A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on October 31st. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
By statute enacted on October 31, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson was authorized to take possession of various territories ceded by France to the United States of America in what is known as the Louisiana Purchase.
On October 31, 1864, the people of the United States got a big treat in their Halloween basket, the newly minted State of Nevada, the 36th state of the Union, appropriately known as “The Silver State.”
On October 31, 1917, during World War I, the war that brought the mass use of machine guns, armored vehicles, airplanes, and poison gas into warfare, a singular battle stands out as an anachronism when the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force sent infantry and cavalry units against the Yildirim Army Group (Ottoman Turks and Germans) defending the town of Beersheba in the Negev region of what is now Israel.
On October 31, 1941, the United States Navy destroyer, USS Reuben James was sunk by a German U-boat with torpedoes, the first US Navy ship sunk in the European Theater of Operations during World War II, and over a month before the US was even in the war.
On October 31, 1944, Dr. jur. Erich Göstl, a member of the Waffen SS, was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, to recognize extreme battlefield bravery for losing his face and eyes during the Battle of Normandy during World War II and continuing to fight while blind.
On October 31, 1968, in a political move intended to help Hubert Humphrey win the Presidential election, President Lyndon Johnson made an announcement that became known as “The October Surprise,” in which he stated that all bombardment of North Viet Nam would be halted.
On October 31, 1973, three Provisional Irish Republican Army members held prisoner in Dublin, Ireland were busted out of prison in a manner befitting an action movie!
On October 31, 2008, a link to a paper authored by Satoshi Nakamoto titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” was posted to a cryptography mailing list.
On October 31, 2011, a truly spooky fact became known when it was announced by the UN that the population of humans on the Earth had reached seven billion.
One of the world’s most widely celebrated holidays occurred on October 31, 2013: Halloween!
On October 31st, 2014, we celebrated Halloween around the world!
We had some recommendations for fun and interesting drinks to share with fellow revelers on October 31st, 2014!
We also had some recommendations for the sexiest Halloween costumes for women to wear on October 31st, 2014.
On October 31, 2016, millions of kids across the United States went out in costumes trick or treating for Halloween, while millions more adults attended costume parties for the spooky holiday.
On October 31, 2017, an Uzbek immigrant to the United States deliberately drove a rented truck into a New York City bicycle and jogging path, killing eight people and injuring another 11 in a terrorist mass killing that proves bad people do not need guns to commit terrible crimes.
On October 31, 2020, we wished you all a Happy Halloween!
On October 31, 2023, we wished all of you a Happy Halloween!
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.