Halloween Happenings on this day in History
Only Tricks or Treats
October 31st
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834: The first All Hallows Eve --now
known as "Halloween"-- was observed to honor the saints.
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1517: Martin Luther posted his 95
theses, an attack on various ecclesiastical abuses, on the door of Wittenberg
Palace, marking
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the beginning of the Protestant Reformation
in Germany.
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1846: The Donner party, unable to
cross the Donner Pass, began constructing a winter camp. The party later
resorted to cannibalism.
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1864: Nevada was admitted to the union
as the 36th state.
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1868: A standard uniform was approved
for postal carriers.
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1888: John Boyd Dunlop patented his
pneumatic bicycle tire.
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1914: Russian troops under Gen. Russki
pushed the Germans under Hindenburg back to their original positions, ending
the battle of the Vistula River. Germany lost at least 42,000 men.
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1918: Count Istvan Tisza, Hungarian
premier until his resignation in 1917, was assassinated by disaffected
soldiers after being held responsible for the country's plight in World
War I.
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1940: The Battle of Britain, the struggle
between Germany and Britain over air control of the English Channel, ended.
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1941: Mount Rushmore was completed.
Though the U.S. had not yet entered World War II, Germany torpedoed the
convoy escort destroyer
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Reuben James, killing 100 of the 144-man
crew.
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1950: Actor John Candy ("Cool Runnings,"
"Planes, Trains and Automobiles") was born in Toronto (d: 1994, heart attack).
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1952: The U.S. exploded the first
hydrogen bomb at the Elugelab Atoll in the Pacific Marshall Islands.
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1968: President Johnson ordered a
complete cessation of American bombing of North Vietnam.
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1984: Indira Gandhi, Indian prime
minister, was assassinated by three Sikh members of her bodyguard while
she was walking in the garden of her New Delhi home.
Happy Birthday
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Barbara Bel Geddes, 77, actress, "Dallas"
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Michael Collins, 69, astronaut, manned
Apollo 11 module while NeilArmstrong and Ed Aldrin walked on the moon
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Dale Evans, 87, actress/singer/writer,
"Roy Rogers Show" co-star
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Lee Grant, 70, actress, "Peyton Place's"
Stella
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William Hardy McNeill, 82, historian,
wrote "The Rise of the West"
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Jane Pauley, 49, newscaster/journalist
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Dan Rather, 68, newscaster/journalist
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Stephen Rea, 56, actor, "The Crying
Game," "Michael Collins"
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David Ogden Stiers, 57, actor, "M*A*S*H"
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Vanilla Ice, 32, rap singer/actor,
"Cool as Ice"
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