October 31

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1864 – Nevada was admitted as the 36th U.S. state.

1868 – A standard uniform for postal carriers was approved by Postmaster General Alexander Williams Randall.

1913 – The Lincoln Highway was dedicated. It was the first automobile highway across the United States. It ran from Times Square in New York, NY to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, CA.

1926 – Magician Harry Houdini died of gangrene and peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix. His appendix had been damaged twelve days earlier when he was punched in the stomach unexpectedly by a student. During a lecture Houdini had commented on the strength of his stomach muscles and how he had the ability to withstand hard blows.

1941 – After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota was declared finished. At the time the 60-foot busts of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were declared done as funding for the project ran out.

1952 – The U.S. detonated its first hydrogen bomb.

1956 – Rear Admiral G.J. Dufek became the first person to land an airplane at the South Pole. Dufek also became the first person to set foot on the South Pole.

1962 – The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridged opened.

1969 – Wal-Mart Discount City stores were incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

2000 – In a deal with German media giant Bertelsmann, Napster agreed to charge fees to download music over the Internet.

2000 – Soyuz TM-31 launched, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The I.S.S. has been crewed continuously since then.

2001 – Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department reached a tentative agreement to settle the antitrust case against the software company.

2002 – A federal grand jury in Houston, TX, indicted former Enron 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.

2005 – The iTunes Music Store reached 1 million videos sold.

2007 – Google shares hit $700 for the first time.

2008 – Distribution Video Audio, Inc. shipped its final shipment of VHS tapes to stores. The company was the last major United States supplier of pre-recorded VHS tapes.

2011 – The global population of humans reached seven billion. The day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.

2014 – Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo crashed in the Mojave Desert during a test flight.

2017 – A truck drove into a crowd in Lower Manhattan, New York City, killing eight people.

BIRTHDAYS:

Dan Rather – 94 years old (1931) – Journalist

Dale Brown – 90 years old (1935) – Basketball player and coach

David Harvey – 90 years old (1935) – English-American geographer and academic

Tom Paxton – 88 years old (1937) – Folk music singer-songwriter and guitarist

Ron Rifkin – 86 years old (1939) – Actor

Sally Kirkland – 84 years old (1941) – Actress

Elliott Forbes-Robinson – 82 years old (1943) – Race car driver

Paul Frampton – 82 years old (1943) – English-American physicist and academic

Brian Doyle-Murray – 80 years old (1945) – Actor and comedian

Deidre Hall – 78 years old (1947) – Actress

Frank Shorter – 78 years old (1947) – Runner and sportscaster

Bob Siebenberg – 76 years old (1949) – Drummer

Jane Pauley – 75 years old (1950) – Journalist

Antonio Taguba – 75 years old (1950) – Filipino-American general

Nick Saban – 74 years old (1951) – Football player and coach

Dave Trembley – 74 years old (1951) – Baseball player, coach, and manager

Joe West – 73 years old (1952) – Baseball umpire

John Lucas II – 72 years old (1953) – Basketball player and coach

Ken Wahl – 71 years old (1954) – Actor and screenwriter

Susan Orlean – 70 years old (1955) – Journalist and author

Bruce Bawer – 69 years old (1956) – Poet and critic

Brian Stokes Mitchell – 68 years old (1957) – Singer and actor

Robert Pollard – 68 years old (1957) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Neal Stephenson – 66 years old (1959) – Author

Mike Gallego – 65 years old (1960) – Baseball player and coach

Alonzo Babers – 64 years old (1961) – Runner and pilot

Kate Campbell – 64 years old (1961) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jonathan Borden – 63 years old (1962) – Neurosurgeon and academic

Anna Geifman – 63 years old (1962) – Historian, author, and academic

John Giannini – 63 years old (1962) – Basketball player and coach

Fred McGriff – 62 years old (1963) – Baseball player

Dermot Mulroney – 62 years old (1963) – Actor

Rob Schneider – 62 years old (1963) – Actor and comedian

Frank Bruni – 61 years old (1964) – Journalist and critic

Darryl Worley – 61 years old (1964) – Country music singer-songwriter and guitarist

Blue Edwards – 60 years old (1965) – Basketball player

Ad-Rock – 59 years old (1966) – Rapper, producer, and actor

Mike O'Malley – 59 years old (1966) – Actor and comedian

Vanilla Ice – 58 years old (1967) – Rapper, television personality, and real estate investor

Buddy Lazier – 58 years old (1967) – Race car driver

Antonio Davis – 57 years old (1968) – Basketball player and sportscaster

Christopher Bevins – 52 years old (1973) – Voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Tim Byrdak – 52 years old (1973) – Baseball player

David Dellucci – 52 years old (1973) – Baseball player and sportscaster

Beverly Lynne – 52 years old (1973) – Actress

Roger Manganelli – 51 years old (1974) – Brazilian-American singer-songwriter and bass player

Keith Jardine – 50 years old (1975) – Mixed martial artist and actor

Johnny Whitworth – 50 years old (1975) – Actor and producer

Piper Perabo – 49 years old (1976) – Actress and producer

Samaire Armstrong – 45 years old (1980) – Model, actress, and fashion designer

Alondra de la Parra – 45 years old (1980) – Mexican-American pianist and conductor

Eddie Kaye Thomas – 45 years old (1980) – Actor and voice artist

Steven Hunter – 44 years old (1981) – Basketball player

Frank Iero – 44 years old (1981) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Mike Napoli – 44 years old (1981) – Baseball player

Adam Bouska – 42 years old (1983) – Photographer and activist, founded the NOH8 Campaign

Pat Murray – 41 years old (1984) – Football player

Kerron Clement – 40 years old (1985) – Hurdler and sprinter

Cole Aldrich – 37 years old (1988) – Basketball player

Scott McGough – 36 years old (1989) – Baseball player

JID – 35 years old (1990) – Rapper

Vanessa Marano – 33 years old (1992) – Actress

Sydney Park – 28 years old (1997) – Actress and comedian

Holly Taylor – 28 years old (1997) – Canadian-American actress

Danielle Rose Russell – 26 years old (1999) – Actress

Willow Smith – 25 years old (2000) – Singer, actress, and dancer

TODAY IS:

 
For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.