Today in History: Wednesday, October 31, 2012
On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace church, marking the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
1795 Poet John Keats was born in London.
1864 Nevada became the 36th state.
1926 Magician Harry Houdini died of complications from a ruptured appendix.
1938 The day after his "War of the Worlds" broadcast had panicked radio listeners, Orson Welles expressed "deep regret" but also bewilderment that anyone had thought the show was real.
1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, saying he hoped for fruitful peace negotiations.
1984 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated near her residence by two Sikh security guards.
1992 It was announced that five American nuns in Liberia had been shot to death near the capital Monrovia; the killings were blamed on rebels loyal to Charles Taylor.
1999 EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard.
2005 President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.
2006 P.W. Botha, South Africa's apartheid-era president, died at age 90.