1632 ~ Johannes Vermeer the Dutch painter was born on the 31st October 1632 (died 15th December 1675 aged 43).
1864 – Nevada was admitted as the 36th U.S. state on the 31st October 1864.
1883 – Marie Laurencin the French painter was born on the 31st October 1883 (died 1956).
1912 – Ollie Johnston the American animator was born on the 31st October 1912 (died 2008).
1913 – Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across United States on the 31st October 1913.
1920 – Helmut Newton the German photographer was born on the 31st October 1920 (died 2004).
1923 – Marble Bar, Australia had the first of 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees celsius) on the 31st October 1923.
1926 – Magician Harry Houdini died of gangrene and peritonitis on the 31st October 1926, after his appendix ruptured.
1926 – Jimmy Savile the English radio and television host was born on the 31st October 1926 (died 2011).
1955 ~ Ruby Hunter the Australian singer and songwriter was born on the banks of the Murray River in South Australia on the 31st October 1955 (died 2010 aged 54). Ruby Hunter was a member of the Ngarrindjeri nation of Aboriginal tribes, and often performed with her partner Archie Roach, whom both met as homeless teenagers. Ruby was forcibly taken from her family at the age of 8 as part of the Stolen Generation. Ruby Hunter received two ARIA Award nominations, for Best Indigenous Release for Thoughts Within (1995), and Best Blues & Roots Album for Feeling Good (2000).
1961 – In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin‘s body was removed from Lenin’s Tomb on the 31st October 1961.
1961 – Peter Jackson the New Zealand actor, director, screenwriter, and producer was born on the 31st October 1961.
1963 – Johnny Marr the English singer-songwriter and guitarist from The Smiths and Modest Mouse was born on the 31st October 1963.
1966 – Ad-Rock the American rapper from the Beastie Boys was born on the 31st October 1966.
1966 – Annabella Lwin the Burmese singer from Bow Wow Wow was born on the 31st October 1966.
1967 – Vanilla Ice the American rapper and actor was born on the 31st October 1967.
1970 – Linn Berggren the Swedish singer-songwriter from Ace of Base was born on the 31st October 1970.
1970 – Rogers Stevens the American guitarist from Blind Melon was born on the 31st October 1970.
1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returned to Melbourne on the 31st October 1999, after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
1999 – EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on the 31st October 1999, killing all 217 people on board.
2000 – Willow Smith the American actress and singer was born on the 31st October 2000.
2003 ~ Bethany Hamilton the American 13 year old professional surfer had her left arm bitten off by a 14 to 15 foot tiger shark on the 31st October 2003, while having a morning surf along Tunnels Beach, Kauai with her best friend Alana Blanchard, her father and brother. Bethany overcame the injury and returned to professional surfing. She wrote about her experience in the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. In 2011 the feature film Soul Surfer was released, based on the book.
Today in History for October 31st ~ video presented by the Associated Press…