1924 – World Savings Day is established during the first International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks) in Milan, Italy, to promote the importance of saving
1959 – USSR and Egypt sign contracts to build the Aswan High Dam
1967 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu takes oath of office to become the first President of the Second Republic of South Vietnam
1988 – Journalists demand greater press freedom in Yugoslavia
1991 – Palestinians attend the US Middle East peace talks in Madrid, Spain
2016 – MIT Engineers announce they have engineered spinach plants to detect explosive materials in groundwater and send an email alert via a connected system
2017 – John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff’s comments in a TV interview that “the lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War” draws criticism
2020 – England beats Italy 34-5 in Rome to clinch 29th Six Nations Rugby Championship; halfback Ben Youngs becomes the second England player to earn his 100th test cap
Author: gil7
Today in History for 31st October 2025
Historical Events
1587 – Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575
1867 – Australia’s first royal tour begins as Prince Albert, son of Queen Victoria, arrives in Adelaide, South Australia
1950 – “The Big Cat” Earl Lloyd becomes the first African-American to play a game in the NBA, scoring 6 points on debut for the Washington Capitols
1967 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu takes oath of office to become the first President of the Second Republic of South Vietnam
1982 – Musical revue “Rock ‘n Roll!: The First 5,000 Years” closes at St James Theatre in New York City after 9 performances
Famous Birthdays
1945 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian and actor (Groundhog Day), born in Chicago, Illinois
1950 – Jane Pauley, American newscaster (Today, NBC Weekend), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
1961 – Alonzo Babers, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4x400m relay 1984), born in Montgomery, Alabama
1966 – Koji Kanemoto, Japanese wrestler (NJPW/AAA/UWA, Tiger Mask, King Lee), born in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
1981 – Selina (Jiaxuan) Ren, member of Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E, born in Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan
Famous Deaths
1733 – Eberhard Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg, dies at 57
1941 – Herwarth Walden, German art writer and critic, dies in a Soviet prison at 63
1986 – Robert S. Mulliken, American chemist and physicist (Nobel 1966), dies at 90
2007 – Edgar Ngoyi, South African anti-apartheid activist and ANC leader who spent 17 years in Robben Island Prison, dies at 81
2018 – Lord Skelmersdale [Roger Bootle-Wilbraham], British politician and horticulturalist who created Britain’s first toad tunnel, dies of a stroke at 73
Famous Deaths for 30th October 2025
1583 – Pirro Ligorio, Italian architect/painter/archaeologist, dies at 83
1893 – John Abbott, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (Conservative: 1891-92), dies of brain cancer at 72
1944 – Paul Ladmirault, French composer, dies at 66
1993 – Paul Grégoire, French Canadian Archbishop of Montreal, dies at 82
1995 – Terry Southern, American writer and screenwriter (Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider), dies at 71
2002 – William Mitchell, British physicist, dies at 77
2014 – Donald Cameron Watt, British historian (How War Came: The Immediate Origins of the Second World War, 1938–1939), dies at 86
2018 – Sangharakshita [Dennis Lingwood], Buddhist Philosopher, Founder of the Western Buddhist Order, dies at 92
2019 – Ron Fairly, American baseball utility (MLB All Star 1973 Montreal Expos, 1977 Toronto Blue Jays; World Series 1959, 63, 65 LA Dodgers) and broadcaster (California Angels radio/television; KNBR SF Giants), dies from cancer at 81
2020 – Jan Myrdal, Swedish writer and journalist (Albania Defiant), dies at 93
Historical Events for 30th October 2025
1866 – Jesse James’ gang robs bank in Lexington, Missouri ($2000)
1888 – John J. Loud patents the ballpoint pen
1894 – Daniel Cooper patents the time clock
1956 – Dodgers sell Ebbets Field to a real estate group; they agree to stay until 1959, with an option to stay until 1961
1970 – Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark meets with British Home Secretary Reginald Maulling to discuss matters related to reforms and security
1975 – King Juan Carlos I assumes power in Spain
1983 – The first democratic elections are held in Argentina after seven years of military rule
2011 – Czech tennis player Petra Kvitová beats Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 in the WTA Championship decider in Istanbul, Turkey
Today in History for 30th October 2025
Historical Events
1953 – Dr Albert Schweitzer and US Army General George Marshall win the Nobel Peace Prize
1963 – Sandy Koufax wins the National League MVP award
1967 – USSR Kosmos 186 and 188 make the first automatic docking and Venera 13 launches
1970 – KVEW TV channel 42 in Kennewick, Washington (ABC), begins broadcasting
2023 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects calls for a ceasefire with Hamas, saying “this is a time for war” amid Israeli ground forces moving into the Gaza strip
Famous Birthdays
1934 – Keith Barnes, Australian rugby league fullback (17 Tests, 10 as captain; Balmain RLFC), born in Port Talbot, Wales (d. 2024)
1935 – Michael Winner, English film producer and director (Big Sleep, Death Wish), born in London, England (d. 2013)
1967 – Leonidas Kavakos, Greek concert violinist and conductor, born in Athens, Greece
