What are the important events that happened on October 31? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
October 31: Facts & Myths About This Day
October 31 is the 305th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 61 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is October 18, 2024 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,838,880 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trihectapentagon’ day.
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Scorpio is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Opal is the modern birthstone for this month. Jasper is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 90 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,332 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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October 31 Historical Events
- 1517 –Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
- 1864 –Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
- 1913 –The Indianapolis Street Car Strike and subsequent riot begins.
- 1923 –The first of 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees Fahrenheit at Marble Bar, Australia.
- 1941 –A fire in a clothing factory in Huddersfield, England kills 49.
- 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.
- 1954 –Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
- 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 is blamed.
- 1999 –Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
- 2003 –Bethany Hamilton is attacked by a tiger shark and loses her left arm and three liters of blood.
Who were born on October 31?
- 1724 –Christopher Anstey, English writer (d. 1805)
- 1936 –Michael Landon, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1939 –Tom O'Connor, British comedian
- 1942 –David Ogden Stiers, American actor
- 1958 –Jeannie Longo, French cyclist
- 1961 –Alonzo Babers, American runner
- 1966 –Annabella Lwin, British singer (Bow Wow Wow)
- 1968 –Antonio Davis, American basketball player
- 1981 –Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer
- 1984 –Pat Murray, American football player
Who died on October 31?
- 1448 –John VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1390)
- 1517 –Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (b. 1472)
- 1883 –Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual figure (b. 1824)
- 1929 –António José de Almeida, Portuguese politician (b. 1866)
- 1972 –Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1916)
- 1988 –Alfred Pellan, Québécois painter (b. 1906)
- 1993 –River Phoenix, American actor (b. 1970)
- 2002 –Lionel Poilâne, French baker and entrepreneur (b. 1945)
- 2002 –Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek politician (b. 1903)
- 2007 –Ray Gravell, Welsh rugby footballer (b. 1951)
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