Historical Events
- Oct 1 1st treaty signed by woman ambassador-Eugenie Anderson (US ambassador to Denmark)
- Oct 1 24th Infantry Regiment, last all-black US military unit, deactivated
- Oct 2 1st Netherland TV broadcast (Toverspiegel)
- Oct 3 CBS-TV airs the first coast-to-coast telecast of a prize fight; Australian light-heavyweight Dave Sands outpoints American Carl 'Bobo' Olson in 10 rounds at Chicago Stadium
- Oct 3 Shot Heard 'Round the World': Bobby Thomson hits 3-run homer off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers, bottom 9th inning, 1 out, to give New York Giants dramatic 5-4 playoff win and NL pennant at the Polo Grounds
The Honeymooners
Oct 5 Jackie Gleason debuts the character of bus-driver Ralph Kramden on 1st "The Honeymooners" skit (Cavalcade of Stars)
Stalin's Atomic Bomb
Oct 6 Joseph Stalin proclaims the Soviet Union has the atomic bomb
Ben-Gurion Holds On
Oct 7 David Ben-Gurion forms 3rd Israeli government
Music in the Air
Oct 8 Revival of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's musical "Music in the Air" opens at Ziegfeld Theater, NYC ; runs for 56 performances
- Oct 9 5th NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto: 1st Team ties 2nd Team, 2-2; first year format - 1st v 2nd All-Star Teams, with additional players
- Oct 9 Gil McDougald's World Series grand slam helps Yanks beat Giants 13-1
World Series
Oct 10 Baseball World Series: two-time defending champion NY Yankees beat NY Giants, 4-3 at Yankee Stadium for 4-2 series victory; MVP: Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto
- Oct 14 NFL Detroit Lions Jack Christiansen returns 2 punts for touchdowns vs Los Angeles Rams
- Oct 14 Organization of Central American States forms
I Love Lucy
Oct 15 "I Love Lucy", starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, debuts on CBS
Event of Interest
Oct 15 First synthesis of an oral contraceptive (norethindrone) made by Luis E. Miramontes under direction of Carl Djerassi and George Rosenkranz at Mexican drug company Syntex
- Oct 16 1st Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated by Said Akbar in Rawalpindi
- Oct 17 Egyptian army fires on British troops
- Oct 18 USSR performs nuclear test
- Oct 19 US President Harry Truman formally ends state of war with Germany
- Oct 20 The "Johnny Bright Incident" occurs in Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Oct 22 Earthquake hits Formosa, 100 killed
- Oct 22 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Event of Interest
Oct 23 English chemist Rosalind Franklin first identifies the two types of carbon produced by temperature, in paper published by the Royal Society [1]
Marciano TKOs Louis
Oct 26 Future world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano defeats former champion Joe Louis by TKO in the 8th round at Madison Square Garden
Churchill Re-elected PM
Oct 26 Winston Churchill re-elected British Prime Minister at the age of 76
F1 World Champion
Oct 28 Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina wins Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by taking out the Spanish Grand Prix at Pedralbes in an Alpha Romeo; wins by 6 points from Alberto Ascari of Italy
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Brian Greenway, Canadian rock guitarist and vocalist (April Wine), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Oct 2 Bill Elliott, American Tony Award-winning musical theater orchestrator, film composer, pianist and bandleader, born in Wayland, Massachusetts
- Oct 2 Romina Power, American actress (Justine), Euro-pop singer, and daughter of Tyrone Power and Mexican actress Linda Christian, born in Los Angeles, California
Sting (72 years old)
Oct 2 British singer-songwriter and bassist (The Police - "Every Breath You Take"; solo - "Fragile") and actor (Dune), born in Wallsend, Northumberland
- Oct 3 Bernard Cooper, American novelist and short story writer, born in Hollywood, California
Dave Winfield (72 years old)
Oct 3 American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (12 x MLB All Star; 7 x Gold Glove; 6 x Silver Slugger; SD Padres; NY Yankees), born in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Oct 3 Jack Grondin, American rock drummer (.38 Special, 1974-91), born in the USA
- Oct 3 Jack Harris, British rock vocalist (The Alan Parsons Project), born in Shoreditch, Hackney, London
- Oct 3 Kathryn [Kathy] Sullivan, American geologist and astronaut (1st American woman to walk in space), born in Paterson, New Jersey
- Oct 3 Keb' Mo' [Kevin Roosevelt Moore], American Grammy Award-winning blues singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 3 Nick Glennie-Smith, British session keyboard player (Roger Daltrey; Roger Waters), film score composer (Ella Enchanted; Secretariat), and conductor, born in London, England
- Oct 4 Alan Rosenberg, American actor (Civil Wars, LA Law, Cybill), born in Passaic, New Jersey
- Oct 4 Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Kazakh poet
- Oct 4 Norbert Sattler, Austrian slalom canoeist (World C'ship gold K-1 team 1971, K-1 1973; Olympic silver K-1 1972), born in Mauthen, Kärnten, Austria (d. 2023)
- Oct 4 Truck Robinson, American basketball forward (NBA All-Star 1978, 81; New Orleans Jazz; NBA rebound leader 1978), born in Jacksonville, Florida
Bob Geldof (72 years old)
Oct 5 Irish singer (The Boomtown Rats - "I Don't Like Mondays") and activist (Live Aid), born in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland
