What Happened in October 1931

Historical Events

Catholic Encyclical

Oct 2 Pope Pius XI encyclical On economic crisis

Oct 4 Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould debuts
Oct 4 Juan Esteban Montero becomes President of Chile
Oct 5 1st nonstop transpacific flight, Japan to Wash (Herndon & Pangborn)
Oct 5 Paul Green's play "House of Connelly" premieres in NYC
Oct 6 Joris van Severen forms Verdinaso (Union of Flemish National Solidarists)
Oct 7 1st infra-red photograph, Rochester, NY
Oct 10 A J Bennett hits H Garbarino for 1st scoring pass in Canada's Big 4
Oct 10 Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals beat Philadelphia A's, 4-2 at Sportsman's Park for a 4 games to 3 series win
Oct 10 William Waltons "Belshazzar's Feast" premieres in Leeds
Oct 11 100,000 extreme-right Germans form "Harzburger Front"
Oct 12 1st International Conference on Calendar Reform

Christ the Redeemer

Oct 12 Christ the Redeemer statue opens standing 30 meters high (98 ft) on top of Mount Corcovado overlooking Rio de Janeiro, built by engineer Heitor da Silva Costa

Oct 13 Musical "Everybody's Welcome" with Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey premieres in NYC

Cavalcade

Oct 13 Noël Coward's play "Cavalcade" premieres in London

Playwright, Director and Singer Noël Coward

Oct 14 1st broadcast of Dutch Radio Peoples University
Oct 14 Spanish Cortes agrees to separation of Church & State
Oct 16 US trunk murderess Winnie Ruth Judd murders two friends then dismembers one of them in Phoenix

Al Capone Convicted

Oct 18 Gangster Al Capone is convicted on five of the 23 counts of tax evasion against him, later fined $50,000 and sentenced to 11 years in jail

MVP Frankie Frisch

Oct 20 Frankie Frisch of the Cards named MVP

Oct 24 Gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years for tax evasion
Oct 24 George Washington Bridge linking New York City and New Jersey dedicated, opens the next day

Mourning Becomes Electra

Oct 26 Eugene O'Neill's play cycle "Mourning Becomes Electra" premieres in NYC

Oct 27 Chuhei Numbu of Japan, sets then long jump record at 26' 2½"
Oct 29 Lefty Grove, A's pitcher who won 31 games, is named the AL's MVP

Music History

Oct 30 Eugene Ormandy makes his debut leading the Philadelphia Orchestra, substituting for an ailing Arturo Toscanini

Oct 30 W2XB TV channel 1 in NYC, NY (NBC) begins broadcasting

Events in 1931

Famous Birthdays

Oct 1 Reginald Hall, endocrinologist
Oct 1 Sylvano Bussotti, Italian composer, filmmaker and novelist, born in Florence, Italy (d. 2021)

Glenn Hall (92 years old)

Oct 3 Canadian Hockey HOF goaltender (7 x NHL First All-Star Team; Stanley Cup 1961 Chicago Black Hawks; butterfly goalkeeping), born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan

Oct 4 Basil D'Oliveira, English cricket all-rounder (44 Tests, 2,484 @ 40.06, 47 wickets), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2011)
Oct 4 Dick Tracy, comic strip crimestopper
Oct 4 Terence Conran, English designer and restaurateur (Habitat), born in Esher, England (d. 2020)
Oct 6 Fred Graham, American newscaster and journalist (CBS News, Court TV), born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 2019)
Oct 6 Riccardo Giacconi, Italian American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize for Physics 2002 for X-ray astronomy, born in Genoa, Italy (d. 2018)
Oct 7 Cotton Fitzsimmons, American Basketball HOF coach (NJCAA C'ship 1966, 67, Moberly Area CC; Kansas State; NBA: Phoenix Suns; Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs), born in Hannibal, Missouri (d. 2004)

Desmond Tutu (1931-2021)

Oct 7 Anglican Archbishop of South Africa and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner, born in Klerksdorp, Western Transvaal, South Africa

