Today in History: October 31st

Highlights of this day in history: Martin Luther leads start of Protestant Reformation; President Lyndon B. Johnson halts U.S. bombing of North Vietnam; India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated; Magician Harry Houdini dies.

Other notable October 31st events include:

1864 – Nevada (click here for correct pronunciation) is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.

1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba – "last successful cavalry charge in history".

1941 – After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.

1943 – World War II: An F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception.

1959 – Lee Harvey Oswald attempts to renounce his American citizenship at the US Embassy in Moscow, USSR.

1997 – 19-year-old British au pair Louise Woodward, convicted by a Cambridge, Massachusetts, jury of second-degree murder the day before, is sentenced to life in prison.

1999 – Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church leaders sign the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, ending a centuries-old doctrinal dispute over the nature of faith and salvation.

1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.