Historical Events
- Oct 1 Special delivery mail service begins in US
- Oct 3 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: Bob Martin wins his second Championship by 1 stroke from fellow Scot Archie Simpson
- Oct 13 The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is founded in Atlanta, Georgia
- Oct 17 Baseball sets all players salaries at $1,000-$2,000 for 1885 season
- Oct 22 John Ward & several teammates secretly form Brotherhood of Prof Base Ball Players, 1st baseball union
- Oct 24 "World Championship" Baseball Series, Cincinnati Base Ball Grounds: St. Louis Browns beat Chicago White Stockings, 13–4 in Game 7; disputed series tied at 3-3-1
- Oct 24 Johann Strauss' operetta "Zigeunerbaron (Gypsy Baron)" premieres in Vienna
Symphony No. 4
Oct 25 Johannes Brahms conducts the premiere of his 4th Symphony in e, Op. 98, in Meiningen, Germany
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Louis Untermeyer, American poet and critic (Immortal Poems, Story Poems), born in New York City (d. 1977)
- Oct 2 Ruth Bryan Owen, American politician (first woman appointed as a U.S. ambassador, Denmark 1933-36), born in Jacksonville, Illinois (d. 1954)
- Oct 3 Langley Collyer, American hoarder, born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1947)
- Oct 3 Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist, born in Stockton, California (d. 1970)
Niels Bohr (1885-1962)
Oct 7 Danish physicist who expanded quantum physics (Nobel Prize 1922), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Oct 8 Johnny Lush, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1904-10 (Philadelphia Phillies, St . Louis Cardinals 2 no-hitters - 1 official, 1 rain-shortened), born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania (d. 1946)
- Oct 8 Will Vodery, African-American theater and film arranger, orchestrator (Showboat; Ziegfeld's Follies; Blackbirds), and composer (From Dixie to Broadway), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1951) [1]
- Oct 10 Walter Anderson, German folklorist, born in Minsk, Russian Empire (d. 1962)
- Oct 11 Alfred Haar, Hungarian mathematician, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1933)
- Oct 11 Francois Mauriac, French novelist, poet and playwright (Nobel 1952), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1970)
- Oct 15 Dirk Filarski, Dutch painter and lithographer (Bergense School), born in Amsterdam (d. 1964)
- Oct 15 Frank Hurley, Australian photographer (Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914-16; Australian Army WWI & WWII), born in Glebe, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1962)
- Oct 16 Dorando Pietri, Italian athlete (Olympic-famous DQ gold marathon 1908), born in Correggio, Italy (d. 1942)
- Oct 17 Aaf Bouber [Aaf ten Hoope], Dutch actress (Bleeke Bet, Jantjes) and wife of Herman Bouber, born in Hoorn, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 1974)
- Oct 19 Charles E. Merrill, American investment banker (Merrill Lynch), born in Green Cove Springs, Florida (d. 1956)
- Oct 21 Egon Wellesz, Austrian-British composer (Alkestis; The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo), teacher, and musicologist (Byzantine), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1974)
- Oct 21 Jan Altink, Dutch Expressionist painter (co-founder of Ploeg), born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1971)
- Oct 22 Giovanni Martinelli, Italian operatic spinto tenor singer (New York Metropolitan Opera, 1913-45), born in Montagnana, Italy (d. 1969)
- Oct 22 Lothar Windsperger, German composer and music publisher, born in Ampfing, Bavaria, Germany (d. 1935)
- Oct 23 Lawren Harris, Canadian landscape painter, born in Brantford, Ontario (d. 1970)
- Oct 24 Ernest Claes, Belgian author (De Witte - Whitey), born in Zichem, Belgium (d. 1968)
- Oct 25 Sam M. Lewis [Levine] American singer and lyricist ("Street of Dreams"; "Just Friends"; "Dinah"), born in New York City (d. 1959)
- Oct 27 Sigrid Hjertén, Swedish modernist painter, born in Sundsvall, Sweden (d. 1948)
Ezra Pound (1885-1972)
Oct 30 American poet (The Cantos), critic and fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II, born in Hailey, Idaho
Famous Deaths
Doc Durant (1820-1885)
Oct 5 American financier and railroad promoter (Transcontinental Railroad-Union Pacific), dies at 65
George McClellan (1826-1885)
Oct 29 American Major General (Union Army), dies of a heart attack at 58
