Halloween (October 31) originated with the ancient Celts, who, beginning at sundown on October 31 and extending into November 1, celebrated Samhain (pronounced sow-in, which rhymes with cow-in), which marked the end of harvest time and the beginning of the new year. The ancient Celts believed that at this time, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest, thereby making it a good time to communicate with the deceased and to divine the future.
In later years, the Irish used hollowed-out, candlelit turnips, carved with a demon’s face to frighten away the spirits. When Irish immigrants in the 1840s found few turnips in the United States, they used the more plentiful pumpkins instead.
Daily Calendar for Friday, October 31, 2025
Born
- John Keats (poet) –
- Richard Morris Hunt (architect) –
- Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (author) –
- Ethel Waters (actress) –
- Lee Grant (actress) –
- Dan Rather (newscaster) –
- Michael Landon (actor) –
- Brian Piccolo (football player) –
- Frank Shorter (runner) –
- Jane Pauley (broadcast journalist) –
- John Candy (actor) –
- Peter Jackson (director) –
- Rob Schneider (actor) –
- Mike O'Malley (actor) –
- Eddie Kaye Thomas (actor) –
- Samaire Armstrong (actress) –
Died
- Harry Houdini (magician) –
- George Halas (football coach) –
- Federico Fellini (filmmaker) –
- River Phoenix (actor) –
Events
- Martin Luther affixed his 95 Theses to door of Wittenberg Castle Church–
- Nevada admitted to the Union as the 36th state–
- The U.S. naval destroyer Reuben James was torpedoed by a German submarine and sunk off the coast of Iceland, despite the fact that the U.S. was not at war with Germany–
- After 14 years of work, drilling was completed on Mount Rushmore, near Keystone, South Dakota–
- Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, is assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in New Delhi. Rajiv Gandhi is inaugurated as his mother’s successor–
- Due to ice build up on its wings, an American Eagle commuter plane crashed in Roselawn, Indiana, killing all 68 passengers and crew members aboard–
Weather
- The temperature at Minneapolis, Minnesota, reached 83 degrees F–
- New York City experienced an October high temperature of 95 degrees F–
