History

Born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad, Gujarat, Vallabhbhai Patel rose from a village childhood to become the “Iron Man of India” — the leader who stitched more than 560 princely states into a single nation and gave independent India its administrative spine. Every year, India observes his birthday, 31 October, as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day). Who he ...

On October 31, 2011, the world marked an extraordinary milestone: the day the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) officially designated as the approximate, symbolic date on which the world’s population reached seven billion people. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked the occasion in New York, using the moment to promote the UNFPA’s “7 Billion Actions” campaign — a call for shared responsibility ...

On October 31, 2008, in the depths of the global financial crisis, a nine-page paper appeared on the Cryptography Mailing List that would quietly change the world. Its author, writing under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, titled it “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” It was the birth certificate of cryptocurrency. What happened On 31 October 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto posted the ...

On the morning of October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi — the Prime Minister of India and one of the most consequential leaders of the 20th century — was assassinated by two of her own bodyguards at her residence in New Delhi. Her death set off a wave of violence that scarred India for years and marked one of the darkest ...

In the early hours of October 31, 1941, the American destroyer USS Reuben James was torpedoed by a German submarine near Iceland and sank within minutes, taking 100 crewmen with her. It was the first United States Navy ship lost to hostile action in World War II — 37 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and before the United ...

On October 31, 1941, the carving of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota was declared complete, closing a 14-year project that turned a granite mountainside into one of the most recognizable monuments in the world. Four 60-foot faces gaze out over the plains below — the culmination of an idea that began as a plan to draw ...

On October 31, 1864, Nevada was admitted to the United States as the 36th state, when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation of statehood in the middle of the Civil War. Born in wartime and admitted in haste, Nevada carries the nickname “Battle Born” to this day — the only state whose nickname is printed on its flag. Its path ...

Girl Scout Founders Day is observed every year on 31 October to honour Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA. History: Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon, nicknamed Daisy, was born on 31 October 1860 in Savannah, Georgia. Inspired by Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouting movement, she joined the Girl Guide movement in England and formed ...

Reformation Day is observed on 31 October by Lutherans and other Protestants to commemorate the start of the Protestant Reformation. History: on 31 October 1517 Martin Luther, professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg in Germany, sent his Ninety-five Theses, formally the Disputation on the Power of Indulgences, to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz. According to tradition ...

Halloween is celebrated every year on 31 October. It is a festival of costumes, candy, spooky stories and ghostly decorations, enjoyed in many parts of the world. History: Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated over 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France. Samhain marked the end of ...