What happened on October 31 ?

1291 - Philippe de Vitry, French composer (d. 1361)

1345 - King Fernando I of Portugal (d. 1383)

1391 - King Duarte of Portugal (d. 1438)

1424 - King Wladislaus III of Poland (d. 1444)

1538 - Caesar Baronius, Italian cardinal and historian (d. 1607)

1599 - Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English statesman and writer (d. 1680)

1620 - John Evelyn, English diarist (d. 1706)

1622 - Pierre Paul Puget, French artist (d. 1694)

1632 - (baptism) Johannes Vermeer, Flemish painter (d. 1675)

1636 - Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1679)

1692 - Comte de Caylus, French archaelogist (d. 1765)

1705 - Pope Clement XIV (d. 1774)

1711 - Laura Bassi, Italian scholar (d. 1778)

1724 - Christopher Anstey, English writer (d. 1805)

1737 - James Lovell (delegate), American educator

1795 - John Keats, British poet (d. 1821)

1815 - Karl Weierstraÿ, German mathematician (d. 1897)

1831 - Paolo Mantegazza, Italian neurologist (d. 1910)

1835 - Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)

1860 - Juliette Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts

1875 - Eugene Meyer, American businessman and newspaper publisher (d. 1954)

1875 - Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian freedom fighter and statesman (d. 1950)

1887 - Chiang Kai-shek, Nationalist Chinese leader (d. 1975)

1892 - Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player (d. 1946)

1895 - Basil Liddell Hart, British military historian (d. 1970)

1896 - Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (d. 1977)

1912 - Dale Evans, American singer and actress (d. 2001)

1914 - Joe Carcione (a.k.a. "The Green Grocer"), American consumer advocate (d. 1988)

1917 - Thomas Hill, Canadian actor

1918 - Ian Stevenson, American parapsychologist

1920 - Dick Francis, Welsh novelist

1920 - Helmut Newton, German photographer (d. 2004)

1920 - Fritz Walter, German footballer

1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (d. 2005)

1922 - Illinois Jacquet, American saxophonist (d. 2004)

1922 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia

1925 - John Anthony Pople, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)

1926 - Jimmy Saville, English entertainer

1927 - Lee Grant, American actress

1928 - Cleo Moore, American actress (d. 1973)

1929 - Eddie Charlton, Australian snooker player (d. 1994)

1930 - Michael Collins, astronaut

1931 - Dan Rather, American television journalist

1936 - Michael Landon, American actor (d. 1991)

1937 - Tom Paxton, American singer

1939 - Ron Rifkin, American actor

1939 - Tom O'Connor, British comedian

1943 - Paul Frampton, English physicist

1944 - Kinky Friedman, American musician and novelist

1945 - Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian and actor

1946 - Stephen Rea, Northern Irish actor

1946 - Norman Lovett, British actor

1947 - Deidre Hall, American actress

1947 - Frank Shorter, American runner

1950 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)

1950 - Jane Pauley, American news anchor

1953 - Michael J. Anderson, American actor

1955 - Mark Roesler, American buisnessman and lawyer, founder and head of CMG Worldwide

1958 - Jeannie Longo, French cyclist

1959 - Neal Stephenson, American author

1960 - Luis Fortuño, Puerto Rico's delegate to Congress

1961 - Peter Jackson, New Zealand film director

1961 - Larry Mullen, Irish drummer (U2)

1961 - Alonzo Babers, American runner

1961 - Kate Campbell, American musician

1963 - Dunga, Brazilian footballer

1963 - Fred McGriff, baseball player

1963 - Rob Schneider, American actor

1963 - Johnny Marr, guitarist/songwriter (The Smiths)

1964 - Marco van Basten, Dutch football player

1964 - Marty Wright, American professional wrestler (The Boogeyman)

1965 - Annabella Lwin, British singer (Bow Wow Wow)

1966 - Adam Horovitz, American singer (Beastie Boys)

1968 - Antonio Davis, American basketball player

1968 - Vanilla Ice, American rapper

1970 - Linn Berggren, Swedish singer (Ace of Base)

1970 - Rogers Stevens, American guitarist (Blind Melon)

1971 - Alphonso Ford, American basketball player (d. 2004)

1971 - Ian Walker, English footballer

1972 - Shaun Bartlett, South African footballer

1974 - Muzzy Izzet, Turkish footballer

1977 - Séverine Ferrer, French singer

1980 - Eddie Kaye Thomas, American actor

1981 - Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer

1981 - Frank Iero, American guitarist (My Chemical Romance)

1986 - Christie Hayes, Australian actress