Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 31, the 304th day of 2023. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 31, 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh security guards.

On this date:

In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state as President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation.

In 1941, work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, begun in 1927.

In 1961, the body of Josef Stalin was removed from Lenin's Tomb as part of the Soviet Union's "de-Stalinization" drive.

In 1964, Theodore C. Freeman, 34, became the first member of NASA's astronaut corps to die when his T-38 jet crashed while approaching Ellington Air Force Base in Houston.

In 1967, Nguyen Van Thieu took the oath of office as the first president of South Vietnam's second republic.

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, saying he hoped for fruitful peace negotiations.

In 1992, Pope John Paul II formally proclaimed that the Roman Catholic Church had erred in condemning the astronomer Galileo for holding that the Earth was not the center of the universe.

In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, bound from New York to Cairo, crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard.

In 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

In 2015, a Russian passenger airliner crashed in a remote part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula 23 minutes after taking off from a popular Red Sea resort, killing all 224 people on board.

In 2018, notorious gangster James "Whitey" Bulger was found beaten to death at a federal prison in West Virginia; the 89-year-old former Boston crime boss and longtime FBI informant had been transferred there hours earlier.

In 2019, President Donald Trump announced that he would be making Palm Beach, Florida, his permanent residence after leaving the White House rather than returning to Trump Tower in New York.

In 2020, actor Sean Connery, who rose to international stardom as the suave secret agent James Bond and then carved out an Oscar-winning career in other rugged roles, died at his home in the Bahamas at the age of 90.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Lee Grant is 98. Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather is 92. Folk singer Tom Paxton is 86. Actor Ron Rifkin is 85. Actor Sally Kirkland is 82. Actor Brian Doyle-Murray is 78. Actor Stephen Rea is 77. Olympic gold medal long-distance runner Frank Shorter is 76. Actor Deidre Hall is 76. TV show host Jane Pauley is 73. Actor Brian Stokes Mitchell is 66. Movie director Peter Jackson is 62. Rock musician Larry Mullen Jr. is 62. Actor Dermot Mulroney is 60. Rock musician Mikkey Dee is 60. Rock singer-musician Johnny Marr is 60. Actor Rob Schneider is 60. Country singer Darryl Worley is 59. Actor-comedian Mike O'Malley is 58. Rap musician Ad-Rock (The Beastie Boys) is 57. Rapper Vanilla Ice is 56. Rock musician Rogers Stevens (Blind Melon) is 54. Rock singer Linn Berggren (Ace of Base) is 53. Reality TV host Troy Hartman is 52. Gospel singer Smokie Norful is 50. Actor Piper Perabo is 47. Actor Brian Hallisay is 45. Actor Samaire Armstrong is 43. Actor Eddie Kaye Thomas is 43. Rock musician Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) is 42. Actor Justin Chatwin is 41. Actor Scott Clifton is 39. Actor Vanessa Marano is 31. Actor Holly Taylor is 26. Actor Danielle Rose Russell is 24. Actor-singer Willow Smith is 23.