TUESDAY INHISTORY

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 31, the 304th day of 2017. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.

Highlight in History:

On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther sent his 95 Theses denouncing what he saw as the abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the sale of indulgences, to the Archbishop of Mainz, Germany, marking the start of the Protestant Re formation.

On this date:

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

In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state as President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation.

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 WorldWar II.

In 1956, Navy Rear Adm. George J. Dufek and six others becamethe first air travelers to set foot at the South Pole.

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

In 1992, Pope John Paul II formally proclaimed that the Roman Catholic Church had erred in condemning the astronomer Galileo for holding that the Earth was not the center of the universe.

Ten years ago: Three lead defendants in the 2004 Madrid train bombings were found guilty of mass murder and other charges, but four other top suspects were convicted on lesser charges and an accused ringleader was completely acquitted in the attacks that killed 191 people.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama joined New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for a tour of damage along the Jersey coast from Superstorm Sandy; Wall Street was back in business after a two-day shutdown caused by the storm (stocks finished mixed).

One year ago: Pope Francis marked the upcoming 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation by traveling to secular Sweden, where he encouraged Catholics and Lutherans to forgive the “errors” of the past and forge greater unity, including sharing in the Eucharist.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Lee Grant is 92. Former astronaut Michael Collins is 87. Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather is 86. Actor David Ogden Stiers is 75. Olympic gold medal long-distance runner Frank Shorter is 70. Movie director Peter Jackson is 56. Actor Rob Schneider is 53. Rap performer Vanilla Ice is 50.

ThoughtforToday: “There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.”— AndreGide, French author and critic (18691951).