Historical Events
- Oct 1 China celebrates 70th anniversary of Communism with military parade of 15,000 soldiers in Beijing
- Oct 1 Former Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger found guilty of murdering her black neighbor in his apartment in landmark case on use of police force and racial bias
- Oct 1 Indian government bans the export of onions, an important food staple to control prices, causing shortages in Bangladesh and Nepal
- Oct 1 Law allowing teachers to carry guns in schools comes into effect in US state of Florida
- Oct 1 Political crisis in Peru as President Martín Vizcarra dissolves Congress over its refusal to support his anti-corruption reforms
Film & TV History
Oct 1 Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex sue British newspaper The Mail on Sunday claiming it published her private letter
Event of Interest
Oct 1 US Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders taken to hospital after suffering a heart attack
- Oct 2 Australian women's cricket wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy smashes T20I world record 148 not out off 61 balls against Sri Lanka in Sydney; her century from Australian record 46 balls
- Oct 2 Two politicians in Peru claim to be the country's leader for a day until Mercedes Aráoz resigns so the constitutional court can rule on the matter
- Oct 4 Fuel subsidies end in Ecuador after four decades, prompting nationwide protests and President Lenín Moreno to declare 60-day state of emergency
Duterte's Health Issue
Oct 5 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reveals he has a neuromuscular disease, myasthenia gravis, causing him health problems
- Oct 6 99 Iraqis have died and 4,000 injured in protests over 5 days against living conditions, unemployment and corruption according to human rights group
- Oct 6 Tens of thousands of Hong Kong protesters march in defiance of a new ban on face masks
- Oct 7 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology awarded to Peter Ratcliffe, William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza for discovering how cells sense oxygen
- Oct 8 FBI confirm Samuel Little is America's most prolific serial killer, after verifying more than half of his 93 confessed murders
- Oct 8 Montgomery, Alabama, home of the US civil rights movement, elects Steven Reed as its first black mayor in 200 years
- Oct 8 Noble Prize for Physics awarded to James Peebles (work on evolution of the universe), and Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz (discovery of planet 51 Pegasi b, orbiting another star)
- Oct 9 Nearly 1 million people in northern California have their power cut by Pacific Gas and Electric to prevent wildfires amid high winds
- Oct 9 Nobel Prize for Chemistry awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for development of lithium-ion batteries, Goodenough oldest-ever winner at 97
Event of Interest
Oct 9 Turkey launches airstrikes on Kurdish forces in Northern Syria after US President Donald Trump announces decision to pull back US forces
- Oct 10 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk, after a year's delay due to Swedish Academy scandal
- Oct 10 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to Austrian Peter Handke
- Oct 10 3,500 women are the first to be allowed to attend a football match in Iran for a World Cup qualifier in Tehran, since the Islamic revolution
Cricket History
Oct 11 Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli scores career-best 254 not out to move past 7,000 Test runs on day 2 of the 2nd Test against South Africa in Mumbai; India wins by an innings and 137 runs
AI YoungBoy 2
Oct 11 NBA YoungBoy releases the album mixtape "AI YoungBoy 2" which debuts at #1 on the US Billboard 200
Nobel Peace Prize
Oct 11 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for the peace deal with Eritrea
- Oct 12 California is the 1st US state to pass law banning sale and manufacture of new fur products
Sports History
Oct 12 Centre-back Sergio Ramos becomes Europe's most capped male outfield soccer player (168 caps) as Spain draws 1-1 with Norway in Euro 2020 qualification in Oslo
Sports History
Oct 12 Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya becomes first to run a marathon in under 2 hours (1:59:40) in Vienna, Austria; not a race by strict definition using pacesetters and pace laser markings on a doctored course