Oct 8 Anderl Molterer, Austrian alpine skier (Olympic silver Giant slalom, bronze Downhill 1956; Hahnenkamm Race 1959), born in Kitzbühel, Austria (d. 2023)
Oct 8 Bill Brown, Scottish soccer goalkeeper (28 caps; Dundee, Tottenham Hotspur), born in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland (d. 2004)
Oct 8 Pepper Rodgers, American football coach (University of Kansas, UCLA, Georgia Tech; USFL: Memphis Showboats), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2020)
Oct 9 Anthony "Tony" Booth, British actor and father of Cherie Blair (Till Death Us Do Part), born in Liverpool, Lancashire (d. 2017)
Oct 11 Dorothy Woolfolk, American comic book editor (Kryptonite), born in New York City (d. 2000)
Oct 12 Mohamed Soukhane, Algerian soccer defender (6 caps; Le Havre AC), born in Algiers, Algeria (d. 2021)
Oct 12 Raoul Pleskow, Austrian-American composer, born in Vienna, Austria
Oct 13 Eddie Mathews, American Baseball HOF third baseman (512 career HRs; 12 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1957, 68; Boston/Milwaukee Braves) and manager (Atlanta Braves 1972-74), born in Texarkana, Texas (d. 2001)
Oct 13 Janice Elliott, English novelist, born in Derby, England (d. 1995)

Raymond Kopa (1931-2017)

Oct 13 French soccer attacking midfielder (45 caps; Angers, Reims, Real Madrid; Ballon d'Or 1958; 'the Napoleon of football'), born in Noeux-les-Mines, France

Oct 14 Duško Gojković, Serbian trumpeter (Balkan Blue), born in Jajce, Bosnia
Oct 14 Nikhil Banerjee, Indian classical musician, born in Calcutta, India (d. 1986)
Oct 14 Rafael Puyana, Colombian baroque harpsichordist (NY debut 1957), born in Bogotá, Colombia (d. 2013)
Oct 14 Rinus Bennaars, Dutch soccer midfielder (15 caps; Feyenoord Rotterdam), born in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands (d. 2021)
Oct 15 (Lionel) Frederick "Freddy" Cole, American jazz singer and pianist, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2020) [1]
Oct 15 A. P. J. [Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen] Abdul Kalam, Indian scientist and politician, 11th President of India (2002-07), born in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu (d. 2015)
Oct 16 Charles W Colson, presidential adviser (Watergate figure), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2012)
Oct 16 Rosa Rosal [Florence Gayda], Filipino actress and humanitarian described as "original femme fatale of Philippine cinema", born in Manila, Philippine Islands
Oct 17 Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian writer
Oct 18 Ed Biles, American football coach (College: Xavier 1962-68; NFL: Houston Oilers 1981-83), born in Reading, Ohio (d. 2020)
Oct 18 Ien Dales, Dutch politician (Minister of Internal minister 1989-94), born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 1994)
Oct 19 Atsushi Miyagi, Japanese tennis player (US Open doubles 1955 [with Kosei Kamo] first Japanese players to win a Grand Slam event), born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 2021)
Oct 19 John le Carré [pen name for David Cornwell], English novelist (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold), born in Poole, England (d. 2020)
Oct 19 László Kalmár, Hungarian composer (Triangles), born in Budapest (d. 1995)
Oct 20 Jules Eskin, American cellist (Boston Symphony, 1964-2016), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2016)
Oct 20 Ken Morrison, English supermarket tycoon (Morrisons), born in Bradford, England (d. 2017)

Mickey Mantle (1931-1995)

Oct 20 American Baseball HOF outfielder (1956 Triple Crown; 20 x MLB All Star; 7 × World Series; 3 × AL MVP; NY Yankees), born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma

Oct 20 Zeke Bratkowski, American NFL quarterback and coach (Green Bay Packers), born in Danville, Illinois (d. 2019)
Oct 21 Jim Parks, English cricket wicketkeeper (46 Tests, 114 dismissals, 2 x 100, 9 x 50, HS 108no; Sussex CCC, Somerset CCC), born in Haywards Heath, England (d. 2022)
Oct 21 Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor and director known as the "Elvis Presley of India" (Amaran, Brahmachari, Vidhaata), born in Bombay, British India (d. 2011)
Oct 22 Hikaru Hayashi, Japanese pianist, conductor and American (Onibaba), born in Tokyo (d. 2012)
Oct 23 Diana Dors [Fluck], British actress and singer (Berserk!, Steaming), born in Swindon, Wiltshire (d. 1984)

