Today is Monday, Oct. 31, the 305th day of 2016. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.
On this date:
In 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace church, marking the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
In 1795, English poet John Keats was born in London.
In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state as President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation.
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. Work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, begun in 1927.
In 1956, Navy Rear Adm. George J. Dufek and six others became the first air travelers to set foot at the South Pole.
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 security guards.
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