Historical Events
- Oct 1 Newspaper magnate Thomson purchases "The Times"
- Oct 1 WAEO (now WJFW) TV channel 12 in Rhinelander, WI (NBC) begins
- Oct 1 West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatal injuries and no survivors 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.
- Oct 2 Australian Robert 'Nat' Young puts on a dominating performance to win the World Surfing Championship at Ocean Beach, San Diego; Joyce Hoffman of Capistrano Beach, California takes women's title
Baseball History
Oct 2 Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax wins his 27th game of the season, 6-3 v Philadelphia Phillies; clinches Dodgers 3rd National League pennant in 4 years
The Awakening
Oct 5 Nigerian government presents a copy of Ben Enwonwu's sculpture "The Awakening" to the United Nations
- Oct 6 LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is first declared illegal in state of California, other states follow
Sports History
Oct 6 Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer at 20, is youngest to record a World Series shutout as Baltimore beats LA Dodgers, 6-0 in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium
World Series
Oct 9 Baseball World Series: Baltimore Orioles claim first championship in franchise history; edge LA Dodgers, 1-0 at Memorial Stadium for 4-0 sweep; MVP: Orioles outfielder Frank Robinson
Music History
Oct 13 Jimi Hendrix Experience rock trio debuts with American guitarist Jimi Hendrix, British bassist Noel Redding and British drummer Mitch Mitchell in Évreux, Normandy, France
Event of Interest
Oct 15 Black Panther Party created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California
Persona
Oct 18 "Persona", Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, is released
Music History
Oct 18 Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's musical "The Apple Tree", starring Alan Alda and Barbara Harris, opens at Shubert Theater, NYC; runs for 463 performances
- Oct 19 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
Nobel Prize in Literature
Oct 20 Nobel Prize for Literature awarded jointly to Jewish writers Shmuel Yosef Agnon and Nelly Sachs
The Tragedy of Aberfan
Oct 21 116 children and 28 adults die as a coal waste heap slides and engulfs a school in Aberfan, South Wales
- Oct 22 Ice hockey legend Bobby Orr scores his first career goal (vs Montreal Canadiens)
- Oct 22 USSR launches Luna 12 for orbit around Moon
- Oct 23 Australian Jack Brabham is first to win F1 World Drivers Championship and International Cup for Constructors Championship in the same year; 2nd in season ending Mexican Grand Prix at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
- Oct 25 6 youths sentenced in "Johnson murderer!" in Amsterdam
- Oct 25 Jimi Hendrix Experience play their first UK gig as a private showcase at The Scotch of St. James in London
- Oct 26 First Pacific communications satellite launched, Intelsat 2
- Oct 26 US aircraft carrier Oriskany catches fire at Gulf on Tonken, 43 die
- Oct 27 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
- Oct 27 UN deprives South Africa of Namibia
- Oct 27 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- Oct 28 Belgium's Gaston Roelants runs 12-4/5 miles in 1 hour
- Oct 29 NASA's Lunar Orbiter 1 crashes on moon: 6.7°N 162°E
Conference of Interest
Oct 29 National Organization of Women (NOW) officially established at an organizing conference in Washington D.C.; Betty Friedan is elected as President [1]
Sports History
Oct 30 16th NASCAR Sprint Cup: David Pearson wins