Oct 23 American Baseball HOF pitcher (9 x MLB All-Star; perfect game 1964; no-hitter 1958; Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies) and politician (US Senator Kentucky 1999-2011; US Representative 1987-99), born in Southgate, Kentucky

Oct 24 Sofia Gubaidulina, Tatar-Russian composer (Stimmen Verstummen), born in Chistopol, Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Oct 25 Annie Girardot, French actress (Three Rooms in Manhattan, Gypsy, Jacko & Lise), born in Paris, France (d. 2011)
Oct 25 Jimmy McIlroy, Irish footballer and football manager, born in Lambeg, Ireland
Oct 25 Klaus Hasselmann, German oceanographer (2021 Nobel Prize for Physics for pioneering work on climate change), born in Hamburg, Germany
Oct 26 Hank Garrett [Henry Weinblatt], American actor (Car 54 Where Are You?; Three Days of the Condor), and professional wrestler (The Minnesota Farm Boy), born in Monticello, New York
Oct 27 David Bryant, English lawn bowler (World Outdoor C'ship singles 1966, 80, 88; 4 x C'wealth Games gold singles), born in Clevedon, England (d. 2020)
Oct 27 Nawal el-Saadawi, Egyptian feminist writer and activist, born in Kafr Tahla, Egypt (d. 2021) [1]
Oct 29 Franco Interlenghi, Italian actor (I Vitelloni, Ulysses, Sciuscià), born in Rome, Kingdom of Italy (d. 2015)
Oct 30 David Wilson, British archaeologist and director of British Museum (1977-92), born in Dacre Banks, England
Oct 30 Dick Gautier, American stage and screen actor (Get Smart -"Hymie"; Bye-Bye Birdie; When Things Were Rotten), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2017)
Oct 30 John Macchia, American actor (Beach Blanket Bingo, Beach Party), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1967)

Dan Rather (92 years old)

Oct 31 American news anchor (CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes), born in Wharton, Texas

Oct 31 David Lumsdaine, Australian composer (Annotations of Auschwitz), born in Sydney, Australia

Born in 1931

Famous Deaths

Oct 2 George Bradley, American baseball pitcher (first no-hitter in MLB history 1876; NL ERA leader 1876), dies at 79
Oct 2 Thomas Lipton, Scottish yachtsman (5-time America's Cup challenger) and tea merchant (Lipton Tea), dies at 81
Oct 3 Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist and composer (Det Uudslukkelige), dies of a heart attack at 66
Oct 7 Charles Ricketts, British artist and illustrator, dies at 65
Oct 7 Daniel Chester French, American sculptor (Minute Man), dies at 81
Oct 8 John Monash, Australian military general during WWI (Gallipoli, Western Front), dies at 66
Oct 10 Carl von Bach, German mechanical engineer, dies at 84
Oct 13 Ernst Didring, Swedish author (b. 1868)
Oct 17 Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist, dies at 47

Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

Oct 18 American inventor (lightbulb, phonograph, motion picture camera), dies of diabetes complications at 84

Oct 20 Emánuel Moór, Hungarian composer, pianist, and inventor of musical instruments, dies at 68
Oct 21 Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian playwright (La Ronde - Reigen), and novelist (Fräulein Else), dies a brain hemorrhage at 69
Oct 24 Murray Bisset, South African cricket wicket-keeper and captain (3 Tests, 3 dismissals; Western Province), dies at 55
Oct 26 Charles Comiskey, American Baseball HOF infielder (St. Louis Brown Stockings/Browns), team owner (Chicago White Sox) and manager (St. Louis Browns), dies at 72
Oct 29 Luciano Gallet, Brazilian pianist, composer, conductor, and educator, dies at 38

What Happened in 1931

Hawke's Bay Earthquake
February 3, 1931

On This Day