October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining.
- 1632 - Johannes Vermeer, painter (he was actually baptised on that day, his birthdate is not confirmed) (+ 1675)
- 1795 - John Keats, British poet (+ 1821)
- 1815 - Karl Weierstraß[?], German mathematician (+ 1897)
- 1851 - Princess Louise of Sweden[?] (+ 1926)
- 1860 - Juliette Low[?], founder of the Girl Scouts
- 1887 - Chiang Kai-shek, Nationalist Chinese leader (+ 1975)
- 1892 - Alexander Alekhine, chess player (+ 1946)
- 1896 - Ethel Waters, singer, actress (+ 1977)
- 1912 - Dale Evans[?], singer, actress (+ 2001)
- 1920 - Fritz Walter, German football player
- 1920 - Helmut Newton, photographer
- 1920 - Dick Francis, novelist
- 1922 - Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
- 1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes[?], actress
- 1922 - Illinois Jacquet, musician
- 1925 - John Anthony Pople[?], British theoretical chemist
- 1927 - Lee Grant[?], actress
- 1930 - Michael Collins, American astronaut
- 1931 - Dan Rather, American news anchor
- 1936 - Michael Landon[?], actor (+ 1991)
- 1937 - Tom Paxton[?], folk music singer
- 1944 - Kinky Friedman, musician, novelist
- 1945 - Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian and actor
- 1947 - Deidre Hall[?], soap opera actress
- 1947 - Frank Shorter[?], marathon runner
- 1949 - Stephen Rea, actor
- 1950 - Jane Pauley[?], news anchor
- 1950 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (+ 1994)
- 1959 - Neal Stephenson, author
- 1961 - Peter Jackson, New Zealand director
- 1961 - Larry Mullen, Irish drummer for the rock band U2
- 1961 - Peter Jackson, film director
- 1963 - Rob Schneider, actor
- 1964 - Marco van Basten, Dutch football player
- 1966 - Adam Horovitz[?], singer ("The Beastie Boys")
- 1968 - Vanilla Ice, rap music singer
- 1448 - John VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor
- 1611 - Charles IX of Sweden
- 1732 - Victor Amadeus II of Savoy
- 1879 - Jacob Abbott, American author
- 1926 - Harry Houdini, magician
- 1939 - Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist
- 1943 - Max Reinhardt, German director
- 1983 - George Halas[?], American football player, coach, team owner
- 1984 - Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India
- 1986 - Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist, chemist
- 1987 - Joseph Campbell, American author and expert on mythology
- 1988 - John Houseman[?], actor, director, teacher
- 1991 - Joseph Papp[?], theatrical producer
- 1993 - Federico Fellini, Italian director
- 1993 - River Phoenix, actor
- 2000 - Ring Lardner, Jr., American screenwriter
See Also:
October 30 - November 1 - December 31 - August 31 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December