Archives

On This Day October 31

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1451 – Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus, who discovered the “New World” of the Americas on an expedition sponsored by King Ferdinand of Spain in 1492. (d. 1506)

1860 – Juliette Gordon Low (a.k.a. “Daisy”), who founded the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912 (d. 1927)

1912 – Actress-singer Dale Evans (married to Roy Rogers) (d. 2001)

1931 – TV journalist and longtime “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather

1936 – Actor-director Michael Landon, best known for his roles in “Bonanza” and “Little House on the Prairie.” (d. 1991)

1939 – Actor Ron Rifkin (“L.A. Confidential,” “The Negotiator,” “Boiler Room,” “Keeping the Faith,” “The Majestic,” “Dragonfly,” “Alias,” “Brothers & Sisters”)

1942 – Actor-director David Ogden Stiers (played Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III on TV’s “M*A*S*H”) (d. 2018)

1950 – Emmy-winning comedic actor John Candy (“Splash,” “Uncle Buck,” “Home Alone,” “Cool Runnings”) (d. 1994)

1951 – U2 drummer Larry Mullen, Jr.

1961 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning director-producer-writer Peter Jackson, best known for “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies

1963 – Comedian-actor Rob Schneider (“Saturday Night Live,” “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” “The Hot Chick,” “The Benchwarmers,” “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,” “Grown Ups”)

History Highlights

1926 – Celebrated magician, escape artist and actor Harry Houdini, born Erich Weisz, dies of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix at the age of 52. Despite his extraordinary skills as an illusionist, Houdini could not escape mortality.

1951 – Once known as All Hallows Eve, Halloween settles into American popular culture as trick-or-treating becomes an annual custom. As of 2019, Americans are spending an estimated $8 billion a year on Halloween decorations, costumes, makeup and candy, making it the nation’s second-largest commercial holiday.

1963 – An explosion rocks the Indiana State Fair Coliseum in Indianapolis during a skating exhibition, leaving 74 people dead and nearly 400 injured. Investigators blame a propane leak.

1968 – President Lyndon Johnson announces that he has ordered the complete cessation of “all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam” as a result of progress in the Paris peace talks.

1984 – Two of her own bodyguards assassinate Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, sparking riots across the capital city of New Delhi.

1993 – Actor River Phoenix (“Explorers,” “Stand By Me,” “Running on Empty”) is just 23 when he dies of a drug overdose outside a Hollywood nightclub. In addition to his acting career, Phoenix was a pioneer of the vegan movement and an ardent environmentalist.

Musical Milestones

1964 – Barbra Streisand’s “People” is the No. 1 album and later clinches Grammy Awards for Best Vocal Performance and Best Album Cover. The title track, from the 1964 Broadway musical “Funny Girl,” ranks among Streisand’s biggest hits of all time.

1964 – The Supremes reign over the singles chart with “Baby Love,” which holds the top spot for four weeks. It’s the second of five Supremes songs in a row to reach No. 1.

1970 – The Jackson 5 are midway through a five-week conquest of the pop chart with “I’ll Be There.”

1981 – “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” by Christopher Cross, marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1987 – King of Pop, Michael Jackson, does good with “Bad,” which marks its second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1989 – MTV’s first “Unplugged” show is recorded in New York, featuring the British band Squeeze. The program, which becomes a 90s phenom, spotlights popular artists performing acoustic (“unplugged”) versions of their songs. This debut episode airs on November 26, 1989.

READ MORE