Historical Events
- Oct 1 Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury comic strip resumes after 2-year hiatus
Sports History
Oct 1 Peter Ueberroth replaces Bowie Kuhn as 6th commissioner of Major League Baseball; he has a 4 year tenure
- Oct 2 3 cosmonauts return after a record 237 days in orbit
- Oct 2 Due to a strike by MLB umpires, first 4 NLCS games played with replacement umpires; Game 1: Chicago Cubs beat SD Padres, 13-0
- Oct 2 Papa John's Pizza is founded by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana; it would go on to become the fourth-largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States
- Oct 2 Richard Miller becomes 1st (former) FBI agent to be charged with espionage
- Oct 3 US government shuts down due to lack of agreement over passage of bills
STS-41-G Launches
Oct 5 13th NASA Space Shuttle Mission (41G): Challenger 6 launches with Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space, on board
- Oct 7 MLB National League Championship: San Diego Padres beat Chicago Cubs, 3 games to 2
- Oct 7 Striking umps return for Game 5 of NLCS, San Diego Padres win pennant
Sports History
Oct 7 Walter Payton passes Jim Brown as NFL's career rushing leader
- Oct 8 18th Country Music Association Awards: Alabama wins
- Oct 8 NBC's premiere of TV made "The Burning Bed", based on Francine Hughes
- Oct 9 Astronaut Kathy Sullivan becomes 1st US woman to walk in space during a Space Shuttle Challenger mission (STS-41-G)
- Oct 11 1st space walk by US woman (Dr Kathryn D Sullivan)
Event of Interest
Oct 11 August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" premieres in NYC
- Oct 11 NASA launches space vehicle S-208
Event of Interest
Oct 11 US Vice Presidential candidates' debate - Geraldine Ferraro (D) and George H. W. Bush (R), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Event of Interest
Oct 12 IRA bombs the Grand Hotel, Brighton, where British PM Margaret Thatcher is staying, 5 die
- Oct 13 Blackhawk Bill Gardner scores on 10th penalty shot against Islanders
- Oct 13 John Henry becomes 1st thoroughbred to win $6 million
- Oct 13 STS 41-G mission; lands at Kennedy Space Center
- Oct 14 Barbara Damashek's musical "Quilters" closes at Jack Lawrence Theater, NYC, after 24 performances
- Oct 14 Baseball World Series: Detroit Tigers beat San Diego Padres, 8-4 at Tiger Stadium to clinch series, 4 games to 1; MVP: Detroit shortstop Alan Trammell
- Oct 14 NFL Cleveland Browns' Ozzie Newsome sets club records with 14 receptions for 191 yds, in 24-20 loss to visiting NY Jets
- Oct 15 Central Intelligence Agency Information Act passes
- Oct 15 Dutch Centrum Party expels 2nd Member of parliament Hans Janmaat due to fraud
Nobel Peace Prize
Oct 16 Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican Archbishop, wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Oct 17 Nobel prize for chemistry awarded to Bruce Merrifield
- Oct 18 Discovery moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) for mating of STS 51A mission
- Oct 18 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- Oct 20 Cleveland Metroparks' Valley Parkway All Purpose Trails are completed
NHL Record
Oct 20 Islander's Mike Bossy's 30th career hat trick, in his 6th career 4-goal game, an 8-3 win over visiting Los Angeles Kings
- Oct 20 The Monterey Bay Aquarium opens in Monterey Bay, California.