- Oct 12 Typhoon Hagibis makes landfall on the Izu Peninsula near Tokyo, Japan, bringing record rainfall and killing at least 56 people
- Oct 13 Ecuadorean President Lenín Moreno cancels his austerity plan, in deal with indigenous leaders, restoring fuel subsidies, ending weeks of violent protests
- Oct 13 Kenya's Brigid Kosgei sets new world record of 2:14.04 for the women's marathon in Chicago, beating Paula Radcliffe's 16-year-old mark
- Oct 13 Kurdish forces make a deal with Syrian army for them to patrol border areas in north east Syria to combat Turkish offensive after US President Donald Trump pulls out US forces
Canonization
Oct 13 Pope Francis canonizes John Henry Newman, British theologian and Catholic priest as a saint
Sports History
Oct 13 Simone Biles becomes the most decorated gymnast in history when she wins record 25th medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany
- Oct 13 Tunisian presidential election won by academic Kais Saied defeating media mogul Nabil Karoui
Event of Interest
Oct 14 Booker Prize awarded jointly to Margaret Atwood for "The Testaments" and Bernardine Evaristo for "Girl, Woman, Other", Evaristo 1st black woman to win
Event of Interest
Oct 14 British Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive in Pakistan to begin a 5-day royal tour
- Oct 14 Hundreds of forest fires break out in western Lebanon, killing three and prompting calls for international help
- Oct 14 Nobel prize for Economics awarded to Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer for research on ways to fight poverty
Important Vote
Oct 14 Spain's Supreme Court jails nine Catalan separatist leaders for sedition for 2017 independence referendum, prompting violent clashes in Barcelona
- Oct 15 Gunfight between Mexican security forces and armed civilians leaves 15 dead, in Guerrero state, a day after 13 police killed in a drug cartel ambush in Michoacán state
- Oct 15 Record 12 Democratic presidential candidates participate in a live TV debate in Westerville, Ohio
- Oct 16 Egyptian archaeologists announce discovery of more than 20 painted wooden coffins from Theban necropolis of Asasif
- Oct 16 First plant-powered selfie taken by Pete the Fern as part of research into use of microbial fuel cells at London Zoo (London, England)
Film & TV History
Oct 16 Netflix reveals its most popular original movie was Sandra Bullock's "Bird Box" and TV series "Stranger Things" for the year
Music History
Oct 17 Lana Del Rey's ballad "Video Games" named song of the decade at Q Awards in London
- Oct 17 Mick Mulvaney, President Trump's acting chief of staff says the White House withheld nearly $400 million in military aid from Ukraine to further Trump's own political interests
- Oct 17 The 'Blob', mysterious yellow slime organism (physarum polycephalum) with 720 sexes, moves and can solve problems to go on display at the Paris Zoological Park
Agreement of Interest
Oct 17 Turkey agrees to a ceasefire in Northern Syria for 5 days to allow withdrawal of Kurdish troops, after talks between US Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Event of Interest
Oct 17 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces new Brexit deal with the EU, removes the Northern Ireland backstop clause
- Oct 17 US adults identifying as Christian falls 12% in a decade to 2/3 according to the Pew Research Center, born-again Protestants falls to 16%
- Oct 18 1st all-female spacewalk by NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir outside the International Space Station
- Oct 18 Charges of disorderly conduct officially dropped against participants of the 1939 equal rights protest sit-in at Alexandria (Virginia) Library [1]
Event of Interest
Oct 19 Chilean President Sebastián Piñera declares a 15 day state of emergency after widespread and violent protests over rise in public transport costs
- Oct 19 Sunnyside, Queens, New York City: Intersection of 46th Street and Skillman Avenue named "Ethel Plimack Way", in honor of a longtime resident [1]
- Oct 19 UK parliament votes for the Letwin amendment in a special Saturday sitting, which forces Boris Johnson to ask the EU for an extension and delays vote on his Brexit deal
