On this day: 31 October

Selected events and births on 31 October, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 475 – Romulus Augustulus took the throne as the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Read more: Romulus Augustulus Western Roman Empire
• 1517 – Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses onto the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Read more: Martin Luther Ninety-five Theses All Saints' Church, Wittenberg
• 1913 – Public-transportation workers in Indianapolis went on strike, shutting down mass transit in the city. Read more: Indianapolis Indianapolis streetcar strike of 1913
• 1941 – Approximately 400 workers completed the 60-foot (18 m) busts of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Read more: Bust (sculpture) George Washington Thomas Jefferson
• 1999 – Australian sailor Jesse Martin arrived in Melbourne, becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop, and unassisted. Read more: Jesse Martin List of youth solo sailing circumnavigations
• 2003 – After 22 years in power, Mahathir Mohamad retired as Prime Minister of Malaysia. Read more: Mahathir Mohamad Prime Minister of Malaysia
• 2005 – The discovery of the Plutonian moons Nix and Hydra, based on photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope nearly five months prior, was announced. Read more: Moons of Pluto Nix (moon) Hydra (moon)

Born on this day

• 1947 – Herman Van Rompuy, Belgian academic and politician, 66th Prime Minister of Belgium Read more: Herman Van Rompuy Prime Minister of Belgium
• 1955 – Michalis Chrisochoidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Public Order Read more: Michalis Chrisochoidis Ministry of Citizen Protection (Greece)
• 1960 – Luis Fortuño, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Puerto Rico Read more: Luis Fortuño Governor of Puerto Rico
• 1983 – Adam Bouska, American photographer and activist, founded the NOH8 Campaign Read more: Adam Bouska NOH8 Campaign
• 1997 – Siobhán Bernadette Haughey, Hong Kong-Irish swimmer Read more: Siobhán Haughey
• 1997 – Sydney Park, American actress and comedian Read more: Sydney Park (actress)
• 1997 – Marcus Rashford, English footballer Read more: Marcus Rashford
• 1999 – Danielle Rose Russell, American actress Read more: Danielle Rose Russell
• 1999 – Léa Serna, French figure skater Read more: Léa Serna
• 2000 – Willow Smith, American singer, actress, and dancer Read more: Willow Smith
• 2002 – Ansu Fati Read more: Ansu Fati
• 2005 – Leonor, Princess of Asturias Read more: Leonor, Princess of Asturias

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / October 31 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.