Happy Halloween! October 31st observes Magic Day and Knock-Knock Joke Day.
Welcome to day 304 of the year folks, there are 61 days left of the year.
While Halloween is usually a pretty eventful day, the history of what happened on this day may surprise you. Here we’re going to look at facts & historic events that happened on the spookiest day of the entire year!
Did you know that on this day in 2011, Earth’s population was estimated to reach 7 billion people? This date was calculated and decided on by the United Nations Population Fund.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about October 31st in history!
What Events Happened On October 31 In History?
2018 The Statue of Unity in India was officially completed making it the world’s tallest statue at 597 ft (182 m).
2015 The Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 was destroyed by a bomb.
The disaster happened over North Sinai, Egypt, and all 224 onboard lost their lives.
2014 During tests, Virgin Galactic’s experimental spaceplane, VSS Enterprise, crashed into the Mojave Desert.
2011 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) stated that the world’s population had reached seven billion.
This became known as the Day of Seven Billion.
2003 A shark bit off an arm of professional surfer Bethany Hamilton in Hawaiian waters.
2000 Soyuz TM-31 was launched, carrying the first crew to reside long-term on the International Space Station.
The TM-31, launched from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome, was the first Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). An American Astronaut, William Shepherd, was a part of the crew, along with two Russian cosmonauts - Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev. They stayed aboard the ISS for 136 days.
1999 Medal of Honor was released for PlayStation, instantly becoming the best shooter to date.
The story for this iconic WWII game was written and directed by Steven Spielberg, who was inspired to create a game based on the war after watching his son play Goldeneye 007. He wrote the story for Medal of Honor at the same time he was working on Saving Private Ryan.
1984 The Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated.
Her bodyguards carried out the attack in the morning in her New Delhi home.
1962 The American psychological thriller “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane” with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis was released.
1950 The Big Cat, aka Earl Lloyd, became the first African-American to play in the NBA.
1941 After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore was completed.
Each president was initially depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on this day.
1918 The Spanish Flu was reported to have killed 21,000 people in the US in the week ending on this date.
1864 Nevada became the 36th state to join the United States of America.
Read More1541 After over four years in the making, Michelangelo unveiled “The Last Judgment” painting at the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City.
683 AD The Kaaba caught fire and was burned down during the Siege of Mecca.
Famous Quotes Said On October 31
Who said what today throughout history? Here are the most famous things people have said on Oct 31.
2011
“Money can’t buy life.”
– Bob Marley
1923
“The power of effecting changes for the better is within ourselves, not in the favorableness of circumstances.”
– Helen Keller
Famous People Born On October 31
Is today your birthday? If so, you share the same birthday with Willow Smith. Here are a few other famous people born on this day.
2000 Willow Smith
American Singer
- Age:
- 22 years old
- Born In:
- California, USA
1981 Frank Iero
American Musician
- Age:
- 41 years old
- Born In:
- New Jersey, USA
1993 Letitia Wright
Guyanese Actress
- Age:
- 29 years old
- Born In:
- Georgetown, Guyana
1976 Piper Perabo
American Actress
- Age:
- 46 years old
- Born In:
- Texas, USA
Famous People Who Died On This Day
1930 - 2020 Sean Connery
Sean Connery was a Scottish actor born on August 25, 1930. He died on this day in 2020, at age 90 in Lyford Cay, Bahamas.
1970 - 1993 River Phoenix
River Phoenix was an American actor born on August 23, 1970. He died on this day in 1993, at age 23 in West Hollywood, California, USA.
1874 - 1926 Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-American illusionist born on March 24, 1874. He died on this day in 1926, at age 52 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Special Holidays On October 31
If you’ve got a few minutes spare today, why not celebrate these special holidays.
National Magic Day
Today on National Magic Day, we honor Houdini, one of America’s greatest magicians, who tragically died on this day in 1926. However, Houdini wouldn’t have wanted us to mourn him; he would have wanted us to perform magic! So try some magic trick, if you can, or see a magician!
National Knock-Knock Joke Day
Knock Knock? Who’s there? Why it’s National Knock-Knock Day, of course! Surprisingly enough, Knock-Knock jokes were only invented in the 1920s. So celebrate this newcomer to the comedy scene today by telling some of your favorite knock-knock jokes, or make your own!
THe Fact Site's
Fun Fact Of The Day
The 1982 film Poltergeist used real skeletons as props, as they were cheaper than plastic replicas.
October 31 Birthday Facts, Zodiac & Birthstone
If you were born on the day of Halloween, your zodiac sign is Scorpio.
The Scorpio star sign is the most intense in the zodiac. Scorpios are known for their passion, determination, and decisiveness.
Pink tourmaline is the birthstone given to people born in October. Tourmaline gets its name from the Sinhalese (Sri Lankan) word “tourmali,” which means “mixed stones.”
If you were born on Halloween, you were likely conceived on the week of February 7 in the same year.
The due date for babies conceived on this day is around July 24, 2024.