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Brian Asawa, Japanese-American countertenor, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
- Oct 1 Christopher Titus, American actor/comedian
- Oct 1 Cuco Ziganda, Spanish soccer striker and manager (2 caps; Athletic Bilbao 255 games), born in Larraintzar, Spain
- Oct 1 George Weah, Liberian soccer striker and politician (President Liberia; 53 caps; AC Milan, Monaco), born in Monrovia, Liberia
- Oct 1 Scott Innes, American voice actor (Scooby-Doo), born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri
- Oct 2 Rodney Anoa'i (aka Yokozuna), American Samoan professional wrestler (WWF/NJPW/AWA), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2000)
- Oct 3 Darrin Fletcher, American baseball catcher (MLB All Star 1994; Montreal Expos, Toronto Blue Jays) and broadcaster (Rogers Sportsnet), born in Elmhurst, Illinois
- Oct 3 Frank Hannon, American blues and rock guitarist (Tesla - The Great Radio Controversy), born in Sacramento, California
- Oct 4 John van den Brom, Dutch soccer midfielder and manager (2 caps; SBV Vitesse, Anderlecht), Amersfoort, Netherlands
- Oct 5 Fredrik Olausson, Vaxsjo Swe, NHL defenseman (Anaheim Mighty Ducks)
- Oct 5 Inessa Kravets, Ukraine, long/triple jumper (Olympic silver/gold-92, 96)
- Oct 5 Jan Verhaas, Dutch snooker referee
- Oct 5 Peter Fonseca, Canadian politician and marathon runner (Toronto, Houston Marathon 1995), born in Lisbon, Portugal
- Oct 5 Therese Brisson, ice hockey defenseman (Canada, Olympics 1998)
- Oct 6 Archi Cianfrocco, infielder (San Diego Padres), born in Rome, New York
- Oct 6 Jacqueline Obradors, American actress
- Oct 6 Jimmie Johnson, NFL tight end (Philadelphia Eagles)
- Oct 6 Niall Quinn, Irish soccer striker (92 caps, Rep of Ireland; Manchester City, Sunderland), born in Dublin, Ireland
- Oct 6 Oscar Caballos, jockey
- Oct 6 Vasia Panayopoulou, Greek actress (Erotas), born in Mytilene, Greece
- Oct 7 Marco Beltrami, Italian-American film composer (3:10 To Yuma; The Hurt Locker; Logan), born in Long Island, New York
- Oct 8 Art Barr, American professional wrestler, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1994)
- Oct 9 Christopher Östlund, Swedish publisher and entrepreneur, born in Uppsala, Sweden
David Cameron (57 years old)
Oct 9 British Prime Minister (Conservative: 2010-16), born in London, England
- Oct 10 Bai Ling, Chinese-born American actress (The Crow, Red Corner), born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Oct 10 Carolyn Bertozzi, American chemist (2022 Nobel Prize for click chemistry), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Oct 10 Darren Carrington, American NFL safety (Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Bronx, New York
- Oct 10 Elana Meyer, South African runner (Olympic silver 1992), born in South Africa
- Oct 10 Kevin Paige, American vocalist ("Don't Shut Me Out"), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- Oct 10 Tony Adams, English footballer (Arsenal & England national team captain), born in Romford, London, England
- Oct 11 Gregg Olson, American baseball pitcher (Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers), born in Omaha, Nebraska
Luke Perry (1966-2019)
Oct 11 American actor (Beverly Hills 90210, Riverdale), born in Mansfield, Ohio
- Oct 11 Rikishi [Solofa F. Fatu Jr.], Samoan American professional wrestler, born in San Francisco, California
- Oct 12 Brian Kennedy, Northern Irish musician, songwriter, and author, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Oct 12 Harry Allen, American jazz tenor saxophonist, born in Washington, D.C.
