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On this day in History Archives
 
At PaulsQuiz.com we aim to provide you with as much information as we possibly can. That's why we have built our On This Day in History section, to do just that. Our database is forever growing, we're adding more and more events from history to help you write your quiz questions.

Simply enter a date using the drop-down boxes below and click the 'Go' button to display events from the past that ocurred on that day.
 

 
31 October, 2005
President George W. Bush nominates Appeals court judge Samuel Alito to join the Supreme Court of the United States.
31 October, 2004
Passenger airline service ends at Mirabel International Airport in Montreal, Canada.
31 October, 2003
A bankruptcy court approves MCIs reorganization plans, essentially clearing the telecommunications company to exit bankruptcy. Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after 22 years in power.
31 October, 2002
A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas formally indicted former Enron Corp. 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.
31 October, 2000
A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 operating as Flight 006 collides with construction equipment upon takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 79 passengers and 4 crew members. A chartered Antonov An-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50. The last Multics machine was shut down.
31 October, 1999
EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board. 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. Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
31 October, 1998
Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
31 October, 1997
19-year-old British au pair Louise Woodward, convicted by a Cambridge, Massachusetts, jury of second-degree murder the day before, is sentenced to life in prison.
31 October, 1996
A Brazilian TAM Fokker F100 crashes into several houses in São Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground. Jean Chrétien becomes UN special envoy to the African Great Lakes.
31 October, 1994
An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 68 passengers and crew.
31 October, 1986
The 5th congress of the Communist Party of Sweden is inaugurated. During the course of the congress the party name is changed to the Solidarity Party and the party ceases to be a communist party.
31 October, 1984
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards (riots soon broke out in New Delhi and nearly 2,000 innocent Sikhs were killed).
31 October, 1983
Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour premieres on NBC
31 October, 1975
Queen (band) released their most famous single Bohemian Rhapsody. It spent 9 weeks at number 1# in the UK charts. It has often been credited as the best song of all time.
31 October, 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.
31 October, 1963
Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now Pepsi Coliseum) explosion in Indianapolis kills 74 people during an ice skating show. The mammoth explosion injured 400. A faulty propane tank connection in a concession stand was blamed.
31 October, 1961
In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalins body is removed from Lenins Tomb.
31 October, 1959
Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to renounce his American citizenship at the US Embassy in Moscow, USSR.
31 October, 1956
Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
31 October, 1954
Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
31 October, 1943
World War II: F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar guided interception.
31 October, 1941
After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore. 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.
31 October, 1940
World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Great Britain.
31 October, 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.
31 October, 1936
The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.
31 October, 1926
Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured.
31 October, 1923
160 consecutive days of 100 degrees at Marble Bar, Australia begins.
31 October, 1918
Banat Republic founded
31 October, 1917
World War I: Battle of Beersheba - "last successful cavalry charge in history"
31 October, 1912
The Musketeers of Pig Alley, directed by D.W. Griffith, debuts as the first gangster film. Dominican Republic becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
31 October, 1892
Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
31 October, 1876
A monster cyclone ravages India, resulting in over 200,000 human deaths.
31 October, 1864
Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
31 October, 1863
The Maori Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
31 October, 1861
American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.
31 October, 1822
Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempted to dissolve the Mexican Empire.
31 October, 1587
Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
31 October, 1517
Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
31 October, 475
Romulus Augustulus was proclaimed Roman Emperor.

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