- Oct 19 US Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorses Bernie Sanders for president
- Oct 20 1st New York to Sydney non-stop test flight by a commercial airline achieved by a Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner, takes 19 hours 42 minutes
- Oct 20 David Byrne's musical revue "American Utopia" opens at Hudson Theatre, NYC; runs for 106 performances
- Oct 21 Australia's biggest newspapers all blank out their front pages in protest against press restrictions
Election of Interest
Oct 21 Canadian Federal Election: Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party loses its majority but wins the most seats (157) to form a minority government
- Oct 21 Facebook says it has taken down four state-backed disinformation campaigns, three from Iran, one from Russia in addition to dozens earlier this year
- Oct 21 Lebanon government approves economic reforms after 5 days of protests, largest in a decade
- Oct 21 Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn strips his royal consort Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi of her titles for "misbehaviour and disloyalty against the monarch" two months after she was appointed to them
- Oct 21 World's oldest natural pearl, 8,000 years old, announced discovered during excavations at Marawah Island, near Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Oct 22 Chilean president Sebastián Piñera agrees to meet opposition leaders after 15 people killed in growing nationwide protests over living costs and inequality
- Oct 22 Legislation for Northern Ireland legalizing same-sex marriage and abortion comes into effect
Agreement of Interest
Oct 22 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agree deal to jointly control former Kurdish territory in Northern Syria
- Oct 22 Top US diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, testifies President Donald Trump tied aid to Ukraine to demands the country open an investigation into the Biden family
- Oct 22 UK parliament approves Brexit deal to leave the EU but rejects legislation to fast-track it to meet October 31 deadline
- Oct 22 US drug company Biogen claims to have created 1st drug to slow advance of Alzheimer's disease called aducanumab
NBA Record
Oct 23 All Star point guard Kyrie Irving pours in 50 points, setting a new NBA record for points on debut with a new team as his Brooklyn Nets go down 127-126 at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oct 23 Google research lab claims it has achieved Quantum Supremacy, performing calculation in 3 mins that wold take a supercomputer 10,000 years
- Oct 23 Hong Kong Legislative Council scraps the extradition bill that sparked months of protests and unrest
- Oct 23 Lorry containing 39 bodies of Vietnamese nationals found in Essex, England, man arrested for people smuggling and murder
- Oct 24 Bangladesh sentences 16 men to death for the murder of Nusrat Jahan Rafi, who was set on fire after accusing a teacher of inappropriate behavior
Music History
Oct 24 Jason Mraz endorses Bernie Sanders for president in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Franco Exhumation
Oct 24 Remains of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco removed from mausoleum in Valley of the Fallen and reburied in private family vault in Madrid
- Oct 25 Leicester City rout Southampton, 9-0 at St. Mary's to record biggest ever win by an away side in an English top-flight league match in the history of the Football League
- Oct 26 Raid by US Special Forces kills ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria
- Oct 27 Argentine presidential election won by Alberto Fernandez, defeating sitting President Mauricio Macri
- Oct 27 California Governor Gavin Newson declares state of emergency with multiple fires across the state, including Sonomoa County's Kincade Fire burning over 30,000 acres
Sports History
Oct 27 Tiger Woods scores a wire-to-wire 3-stroke win over Hideki Matsuyama at the inaugural Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf & Country Club to tie Sam Snead's record of 82 PGA victories
- Oct 27 Wes Studi is the first Native American actor to receive an Oscar, an honorary award for career achievement
- Oct 28 Country of Georgia hit by a massive cyber attack affecting 2,000 websites, TV channels and government departments.