- Oct 12 Jonathan Crombie, Canadian actor (Anne of Green Gables), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2015)
- Oct 12 Wim Jonk, Dutch soccer midfielder (49 caps; Ajax, Internazionale, PSV, Sheffield Wednesday), born in Volendam, Netherlands
- Oct 13 Eugene Alcalay, Romanian concert pianist, composer, and educator, born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 2019)
- Oct 15 Bill Charlap, American jazz pianist (Phil Woods; Tony Bennett; Sandy Stewart), and educator, born in New York City
- Oct 15 David Stead, British pop drummer (The Beautiful South - "A Little Time"), born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
- Oct 15 Dougie Vipond, Scottish pop drummer (Deacon Blue - "Real Gone Kid") and broadcaster (BBC), born in Elderslie, Scotland
- Oct 15 Jeffrey Jacquet, American actor (Mork & Mindy, Whiz Kids), born in Bay City, Texas
- Oct 15 Jorge Campos, Mexican football goalkeeper (130 caps; UNAM, LA Galaxy), born in Acapulco, Guerrero
- Oct 17 Danny Ferry, NBA forward (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Doug McMillon (57 years old)
Oct 17 American businessman and CEO of Walmart (2014-), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- Oct 17 Mark Gatiss, English actor and writer
- Oct 17 Tommy Kendall, American race car driver and television personality
- Oct 18 Alan Mills, pitcher (Baltimore Orioles), born in Lakeland, Florida
- Oct 18 Angela Visser, Dutch actress, model and Miss Universe 1989, born in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, Netherlands
- Oct 18 Jerod Swallow, American ice skater (1997 Nationals), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Oct 19 Amy Linker, American actress (Lewis and Clark, Lauren-Square Pegs), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Oct 19 Dave Veres, pitcher (Montreal Expos), born in Montgomery, Alabama
Jon Favreau (57 years old)
Oct 19 American actor, screenwriter (Swingers), and director (Elf; Iron Man; The Mandalorian), born in Queens, New York
- Oct 19 Roger R. Cross, Jamaican-born actor
- Oct 20 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al-Qaeda leader (d. 2006)
- Oct 20 Allan Donald, South African cricketer (great South African fast bowler), born in Bloemfontein, South Africa
- Oct 20 Fred Coury, American glam rock drummer (Cinderella -"Heartbreak Station"; "Nobody's Fool"), born in Johnston, New York
- Oct 20 Patrick J. Volkerding, American founder and maintainer of the Slackware Linux distribution
- Oct 20 Stefan Raab, German entertainer (TV Total), born in Cologne, West Germany
- Oct 21 Jonas B, Svensson Sweden, tennis star
- Oct 21 Tommy Tolles, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1996 3rd, Masters 1997 3rd), born in Ft Myers, Florida
- Oct 22 Blair Hartland, New Zealand cricket batsman (9 Tests, 1 x 50s; 16 ODIs 2 x 50s; Canterbury), born in Christchurch, New Zealand
- Oct 22 Valeria Golino, Italian actress (Rain Man, Little Flames), born in Naples, Italy
- Oct 23 Alex Zanardi, Italian race car driver who raced with prosthetic limbs, born in Bologna, Italy
- Oct 24 Emma Tucker, English journalist (1st woman editor of The Wall Street Journal), born in London, England
- Oct 24 F. P. Santangelo, American baseball outfielder (Montreal Expos), born in Livonia, Michigan
- Oct 24 Roman Abramovich, Russian-Israeli oil magnate, born in Saratov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
- Oct 25 Perry Saturn [Satullo], American professional wrestler, born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Oct 25 Wendel Clark, Canadian ice hockey left wing (#1 NHL draft pick 1985 Toronto Maple Leafs; NHL All-Star 1986, 99), born in Kelvington, Saskatchewan
- Oct 26 Alex Pastoor, Dutch soccer midfielder (FC Volendam, Heerenveen) and manager (Slavia Prague, Sparta Rotterdam), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Oct 26 Jeanne Zelasko, American journalist and sportcaster, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Oct 26 Masaharu Iwata, Japanese video game composer, born in Tokyo
- Oct 26 Olga Bicherova, Soviet gymnast (won title at 15 yrs 33 days), born in Moscow, Russian SFSR
- Oct 26 Steve Valentine, Scottish actor (Crossing Jordan), born in Bishopbriggs, Scotland
- Oct 27 Brad Lauer, Canadian NHL right wing (Pitts Penguins), born in Humboldt, Canada
