Historical Events
Cook's Third Voyage
Oct 17 Captain James Cook arrives in Cape Town with Resolution on his third trip to the Pacific Ocean
- Oct 18 Battle of Pelham: Colonel John Glover & Marblehead regiment meet British Forces in Bronx
- Oct 18 In a bar decorated with bird tail in Elmsford, New York, a customer requests a glassful of “those cock tails” from bartender Betsy Flanagan
Kościuszko Joins Continental Army
Oct 18 Tadeusz Kościuszko receives a commission from US Congress as a colonel of engineers in the Continental Army
Franklin Seeks French Support
Oct 26 Benjamin Franklin departs for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution
Battle of White Plains
Oct 28 Battle of White Plains: George Washington retreats to New Jersey
Famous Weddings
- Oct 7 Crown Prince Paul of Russia marries Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg.
Famous Deaths
- Oct 17 Pierre François le Courayer, French theologian (b. 1681)
