Today in History

From wikipedia.org:

Events
1864 - Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state
1892 - Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1926 - Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured
1936 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.
1938 - Great Depression: In an effort to try restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public
1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Great Britain
1941 - After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore
2000 - The last Multics machine was shut down

Births
1345 - King Fernando of Portugal (d. 1383)
1391 - King Duarte of Portugal (d. 1438)
1632 - Johannes Vermeer, painter (he was actually baptised on that day, his birthdate is not confirmed) (d. 1675)
1795 - John Keats, British poet (d. 1821)
1860 - Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts
1887 - Chiang Kai-shek, Nationalist Chinese leader (d. 1975)
1920 - Dick Francis, novelist
1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes, actress
1922 - Illinois Jacquet, musician
1930 - Michael Collins, American astronaut
1931 - Dan Rather, American news anchor
1936 - Michael Landon, actor (d. 1991)
1947 - Frank Shorter, marathon runner

Deaths
1448 - John VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor
1926 - Harry Houdini, magician
1984 - Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India
1986 - Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist, chemist
1987 - Joseph Campbell, American author and expert on mythology
1999 - Greg Moore, CART driver (b. 1975)

Holidays & observances
Halloween
Samhain (an approximate date)