October 31

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.

1944 – Erich Göstl, a member of the Waffen-SS, is awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, to recognise extreme battlefield bravery, after losing his face and eyes during the Battle of Normandy.

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, Republic of Ireland 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.

1994 – American Eagle Flight 4184 crashes near Roselawn, Indiana, killing 68.

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 of Portugal (d. 1383)

1391 – Edward, King of Portugal (d. 1438)

1424 – Władysław III of Poland (d. 1444)

1445 – Hedwig, Abbess of Quedlinburg, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg (d. 1511)

1472 – Wang Yangming, Chinese Neo-Confucian scholar (d. 1529)

1599 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English politician (d. 1680)

1620 – John Evelyn, English gardener and author (d. 1706)

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)

1827 – Richard Morris Hunt, American architect, designed the New York Tribune Building (d. 1895)

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)

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 – Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan rebel leader (d. 1957)

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 – 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)

1944 – Sally Kirkland, American actress

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

1962 – Dan Wood, Canadian ice hockey player

1963 – Sanjeev Bhaskar, English actor and screenwriter

1963 – Mikkey Dee, Swedish drummer and songwriter

1963 – Dunga, Brazilian footballer and manager

1963 – Johnny Marr, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

1963 – Dermot Mulroney, American actor

1963 – Rob Schneider, American actor and comedian

1964 – Frank Bruni, American journalist and critic

1964 – Marco van Basten, Dutch footballer and manager

1964 – Darryl Worley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

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 – Joseph Boyden, Canadian-American author and academic

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 – Buddy Lazier, American race car driver

1967 – Irina Pantaeva, Russian model and actress

1967 – Adam Schlesinger, American bass player, songwriter, and producer

1968 – Antonio Davis, American basketball player and sportscaster

1970 – Terry Alderton, English comedian and actor

1970 – Linn Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer

1970 – Mitch Harris, American guitarist and songwriter

1970 – Johnny Moeller, American guitarist

1970 – Rogers Stevens, American guitarist

1970 – Steve Trachsel, American baseball player

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

1977 – Sylviane Félix, French sprinter

1977 – Séverine Ferrer, French singer

1978 – Inka Grings, German footballer and manager

1978 – Emmanuel Izonritei, Nigerian boxer

1978 – Marek Saganowski, Polish footballer

1978 – Mika Sugisaki, Japanese actress and radio host

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

1991 – Sven Kaldre, Estonian basketball player

1992 – Vanessa Marano, American actress

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

994 – Wolfgang of Regensburg, German saint (Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy) (b. 934)

1147 – Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, English 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)

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)

1765 – Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (b. 1721)

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, Hungarian-born 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)

1975 – S. D. Burman, Bangladeshi-Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1906)

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 – Anton Christoforidis, Turkish-Greek boxer (b. 1918)

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-American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1902)

1988 – Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and academic (b. 1906)

1991 – Gene Anderson, American wrestler and actor (b. 1933)

1991 – Joseph Papp, American 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 – Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Indian singer (b. 1908)

2003 – Richard Neustadt, American political scientist and historian (b. 1919)

2005 – Hal Anger, American biophysicist and engineer (b. 1920)

2006 – Hank Berger; American businessman (b. 1952)

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 – Maurice Lucas, American basketball player and coach (b. 1952)

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 – Jagadish Ghimire, Nepali author and activist (b. 1946)

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 – Käbi Laretei, Estonian-Swedish pianist (b. 1922)

2014 – Hitoshi Motoshima, Japanese educator and politician (b. 1922)

2014 – Jim Sauter, American race car driver (b. 1943)

2015 – Ants Antson, Estonian speed skater (b. 1938)

2015 – Thomas Blatt, Polish-American author (b. 1927)

2015 – Gus Savage, American businessman and politician (b. 1925)

2015 – T. M. Wright, American author, poet, and illustrator (b. 1947)

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