On this day

October 31, 1997

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from October 31, 1997

Messinger Has Moved Right, But Not Sufficiently for Some

By Frank Bruni

Democratic mayoral nominee Ruth W Messinger has succeeded in defining her political identity as champion of underdog, believer in aggressive ministrations of government and populist ready to challenge corporate interests; these are traits that emerge repeatedly in examination of Messinger's two-decade political career as City Councilwoman and Manhattan Borough President; while supporters look to her past and see evidence that she would institute more compassionate city government, detractors see proof that she would usher in less restrained and sensible one; photo (M)

Metropolitan Desk2215 words

New Jersey Daily Briefing; Poll Shows Volatile Voters

By Terry Pristin

New York Times/CBS News Poll shows that New Jersey Gov Christine Todd Whitman continues to receive high marks as Gov, but she has been unable to convince voters that she would do better job than her Democratic opponent, State Sen James E McGreevey, in addressing their top concern, auto insurance (S) (New Jersey Daily Briefing)

Metropolitan Desk106 words

New Jersey Daily Briefing; Funeral Interrupted by Crash

By Terry Pristin

Funeral mass is held in Orange, NJ, for State Trooper Scott M Gonzalez, who was killed last week during confrontation with supsect; as many as 5,000 law enforcement officers attend; funeral procession is interrupted when carjacking suspect slams into procession a block from church, slightly injuring two troopers (S) (New Jersey Daily Briefing)

Metropolitan Desk190 words

The Final Lap for an Old Track

By Joseph Siano

Joseph Siano comment on closing of Bridgehampton Race Circuit on Long Island; recalls his youth in the Bronx, and happy trips out to race course with his father; photo of 1967 program; map of circuit (S)

Automobiles657 words

Market Place; A New Chief Suddenly Quits, and Shareholders Are Wondering Why

By Claudia H. Deutsch

Market Place column examines Ronald T LeMay's sudden resignation as chief executive of Waste Management Inc after less than four months on job; many analysts say he resigned out of anger about questionable accounting he discovered; others say he no longer believed his own plans to revitalize company would work, plans he had promised to disclose by Nov 18; shareholders issue their own vote of no confidence on news of LeMay's departure, sending shares down 20 percent in one day; graph (M)

Business/Financial Desk888 words

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of October 29, 1997, covering October 31, 1997.

  1. 1
    Album cover for You Light Up My Life -- Inspirational Songs by LeAnn Rimes

    You Light Up My Life -- Inspirational Songs

    LeAnn Rimes

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    6
  2. 2
    Album cover for The Velvet Rope by Janet

    The Velvet Rope

    Janet

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    2
  3. 3
    Album cover for Gang Related -- The Soundtrack by Soundtrack

    Gang Related -- The Soundtrack

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    2
  4. 4
    Album cover for The Dance by Fleetwood Mac

    The Dance

    Fleetwood Mac

    Last week
    7
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    9
  5. 5
    Album cover for Soul Food by Soundtrack

    Soul Food

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    5

Notable Births

Siobhán Haughey

1997Siobhán Bernadette Haughey, Hong Kong-Irish swimmer[†]

Siobhán Bernadette Haughey is a Hong Kong competitive swimmer. She became the first Hong Kong swimmer to win an Olympic medal and the first Hong Kong athlete to win two Olympic medals in any sport, after winning silver in the women's 200-metre freestyle and women's 100-metre freestyle during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. She later became the only Hong Kong athlete to win four Olympic medals after winning bronze in the women's 200-metre freestyle and the women's 100-metre freestyle at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. She also won the first swimming gold for Hong Kong in 2022 Asian Games, and became the most decorated Hong Kong athlete of all time in one single edition of Asian Games with two golds, one silver, and three bronzes.

Sydney Park (actress)

1997Sydney Park, American actress and comedian[†]

Sydney Park is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her roles as Cyndie in AMC's The Walking Dead, Gabby Phillips in Instant Mom, Caitlin Park-Lewis in Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists and Makani Young in the Netflix film There's Someone Inside Your House.

Marcus Rashford

1997Marcus Rashford, English footballer[†]

Marcus Rashford is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Aston Villa, on loan from Manchester United, and the England national team.

Holly Taylor

1997Holly Taylor, Canadian-American actress[†]

Holly Taylor is a Canadian and American actress and dancer. She began her career in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot at the age of eleven as Sharon Percy and continued in the role for almost two years. She played the role of Paige Jennings in the FX television series The Americans for its entire run, for which she received a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2019. In addition, she portrays Angelina Meyer, one of the airplane survivors, in the NBC/Netflix science fiction series Manifest.

Notable Deaths

George Roth

1997George Roth, American gymnast (born 1911)[†]

George Helm Roth was an American gymnast and Olympic champion who competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a gold medal in club swinging, or Indian Clubs as they were often known. He later became a petroleum geologist who in 1954 founded the petroleum consulting company George H. Roth and Associates in Hollywood, California. Managing the company for nearly thirty years, he and his associates helped discover many new California oil fields.

Historical Context for October 31, 1997

In 1997, the world population was approximately 5,924,787,816 people[†]