October 31
October 31 is the 305th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 61 days remain until the year's end. It falls in autumn (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Scorpio.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On October 31 the Sun's declination is approximately -15.4°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a October 31.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Christian feast day: Alphonsus Rodriguez
- Christian feast day: Ampliatus
- Christian feast day: Begu
- Christian feast day: Erc of Slane (in Cornwall)
- Christian feast day: Foillan (in Namur)
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2020 — Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens its doors after nearly 10 years of delays due to construction issues and project corruption. ↗(6 years ago)more
Berlin Brandenburg Airport is an international airport in Schönefeld, just south of the German capital and state of Berlin, in the state of Brandenburg. It is located 18 kilometres (11 mi) south-east of the city centre and serves as a base for Condor, easyJet, Eurowings, Ryanair and Sundair.
2017 — A truck drives into a crowd in Lower Manhattan, New York City, killing eight people. ↗(9 years ago)more
On October 31, 2017, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov drove a rented pickup truck into cyclists and runners for about one mile of the Hudson River Park's bike path alongside West Street from Houston Street south to Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
2015 — Metrojet Flight 9268 is bombed over the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. ↗(11 years ago)more
Metrojet Flight 9268 was an international chartered passenger flight operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia. On 31 October 2015, at 06:13 local time EST, the Airbus A321-231 operating the flight exploded above the northern Sinai Peninsula following its departure from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Egypt, en route to Pulkovo Airport, Saint Petersb...
2014 — 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. ↗(12 years ago)more
VSS Enterprise was the first SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceplane, built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. It had been planned to be the first of five commercial suborbital SS2 spacecraft planned by Virgin Galactic, but only one other was ever built.
2011 — The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as the Day of Seven Billion. ↗(15 years ago)more
In world demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently alive. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded 8 billion (8,000,000,000) on November 15, 2022. It took around 300,000 years of human prehistory and history for the human population to reach a billion and only 218 more years from there to reach 8 billion.
2003 — Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir's 22 years in power. ↗(23 years ago)more
Mahathir bin Mohamad is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who served as the fourth and seventh prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. He was the country's longest-serving prime minister, serving for a cumulative total of 24 years.
2002 — 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. ↗(24 years ago)more
Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.3 million at the 2020 census.
2000 — Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then. ↗(26 years ago)more
Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spaceflight to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft carried the members of Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew. It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 07:52 UT on October 31, 2000, by a Soyuz-U rocket.
2000 — Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crashes on takeoff from Taipei, killing 83. ↗(26 years ago)more
Singapore Airlines Flight 006 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Los Angeles International Airport via Chiang Kai-shek International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan.
1999 — Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted. ↗(27 years ago)more
A yacht is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use.
1999 — EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, killing all 217 people on board. ↗(27 years ago)more
EgyptAir Flight 990 was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Cairo International Airport, with a stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. On October 31, 1999, the Boeing 767-300ER operating the route crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 60 miles (100 km) south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, killing all 21...
1998 — Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors. ↗(28 years ago)more
In the Iraq disarmament crisis of the early 2000s, Iraq, led by president Saddam Hussein, was pressured by the United States and its other adversaries to destroy alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)—biological, chemical, and nuclear.
Notable births
2005 — Leonor, Princess of Asturias ↗(21 years ago)more
Leonor, Princess of Asturias (Leonor de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz; born 31 October 2005) is the heir presumptive to the Spanish throne. She is the elder daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
2002 — Ansu Fati ↗(24 years ago)more
Anssumane "Ansu" Fati Vieira is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Ligue 1 club Monaco, on loan from La Liga club Barcelona. Born in Guinea-Bissau, he plays for the Spain national team.
2000 — Willow Smith, American singer, actress, and dancer ↗(26 years ago)more
Willow Smith, also known mononymously as Willow, is an American singer, actress, and dancer. The daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, she has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, and nominations for two Daytime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and a MTV Video Music Award.
- 1999 — Danielle Rose Russell, American actress ↗(27 years ago)
more
Danielle Rose Russell is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Hope Mikaelson in the fifth and final season of The CW supernatural drama series The Originals and as the star of the spinoff series, Legacies, which premiered on October 25, 2018, and aired four seasons, ending on June 16, 2022.
1999 — Léa Serna, French figure skater ↗(27 years ago)more
Léa Serna is a French figure skater. She is the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy silver medalist, a two-time International Cup of Nice champion, and a three-time French national champion (2021–23).
1997 — Siobhán Bernadette Haughey, Hong Kong-Irish swimmer ↗(29 years ago)more
Siobhán Bernadette Haughey is a Hong Kong professional competitive swimmer. She became the first Hong Kong swimmer to win an Olympic medal and the first Hong Kong athlete to win two Olympic medals in any sport, after winning silver in the women's 200-metre freestyle and women's 100-metre freestyle during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
Notable deaths
2023 — Ken Mattingly, American astronaut (born 1936) ↗(3 years ago)more
Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II was an American aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, rear admiral in the United States Navy, and astronaut who orbited the Moon on Apollo 16 and flew on the STS-4 and STS-51-C missions.
- 2021 — Peter Philpott, Australian cricketer (born 1934) ↗(5 years ago)
more
Peter Ian Philpott was an Australian cricketer. He was a leg-spin bowler and middle order batsman who played for New South Wales and the national team in the 1960s. More recently, he was known as a coach.
2020 — Sean Connery, Scottish actor (born 1930) ↗(6 years ago)more
Sir Thomas Sean Connery was a Scottish actor. Connery was the first actor to portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond in motion pictures, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. He originated the role in Dr.
2020 — MF Doom, British-American rapper and record producer (born 1971) ↗(6 years ago)more
Daniel Dumile, also known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom, was a British and American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, he became a major figure of underground hip hop and alternative hip hop in the 2000s, and has been widely regarded as one of the gr...
2018 — Willie McCovey, American baseball player (born 1938) ↗(8 years ago)more
Willie Lee McCovey, nicknamed "Stretch" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a member of the San Francisco Giants for whom he played 19 seasons.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (305) | 5 × 61 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (61) | 61 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 31102026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -15.36° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 50 days |