F1 World Champion
Oct 21 Austrian Ferrari driver Niki Lauda becomes a 3-time Formula 1 World Drivers champion when he finishes 2nd in the season ending Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril; wins title by just 0.5 from Alain Prost
- Oct 21 Cleveland Browns' Steve Cox sets club record with a 60-yd field goal
- Oct 21 Steve Jones runs Chicago Marathon in world record 2:08:05
- Oct 22 Future Pro Football HOF quarterback Ken Stabler retires after 17 seasons in the NFL with Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints
Music History
Oct 22 Paul McCartney releases "Give My Regards to Broad Street" soundtrack
- Oct 23 Chicago Cubs Rick Sutcliffe, selected as a unanimous choice as NL Cy Young
- Oct 23 NBC airs BBC footage of Ethiopian famine
- Oct 23 STS 51-A launch vehicle moves to launch pad
- Oct 24 11 members of Colombo crime family arrested
- Oct 24 Intelsat 5 re-enters Earth's atmosphere 5 months after it failed
- Oct 25 "Give My Regards to Broad Street" premieres (Gotham Theater-NYC)
- Oct 25 King Boudouin opens Museum for Modern Art in Brussels
- Oct 25 Rangers beat Devils 11-2
- Oct 25 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- Oct 25 West German Chancellor Rainer Barzel resigns due to corruption
The Terminator
Oct 26 "The Terminator" directed by James Cameron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn is released in the US
- Oct 26 Stephanie Fae Beauclair ("Baby Fae") gets baboon heart transplant, lives 21 days
- Oct 27 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- Oct 27 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- Oct 27 Washington State University's running back Rueben Mayes sets collegiate football record of 357 yards rushing in one game (at Oregon)
NYC Women's Marathon
Oct 28 14th NYC Women's Marathon won by Grete Waitz in 2:29:30
Assassination
Oct 31 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh at her home in New Delhi
- Oct 31 Puerto Rican tanker 'San Francisco' explodes spilling 2 million gallons of oil as ship caught fire
Assassination
Oct 31 Rajiv Gandhi takes office as India's 6th Prime Minister succeeding his mother Indira Gandhi who was assassinated
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Matt Cain, American baseball pitcher (SF Giants; perfect game 2012; MLB All Star 2009, 11-12), born in Dothan, Alabama
- Oct 2 John Morris, American voice actor (Toy Story), born in Paris, Texas
- Oct 2 Marion Bartoli, French tennis player (Wimbledon 2013), born in Haute-Loire, France
- Oct 3 Ashlee Simpson, American pop singer (Autobiography), born in Waco, Texas
- Oct 3 Yoon Eun Hye, South Korean actress
- Oct 4 Álvaro Parente, Portuguese auto racer (British F3 C’ship 2005; Formula Renault 3.5 Series 2007), born in Porto, Portugal
- Oct 4 Lena Katina, Russian singer (t.A.T.u.)
- Oct 5 Kenwyne Jones, Trinidadian footballer, born in Point Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago
- Oct 6 Joanna Pacitti, American actress and singer
- Oct 7 Ikuta Toma, Japanese singer and actor, born in Hokkaido, Japan
- Oct 7 Salman Butt, Pakistani cricket batsman (33 tests, 3 x 100, 10 x 50, HS 122; Lahore Whites, National Bank of Pakistan), born in Lahore, Pakistan
- Oct 9 Ghetts [Justin Clarke], British musician, born in Plaistow, East London, England
- Oct 9 Marie Kondo, Japanese organizational guru (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up), born in Tokyo, Japan
- Oct 10 Chiaki Kuriyama, Japanese actress (Battle Royale), born in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan
- Oct 10 Paul Posluszny, American football linebacker (Pro Bowl 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Butler, Pennsylvania
- Oct 10 Rod Benson, American basketball player, born in Fairfield, California
- Oct 10 Stephanie Cheng, Hong Kong singer (Traffic Light), born in Hong Kong
- Oct 10 Troy Tulowitzki, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star 2010, 11, 13–15; Gold Glove Award 2010, 11; Colorado Rockies), born in Santa Clara, California
- Oct 11 Martha MacIsaac, Canadian actress (Superbad), born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
- Oct 11 Sergio Hellings, Dutch footballer (Roeselare), born in Amsterdam
- Oct 13 Frank Simek, American soccer player, born in St. Louis, Missouri
