Historical Events
- Oct 1 Cyclone strikes Calcutta: 70,000 killed
- Oct 1 John Summerfield Staples is paid $500 as a substitute for US President Abraham Lincoln
- Oct 2 Battle of Saltville, Virginia
- Oct 4 National black convention meets in Syracuse, New York
- Oct 4 New Orleans Tribune, 1st black daily newspaper, forms
- Oct 5 Battle of Allatoona, 1/3 of Union troops die repulsing South
- Oct 5 Most of Calcutta destroyed by cyclone, approx 60,000 die
- Oct 7 -Oct 13th) Battle of Darbytown Road, Virginia
- Oct 7 Naval Engagement at Bahia Harbor, Brazil - CSS Florida vs USS Wachusett
Battle of Tom's Brook
Oct 9 Battle of Tom's Brook; Confederate cavalry that harassed Sheridan's campaign is beaten by General George A. Custer & Merrit's cavalry divisions
- Oct 11 Campina Grande, Brazil was established as a city
- Oct 11 Slavery abolished in Maryland
Brazil Invades Uruguay
Oct 12 Brazilian troops under the command of Gen. João Propício Mena Barreto invade Uruguay in a prelude to the War of the Triple Alliance
- Oct 13 Battle at Darbytown Road, Virginia (337 casualties)
- Oct 13 Maryland voters adopt new constitution, including abolition of slavery
- Oct 15 Confederate troops occupy Glasgow, Missouri
- Oct 19 Approx 25 Confederates make surprise attack on St Albans, Vermont
- Oct 19 Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, Union beats back Confederate attackers
- Oct 19 US Brigadier General Emory Upton (25) promoted to Major General
- Oct 21 Battle of Westport, MO (Kansas City)
- Oct 23 Battle of Westport, Missouri: Union General Samuel R Curtis defeats Confederate General Stirling Price
- Oct 25 Battle of Marais Des Cygnes River, Kansas (Mine Creek)
Ambush of Bloody Bill
Oct 26 Union troops ambush and kill Bill William T. Anderson known as "Bloody Bill" near Albany, Missouri
- Oct 27 Battle of Boydton Plank Road, VA (Burgess' Mill, Southside Railroad)
Sinking of the CSS Albemarle
Oct 27 Confederate ship CSS Albemarle torpedoed and sunk by a spar torpedo mounted on a steam launch commanded by William B. Cushing
- Oct 27 Second Battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia near Richmond
- Oct 28 Battle of Wauhatchie, Tennessee
- Oct 28 Second Battle at Fair Oaks, Virginia, ends with 1554 casualties
- Oct 28 Second Battle of Newtonia (American Civil War), Newton County, Missouri
- Oct 29 Greek parliament accepts new Constitution
- Oct 30 Helena, Montana's capital, founded
- Oct 30 Treaty of Vienna signed to end the Second Schleswig War - Denmark loses control of Schleswig to Prussia, and of Holstein to Austria
- Oct 31 Nevada admitted as 36th state of the Union
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 5 Louis Lumière, French inventor, with brother Auguste made 1st motion picture in 1895, born in Besançon, France (d. 1948)
- Oct 8 Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter, born in Saint-Hilaire-de-Rouville, Quebec (d. 1955)
- Oct 9 Maud Watson, British tennis player (first Wimbledon female champion 1884-85), born in London, England (d. 1946)
- Oct 10 T. Frank Appleby, American Republican Party politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey), born in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey (d. 1924)
- Oct 13 Ted Tyler, English cricket spin bowler (1 Test, 4 wickets; Somerset CCC), born in Kidderminster, England (d. 1917)
- Oct 14 Maurice de Plessys, French poet (Palace Occidental), born in Paris (d. 1924)
- Oct 17 Elinor Glyn, British novelist (3 Weeks) and screenwriter, born in Jersey, Channel Islands (d. 1943)
- Oct 20 James F. Hinkle, American politician, sixth Governor of New Mexico, born in Franklin County, Missouri (d. 1951)
Alexander Gretchaninov (1864-1956)
Oct 25 Russian-American Romantic composer, born in Moscow, Russia
- Oct 25 John Francis Dodge, American automobile pioneer (Co-Founder of Dodge Brothers Company), born in Niles, Michigan (d. 1920)
- Oct 26 Joseph Moorat, British composer (Prunella), born in England (d. 1938)
- Oct 28 Adolfo Camarillo, American prominent land owner, horse breeder, and rancher, born in Ventura, California (d. 1958)
- Oct 28 Dmitry Ivanovsky, Russian botanist who discovered the organisms that came to be known as viruses, born in Gdov, Russia (d. 1920)
- Oct 30 Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, American pianist and philanthropist, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1953)
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 John Dunovant, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle
- Oct 1 Juan José Flores, General and first President of Ecuador (1839-1845), dies at 64
- Oct 1 Rose Greenhow, American Confederate spy (b. 1817)
- Oct 4 Joseph Montferrand, French Canadian logger and strong man, dies at 61
- Oct 7 Alexander Gardiner, US Union brigadier general, dies in battle
- Oct 7 John Gregg, American judge/Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at 36
- Oct 8 Thomas Jonathan Coffin Amory, US Union-brigadier general, dies at about 34
- Oct 10 David Bullock Harris, US Confederate colonel, dies of yellow fever
- Oct 12 Roger B. Taney, 5th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1836-64) who delivered the majority Dred Scott decision, dies at 87
- Oct 18 David Bell Birney, American businessman, lawyer, and Major General (Union Army), dies at 39
- Oct 18 Jacques-François Gallay, French horn player and composer, dies at 68
- Oct 19 Daniel Davidson Bidwell, magistrate/brigadier general, dies in battle at 45
- Oct 20 Stephen Dodson Ramseur, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 27
- Oct 24 James Jay Archer, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at 46
William T. Anderson (c. 1840-1864)
Oct 26 American Civil War Pro-Confederate rebel guerrilla leader (Lawrence Massacre, Centralia Massacre), killed in battle by union troops at 23 or 24
- Oct 27 Andreas Randel, Swedish composer, dies at 58
