Historical Events
- Oct 1 Concorde 001 jet airplane test flight breaks sound barrier
- Oct 1 Guernsey & Jersey begin issuing their own postage stamps
- Oct 1 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- Oct 2 Seattle Pilots' last game in Seattle; crash to 98th season loss, 3-1 to Oakland in front of just 5,473; move to Milwaukee as the Brewers next season
- Oct 2 US performs underground nuclear test at Amchitka Island Aleutians
- Oct 4 Last wooden passenger subway cars retired at Brooklyn Myrtle Beach
- Oct 4 MLB holds first league championship games; National League Championship Series: New York Mets beat Atlanta Braves, 9-5; Baltimore Orioles beat Minnesota Twins, 4-3 in American League Championship Series
- Oct 4 UN starts issuing postage stamps at Geneva headquarters
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Oct 5 TV sketch comedy series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" premieres on BBC1
- Oct 6 MLB American League Championship: Baltimore Orioles beat Minnesota Twins, 3 games to 0
- Oct 6 MLB National League Championship: New York Mets sweep Atlanta Braves, 3 games to 0
- Oct 6 WMPB TV channel 67 in Baltimore, MD (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Oct 7 WJMN TV channel 3 in Escanaba, MI (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
- Oct 8 The opening rally of the Days of Rage occurs, organized by the Weather Underground in Chicago, Illinois.
Someday We'll Be Together
Oct 9 The Supremes release single "Someday We'll Be Together", Diana Ross' last recording with the group
Music History
Oct 10 "Jesus Christ Superstar" soundtrack album by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice is recorded
- Oct 10 British progressive rock band King Crimson releases their debut album "In The Court Of The Crimson King"
- Oct 11 -28] Rome: 2nd bishop synod
Music History
Oct 11 American blues musician Muddy Waters involved in a car crash that kills 3
- Oct 11 Three people shot dead during street violence in the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast
- Oct 12 1st time 5 people in space simultaneously (Soyez 6 & Soyez 7)
- Oct 12 KDB-AM in Santa Barbara, California changes call letters to KAPN
- Oct 12 KHOF (now KAGL) TV channel 30 in San Bernardino/Glenda, California (IND) begins
- Oct 12 Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 7 is launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan
Sports History
Oct 13 Billy Martin (97-65) is fired as manager of AL West-winning Twins
- Oct 13 Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 8 is launched
- Oct 14 Palme government forms in Sweden
- Oct 14 Race riots in Springfield, Massachusetts
- Oct 14 The United Kingdom introduces the 50p (fifty-pence) coin, replacing the ten-shilling note, in anticipation of currency decimalisation in 1971
- Oct 14 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
Country Music Association Awards
Oct 15 3rd Country Music Association Awards: Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette win
Sports History
Oct 15 Baltimore's Earl Weaver becomes first manager since 1935 to be ejected World Series game as his Orioles slump to a 2-1 Game 4 defeat to NY Mets at Shea Stadium
- Oct 15 Bank of America World Headquarters (555 California) dedicated
- Oct 15 Madison Square Garden TV Network begins (Rangers vs North Stars)
- Oct 15 Vietnam Moratorium Day; millions nationwide protest the war
- Oct 16 Baseball World Series: 100-1 shot NY Mets beat Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Shea Stadium for upset 4-1 series win; MVP: Mets 1B Donn Clendenon
- Oct 16 Met Cleon Jones awarded 1st base when shoe polish on ball proves he is hit by a pitch, he scores on a HR in World Series
- Oct 16 Soyuz 6 returns to Earth
- Oct 17 NY Nets move from Comack to Island Garden, Hempstead NY
- Oct 17 Plastic Ono Band's "Cold Turkey" is released in UK
- Oct 17 Soyuz 7 returns to Earth
Music History
Oct 18 British singer Rod Stewart joins rock band Small Faces
- Oct 18 Federal government bans use of cyclamates artificial sweeteners
- Oct 18 Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kanter arrested for marijuana possession
- Oct 18 Soyuz 8 returns to Earth
- Oct 19 Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's musical "The Rothschilds", starring Halden, Jill Clayburgh, and Robby Benson opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC; runs for 505 performances, winning 2 Tony Awards
- Oct 19 Oakland Darryle Lamonica passes for 6 touchdowns vs Buffalo (50-21)