1970 – James Pedro, American lightweight judoka (Olympic bronze 1992, 96), born in Danvers, Massachusetts
1975 – Maria Thayer, American actress (Accepted; Strangers With Candy), born in Portland, Oregon
Famous Deaths
1883 – Johann Vesque von Püttlingen, Austrian lawyer and composer, dies at 80
1914 – Ernst Stadler, German poet (Der Aufbruch), dies fighting in WWI at 31
1928 – Oscar Sonneck, American editor (The Musical Quarterly), musicologist, and librarian (Library of Congress, 1902-17), dies at 55
1996 – Leon Lewis, US radio talk show host (WMCA, 1970-80), dies at 81
2006 – Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist (symbolic anthropology), dies at 80
Famous Deaths for 29th October 2025
1618 – Walter Raleigh, English scholar, poet, historian and explorer, beheaded for treason at about 64
1824 – Charles Pinckney, American Founding Father, planter and Governor of South Carolina (1789-92; 1796-98; 1806-08), dies at 67
1853 – William Richard Bexfield, English composer, dies at 29
1924 – Peter Verigin, Russian Doukhobor leader (led Doukhobor community in Canada), dies, possibly assassinated in an explosion on a train at 65
1933 – Paul Painlevé, French Prime Minister (1917, 1925), dies at 69
1957 – Rosemarie Nitribitt, German call girl, strangled in her apartment in an unsolved murder at 24
1973 – Heathcote Dicken Statham, English organist, composer, and conductor, dies at 83
1986 – Sem Presser, Dutch press photographer, dies at 68
1986 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1913)
2016 – John D. Roberts, American chemist, received American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal (2013), dies at 98
Historical Events for 29th October 2025
1591 – Giovanni A. Facchinetti is elected as Pope Innocent IX
1709 – England and the Netherlands sign the anti-French First Barrier Treaty (“Barrieretraktaat”)
1920 – Ed Barrow is appointed general manager of the New York Yankees
1924 – Musical revue “Dixie to Broadway” opens at Broadhurst Theater
1954 – Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser disbands the Muslim Brotherhood
1964 – The Star of India sapphire and other jewels are stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in New York
1967 – Expo 67 closes in Montreal, Canada
1969 – Tom Seaver is voted National League Cy Young Award
Today in History for 29th October 2025
Historical Events
1913 – Floods in El Salvador kill thousands
1936 – Ella Fitzgerald and the Chick Webb Orchestra record “(If You Can’t Sing It) You’ll Have To Swing It (Mr. Paganini)”; it becomes a staple in her repertoire as a launching point for scat vocals
1963 – Edgar Kaufmann Jr. deeds his family property Fallingwater (1935), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
1989 – NYC MTA opens 63rd street extension to subway
2020 – India records more than 8 million COVID-19 cases, the second country after the US, with a death toll of 120,527
Famous Birthdays
1815 – Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak politician and author of Slovak language, born in Uhrovec, Austrian Empire (d. 1856)
1940 – Connie Mack III, American politician (US Senator from Florida, 1989-2001; US Representative from Florida, 1983-89), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1951 – Guy Gelso, American rock drummer (Zebra), born in Oakland, California
1967 – Rufus Sewell, English actor (A Knight’s Tale, Middlemarch), born in London, England
1978 – Kelly Smith, English football player (Arsenal Ladies), born in Watford, England
Famous Deaths
1853 – Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmermann, French pianist, music teacher, and composer, dies at 68
1950 – Gustav V, King of Sweden (1907-1950), dies at 92
1991 – Maria Monica, silent film actress, dies
2015 – Murphy Anderson, American comic artist (DC Comics), dies at 89
2020 – J. J. Williams, Welsh rugby union winger (30 caps Wales, 7 British and Irish Lions; Grand Slam 1976, 78), dies at 72
Famous Deaths for 28th October 2025
1649 – Blanche Arundell, English noblewoman (led defense of Wardour Castle during English Civil War), dies at 65 or 66
1875 – William Howard Glover, English composer, dies at 56
1899 – Grant Allen, Canadian writer (Woman Who Did), dies at 51
1965 – Ben Barka, Moroccan opposition leader, kidnapped and murdered in Paris
1984 – Knut Nordahl, Swedish soccer midfielder (26 caps; AS Roma; Olympic gold 1948), dies at 64
1984 – Giuseppe Savagnone, Italian composer, dies at 81
1986 – Eddie Waring, British rugby league broadcaster (BBC 1958-81), dies from dementia at 76
1994 – Sjlomo Goren, Polish/Israeli supreme rabbi, dies
2020 – Billy Joe Shaver, American country singer-songwriter (“When I Get My Wings”), dies of a stroke at 81
2022 – D. H. Peligro [Darren Henley], American punk rock drummer (Dead Kennedys, Red Hot Chili Peppers,1988), dies from head injury after a fall at 63
Historical Events for 28th October 2025
1911 – Bill Dobbie of Calgary Tigers kicks 10 singles in a game
1918 – Czechoslovakia gains independence as Austria-Hungary breaks up
1965 – Pope Paul VI proclaims Jews are not collectively guilty for crucifixion
1966 – Belgian runner Gaston Roelants sets a new world record in the one-hour run, covering 20,664 m (12.84 mi)
1979 – Dick Howser, the best Yankees manager by win-loss percentage (.636), returns to New York, replacing Billy Martin
2001 – Indie cult hit film “Donnie Darko”, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is released
2017 – Twin car bomb attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia, kill at least 27; Islamist militant group al-Shabab claim responsibility
2024 – UK records its lowest-ever fertility rate of 1.44 children per woman in 2023, with 591,072 births in England and Wales, the lowest in 172 years