All Souls Day The Mexican Day of the Dead, commemorating the faithful departed.

1992 Magic Johnson The basketball legend retires from the sport for a second time; this time for good.

1988 First Internet Worm   Released by a Cornell graduate student, Robert Morris, Jr.

1988 Dan Quayle While campaigning for the U.S. Vice-Presidency, he was asked how his living arrangements would change if he was elected. He replied, "Well, it would sure be different to live in that White House," apparently not aware that the Vice President doesn't live in the White House.

1986 Iran-Contra Affair U.S. hostage David Jacobsen - held since May 1985 - is released by the Islamic Jihad in Beirut. It was later revealed that the Reagan administration, in violation of public policy, had traded arms to Iran for the release of American hostages.

1983 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day The first federal annual holiday honoring a black American is created when Pres. Reagan signs the legislation to set aside the third Monday in January to honor the birth (January 15, 1929) of the civil-rights leader.

1962 Cuban Missile Crisis Pres. Kennedy announces that the Soviet missile bases in Cuba were being dismantled.

1954 First woman lieutenant governor Consuelo Northrop Bailey of Vermont is elected.

1948 Pres. Truman beats Thomas Dewey in the presidential election, regardless of what the newspapers said.

1947 Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose The billionaire flies his 200-ton craft for its first and only flight. It was the world's largest plane.

1917 Balfour Declaration Established a national home for Jews in Palestine.

1896 First automobile insurance is sold, by General Accident Co. in Britain.

1889 North Dakota becomes the 39th State and South Dakota becomes the 40th.

1867 Harper's Bazaar (Bazaar) founded, a magazine for women.

1835 Discovery of secondary currents in electricity is announced by Joseph Henry.

1800 First president to move into the White House John Adams.

1961 k.d. lang (Katherine Dawn Lang), Canadian Grammy-winning singer. Music: Constant Craving (Grammy).

1953 Alfre Woodard American Emmy-winning actress. TV: St. Elsewhere (Dr. Roxanne Turner).

1917 Durward Randolph Knowles British yachtsman. He tied the record for longest span of Olympic competition (1948-88). Source: Guinness Book of World Records

1913 Burt Lancaster d. 1994 American Oscar-winning actor. Film: From Here to Eternity (1953), Elmer Gantry (1960, Oscar) and The Leopard (1963). He started his career as a circus performer.

1885 Harlow Shapley d. 1972 American astronomer. He made the first accurate estimate of the size of the Milky Way galaxy (1918).

1865 Warren Gamaliel Harding d. 1923 29th U.S. President (1921-23). He died while in office, making Vice-President Calvin Coolidge president.

1795 James Knox Polk d. 1849 11th U.S. President (1845-49).

1755 Marie Antoinette d. 1793 Queen of France, disliked by her people for her extravagances and politics, she was guillotined for treason and attempting to incite a civil war.

1734 Daniel Boone d. 1820 American pioneer, Indian fighter.

1470 Edward V d. 1483 King of England (April-June 1483). He and his brother, the Duke of York, were put to death by their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

2002 Selden Rodman b. 1909 American author. He edited One Hundred American Poems (1948), which became the first paperback published by Signet Books.

1992 Hal Roach b. 1892 American Oscar-winning film director, producer. His films starred Harold Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, and the Little Rascals.

1991 Irwin Allen b. 1916 American producer, "The Master of Disaster." TV: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost in Space. Film: The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974).

1964 Ralph Edward Schneider b. 1909 American businessman, founded Diner's Club (1950), the first credit card company.

1961 James Grover Thurber b. 1894 American author, cartoonist. Blind since the age of 40, he continued to illustrate his books until his death.

1950 George Bernard Shaw b. 1856 Irish playwright, ardent supporter of the Fabian Society which promoted non-violent methods to gain equal rights for women and the fair treatment of the working class. Writings: Androcles and the Lion (1912) and Pygmalion (1913), which won both a Nobel Prize (1925) and an Oscar (1938) and was later produced as My Fair Lady.

1941 Simon Guggenheim b. 1867 American philanthropist. He and his wife created the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1925) in memory of their son.

1887 Jenny Lind b. 1820 Swedish singer, known as "The Swedish Nightingale." She toured with P.T. Barnum.

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