F1 World Champion
Oct 19 Scottish Matra-Ford driver Jackie Stewart finishes 4th in season ending Mexican Grand Prix to win his first F1 World Drivers Championship by 26 points from Jacky Ickx of Belgium
Election of Interest
Oct 21 German statesman Willy Brandt is elected chancellor of West Germany (1969-1974)
- Oct 21 Leonard Gersh's "Butterflies are Free" premieres in NYC
- Oct 21 Maj Gen Mohamed Siad Barre becomes President of Somali
- Oct 22 KAPN-AM in Santa Barbara CA changes call letters to KDB-AM
Music History
Oct 22 Paul McCartney denies greatly exaggerated rumors of his death
- Oct 23 "Jimmy" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 84 performances
- Oct 24 Pakistani cricketing brothers Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohammad start their only Test together; drawn 1st Test v NZ in Karachi
- Oct 26 WHMA (now WJSU) TV channel 40 in Anniston, AL (CBS) 1st broadcast
- Oct 27 Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to John Tinbergen
Event of Interest
Oct 27 Ralph Nader sets up a consumer organization known as Nader's Raiders
- Oct 27 St Vincent & Grenadines gains associated status with Britain
Sports History
Oct 29 Tom Seaver voted NL Cy Young Award
Something
Oct 31 George Harrison's "Something" is released by the Beatles as a single in UK, his first "A" side
1969 History
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Agustin Vasquez-Mendoza, Mexican murderer (FBI Most Wanted)
- Oct 1 Ori Kaplan, Israeli jazz saxophonist (Balkan Beat Box), born in Tel Aviv, Israel
- Oct 1 Zach Galifianakis, American actor (The Hangover; Birdman; Between Two Ferns), born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina
- Oct 2 Badly Drawn Boy [Damon Gough], British singer-songwriter (Have You Fed The Fish?), born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England
- Oct 2 Jun Akiyama, Japanese professional wrestler
- Oct 2 Marcus Robertson, American NFL defensive back, administrator and coach (All Pro 1993, 97; Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans), born in Pasadena, California
- Oct 2 Mitch English, American actor
- Oct 2 Roland Selmeczi, Hungarian stage and screen actor, and film dubber, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2008)
Gwen Stefani (54 years old)
Oct 3 American singer-songwriter (No Doubt - "Just A Girl'; "Don't Speak"), born in Fullerton, California
- Oct 3 Shane Butterworth, American actor (Bad News Bears (TV series) - "Timmy"), born in Sherman Oaks, California
- Oct 3 Tetsuya, Japanese rock bassist (L'Arc-en-Ciel), born in Hikone, Shiga, Japan
- Oct 5 Karyn Parsons, actress (Hilary-Fresh Prince of Bel Air) [or Oct 8 66]
- Oct 6 Byron Black, Zimbabwe, tennis star
- Oct 6 Robert Person, pitcher (NY Mets), born in St Louis, Missouri
- Oct 6 Troy Shaw, English snooker player
- Oct 7 Javier Álvarez, Spanish singer-songwriter, born in Madrid, Spain
- Oct 7 Malia Hosaka, Hawaiian professional wrestler, born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Oct 7 Maria Whittaker, English model, born in Hounslow, United Kingdom
- Oct 7 Martin Haywood, Australian cricketer (NSW opening batsman), born in Tamworth, Australia
- Oct 8 Dylan Neal, American-Canadian actor (Dylan Shaw-Bold & the Beautiful), born in Richmond Hill, Ontario
- Oct 8 Jeremy Davies, American actor (Saving Private Ryan), born in Traverse city, Michigan
- Oct 9 Dwayne Sabb, American NFL outside linebacker (NE Patriots), born in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Oct 9 P.J. Harvey, English musician, singer and songwriter, born in Bridport, Dorset, England
- Oct 9 Steve McQueen, British filmmaker and artist (12 Years a Slave), born in London, England
- Oct 10 Ben Crump, American civil rights attorney (Breonna Taylor, George Floyd), born in Lumberton, North Carolina
Brett Favre (54 years old)
Oct 10 American NFL quarterback (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31), born in Gulfport, Mississippi
- Oct 11 Cal Dixon, American NFL center and guard (NY Jets), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Oct 11 Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, youngest son of Queen Beatrix and Claus von Amsberg, born in Utrecht, Netherlands
- Oct 11 Ty Murray, American rodeo cowboy (5-time all-around world champion), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- Oct 12 Alison Peek, Australian field hockey halfback and midfielder (Olympics gold 2000), born in Adelaide, South Australia
- Oct 12 Dave Chaytors, CFL defensive tackle (British Columbia Lions), born in Calgary, Alberta
