Historical Events
Jazz Singer Sounds Death Knell for Silent Movies
Oct 6 "The Jazz Singer", directed by Alan Crosland, starring Al Jolson and May McAvoy, released, 1st film with a soundtrack (Honorary Academy Award 1928)
- Oct 7 Yank Herb Pennock retires 1st 22 Pirates in World Series game
The Second Hundred Years
Oct 8 "The Second Hundred Years" silent short film released starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy - 1st Laurel and Hardy film with them appearing as a team
- Oct 8 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Yankee Stadium for a 4-0 series sweep
Lou Gehrig AL MVP
Oct 11 New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig is named American League MVP; despite hitting MLB record 60 HR's Babe Ruth as a former winner is not eligible
- Oct 12 Hermann Goerner of Germany raises 24 men weighing 4,123 lbs on a plank with soles of his feet
Ban Johnson Retires
Oct 17 Ban Johnson, in failing health, retires as AL President
- Oct 23 Town of Netanya, Israel founded by Nathan Strauss
Creole Love Song
Oct 26 American jazz vocalist Adelaide Hall makes her 1st recordings - "Creole Love Call" and "Blues I Love to Sing" - with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, for Victor Records in Camden, New Jersey
Maas–Waal Canal
Oct 27 Queen Wilhelmina opens the Maas–Waal Canal between Nijmegen and Heumen
Event of Interest
Oct 28 Josip Broz Tito begins 7 months jail sentence in Croatia
- Oct 28 KLM airmail plane "Homing Pigeon" arrives back in Amsterdam after the first special round trip flight to the Dutch East Indies
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Márta Kurtág [née Kinsker], Hungarian classical pianist, born in Esztergom, Hungary (d. 2019)
- Oct 1 Sandy Gall, Malaysian-born British journalist and newscaster, born in Penang, Straits Settlements
- Oct 1 Tom Bosley, American actor (Howard-Happy Days, Murder She Wrote, Fiorello!), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2010)
- Oct 3 Chuck Hulse, American auto racer (USAC Champ Car Series, 26 x top 10 finishes), born in Anaheim, California (d. 2020)
- Oct 3 Kenojuak Ashevak, Canadian Inuit artist, born in Ikirasaqa, Baffin Island, Canada (d. 2013)
- Oct 4 Walter Bishop, Jr, American bebop jazz pianist, music theorist, and educator, born in New York City (d. 1998)
- Oct 5 Al Hansen, American artist (Fluxus), born in New York City (d. 1995)
- Oct 5 John W. Downey, American classical composer (A Dolphin), born in Chicago (d. 2004)
- Oct 6 Alice Bauer, American golfer (co-founder LPGA), born in Eureka, South Dakota (d. 2002)
- Oct 6 Paul Badura-Skoda, Austrian pianist (Mozart Interpretation), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2019)
- Oct 6 Phil Maloney, Canadian ice hockey center (NHL: Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks) and coach (Vancouver Canucks), born in Ottawa, Ontario (d. 2020)
- Oct 7 Al Martino [Jasper Cini], American pop singer ("Here in My Heart"), and actor (The Godfather), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2009)
- Oct 7 R.D. Laing, Scottish psychiatrist (anti-psychiatry), and writer (The Politics of Experience and The Bird of Paradise), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1989)
- Oct 7 Reid Shelton, American stage and screen actor (Annie - "Daddy Warbucks"; 1st & 10 - "Ernie"), born in Salem, Oregon (d. 1997)
- Oct 8 (Georgeanne) "Gigi" Durston, American cabaret and big band singer (Sonny Kendis Show; Russ Case Orchestra), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Oct 8 Al Duncan, American blues drummer, born in McKinney, Texas (d. 1995)
- Oct 8 César Milstein, Argentine biochemist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1984), born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina (d. 2002)
- Oct 8 Jim Elliot, American Christian missionary, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1956)
- Oct 8 Raymond Chow, Hong Kong film producer, popularized martial arts worldwide, born in Hong Kong (d. 2018)
- Oct 8 Torbjorn Falkanger, Norwegian ski jumper who took the Olympic oath in 1952, born in Trondheim, Norway (d. 2013)
- Oct 9 Ivan Metropolitan Ioann Snychev, Russian Orthodox Priest, born in Novo-Mayachka, Russia (d. 1995)
- Oct 10 Clairmonte Depeiaza, West Indian cricketer (world record partnership v Aust 1955), born in Mount Standfast, Saint James Parish, Barbados (d. 1995)
- Oct 10 Dana Elcar, American actor (Peter Thornton- MacGyver), born in Ferndale, Michigan (d. 2005)
- Oct 10 John Eric Tieman, production manager (The Guardian) (d. 1995)
- Oct 10 Thomas Wilson, Scottish composer, born in Trinidad, Colorado (d. 2001)
- Oct 11 Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Princess of Belgium, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 2005)
- Oct 12 Antonia Rey [Francesch], Cuban-born American actress (True Colors, Wise Guys), born in Havana, Cuba
- Oct 13 (Leon) "Lee" Konitz, American jazz saxophonist (Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2020)
- Oct 13 Anita Kerr [née Grilli], American pop and country singer, composer, and producer (The Anita Kerr Singers), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2022) [1] [2]
