This day in 1780 brought the Battle of Kings Mountain, a fight Thomas Jefferson called the 'turn of the tide of success' in the Revolutionary War. Patriot militia forces annihilate a Loyalist army at Kings Mountain in South Carolina.

October 31st is Halloween. Halloween is a holiday with ancient origins that has been gradually Americanized.

On this day in 1735, John Adams, the second U.S. president, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts.

On this day in 2012, Hurricane Sandy makes landfall near Atlantic City, causing devastation in New Jersey, New York, and other states.