- Oct 12 José Valentín, MLB infielder, 1992-2007 (Milwaukee Brewers, and 3 other teams), born in Manatí, Puerto Rico
- Oct 12 Martie Maguire, American country fiddler, songwriter, and vocalist (The Chicks, formerly known as Dixie Chicks; Court Yard Hounds), born in York, Pennsylvania
- Oct 12 Terry Ray, American NFL & CFL football strong safety; NFL, 1992-2004 (New England Patriots, Edmonton Eskimos, and 3 other teams), born in Belgium
- Oct 13 Cady McClain, American actress (Dixie Martin-All My Children), born in Burbank, California
Nancy Kerrigan (54 years old)
Oct 13 American figure skater (Olympic bronze 1992, silver 1994; World C'ship bronze 1991, silver 1992; victim of infamous assault), born in Stoneham, Massachusetts
- Oct 13 Rhonda Mapp, American WNBA center and forward (Charlotte Sting), born in Asheville, North Carolina
- Oct 13 Tim Crabtree, American baseball pitcher (Toronto Blue Jays), born in Jackson, Michigan
- Oct 14 David Strickland, American actor (d. 1999)
- Oct 14 P J Brown, NBA center/forward (NJ Nets, Miami Heat)
- Oct 15 Dominic West, British actor (The Wire), born in Sheffield, England
- Oct 15 Vítor Baía, Portuguese football goalkeeper, born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
- Oct 16 Gregory Metcalf, Ellensburg Wash, 3k steeplechase
- Oct 16 Roy Hargrove, American jazz trumpeter, born in Waco, Texas (d. 2018)
- Oct 16 Takao Ōmori, Japanese professional wrestler
- Oct 16 Terri J. Vaughn, American actress
- Oct 16 Wendy Wilson, American pop vocalist (Wilson Phillips - 'Hold On"), born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 17 Alfred Pupunu, NFL tight end (San Diego Chargers)
Ernie Els (54 years old)
Oct 17 South African golfer (US Open 1994, 97; British Open 2002, 12), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Oct 17 Joe Courtney, NBA forward (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- Oct 17 Rick Mercer, Canadian comedian
- Oct 17 Wood Harris, American actor
- Oct 17 Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper and singer-songwriter, born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti
- Oct 18 Anthony Avent, NBA forward (Vancouver Grizzlies)
- Oct 18 Nelson Vivas, Argentine former footballer
- Oct 19 DJ Sammy [Samuel Bouriah], Spanish DJ, born in Mallorca
- Oct 19 Erwin Sánchez, Bolivian soccer midfielder (57 caps; Boavista, Benfica) and manager (Boavista, Bolivia, Oriente Petrolero, Blooming), born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
- Oct 19 John Edward, American TV Psychic, born in Glen Cove, New York
- Oct 19 Pedro Castillo, Peruvian teacher, union leader and politician (President of Peru 2021-22), born in Puña, Peru
Trey Parker (54 years old)
Oct 19 American animator, producer, actor and composer (South Park; The Book of Mormon), born in Conifer, Colorado
- Oct 19 Zdeno Ciger, Slovak NHL player (Edmonton Oilers), born in Martin, Czechoslovakia
- Oct 20 Chantel Tremitiere, American WNBA guard (Sacramento Monarchs), born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
- Oct 20 Herman Moore, American NFL wide receiver (Detroit Lions), born in Danville, Virginia
- Oct 20 Juan Gonzalez, Puerto Rican MLB outfielder (Texas Rangers), born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
- Oct 20 Kim Suominen, Finnish soccer midfielder (39 caps; TPS, FF Jaro), born in Turku, Finland (d. 2021)
- Oct 20 Laurie Daley, Australian rugby league footballer (Canberra Raider), born in Junee, Australia
- Oct 21 Mo Lewis, American NFL linebacker (NY Jets), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- Oct 22 Helmut Lotti [Lotigiers], Belgian rock-pop and classical cross-over tenor singer-songwriter, born in Ghent, Belgium
- Oct 22 Spike Jonze [Adam Spiegel], American director and film producer (Her, Three Kings, Where the Wild Things Are), born in Rockville, Maryland
- Oct 23 Brooke Theiss, American actress (Wendy-Just the 10 of Us, Good & Evil), born in California
- Oct 23 Sanjay Gupta, American neurosurgeon and medical reporter (CNN), born in Novi, Michigan
- Oct 24 Adela Noriega, Mexican actress (Quinceañera), born in Mexico City
- Oct 24 Arthur Rhodes, American baseball pitcher (Baltimore Orioles), born in Waco, Texas
- Oct 24 Kelvin Pritchett, American NFL defensive tackle (Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- Oct 25 Eric Guliford, American NFL wide receiver (Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints), born in Kansas City, Kansas