- Oct 5 Karen Allen, American actress (Cruising, Starman, Wanderers), born in Carrollton, Illinois
- Oct 5 Leah Poulos-Mueller, American speed skater (Olympic gold 1980), born in Berwyn, Illinois
- Oct 6 Kevin Cronin, American rock vocalist (REO Speedwagon), born in Champaign Illinois
John Mellencamp (72 years old)
Oct 7 American rock singer-songwriter ("Jack & Diane"; "Small Town"; "Pink Houses"), co-founder of Farm Aid, and actor (Falling From Grace), born in Seymour, Indiana
- Oct 7 Ricky Phillips, American bass guitarist (Styx, 2003-), born in Mount Pleasant, Iowa
- Oct 7 Táta Vega [Carmen Rosa Vega], American vocalist (Color Purple soundtrack), born in Queens, Long Island
- Oct 8 Jack O'Connell, American politician (Member of the California State Senate), born in Glen Cove, New York
- Oct 9 Greg Robinson, American football coach (Syracuse University 2005-08; Super Bowl 1997, 98 DC Denver Broncos), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2022)
- Oct 9 Richard Chaves, American actor (Cease Fire, Predator), born in Jacksonville, Florida
- Oct 9 Robert Wuhl, American actor (Bull Durham, Good Morning Vietnam), born in Union, New Jersey
- Oct 10 Epeli Ganilau, Fijian soldier and politician (National Alliance Party of Fiji)
- Oct 11 Jean-Jacques Goldman, French singer-songwriter and music record producer, born in Paris, France
- Oct 11 Miroslav Dvořák, Czech ice hockey defenseman (World C'ship gold 1976, 77; Olympic silver 1976; Philadelphia Flyers, TJ Motor České Budějovice), born in Hluboká nad Vltavou, Czech Republic (d. 2008)
- Oct 12 Bernie Ruoff, CFL kicker (Winnipeg, Hamilton), born in West Germany
- Oct 12 Donnie Dacus, American session and touring guitarist (Chicago, 1978-80; Badfinger, 1982), born in Pasadena, Texas
- Oct 12 Ed Royce, American politician (Rep-R-California), born in Los Angeles, California
Sally Little (72 years old)
Oct 12 South African/American golfer (PGA 1980, du Maurier 1988), born in Cape Town, South Africa
- Oct 14 Marcia Barrett, Jamaican-British rock vocalist (Boney M), born in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica
- Oct 15 Frank DiMino, American rock vocalist (Angel), born in Washington, D.C.
- Oct 15 Hani Al-Mulki, Prime Minister of Jordan (2016-present), born in Amman, Jordan
- Oct 15 Peter Richardson, British actor, writer and director (The Comic Strip Presents, The Pope Must Die), born in Devon, England
Roscoe Tanner (72 years old)
Oct 15 American tennis player (Australian Open 1977; Wimbledon 1979 runner-up; World #4 1979 ), born in Kiawah Island, South Carolina
- Oct 16 Alan Wheat, American politician (Rep-D-Missouri, 1983-95), born in San Antonio, Texas
- Oct 16 Daniel Gerroll, actor (Big Business), born in London, England
- Oct 17 Prabowo Subianto, Indonesian politician (Minister of Defense), born in Jakarta, Indonesia
- Oct 18 Pam Dawber, actress (Mindy-Mork & Mindy, My Sister Sam), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Oct 18 Terry McMillan, American author
- Oct 19 "Uncle" Floyd [Vivino], American stage and television performer (The Uncle Floyd Show, 1974–98). and world record piano player, born in Paterson, New Jersey
- Oct 19 Annie Golden, American punk rock singer (The Shirts), and actress (Hair; Assassins: Orange is the New Black), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Oct 19 Demetrios Christodoulou, Greek mathematical physicist, recipient of the Bôcher Memorial Prize, born in Athens, Greece
- Oct 20 Al Greenwood, American keyboardist (Foreigner - "Feels Like the First Time"), born in New York City
- Oct 20 Claudio Ranieri, Italian football manager (Leicester City) and player, born in Rome
- Oct 20 Leif Pagrotsky, Swedish politician and diplomat, born in Gothenburg, Sweden
- Oct 21 Thom Panunzio, American audio engineer (Bruce Springsteen; The Roches; Tom Petty, No Doubt), and record producer (Alice Cooper; Joan Jett; Iggy Pop), born in the USA
- Oct 23 Charly García, Argentine singer (Sui Generis, Serú Girán), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Oct 23 David Johnson, English soccer forward (8 caps; Liverpool FC, Ipswich Town, Everton, Manchester City), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2022)
- Oct 23 Fatmir Sejdiu, Kosovar politician, First President of Kosovo (2006-10), born in Pakashticë, Yugoslavia
- Oct 23 Michael Rupert, American actor (Pasadena Playhouse), born in Denver, Colorado
- Oct 24 Todd Crespi, German actor (Magician), born in Frankfurt, Germany
- Oct 25 Ransom Wilson, American conductor and flutist (Soliste NY), born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Oct 25 Richard Lloyd, American guitarist (Television), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Oct 26 Julian Schnabel, American artist and director (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Oct 26 Maggie Roche, Irish-American singer-songwriter (The Roches - "Hammond Song"), born in Park Ridge, New Jersey (d. 2017)
- Oct 26 [William] Bootsy Collins, American guitarist and singer (James Brown; Parliament-Funkadelic), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Oct 27 Carlos Frenk, Mexican-British cosmologist, born in Mexico
Edward Lee Howard (1951-2002)
Oct 27 American CIA Case Officer and alleged Soviet spy who defected to the Soviet Union in 1985, born in Alamogordo, New Mexico
- Oct 27 Jayne Kennedy, American actress (Body and Soul), born in Washington, D.C.
- Oct 27 K. K. Downing, British rock guitarist (Judas Priest - "Breakin' The Law"), born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England
- Oct 27 Nancy Jacobs, American politician (R), Senator Maryland (1999-2015), born in Charleston, West Virginia
- Oct 28 (Gerald) "Jezz" Woodroffe, English rock session and touring keyboardist (Black Sabbath, Robert Plant, Belle Stars), and video game composer, born in Birmingham, England
- Oct 28 John Regan, American session and touring rock bassist (Frehley's Comet, Peter Frampton), born in New York (d. 2023)
- Oct 28 Rajan Mishra, Indian classical music vocalist, born in Varanasi, India (d. 2021)
- Oct 28 Ron & Don Galyon, American siamese twins (Jerry Springer Show), born in Dayton, Ohio
- Oct 29 Dirk Kempthorne, American politician, Secretary of the Interior (Senator-R Idaho 1993-99), born in San Diego, California
- Oct 29 Guy Gelso, American rock drummer (Zebra), born in Oakland, California
- Oct 30 Frank Pallone, American politician (Rep-D-New Jersey), born in Long Branch, New Jersey
- Oct 30 Harry Hamlin, American actor (Michael Kuzak-LA Law), born in Pasadena, California
- Oct 31 François Bracci, French soccer defender (18 caps; Olympique de Marseille, RC Strasbourg, FC Bordeaux), born in Beinheim, France (d. 2023)
- Oct 31 Nick Saban, American football coach (National NCAA C'ships 2003, 09, 11-12, 15, 17; LSU, Alabama, Miami Dolphins), born in Fairmont, West Virginia
Famous Divorces
Frank Sinatra
Oct 29 Singer and actor Frank Sinatra (35) and 1st wife Nancy (Barbato) (33) divorce due to infidelity after 12 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Oct 4 Henrietta Lacks [Loretta Pleasant], African-American tobacco farmer whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, extensively used in medical research since the 1950s (1st immortalised cell line), dies of cervical cancer at 31
- Oct 4 Willie Moretti, American gangster (b. 1894)
- Oct 6 Henry Gurney, British high commissioner to Malaya, assassinated
- Oct 6 Otto Meyerhof, German psychologist and biochemist (Nobel 1922), dies at 67
Will Keith Kellogg (1860-1951)
Oct 6 American cereal manufacturer (Kellogg's cereal brand), dies at 91
- Oct 7 Anton Philips, Co-Founder of Royal Philips Electronics N.V., dies at 77
- Oct 12 Leon Errol, Australian actor (Ziegfeld Follies, What a Blonde!), dies at 70
- Oct 12 Simon Kimbangu/Kibangu, Congolese religious leader and founder of Kimbanguism, dies in captivity at 62
- Oct 13 Willie Quaife, English cricket batsman (7 Tests, 1 x 50; Sussex CCC, Warwickshire CCC), dies at 79
- Oct 16 Liaquat Ali Khan, 1st Prime Minister of Pakistan (1947-51), assassinated by Said Akbar at 56
- Oct 23 Charlie Creath, American jazz trumpeter, saxophonist, accordionist, and bandleader, dies at 60
- Oct 25 Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal, wife of Carlos I, dies at 86
- Oct 29 Jean De Raymond, French High Director of Cambodia, assassinated by a Viet-Minh agent (b. 1907)
- Oct 29 Robert Grant Aitken, American astronomer (New General Catalogue), dies at 86
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning