Historical Events
- Oct 1 General Dutch Werkliedenverbond (ANWV), forms in Utrecht
Brigham Young Arrested
Oct 2 US Mormon leader Brigham Young arrested for bigamy
- Oct 6 Fisk Jubilee Singers, an African-American a cappella ensembe from Nashville's Fisk University, begin 1st national tour of US in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Oct 7 16-hour fire injures 30 of Chicago's 185 firefighters
- Oct 8 Forest fire destroys Peshtigo, Wisconsin, killing between 1,200 and 2,500 people, making it then the deadliest wildfire in recorded history
Great Chicago Fire
Oct 8 The Great Chicago Fire kills an estimated 300 people and destroys over 4 square miles (10 square km) of buildings and the original Emancipation Proclamation
- Oct 10 The Great Chicago Fire is finally extinguished after 3 days, leaving approximately 300 dead, 100,000 homeless, and costing $222m in damage
- Oct 12 US President Grant condemns Ku Klux Klan
- Oct 13 The Delphic Fraternity is founded as the Delphic Society at the State Normal School in Geneseo, New York.
- Oct 17 Great Britain annexes Griqualand, South Africa
Grant Takes on the Klan
Oct 17 US President Ulysses S. Grant suspends habeas corpus in parts of South Carolina during prosecutions against Ku Klux Klan
Boss Tweed Arrested
Oct 27 Democratic leader of Tammany Hall NY, Boss Tweed is arrested after the NY Times exposes his corruption
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 2 Cordell Hull, American Secretary of State (1933-44) who established United Nation (Nobel 1945), born in Olympus, Tennessee (d. 1955)
- Oct 2 Martha Brookes Hutcheson, American landscape architect, born in New York City (d. 1959)
- Oct 3 Stijn Streuvels [Frank Lateur], Flemish writer (De Valschaard), born in Heule, Belgium (d. 1969)
- Oct 9 Didak Buntić, Croatian monk and scholar, born in Paoča, Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 1922)
- Oct 9 George Gauthier, Bishop of Montreal and rector of the Université de Montréal, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1940)
- Oct 9 Gerrit Bolkestein, Dutch minister of Education (1939-45), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1956)
- Oct 11 Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian Christian leader who founded the evangelical Brunstad Christian Church, born in Fredrikstad, Norway (d. 1943)
- Oct 14 Alexander von Zemlinsky, Austrian composer, conductor, and arranger (The Mermaid; Lyric Symphony), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1942)
- Oct 18 Louis de Vries, Dutch actor (Blokkade, Ghetto), born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 1940)
- Oct 19 Walter Bradford Cannon, American physiologist (Wisdom of the Body, coined term "fight or flight response"), born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (d. 1945)
- Oct 20 Frederick Burton, American actor (The Big Trail, One Way Passage), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 1957)
- Oct 26 Guillermo Kahlo, German-Mexican photographer and father of Frida Kahlo, born in Pforzheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire (d. 1941)
- Oct 26 Hermann Löhr, British composer, born in Plymouth, England (d. 1943)
- Oct 29 Narziss Ach, German psychologist (Analyse des Willens), born in Ermershausen, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire (d. 1946)
- Oct 30 Buck Freeman, American baseball outfielder (World Series 1903; HR leader 1899, 1903; AL RBI leader 1902, 03; Boston Americans), born in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania (d. 1949)
- Oct 30 Paul Valéry [Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry], French author, philosopher and poet (La Jeune Parque), born in Sète, France (d. 1945)
Famous Deaths
Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
Oct 18 British mathematician and inventor (calculating machine) considered the "father of the computer", dies of renal failure at 79
- Oct 22 Roderick Murchison, Scottish Geologist (Silurian system), dies at 79