- Oct 13 Turgut Özal, Turkish politician (President of Turkey 1989-93, PM of Turkey 1983-89), born in Malatya, Turkey (d. 1993)
- Oct 14 (Ione) "Joyce" Bryant, American cabaret artist (Drunk With Love), missionary, schoolteacher, and opera singer, born in Oakland, California (d. 2022) [1]
Roger Moore (1927-2017)
Oct 14 British actor (The Saint, James Bond), born in London
- Oct 15 Mary Perot Nichols, American journalist, born in York, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
- Oct 15 Oswald Moxley Gibbs, Grenadian diplomat (High Commissioners to the United Kingdom 1974-78), born in Grenada (d. 1995)
Günter Grass (1927-2015)
Oct 16 German writer, playwright (The Tin Drum) and Nobel Prize laureate (1999), born in the Free City of Danzig
- Oct 16 Gus Yatron, American boxer and politician (Rep-D-PA, 1969-93), born in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 2003)
- Oct 16 Lee Montague, British actor (Uncle Sasha-Holocaust), born in London, England
George C. Scott (1927-1999)
Oct 18 American actor and director (Patton, Dr. Strangelove), born in Wise, Virginia
- Oct 18 Ramesh Divecha, cricketer (eleven wickets for India in early 50's)
- Oct 19 Pierre Alechinsky, Belgian painter/director (Cobra)
- Oct 20 Joyce Brothers, American pop psychologist ($64,000 Question, Naked Gun), born in New York City (d. 2013)
- Oct 20 Oskar Pastior, Romanian-born German writer (Oulipo), born in Sibiu (d. 2006)
- Oct 21 Nadia Nerina [Nadine Judd], South African-British ballerina (Sadler's/Royal Ballet, 1949-68), born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa (d. 2008)
- Oct 22 Helenard J "Allan" Hendrickse, leader of South African Labour Party
- Oct 22 Ray Stern, mother of radio personality Howard Stern
- Oct 23 Edward Kienholz, American sculptor (Roxy), born in Fairfield, Washington (d. 1994)
- Oct 23 Leszek Kołakowski, Polish philosopher and writer (Conversations with the Devil), born in Radom, Poland (d. 2009)
- Oct 23 William "Sonny" Criss, American bebop jazz saxophonist (Jazz U.S.A.), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1977)
- Oct 24 Gilbert Bécaud [François Gilbert Léopold Silly], French singer, pianist, composer and actor (Nathalie) known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances, born in Toulon, France (d. 2001)
- Oct 24 Paul Roach, American football coach (University of Wyoming; assistant Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, GB Packers) and administrator (AD Wyoming 1986-96), born in Spring Green, Wisconsin (d. 2023)
- Oct 24 Renato de Grandis, Italian composer, born in Venice, Kingdom of Italy (d. 2008)
- Oct 25 Barbara Cook, American stage singer and actress (The Music Man), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2017)
- Oct 25 Franklin "Bud" Held, American field athlete (2 x WR javelin; first to throw 800-gram javelin over 80m), born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 25 Headley Keith, South African cricket batsman (8 Tests @ 21.19; Natal), born in Dundee, South Africa (d. 1997)
- Oct 25 Jorge Batlle Ibáñez, Uruguayan politician, President of Uruguay (2000-2005), born in Montevideo (d. 2016)
- Oct 26 Janet Moreau Stone, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1952), born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (d. 2021)
- Oct 27 Bernard Parmegiani, French composer (L'Oeil écoute - The Eye Listens), born in Paris (d. 2013)
- Oct 27 Dominick Argento, American composer (Colonel Jonathan the Saint), born in York, Pennsylvania (d. 2019)
- Oct 27 Edward Keinholz, American artist and sculptor, born in Fairfield, Washington (d. 1994)
- Oct 28 Dame Cleo Laine, British actress and jazz-pop singer ("Flesh to a Tiger"), born in Middlesex, England
Frank Sedgman (96 years old)
Oct 29 Australian tennis player (5 Grand Slam singles titles, doubles Grand Slam 1951), born in Melbourne, Victoria
- Oct 29 Hugo Schiltz, Flemish lawyer and politician, born in Borsbeek, Belgium (d. 2006)
- Oct 30 Joe Adcock, American baseball utility, manager (Milwaukee Braves; 2-time MLB All Star), born in Coushatta, Louisiana (d. 1999)
Famous Weddings
Graham Greene
Oct 15 Writer Graham Greene (23) weds Vivien Dayrell-Browning at St. Mary's Church in Hampstead, North London
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 Wilhelm Harteveld, Swedish composer, dies at 68
- Oct 2 Svante Arrhenius, Swedish chemist (1903 Nobel Prize for Chemistry), dies at 68
- Oct 8 Mary Webb, English writer (Gone to Earth), dies at 46
- Oct 10 Gustave Whitehead, German-born inventor (b. 1874)
- Oct 20 Mikhail Ivanov, Russian composer, dies at 78
- Oct 22 Borisav "Bora" Stanković, Serbian writer (b. 1876)
- Oct 22 Ross Youngs, American Baseball HOF right fielder (World Series 1921, 22; NY Giants), dies of Bright's disease at 30
- Oct 27 Joseph "Squizzy" Taylor, Australian gangster, dies of wounds following a gunfight with a rival gangster, John "Snowy" Cutmore, at 39
- Oct 28 (Joseph) Eaton Faning, British organist and composer (The Vikings; Mock Turtles), dies at 77
- Oct 29 Leonard Nelson, German philosopher (Nelson-Friessche Schule), dies at 45
- Oct 31 Elizabeth Harrison, American educator (National Congress of Parents & Teachers), dies at 78