- Oct 25 Josef Beránek, Czech ice hockey center (Olympic Gold 1998; Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers), born in Litvinov, Czech Republic
- Oct 25 Larry Thomas, American baseball pitcher (Chicago White Sox), born in Miami, Florida
- Oct 25 Oleg Salenko, Russian-Ukrainian footballer, born in Leningrad, Soviet Union
Samantha Bee (54 years old)
Oct 25 Canadian-American comedian, actress, and television host, born in Toronto, Ontario
- Oct 26 Mike Pritchard, American NFL wide receiver (Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks), born in Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
- Oct 26 Sarina Wiegman, Dutch football player and manager (Dutch and England women's teams), born in The Hague, Netherlands
- Oct 27 Corey Foster, NHL defenseman (Pitts Penguins), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- Oct 27 John Kasay, NFL kicker (Carolina Panthers), born in Athens, Georgia
- Oct 28 Ben Harper, American blues and reggae musician and singer-songwriter ("No Mercy In This Land"), born in Pomona, California
- Oct 29 Eleni Menegaki, Greek TV presenter (Proinos Kafes), born in Athens, Greece
- Oct 29 Giorgos Donis, Greek footballer, born in Frankfurt, West Germany
- Oct 29 Matthew Whitaker, American lawyer and politician (Acting Attorney General, Nov. 2018-Feb. 2019), born in Des Moines, Iowa
- Oct 29 Peter Breen, American dance skater, born in Brockton, Massachusetts
- Oct 30 Masanori Hikichi, Japanese video game music composer, born in Saitama, Japan
- Oct 30 Mayumi Hirase, Japanese golfer (18 LPGA of Japan Tour titles), born in Kumamoto, Japan
- Oct 30 Snow [Darrin O'Brien], Canadian rapper ("Informer"), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Oct 31 Damon Mashore, MLB outfielder (Oakland A's), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Oct 31 Henry John Mills, American NFL tight end (Houston Oilers), born in Jacksonville, Florida
- Oct 31 Lee Woodall, American NFL linebacker (SF 49ers), born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Famous Weddings
Robert Evans & Ali MacGraw
Oct 24 "Love Story" actress Ali MacGraw (30) weds film producer Robert Evans (39)
Waylon Jennings
Oct 26 American outlaw country singer-songwriter Waylon Jennings (32) weds American singer Jessi Colter (26) in Phoenix, Arizona
Famous Deaths
- Oct 2 Katharine Susannah Prichard, Australian novelist (Black Opal), dies at 85
- Oct 3 Nehemiah "Skip" James, American Delta blues singer, guitarist and piano player ("I'm So Glad"), dies at 67
- Oct 4 Natalino Otto [Natale Codognotto], Italianswing-jazz singer, dies at 56
- Oct 4 Vibart Wight, West Indian cricket batsman (2 Tests; v/c WI first touring team v England 1928), dies at 67
Walter Hagen (1892-1969)
Oct 6 American golfer (11 major titles, US Open 1914, 19), dies of throat cancer at 76
Sonja Henie (1912-1969)
Oct 12 Norwegian figure skater (Olympic gold 1928, 32, 36), and actress (My Lucky Star), dies from leukemia at 57
- Oct 14 Arnie Herber, American Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback (NFL C'ship 1930, 31, 36, 39; First-team All-Pro 1932, 35, 36; Green Bay Packers, NY Giants), dies at 59
- Oct 15 Abdirashid Shermake, President of Somali Republic, shot by one of his bodyguards at 50
- Oct 15 Rod La Rocque, American actor (Mystery Woman), dies at 70
- Oct 16 Leonard Chess [Lejzor Czyż], Polish-American blues and R&B record company executive (Chess Records), dies at 52
Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)
Oct 21 American novelist and poet of the Beat Generation (On the Road, Mexico Blues), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 47
- Oct 21 Oscar "TV Slim" Wills, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Flatfoot Sam"), dies in a car wreck at 53
- Oct 21 Waclaw Sierpinski, Polish mathematician (Sierpinski triangle), dies at 87
- Oct 23 Tommy Edwards, American R&B singer-songwriter ("It's All In The Game"), dies from complications of cirrhosis of the liver at 47
- Oct 24 Otto Jochum, German composer, dies at 71
- Oct 27 Jaime Pahissa, Spanish-born composer and musicologist, dies at 89
- Oct 28 Constance Dowling, actress (Blind Spot), dies of cardiac arrest at 49
- Oct 29 Vic Richardson, Australian cricket batsman and captain who played 19 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 138; South Australia; and SANFL player Magarey Medal 1920 Sturt FC, dies at 75
- Oct 30 George "Pops" Foster, American jazz double bassist, tuba player, and trumpeter (Louis Armstrong; Sidney Bechet; Earl Hines), dies at 77
- Oct 31 Hugo Pfister, Swiss classical and stage composer, dies at 55
