Today in History: October 31, Indira Gandhi assassinated

Today in History

Today is Monday, Oct. 31, the 304th day of 2022. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 31, 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh (sihk) security guards.

On this date:

In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state as President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation.

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

In 1961, the body of Josef Stalin was removed from Lenin’s Tomb as part of the Soviet Union’s “de-Stalinization” drive.

In 1964, Theodore C. Freeman, 34, became the first member of NASA’s astronaut corps to die when his T-38 jet crashed while approaching Ellington Air Force Base in Houston.

In 1967, Nguyen Van Thieu (nwen van too) took the oath of office as the first president of South Vietnam’s second republic.

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 1992, Pope John Paul II formally proclaimed that the Roman Catholic Church had erred in condemning the astronomer Galileo for holding that the Earth was not the center of the universe.

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 (ah-LEE’-toh) to the Supreme Court. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks was honored during a memorial service in Washington, D.C.

In 2015, a Russian passenger airliner crashed in a remote part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula 23 minutes after taking off from a popular Red Sea resort, killing all 224 people on board.

In 2019, President Donald Trump announced that he would be making Palm Beach, Florida, his permanent residence after leaving the White House rather than returning to Trump Tower in New York.

In 2020, actor Sean Connery, who rose to international stardom as the suave secret agent James Bond and then carved out an Oscar-winning career in other rugged roles, died at his home in the Bahamas at the age of 90.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama joined New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for a tour of damage along the Jersey coast from Superstorm Sandy; Wall Street was back in business after a two-day shutdown caused by the storm. (Stocks finished mixed).

Five years ago: Eight people were killed when a man drove a truck along a bike path in New York City in an attack that authorities immediately labeled terrorism; the driver, identified by authorities as Uzbek immigrant Sayfullo Saipov, was shot and wounded by police. Netflix said it was suspending production on “House of Cards” following sexual harassment allegations against its star, Kevin Spacey. (Spacey would later be fired from the show, and production resumed without him.)

One year ago: Southwest Airlines said it was investigating after a pilot greeted passengers over the plane’s public address system using a phrase that had become a stand-in for insulting President Joe Biden. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she had contracted COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms. American Airlines canceled hundreds of flights for a third straight day as it struggled with staffing shortages.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Lee Grant is 97. Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather is 91. Folk singer Tom Paxton is 85. Actor Ron Rifkin is 84. Actor Sally Kirkland is 81. Actor Brian Doyle-Murray is 77. Actor Stephen Rea is 76. Olympic gold medal long-distance runner Frank Shorter is 75. Actor Deidre Hall is 75. TV show host Jane Pauley is 72. Actor Brian Stokes Mitchell is 65. Movie director Peter Jackson is 61. Rock musician Larry Mullen is 61. Actor Dermot Mulroney is 59. Rock musician Mikkey Dee is 59. Rock singer-musician Johnny Marr is 59. Actor Rob Schneider is 59. Country singer Darryl Worley is 58. Actor-comedian Mike O’Malley is 57. Rap musician Adrock is 56. Rap performer Vanilla Ice (aka Rob Van Winkle) is 55. Rock musician Rogers Stevens (Blind Melon) is 53. Rock singer Linn Berggren (Ace of Base) is 52. Reality TV host Troy Hartman is 51. Gospel singer Smokie Norful is 49. Actor Piper Perabo (PEER’-uh-boh) is 46. Actor Brian Hallisay is 44. Actor Samaire (SAH’-mee-rah) Armstrong is 42. Actor Eddie Kaye Thomas is 42. Rock musician Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) is 41. Actor Justin Chatwin is 40. Actor Scott Clifton is 38. Actor Vanessa Marano is 30. Actor Holly Taylor is 25. Actor Danielle Rose Russell is 23. Actor-singer Willow Smith is 22.

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