
Berlin Brandenburg Airport
Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens its doors after nearly 10 years of delays due to construction issues and project corruption.
29 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 475 to 2023.

Standout on October 31
Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens its doors after nearly 10 years of delays due to construction issues and project corruption.
October 31 is the 304th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens its doors after nearly 10 years of delays due to construction issues and project corruption.
An Uzbek immigrant drove a rented truck into cyclists and runners in Lower Manhattan, New York City, killing eight people.

Metrojet Flight 9268 is bombed over the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.

During a test flight, the VSS Enterprise, a Virgin Galactic experimental spaceflight test vehicle, suffers a catastrophic in-flight breakup and crashes in the Mojave Desert, California.
The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as the Day of Seven Billion.

The discovery of the Plutonian moons Nix and Hydra, based on photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope nearly five months prior, was announced.
After 22 years in power, Mahathir Mohamad retired as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.
Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.
Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collided with construction equipment while attempting to take off from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan during heavy rain, killing 83 people aboard.
Australian sailor Jesse Martin arrived in Melbourne, becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop, and unassisted.
Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.

All 217 people on board EgyptAir Flight 990 perished when the aircraft suddenly crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashes in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 99 people.
TG4, the world's first Irish language television station, began broadcasting.
American Eagle Flight 4184 crashes near Roselawn, Indiana killing all 68 people on board.
Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her own Sikh bodyguards, sparking riots that killed thousands of Sikhs.
Western Airlines Flight 2605 crashes on landing in Mexico City, killing 73 people.
Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escaped from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin aboard a hijacked helicopter that landed in the prison's exercise yard.
Great Drought of 1968: Amidst a collapse of hydropower President of Chile Eduardo Frei Montalva decrees the establishment of daylight saving time.

Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
A gas explosion at the
100 crew members of the USS Reuben James (pictured) perished when their vessel became the first U.S. Navy ship sunk by hostile action during World War II after it was torpedoed by the German submarine U-552.
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.

World War I: Allied forces defeated Turkish troops in Beersheba in Southern Palestine at the Battle of Beersheba, with the battle involving one of the last successful cavalry charges.
Public-transportation workers in Indianapolis went on strike (pictured), shutting down mass transit in the city.

Martin Luther (pictured) posted his Ninety-five Theses onto the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Romulus Augustulus took the throne as the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.


A notable person who died on this day.

David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (born 1926)
Bobby Parker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1937)

Andres Narvasa, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 19th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (born 1928)


John H. Reed, American soldier and politician, 67th Governor of Maine (born 1921)
John Fitch, American race car driver and engineer (born 1917)
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.

Christian feast day: Foillan (in Namur)
Christian feast day: Quentin
Christian feast day: Erc of Slane (in Cornwall)
Christian feast day: Ampliatus
Christian feast day: Alphonsus Rodriguez
Christian feast day: Paul Shinji Sasaki and Philip Lindel Tsen (Episcopal Church)
Christian feast day: Begu

Christian feast day: Martin Luther (Anglican Communion)
Earliest: Romulus Augustulus (475). Most recent: Ken Mattingly (2023).
October 31 is the 304th day of the year, with 61 days left after it.
October 31 falls under Scorpio (October 23 – November 21), a water sign ruled by Pluto (traditionally Mars). The birthstone for the month is Opal or Tourmaline.
We record 77 entries for October 31: 29 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 475 to 2023.
Leonor, Princess of Asturias (2005) is among the notable births on October 31. The births section lists the rest.
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
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