TODAY IN HISTORY

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Today is Saturday, Oct. 31, the 305th day of 2020. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 31, 1941, work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, begun in 1927.

On this date:

In 1926, magician Harry Houdini died in Detroit of peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix.

In 1941, the Navy destroyer USS Reuben James was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Iceland with the loss of some 100 lives, even though the United States had not yet entered World War II.

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 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh (seek) security guards.

In 1994, a Chicago-bound American Eagle ATR-72 crashed in northern Indiana, killing all 68 people aboard.

In 1998, a genetic study was released suggesting President Thomas Jefferson did in fact father at least one child by his slave Sally Hemings.

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. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks was honored during a memorial service in Washington, D.C.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Lee Grant is 95. Former astronaut Michael Collins is 90. Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather is 89. Folk singer Tom Paxton is 83. Actor Brian Doyle-Murray is 75. Actor Stephen Rea is 74. Olympic gold medal long-distance runner Frank Shorter is 73. Actor Deidre Hall is 73. TV show host Jane Pauley is 70. Movie director Peter Jackson is 59. Actor Rob Schneider is 57. Country singer Darryl Worley is 56. Rap performer Vanilla Ice (aka Rob Van Winkle) is 53. Reality TV host Troy Hartman is 49. Actor-singer Willow Smith is 20.

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