31 October

1517     Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.

1587     Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.

1632     Johannes Vermeer (born), Flemish painter (died 1675)

1913     Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across United States.

1919     Magnus Wenninger (born), American mathematician

1926     Hungarian-American Magician Harry Houdini (born 1874) dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured.

1936     Michael Landon (born), American actor (died 1991)

1941     After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.

1943     Elliott Forbes-Robinson (born), American race car driver

1956     The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.

1961     In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin’s body is removed from Lenin’s Tomb.

1968     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.

1984     Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (born 1917) is assassinated by two security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi and nearly 10,000 Sikhs are killed.

1993     Federico Fellini (died), Italian director (born 1920)

1993     River Phoenix (died), American actor and singer (born 1970)

1995     Rosalind Cash (died), American actress and singer (born 1938)

1998     Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

1999     Greg Moore (died), Canadian race car driver (born 1975)

1999     Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.

2000    Ring Lardner, Jr. (died), American screenwriter (born 1915)

2002    A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy andobstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.

2008    Studs Terkel (died), American author and actor (born 1912)

2011     The global population of humans reached seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.

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EO Smith

Interests include biological anthropology, evolution, social behavior, and human behavior. Conducted field research in the Tana River National Primate Reserve, Kenya and on Angaur, Palau, Micronesia, as well as research with captive nonhuman primates at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Institute for Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya.
EO Smith
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