What happened on October 31 ?

445 BC - Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 9:1, NLTse).

475 - Romulus Augustus was proclaimed Roman Emperor.

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.

1822 - Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempted to dissolve 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 resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began 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 human deaths.

1892 - Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

1912 - The Musketeers of Pig Alley, directed by D.W. Griffith, debuts as the first gangster film.

1912 - Dominican Republic becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1917 - World War I: Battle of Beersheba - "last successful cavalry charge in history"

1922 - Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest Premier in the history of Italy.

1923 - 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees at Marble Bar, Australia begins.

1926 - Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured.

1936 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.

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.

1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Great Britain.

1941 - After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.

1941 - 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.

1941 - American photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography.

1954 - Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.

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 Lenin's Tomb.

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.

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).

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.

1994 - An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing all 68 on board.

1996 - A Brazilian TAM Fokker F100 crashes into several houses in São Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground.

1996 - Jean Chrétien becomes UN special envoy to the African Great Lakes.

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.

1998 - Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

1999 - EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board.

1999 - 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.

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

2000 - A chartered Antonov An-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50

2000 - The last Multics machine was shut down.

2002 - A federal grand jury in Houston 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.

2003 - A bankruptcy court approves MCI's reorganization plans, essentially clearing the telecommunications company to exit bankruptcy.

2003 - Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after 22 years in power.

2004 - Passenger airline service ends at Mirabel International Airport in Montreal, Canada.

2005 - President George W. Bush nominates Appeals court judge Samuel Alito to join the Supreme Court of the United States.