, Apartheid-era President of South Africa (b. 1916)
- 2007 - Ray Gravell, Welsh rugby player (b. 1951)
- 2008 – Studs Terkel, American writer, historian, actor and broadcaster (b. 1912)
- 2009 – Qian Xuesen, Chinese scientist (b. 1911)
- 2010 - Ted Sorensen, American jurist and writer (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Flórián Albert, Hungarian footballer (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Ali Saibou, 3rd President of Niger (b. 1940)
- 2012 - John Fitch, American racing driver, engineer and inventor (b. 1917)
- 2012 - John H. Reed, 67th Governor of Maine (b. 1921)
- 2013 - Gérard de Villiers, French journalist and writer (b. 1929)
- 2014 - David Manker Abshire, American diplomat (b. 1926)
- 2014 - Hitoshi Motoshima, Japanese politician (b. 1922)
- 2014 - John Forzani, Canadian businessman (b. 1947)
- 2014 - Renato Sellani, Italian jazz pianist and composer (b. 1926)
- 2014 - Brad Halsey, American baseball player (b. 1981)
- 2015 - Ants Antson, Estonian speed skater (b. 1938)
- 2015 - Gregg Palmer, American actor (b. 1927)
- 2015 - Gus Savage, American newspaper executive and politician (b. 1925)
- 2015 - Thomas Blatt, Polish Holocaust survivor and writer (b. 1927)
- 2016 - Vladimir Zeldin, Russian actor (b. 1915)
- 2017 - Abubakari Yakubu, Ghanaian footballer (b. 1981)
- 2017 - Mario das Neves, Argentine politician (b. 1951)
- 2017 - Papi Oviedo, Cuban musician (b. 1938)
- 2018 - Willie McCovey, American baseball player (b. 1938)
- 2018 - Dana G. Mead, American businessman (b. 1936)
- 2018 - Ken Shellito, English footballer and manager (b. 1940)
- 2018 - Tony Streather, British army officer and mountaineer (b. 1926)
- 2019 - Ebrahim Abadi, Iranian actor (b. 1934)
- 2019 - Enrico Braggiotti, Turkish-Monegasque banker (b. 1923)
- 2019 - Ann Crumb, American actress, animal rights activist and singer (b. 1950)
- 2019 - Geetanjali, Indian actress (b. 1947)
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