Interesting things happen on October 31st

1846 Donner party, unable to cross the Donner Pass, construct a winter camp

Faced with one last push over mountains that were described as much worse than the Wasatch, the ragtag company had to decide whether to forge ahead or rest their cattle. It was October 20 and they had been told that the pass would not be snowed in until the middle of November. William Pike was killed when a gun being loaded by William Foster was discharged negligently, an event that seemed to make the decision for them; family by family, they resumed their journey, first the Breens, then Kesebergs, Stanton with the Reeds, Graves, and Murphys. The Donners waited and traveled last. After a few miles of rough terrain, an axle broke on one of the Donners' wagons. Jacob and George went into the woods to fashion a replacement. George Donner sliced his hand open while chiseling the wood, but it seemed a superficial wound.

Snow began to fall. The Breens made it up the "massive, nearly vertical slope" 1,000 feet (300 m) to Truckee Lake (now known as Donner Lake), 3 miles (4.8 km) from the summit, and camped near a cabin that had been built two years earlier by another group of pioneers. The Eddys and Kesebergs joined the Breens, attempting to make it over the pass, but they found 5–10-foot (1.5–3.0 m) drifts of snow, and were unable to find the trail. They turned back for Truckee Lake and, within a day, all the families were camped there except for the Donners, who were 5 miles (8.0 km) below them—half a day's journey. Over the next few days, several more attempts were made to breach the pass with their wagons and animals, but all efforts failed.

Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).This Soyuz-TM spacecraft carried the members of Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew. It was launched from Russia at 07:52 UT on October 31, 2000 by a Soyuz-U rocket.

The Population Division of the United Nations declared the "Day of 7 Billion" to be October 31, 2011

Adam Keefe Horovitz (born October 31, 1966), better known as Ad-Rock or King Ad-Rock, is an American rapper, guitarist and actor. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group the Beastie Boys.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) was introduced by the Government of India and inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. The intent is to pay tribute to Vallabhbhai Patel, who was instrumental in keeping India united. It is to be celebrated on 31 October every year as an annual commemoration of the birthday of the Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the founding leaders of Republic of India.

" A local game is also recorded where two pieces of wood were nailed together in the shape of a cross. It was then suspended with 4 candles on each outcrop of the cross shape. Allan apples would then be suspended under the cross. The goal of the game was to catch the apples in your mouth, with hot wax being the penalty for slowness or inaccuracy."

Cornish festival that was traditionally celebrated on the night of 31 October, as well as the following day time, and known elsewhere as Allhallowtide. The festival, in Cornwall is the liturgical feast day of St Allan (also spelled St Allen or St Arlan), who was the bishop of Quimper in the sixth century. As such, Allantide is also known as Allan Night and Allan Day. The origins of the name Allantide also probably stem from the same sources as Hollantide (Wales and the Isle of Man) and Hallowe'en itself.

More commonly called "Full Moon Festival" by locals (as Cambodia does not have an Autumn season). Cambodians organize “the traditional festival of prostrating the moon". In that early morning, people start preparing sacrifices to worship the moon, including fresh flowers, cassava soup, flat rice, and sugar cane juice. At night, people put the sacrifices into a tray, place on a big mat, and sit at ease waiting for the moon. When the moon rises up over the top of a branch, everyone whole-heartedly worships the moon, implores blessings. After the ritual of worshipping the moon, the old take flat rice to put into the mouth of children until they are entirely full in order to spray for perfection, and good things. Although this is a Chinese festival, many Cambodians celebrate this festival as it is believed that exchanging moon cake during this time is thought to bring luck and prosperity. Among Cambodians, this holiday is associated with Khmer beliefs of "Praying to the Moon" and the Buddhist legend of the rabbit.

Michelangelo Buonarroti finishes painting "The Last Judgement" in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

The work was officially unveiled on 31 October 1541, and was a scandal. Michelangelo was widely accused of blasphemy and sacrilege. The nude figures and their provocative poses irritated the authorities and the artist's enemies, and they demanded the fresco be destroyed. However, Pope Paul III was adamant that the fresco should stay. Pope Paul IV, Paul's III successor, instructed the painter Daniel da Volterra to paint clothing onto the figures, where possible, or at least clothe the most offensive parts of their bodies. Michelangelo impassively watched the mutilation of his work, commenting: "Tell His Holiness that this is a small matter, which can easily be rectified. Let His Holiness attend to the reform of the world: reforming a painting is easily done."

1756 Giacomo Casanova escapes from prison in Venice by climbing onto the roof

"He has become so famous for his often complicated and elaborate affairs with women that his name is now synonymous with "womanizer". He associated with European royalty, popes, and cardinals, along with luminaries such as Voltaire, Goethe, and Mozart. He spent his last years in Bohemia as a librarian in Count Waldstein's household, where he also wrote the story of his life."

1868 Standard uniform approved for US postal carriers

First prescribed for letter carriers in 1868, uniforms were cadet blue-gray with black trim. A cap was mandatory!

2011 Socialite and model Kim Kardashian (31) divorces basketball player Kris Humphries (26) due to irreconcilable differences only 72 days after getting married

The World Savings Day was established on October 31, 1924, during the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks) in Milan, Italy. The Italian Professor Filippo Ravizza declared this day the "International Saving Day" on the last day of the congress.

Senator Peter Norbeck sponsored the project and secured federal funding; construction began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941, and his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941

Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, Hooked, in 1989 on Ichiban Records, before signing a contract with SBK Records, a record label of the EMI Group, which released a reformatted version of the album in 1990 under the title To the Extreme, which contained Ice's best-known hits: "Ice Ice Baby" and a cover of "Play That Funky Music". "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts.