Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/October 31
October 31: Halloween, Samhain, Reformation Day in Protestantism
- 1517 – According to traditional accounts, Martin Luther (pictured) nailed his 95 Theses onto the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
- 1863 – The New Zealand land wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of Waikato along the Waikato River.
- 1922 – Benito Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy at the age of 39, establishing a coalition government composed of fascists, nationalists, and liberals during his first years in office.
- 1941 – Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers completed the colossal busts of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln at Mount Rushmore.
- 1984 – Indira Gandhi, India's first and to date only female prime minister, was assassinated by two of her own bodyguards after Operation Blue Star on the holy Sikh temple in Amritsar. Riots soon broke out in New Delhi and several other cities throughout the country.
More events on this day... Recent days: October 30 – October 29 – October 28
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