- Oct 28 EU agrees to another Brexit extension to January 31 2020
- Oct 28 Landslide after heavy rains in Bafoussam, Cameroon, buries at least 42 people
- Oct 29 1.5 million people without power in California as utility company turns power off to try and avoid sparking more wildfires
- Oct 29 Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigns after two weeks of nationwide protests and an economic crisis
- Oct 29 Rising seas could endanger 150 million people worldwide, three times more than previously thought, according study by Climate Central published in "Nature Communications"
- Oct 30 Baseball World Series: Washington Nationals beat Houston Astros, 6-2 in Game 7 at Minute Maid Park, Houston to win first title in franchise history; MVP: Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg
- Oct 30 Kashmir officially loses their autonomous status, their flag and their constitution, as India brings it under federal control
Event of Interest
Oct 30 Twitter head Jack Dorsey announces it will no longer take political ads
- Oct 31 Fire destroys most of historic Shuri Castle, once seat of the Ryukyu Kingdom, on island of Okinawa, Japan
- Oct 31 Gas canister explodes on a train in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakaistan killing at least 70 and injuring 30
- Oct 31 Jihadist group Islamic State names Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi as its new leader after US special forces kill its former leader
- Oct 31 Joel Embiid is suspended from the NBA for two games without pay due to an altercation with Karl-Anthony Towns
- Oct 31 US House of Representatives votes to formalize impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump
Famous Weddings
Nicki Minaj
Oct 21 American rapper-singer Nicki Minaj (35) weds childhood friend Kenneth "Zoo" Petty
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, American blues guitarist, and singer, dies of a heart attack at 80
- Oct 1 Karel Gott, Czech singer 'Sinatra of the East', dies at 80
- Oct 1 Peter Sissons, British newsreader (BBC, ITV, Question Time), dies at 77
- Oct 2 Barrie Masters, British pub-rock singer (Eddie & the Hot Rods - "Teenage Depression"), dies of drug intoxication at 63
- Oct 2 Bill Bidwill, American NFL team owner (St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals 1962-2019), dies at 88
- Oct 2 Giya Kancheli, Georgian composer (NightPrayers; Exil), dies at 84
- Oct 3 Vinnie Bell [Gambella], American session guitarist, electric sitar player, and pioneer of electronic effects in pop music, dies at 87
- Oct 4 Diahann Carroll [Carol Diann Johnson] American Tony Award-winning stage and screen actress (No Strings; Julia; Claudine; Dynasty - "Dominique"), dies of cancer at 84
- Oct 5 Andy Etchebarren, American baseball catcher (Baltimore Orioles - World Series champion 1966, 1970; MLB All Star 1966,1967), dies at 76
- Oct 5 Larry Junstrom, American rock bassist (.38 Special), dies at 70
- Oct 5 Marcello Giordani, Italian tenor (Metropolitan Opera, 1993-2008), dies of a heart attack at 56
- Oct 6 Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (only Japanese pitcher to win 400 games; perfect game 1957), dies at 86
Rip Taylor (1931-2019)
Oct 6 American actor and comedian (Gong Show, $1.98 Beauty Show), dies at 88
- Oct 6 [Peter] "Ginger" Baker, English drummer (Cream), dies at 80
- Oct 8 (Malcolm) "Molly" Duncan, Scottish saxophonist (Average White Band, 1972-83 - "Pick Up the Pieces"), dies of cancer at 74
- Oct 9 Andrés Gimeno, Spanish tennis player (French Open 1972), dies from cancer at 82
- Oct 11 Alexei Leonov, Russian cosmonaut (Voskhod 2, first person to walk in space), and visual artist, dies at 85
- Oct 11 Robert Forster [Foster], American actor (Medium Cool, Jackie Brown), dies of cancer at 78
- Oct 12 George Chambers, American rock bassist and vocalist (Chambers Brothers - "Time Has Come Today"), dies at 88
- Oct 13 Steve Cash, American country-rock vocalist, songwriter, and harmonica player (Ozark Mountain Daredevils - "Jackie Blue", "If You Wanna Get To Heaven"), and author (Meq trilogy), dies at 73
- Oct 14 Harold Bloom, American literary critic, 'the most notorious literary critic in America' dies at 89
