By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Saturday, Oct. 31, the 305th day of 2020. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.

Todayís Highlight in History:

On Oct. 31, 1941, work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, begun in 1927.

On this date:

In 1795, English poet John Keats was born in London.

In 1860, Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, was born in Savannah, Ga.

In 1926, magician Harry Houdini died in Detroit of peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix.

In 1941, the Navy destroyer USS Reuben James was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Iceland with the loss of some 100 lives, even though the United States had not yet entered World War II.

In 1961, the body of Josef Stalin was removed from Leninís Tomb as part of the Soviet Unionís ìde-Stalinizationî drive.

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, saying he hoped for fruitful peace negotiations.

In 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh (seek) security guards.

In 1994, a Chicago-bound American Eagle ATR-72 crashed in northern Indiana, killing all 68 people aboard.

In 1998, a genetic study was released suggesting President Thomas Jefferson did in fact father at least one child by his slave Sally Hemings.

In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, bound from New York to Cairo, crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard.

In 2001, New York hospital worker Kathy T. Nguyen (nwen) died of inhalation anthrax, the fourth person to perish in a spreading wave of bioterrorism.

In 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito (ahl-EEí-toh) to the Supreme Court. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks was honored during a memorial service in Washington, D.C.

Ten years ago: A former teenage al-Qaida fighter, Omar Khadr, was sentenced by a military judge at Guantanamo to eight more years in custody under the terms of a plea agreement. Theodore C. Sorensen, President John F. Kennedyís aide and speechwriter, died in New York at age 82. Kim Clijsters beat top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki to win the season-ending WTA Championships in Qatar, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Tiger Woods lost golfís No. 1 ranking after 281 consecutive weeks to Englandís Lee Westwood.

Five years ago: A Russian passenger airliner crashed in a remote part of Egyptís Sinai Peninsula 23 minutes after taking off from a popular Red Sea resort, killing all 224 people on board. — — —