[October 31] John VIII, emperor of Constantinople

Local Name: Iōannēs (Ίωάννης Η' Παλαιολόγος)
Parents: Manuel II, emperor of Constantinople, and Helena of Serbia
Born: 18 December 1392
House: Palaeologos
Spouse(s): (1) Anna, daughter of Basil I, grand prince of Moscow, and Sophia of Lithuania, then (2) Sophia, daughter of Theodore II, marquess of Montferrat, and Joanna of Bar, then (3) Mara, daughter of Alexios IV, emperor of Trebizond, and Theodora Kantakouzene
Predecessor: Manuel II

Reign: 1425 – 1448
Brief: John became co-emperor with his father around the age of twenty-four. By the time he was thirty, he was in charge of the defenses of Constantinople as the city was besieged by Ottoman Sultan Murad II. In the hope that he could secure the protection of the city, he travelled to Italy and agreed to the union of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. While away, his father died and he became the sole ruler of Constantinople. John returned to Italy for the Council of Florence in 1439, but the proposed union of the churches failed due to opposition by the patriarchate of Constantinople. By good diplomacy with the Ottomans, John managed to save his city from complete conquest, but that would be achieved during the reign of his brother, Constantine XI, who had served as regent during John's travels and succeeded the emperor in 1448.

Date of Death: 31 October 1448
Successor: Constantine XI

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Cosimo III, grand duke of Tuscany (1723)
• Victor Amadeus II, duke of Savoy (1732)
• Eberhard IV Ludwig, duke of Württemberg (1733)

[October 30] Frederick I, king of Württemberg

Parents: Frederick II Eugene, duke of Württemberg, and Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Born: 6 November 1754
House: Württemberg
Spouse(s): (1) Augusta, daughter of Charles William Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Augusta of Great Britain, then (2) Charlotte, daughter of George III, king of Great Britain, and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Predecessor: Frederick II Eugene

Reign: 1805 – 1816
Brief: A towering and wide figure at nearly seven feet with girth to match, it is no surprise that Frederick of Württemberg rose to such greatness through the Napoleonic Wars. Prior to his coronation, Frederick served as the governor-general of Eastern Finland for Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. In 1786, Frederick was booted out of Russia after his wife, Augusta, sought asylum from her abusive husband. In the year of his elevation to the duchy of Württemberg, Frederick married again, this time to the daughter of the king of Great Britain. French troops soon after occupied most of Württemberg and the royal family was forced to flee to Vienna. While there, Napoléon proclaimed him elector of Württemberg and granted the duke new ecclesiastical territories as well as former free cities that were within his realm. Two years later, in 1805, Württemberg was proclaimed a kingdom after Frederick loaned troops to Napoléon's army. For eight years, Frederick supported the French in the wars, but in 1813, he changed sides and joined the Allies. He was confirmed as king at the Congress of Vienna and, after much debate, was allowed to keep all of his annexed lands. Frederick died the following year and his son, William, succeeded him.

Date of Death: 30 October 1816
Successor: William I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Charles IX, king of Sweden (1611)
• Go-Komyo, emperor of Japan (1654)

[October 29] Gustaf V, king of Sweden

Parents: Oscar II, king of Sweden, and Sofia of Nassau
Born: 16 June 1858
House: Bernadotte
Spouse(s): Victoria, daughter of Frederick I, grand duke of Baden, and Louise of Prussia
Predecessor: Oscar II

Reign: 1907 – 1950
Brief: Acting as king of Sweden through two world wars was a tough job for Gustav V. Born to a dynasty that had just become a constitutional monarchy prior to his ascension, Gustav was somewhat disappointed by his limited powers and used whatever he could to wield control over Sweden. In 1911, a liberal government was elected but Gustav meddled and the entirety of the government resigned in 1914, allowing Gustav to install a new government of his own. This government served against the wishes of Parliament throughout World War I, during which time Gustav V served as commander of the armed forces. In 1914, the king also met with the kings of Norway and Denmark to negotiate a triple alliance that denied participation in the war and emphasized Scandinavian unity. In 1917, a new liberal government was installed and Gustav reluctantly reclused himself from further governance. In the build-up to World War II, Gustav appeared to many as a Nazi sympathizer. During the war, he congratulated Hitler on attacking Russia even while suggesting that the Jews be treated more leniently. In 1941, Sweden was forced to allow German troops through Swedish territory to avoid war, a move that marred Gustav's legacy thereafter. Gustav did not appear publicly much after the war and died of complications related to the flu in 1950 at the age of 92.

