The Edge

Today is Thursday, Oct. 31, the 305th day of 2024. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.

Today in history

On Oct. 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi, India’s Prime Minister for more than 15 years, was assassinated by two of her own security guards.

Also on this date

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation making Nevada the 36th state, eight days before the presidential election.

In 1913, the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across the United States, was dedicated.

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

In 1950, Earl Lloyd of the Washington Capitols became the first African-American to play in an NBA game; Lloyd would go on to play for nine seasons, winning an NBA championship in 1955 with the Syracuse Nationals.

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

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 to the Supreme Court.

In 2011, the United Nations estimated that world population had reached seven billion people (world population is greater than eight billion today).

Fun fact

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival of “Samhain” — the celebration of the end of harvest season. Back then, the Gaels believed that on Oct. 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead got a little blurry and the dead would come back to life and wreak havoc among the living. One way to scare the dead? Wear costumes and masks.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Lee Grant is 99. Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather is 93. Actor Stephen Rea is 78. Olympic gold medal marathoner Frank Shorter is 77. TV host Jane Pauley is 74. Football coach Nick Saban is 73. Film director Peter Jackson is 63. Rock drummer Larry Mullen Jr. (U2) is 63. Rock musician Johnny Marr is 61. Baseball Hall of Famer Fred McGriff is 61. Actor Dermot Mulroney is 61. Country singer Darryl Worley is 60. Actor-comedian Mike O’Malley is 58. Rap musician Adam Horovitz (Beastie Boys) is 58. Rapper Vanilla Ice is 57. Actor Leticia Wright is 31. Singer Willow Smith is 24.

The Edge is compiled by Katie Clohessy. She can be contacted at kclohessy@lmtribune.com.