- Oct 27 Matt Drudge, American political commentator and blogger (Drudge Report), born in Takoma Park, Maryland
- Oct 27 Timm Rosenbach, NFL quarterback (New Orleans Saints), born in Everett, Washington
- Oct 28 Andy Richter, American actor, comedian and writer (Conan O'Brien's sidekick), born in Yorkville, Illinois
- Oct 28 Aris Spiliotopoulos, Greek politician
- Oct 28 Benoit Hogue, Canadian NHL center (Dallas Stars), born in Repentigny, Quebec
- Oct 28 Juan Guzman, pitcher (Toronto Blue Jays), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Oct 28 Steve Atwater, American Pro Football HOF safety (Super Bowl 1998, 99 Denver Broncos; First-team All-Pro 1991, 92; 8× Pro Bowl), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Oct 28 Tim Bogar, infielder (NY Mets), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Oct 30 Quin Snyder, American basketball coach (NBA All-Star Game head coach 2021; Utah Jazz; University of Missouri), born in Mercer Island, Washington
- Oct 30 Zoran Milanović, Croatian politician (President of Croatia 2020-), born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia
- Oct 31 Ad-Rock [Adam Horovitz], American rocker (Beastie Boys - "Fight for Your Right"), born in New York City
- Oct 31 Annabella Lwin [Myant Myant Aye], Anglo-Burmese singer (Bow Wow Wow - "I Want Candy"), born in Rangoon, Burma
- Oct 31 Brian Keyser, American baseball pitcher (Chicago White Sox), born in Castro Valley, California
- Oct 31 Jon Wurster, American session and touring drummer (Superchunk; The Mountain Goats; Bob Mould), and comedy writer, born in Sellersville, Pennsylvania
- Oct 31 Joseph Boyden, Canadian novelist (Three Day Road), born in Willowdale, North York, Ontario
- Oct 31 Koji Kanemoto, Japanese wrestler (NJPW/AAA/UWA, Tiger Mask, King Lee), born in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
- Oct 31 Mike O'Malley, American actor (The Mike O'Malley Show), born in Boston, Massachusetts
Famous Deaths
- Oct 4 Mike Tresh, American baseball catcher (MLB All Star 1945; Chicago White Sox), dies from cancer at 52
- Oct 4 Sherman Billingsley, American bootlegger and nightclub owner (Stork Club - NYC), dies at 66
- Oct 6 Sydney Chatton, English actress (Once Upon a Horse), dies of a heart attack at 48
- Oct 7 Johnny Kidd [Frederick Heath], British rock singer-songwriter (Johnny Kidd & Pirates - "Shakin' All Over"), dies in a car crash at 30
- Oct 7 Smiley Lewis [Overton Amos Lemons], American R&B singer, and guitarist ("The Bells Are Ringing"; "One Night (Of Sin)"; "I Hear You Knocking"), dies of stomach cancer at 46
- Oct 8 Célestin Freinet, French pedagogue & educational reformer, dies at 69
Charlotte Cooper (1870-1966)
Oct 10 British tennis player (1st female Olympic champion 1900; Wimbledon 1895-96, 98, 1901, 08), dies at 96
- Oct 12 Arthur Lourié, Russian-American composer (Concerto spirituale; The Feast in a Time of Plague), dies at 74
- Oct 13 'Father' Charles Marriott, English cricketer (one Test for England, 11 wickets), dies at 71
- Oct 13 Clifton Webb [Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck], American actor (Razor's Edge, Laura), dies of a heart attack at 76
- Oct 14 Arcady Dubensky, Russian composer, dies at 75
- Oct 16 George O'Hara, American silent era screenwriter and actor (The Sea Beast, The Grapes of Wrath), dies at 67
- Oct 17 Soledad Jiménez, Spanish actress (Kid Galahad, The Phantom of the Range), dies at 92
- Oct 17 Wieland Wagner, German opera director, dies
- Oct 18 Bill Nestell, American actor (Dangerous Venture, Buckskin Frontier), dies of a heart attack at 73
- Oct 18 Sebastian S. Kresge, American merchant and philanthropist (Kmart), dies at 99
- Oct 19 Elizabeth Arden, US cosmetic manufacturer, dies
- Oct 21 Gertrude Hoffman, actress (Mrs Odetts-My Little Margie), dies at 95
- Oct 22 Hewlett Johnson [Red Dean of Canterbury], English bishop, dies at 92
- Oct 23 Claire McDowell, American silent film actress (Big Parade), dies after long illness at 88
- Oct 24 Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1896)
- Oct 26 Alma Cogan, British pop singer ("Dreamboat"; "I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango"), dies of ovarian cancer at 34
- Oct 27 Nigel Haig, English cricket all-rounder (5 Tests; 1,000 runs and 100 wickets 1921, 27, 29 Middlesex CCC), dies at 78
- Oct 30 Yórgos Theotokás, Greek novelist (Leonís), dies at 60
