Historical Events for 31st October 2026

1799 – Francisco Goya is appointed first court painter at the Spanish court in Madrid, the highest honor for a Spanish painter
1956 – Rear Admiral G. J. Dufek becomes the first American to set foot on the South Pole
1967 – Nguy?n V?n Thi?u takes oath of office to become the first President of the Second Republic of South Vietnam
1979 – Western Airlines Flight 2605, a DC-10, crashes at Mexico City International Airport, killing 72
1985 – Last day in Test cricket for Pakistan’s Zaheer Abbas
1994 – The single “Creep” is released by TLC, their first No.1 in the US (Billboard Song of the Year 1995)
2003 – Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir’s 22 years in power
2020 – New Zealand Rugby Union team routs Australia 43-5 in Sydney to retain the Bledisloe Cup (2-1) for the 18th straight series; Wallabies’ largest-ever defeat by All Blacks

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