October 31 holidays in 2020

Historical Events on October 31

• 1861: Union General Winfield Scott resigns his commission as Commander of the U.S. Army. The reason he cites is failing health.
• 1863: British troops led by General Duncan Cameron invade Waikato on this day during the Maori Wars.
• 1864: Nevada is admitted to the United States as the 36^th Two years later, the state would adopt the motto: “All For Our Country.”
• 1913: The first automobile highway across the U.S.A – the Lincoln Highway – is dedicated on this day.
• 1918: The Austro-Hungarian Empire is dissolved during World War I.
• 1922: Benito Mussolini becomes Italy’s Prime Minister.
• 1926: The last issue of the independent Italian newspaper – Il Mondo – is published on this day. It would then become suppressed by Mussolini’s regime.
• 1941: Mount Rushmore is completed after fourteen years of work on it.
• 1941: The first U.S Navy vessel to be sunk is the USS Reuben James which was torpedoed by a German U-boat around Iceland. More than a hundred United States Navy sailors were killed.

Famous Birthdays on October 31

• Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer is born in 1632.
• English author and poet Christopher Anstey is born in 1724.
• English Poet John Keats is born in 1795.
• American scout leader and founder of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., Juliette Gordon Low is born in 1860.
• American poet and playwright Natalie Clifford Barney is born in 1876.
• American author Julia Peterkin is born in 1880.
• French painter and illustrator Marie Laurencin is born in 1883.
• Canadian comedian, actor and screenwriter, John Candy is born in 1950.
• American journalist Jane Pauley is born in 1950.
• American actor and screenwriter Ken Wahl is born in 1954.
• New Zealand screenwriter, director and producer, Peter Jackson is born in 1961.
• American historian and author, Anna Geifman is born in 1962.
• American actor Dermot Mulroney is born in 1963.
• American actor and comedian Mike O’Malley is born in 1966.