31 October

Philippe de Vitry
31 October 1291 – 9 June 1361
French composer, considered the greatest musician of his time. » more

Jan Vermeer
31 October 1632 – 15 December 1675
Dutch Baroque artist who majored in interior scenes. Paintings can be seen in the Louvre Museum, Paris; National Gallery, London; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Städel Museum, Frankfurt; Royal Collection, London. » more

John Keats
31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821
English poet of renown. Honoured at The Keats-Shelley House museum, Rome. » more

Benoît Fourneyron
31 October 1802 – 31 July 1867
French engineer who invented the water turbine, the basis of hydro electricity. » more

Sir Joseph Swan
31 October 1828 – 27 May 1914
English scientist who developed the dry photographic plate and a prototype electric light bulb. » more

Carl von Voit
31 October 1831 – 31 January 1908
German scientist whose metabolism research became the forerunner of nutritional science. » more

Marie Laurencin
31 October 1883 – 8 June 1956
French artist and printmaker. Work can be seen in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; Chi-Mei Museum, Taiwan; Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris; Musée Marie Laurencin, Tokyo. » more

Chiang Kai-shek
31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975
Chinese statesman who headed the Nationalist Government (now in Taiwan). » more

Ollie Johnston
31 October 1912 – 14 April 2008
American animator with the Disney Studios for 43 years. » more

Peter Jackson
31 October 1961
New Zealand film director, noted for the ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy of films. » more

Today’s Quote
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
 … Anonymous

Today’s No. 1 Hit
1967 – To Sir, with Love by Lulu

Today’s events
31 October 1892 – The first Sherlock Holmes mystery publish by Arthur Doyle.
31 October 1913 – The Lincoln Highway dedicated as the first East/West road across USA, from Times Square in New York to Lincoln Park in San Francisco.
31 October 1923 – The longest ‘heat wave’ commences in Marble Bar (Australia), with temperatures above 100 degrees F (38 degrees C), continuing without break until 7 April 1924 (160 days).
31 October 1924 – Declared ‘International Savings Day‘ at a banking conference. Maybe worth reviving.