- Oct 14 Sulli [Choi Jin-ri], South Korean K-pop singer (f(x)) and actress (Fashion King), takes her own life at 25
- Oct 15 Hossein Dehlavi, Persian composer, conductor and teacher (Sarbaz; Plectrum Orchestra), dies of Alzheimer complications at 92
- Oct 16 John Clarke, American actor (Days of Our Lives -"Mickey"), dies at 88
- Oct 17 Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina and founder of the National Ballet of Cuba, dies at 98
- Oct 17 Elijah Cummings, American politician (Rep-Maryland (D) 1996-2019), dies at 68
- Oct 17 Márta Kurtág [née Kinsker], Hungarian classical pianist, dies at 92
- Oct 17 Michael Bowen, British clergyman (Roman Catholic Archbishop of Southwark. 1977-2003; Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, 1971–77), dies at 89
- Oct 18 William Milliken, American politician, longest serving Governor of Michigan (1969-83), dies at 97
- Oct 20 Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Filipino politician (President of the Senate of the Philippines. 2000-01; Senator, 1987-92 and 1998-2010), dies at 85
- Oct 20 Nick Tosches, American writer (bio of Jerry Lee Lewis), dies at 69
- Oct 21 Willie Brown, American Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, coach and executive (Super Bowl 1976, 80, 84; Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders), dies at 78
- Oct 22 Hans Zender, German composer and conductor (Stephen Climax; Chief Joseph), dies at 82
- Oct 22 Ramon Zupko, American classical and electro-acoustic composer (Fluxus), and educator (Western Michigan University, 1971-96), dies at 86
- Oct 22 Raymond Leppard, British-American harpsichordist, conductor (Indianapolis Symphony, 1987-2001; BBC Northern Symphony, 1973-80), and composer (Lord Of The Flies), dies at 93
- Oct 23 Bernie Parrish, American football cornerback (Pro Bowl 1960, 63; Cleveland Browns; best-selling book, 'They Call It A Game'), dies of prostate cancer at 83
- Oct 23 Hansheinz Schneeberger, Swiss violinist (Duo Paganini), dies at 93
- Oct 25 Chou Wen-chung, Chinese-American composer (Mode of Shang), dies at 96
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (1971-2019)
Oct 26 Leader of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), detonates a suicide vest after being cornered by US special forces and dies at 48
- Oct 26 Enriqueta Basilio, Mexican track and field athlete, and first woman to light the Olympic Cauldron (Mexico City, 1968), dies of pneumonia at 71
- Oct 26 Paul Barrere, American rock guitarist (Little Feat - "Time Loves a Hero"), dies of liver cancer at 71
Robert Evans (1930-2019)
Oct 26 American producer and actor (Love Story, The Godfather, Chinatown), dies at 89
- Oct 27 John Conyers, American politician (Rep-D-MI, 1965-2017), dies at 90
- Oct 28 Al Bianchi, American basketball guard (Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers), ABA Coach of the Year 1971 and NY Knicks general manager (1987-91), dies from heart failure at 87
- Oct 28 Zoltán Jeney, Hungarian composer and educator (Franz Liszt Academy, 1995-2019), dies at 76
- Oct 29 Barry Frank, American television sports impresario (CBS, ABC and IMG), dies of pulmonary problems at 87
- Oct 29 John Witherspoon, American actor (Friday), dies at 77
- Oct 30 Bernard Slade [Newbound], Canadian screenwriter (The Flying Nun; The Partridge Family), and playwright (Same Time, Next Year; Romantic Comedy), dies of Lewy body dementia at 89
- Oct 30 Don Fraser, American boxing promoter (LA venues; Sugar Ray Robinson, Ruben Olivares, George Foreman; known for colourful wardrobe, offbeat PR gimmicks), dies at 92
- Oct 30 J. Bob Traxler, American politician (Rep-D-Michigan 1974-93), dies at 88
- Oct 30 Ron Fairly, American baseball utility (MLB All Star 1973 Montreal Expos, 1977 Toronto Blue Jays; World Series 1959, 63, 65 LA Dodgers) and broadcaster (California Angels radio/television; KNBR SF Giants), dies from cancer at 81
- Oct 30 William J. Hughes, American politician and diplomat (Rep-D-New Jersey, 1975-95), dies at 87
- Oct 31 (Elizabeth) Ann Crumb, American stage and screen actress and singer, dies of ovarian cancer at 69