Date of Death: 29 October 1950
Successor: Gustav VI Adolf

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Boleslaw III, duke of Poland (1138)
• Conradin, duke of Swabia (1268)
• Frederick I, margrave of Baden (1268)
• Stephen II, king of Serbia (1321)
• Mohammadu Maccido, sultan of Sokoto (2006)

[October 28] Anna, empress of Russia

Local Name: Anna Ioannovna (Анна Иоанновна)
Parents: Ivan V, tsar of Russia, and Praskovia Saltykova
Born: 7 February 1693
House: Romanov
Spouse(s): Frederick William, duke of Courland, son of Frederick Casimir Kettler and Elisabeth Sophie of Brandeburg
Predecessor: Peter II

Reign: 1730 – 1740
Brief: Anna lived a somewhat tragic life. She married the duke of Courland at the age of seventeen only for the man to die three months later on the return trip home. She took over the government of Courland thereafter, remaining unwed the rest of her life. When Emperor Peter II died in 1730, Anna, who was the emperor's niece, was proclaimed his successor. The hoped that by installing her as empress, the nobles could regain some of their lost powers and establish a constitutional monarchy. Anna, in response, indebted herself to the Russian military and lesser nobility and ruled as an autocrat as those before her had. She went power hungry almost immediately, publicly insulting anyone who would mock her or get in her way. She even forced a noble to wed an elderly common woman in a ceremony that involved a zoo's worth of animals and an ice palace, just to insult the man. She replaced many court functionaries with Baltic Germans, and she secured an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, committing Russia to the War of the Polish Succession in 1735. Anna also began attacking targets east and south of Russia in a bit to expand the state. She became ill in 1739 and proclaimed her grand-nephew, who was one-year-old at the time, her heir. Soon after Anna died the next year, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, deposed little Ivan VI and took the throne.

Date of Death: 28 October 1740
Successor: Ivan VI

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Maxentius, emperor of Rome (312)
• Margaret I, queen of Denmark (1412)
• Ashikaga Yoshihide, shogun of Japan (1568)
• Jahangir, emperor of India (1627)

[October 27] Vytautas, grand duke of Lithuania

Local Name: Witold Kiejstutowicz
Surnamed: "The Great"
Parents: Kestutis, grand duke of Lithuania, and Birute
Born: circa 1350
House: Kestutis
Spouse(s): (1) Anna of Smolensk, and after a second unknown wife, (3) Juliana, daughter of Ivan Olshanski

Reign: 1392 – 1430
Brief: Vytautas enters history as a general supporting his father, Kestutis, during the Lithuanian Civil War. Kestutis died soon after this early mention, and Vytautas escaped to the Teutonic Knights in Estonia where he found the support he needed. Vytautas was baptized and fought against the Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila with the support of the Knights. In 1384, he switched sides and joined Jogaila, burning Teutonic castles and reclaiming Lithuanian land. The Union of Kreva was soon signed with Poland in 1385, uniting the two states under one monarch, with Vytautas becoming the king of Poland. Things quickly fell apart and the aspiring grand duke fled back to the Teutonic Knights to renegotiate an alliance. Again, in 1391, Vytautas abandoned the Knights and burned castles as he returned to Lithuania to serve as grand duke under King Jogaila (now named Wladyslaw II Jagiello). From this point forward, Vytautas remained faithful to Lithuania, fighting against the Timurids on behalf of the Golden Horde in the hope of reclaiming lands long ago taken by the Horde. He then joined a crusade against the Mongols which resulted in various territorial swaps and some political problems, but pushed the Mongols back. After he returned, Vytautas began a new war with the Teutonic Knights, burning castles and conquering large pieces of land. By the end of the war in 1411, the Teutonic Knights were little more than a political entity in the north, no longer a threat to anyone. For the remainder of his reign, Vytautas worked with Poland to consolidate rule and leadership, agreeing to unify the two countries on his death and earning the title "king" from the Holy Roman Emperor, though he was never formally invested with the crown. The grand duke died before a second crown arrived in 1430. 

Date of Death: 27 October 1430
Successor: Svitrigaila

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Æthelstan, king of England (939)
• Hugh IV, duke of Burgundy (1271)
• John II, duke of Brabant (1312)
• Albert II, Holy Roman Emperor (1439)
• Ulugh Beg, shah of Samarkand (1449)
• Ivan III, grand prince of Moscow (1505)
• Jellaldin Mohammed Akbar, emperor of India (1605)