History for October 31

History for October 31 - On-This-Day.com
John Keats 1795, Juliette Gordon Low (Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon) 1860, Chiang Kai-Shek 1887


Dale Evans 1912, Norodom Sihanouk 1922, John Candy 1950 - Actor


1517 - Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace Church. The event marked the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.


1914 - The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) joined the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria).

1922 - Benito Mussolini became prime minister of Italy.


1926 - Magician Harry Houdini died of gangrene and peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix. His appendix had been damaged twelve days earlier when he had been punched in the stomach by a student unexpectedly. During a lecture Houdini had commented on the strength of his stomach muscles and their ability to withstand hard blows.


1940 - The British air victory in the Battle of Britain prevented Germany from invading Britain.


1941 - Mount Rushmore was declared complete after 14 years of work. At the time the 60-foot busts of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were finished.


1952 - The U.S. detonated its first hydrogen bomb.


1984 - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated near her residence by two Sikh security guards. Her son, Rajiv, was sworn in as prime minister.