- Oct 13 Misono [Kōda], Japanese pop singer (Day After Tomorrow; "It's All Love!"), and TV personality (Quiz! Hexagon II), born in Kyoto, Japan
- Oct 14 LaRon Landry, American NFL football player, 2007-14 (Washington Redskins, and 2 other teams), born in Metairie, Louisiana
- Oct 15 Jessie Ware, British pop singer-songwriter ("What's Your Pleasure?"), born in Hammersmith, London, England
- Oct 16 Shayne Ward, British singer (UK X Factor - "That's My Goal"), and actor (Coronation Street), born in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England
- Oct 16 Trevor Blumas, Canadian actor
- Oct 17 Chris Lowell, American actor
- Oct 17 Jelle Klaasen, Dutch darts player (BDO World Champion 2006), born in Alphen, Netherlands
- Oct 17 Randall Munroe, American webcomic author
- Oct 18 Esperanza Spalding, American jazz bassist, singer and songwriter (Radio Music Society; 12 Little Spells), born in Portland, Oregon
- Oct 18 Freida Pinto, Indian Bollywood actress (Slumdog Millionaire; Rise of the Planet of the Apes), born in Mumbai, India
Lindsey Vonn (39 years old)
Oct 18 American alpine skier (Olympic gold 2010, 4 World Cup Championships), born in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Oct 19 Thundercat [Stephen Bruner], American bass guitarist (Flying Lotus), born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 20 Andrew Trimble, Northern Irish rugby player (Irish national team), born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland
- Oct 21 Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, French Canadian short track speed skater
- Oct 21 Kenny Cooper, American soccer forward (10 caps), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Oct 21 Kieran Richardson, English soccer utility (8 caps; Manchester United, Sunderland, Fulham, Aston Villa), born in Greenwich, England
- Oct 23 Izabel Goulart, Brazilian model (Victoria's Secret), born in ão Carlos, Brazil
- Oct 23 Meghan McCain, American columnist, author, and TV host (The View, 2017-21), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- Oct 24 Kaela Kimura, Japanese model and singer (Rirura Riruha), born in Adachi, Tokyo
Katy Perry (39 years old)
Oct 25 American pop singer ("I Kissed A Girl"; "Teenage Dream"; "Firework"), and TV personality (American Idol, 2018-present), born in Santa Barbara, California
- Oct 25 Sara Lumholdt, Swedish musician (A-Teens), born in Stockholm, Sweden
- Oct 26 Adriano Correia Claro, Brazilian footballer, born in Curitiba, Brazil
- Oct 26 Amanda Overmyer, American rock singer (American Idol season 7 finalist), and nurse, born in Mulberry, Indiana
- Oct 26 Jefferson Farfán, Peruvian footballer (PSV), born in Lima, Peru
- Oct 26 Sasha Cohen, American figure skater (Grand Prix Final Champion 2003; Olympic silver 2006), born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 27 Brady Quinn, American football quarterback (Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos) and broadcaster (CBS Sports HQ, Fox Sports), born in Columbus, Ohio
- Oct 27 Irfan Pathan, Indian cricket all-rounder (29 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 102, 100 wickets, BB 7/59; 120 ODIs; Baroda, Middlesex CCC, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils), born in Vadodara, Gujarat, India
- Oct 27 Kelly Osbourne, English television personality (The Osbournes), born in Westminster, London
- Oct 28 Amanda Paige, American model and actress, born in North Carolina
- Oct 28 Obafemi Martins, Nigerian footballer
- Oct 29 Chris Baio, American rock bassist (Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk"; "Oxford Comma"), born in Bronxville, New York
- Oct 29 Eric Staal, Canadian ice hockey center (Stanley Cup 2006 Carolina Hurricanes; World C'ship gold 2007; Winter Olympic gold 2010), born in Thunder Bay, Ontario
- Oct 30 Eva Pigford, American actress and fashion model, born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Weddings
Sigourney Weaver
Oct 1 Actress Sigourney Weaver (34) weds filmmaker Jim Simpson (28)
- Oct 27 "Jessie's Girl" singer Rick Springfield (35) weds Barbara Porter in Australia
Famous Divorces
George Gervin
Oct 16 Joyce King divorces NBA guard George Gervin (32) after nearly 8 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 Billy Goodman, American baseball infielder (MLB All-Star 1949, 53; AL batting champion 1950; Boston Red Sox), dies of cancer at 58
Walter Alston (1911-1984)
Oct 1 American Baseball Hall of Fame manager (World Series 1955, 59, 63, 65; Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers), dies from heart attack complications at 72
- Oct 5 Leonard Rossiter, British actor (Rising Damp, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin), dies of a heart attack at 57
- Oct 6 Eliseo Pajaro, Filipino composer (The Life of Lam-Ling; Marilag Fantasy), pedagogue, and school administrator, dies at 69
- Oct 6 George Gaylord Simpson, American paleontologist, dies at 82
- Oct 7 Hermann Schroeder, German composer, dies at 80
- Oct 8 Frederick Brisson, Danish-born film and theater producer, dies at 71 after a stroke
- Oct 11 K. M. Rangnekar, Indian cricketer (33 runs at 5 50 for India), dies at 67
- Oct 11 Sid Carroll, Australian cricketer (prolific NSW opener 1945-59 avg 39 59), dies at 61
- Oct 12 Sir Anthony Berry, British politician (bombing victim) (b. 1925)
- Oct 13 Alice Neel, American painter dies ages 84
- Oct 13 George 'High Pockets' Kelly, American Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman (World Series 1921, 22; NL HR leader 1921; NY Giants), dies from a stroke at 89
- Oct 14 Martin Ryle, English radio astronomer (Astronomer Royal 1972-82, Nobel Prize for Physics 1974), dies at 66 [1]
- Oct 16 Ken Carpenter, TV announcer (Lux Video Theater), dies at 84
- Oct 16 Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (Little Women, Daisy Kenyon), dies of cancer at 53
- Oct 17 Alberta Hunter, American blues singer and composer, dies at 89
- Oct 18 Florence Rinard, TV panelist (20 Questions), dies at 82
- Oct 18 Jon-Erik Hexum, American actor (Voyagers!, Cover-up), dies by a gun loaded with blanks at 26
- Oct 19 Henri Michaux, Belgian-born French poet and writer (Miserable Miracle), dies at 85
- Oct 19 Jerzy Popieluszko, Polish priest/dissident, kidnapped & murdered
- Oct 20 Carl Ferdinand Cori, Czech-American bio-chemist (Nobel 1947-discovery of how glycogen (animal starch) – a derivative of glucose – is broken down and resynthesized in the body, for use as a store and source of energy), dies at 87
Paul Dirac (1902-1984)
Oct 20 English physicist (quantum electrodynamics, Nobel 1933), dies at 82
- Oct 21 Dalibor Cyril Vačkář, Czech composer, dies at 78
- Oct 21 Francois Truffaut, dir (Fahrenheit 451), dies of brain cancer at 52
- Oct 22 Harold Laurence Walters, American composer, dies at 66
- Oct 22 Napoleon Whiting, actor (Silas-Big Valley), dies at 75
- Oct 23 David Gorcey, actor (Angel's Alley), dies at 63 in a diabetic coma
- Oct 23 James Petrillo, American labor leader (American Federation of Musicians president, 1940-58), and radio orchestra music director (WBBM Chicago), dies at 92
- Oct 23 Oskar Werner [Bschließmayer], Austrian stage and screen actor an(The Spy Who Came In from the Cold; Ship of Fools; Fahrenheit 451), dies of a heart attack at 61
- Oct 24 Edith Massey, actress (Polyester, Pink Flamingos), dies at 66
- Oct 24 Walter Woolf King, American stage and screen baritone, character actor (Golden Dawn; A Night at the Opera; Swiss Miss), and actor's agent, dies of a heart attack at 84
- Oct 25 Pascale Ogier, actress (Ghost Dance), dies of a heart attack at 24
- Oct 26 Gus Mancuso, American baseball catcher (World Series 1931, 33; MLB All Star 1935, 37; NY Giants, St. Louis Cardinals) and broadcaster (Cardinals' radio network), dies from emphysema at 78
- Oct 26 John Woods Duke, American composer, dies at 85
- Oct 26 Laurie Langenbach, author, dies at 37
- Oct 26 Sue Randall, actress (Miss Landers-Leave it to Beaver), dies at 49
- Oct 28 Giuseppe Savagnone, Italian composer, dies at 81
- Oct 28 Knut Nordahl, Swedish soccer midfielder (26 caps; AS Roma; Olympic gold 1948), dies at 64
- Oct 30 June Duprez, actress (Calcutta, Tiger Fang), dies at 66
- Oct 30 Mario Gallo, actor (Delvecchio), dies at 61
- Oct 31 Eduardo De Filippo, Italian playwright, director, actor and poet (7 Deadly Sins, Shoot Loud), dies at 84
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984)
Oct 31 4th Prime Minister of India (1966-77, 1980-84), assassinated by two of her bodyguards at 66
