Today in History: Great Depression ushered in

The following are some of the major events that occurred on 31 October:

683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down.

1517 – Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.

1822 – Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempts to dissolve the Congress of the Mexican Empire.

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

1922 – Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy.

1938 – Great Depression: In an effort to restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.

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

1961 – In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin’s body is removed from Lenin’s Mausoleum, also known as the Lenin Tomb.

1998 – Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

2011 – The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as the Day of Seven Billion.