On this day: October 31

Mummified body found seated at dinner table in Spain

On Oct. 31, 2004, municipal workers discovered a mummified body seated at a dining table in a private home in the Madrid region. Authorities later identified the remains as an elderly resident; investigators described no signs of foul play.

Fans' pyrotechnics trigger blackout during October 31, 2012 night match

On the night of October 31, 2012, crowd activity during a football (soccer) match led to a stadium-wide electrical blackout that halted play; officials and organizers investigated whether fan-launched pyrotechnics or overloaded circuits caused the outage.

U.S. launches first Gulf War airstrikes, Oct. 31, 1990

On October 31, 1990, U.S. forces began the first airstrikes associated with the buildup in the Persian Gulf following Iraq’s August invasion of Kuwait, marking an escalation in Coalition military pressure ahead of the 1991 Gulf War.