Historical Events
- Oct 1 1st ultra high frequency (UHF) television station, Portland Or
- Oct 1 Liberal Party wins Japanese elections
- Oct 1 Monte Bello-Island (Great Britain 1st atom bomb explosion)
- Oct 3 1st British nuclear test during Operation Hurricane at Monte Bello Island, Australia, UK becomes the world's third nuclear nation
- Oct 3 1st video recording on magnetic tape in Los Angeles, California
Top Banana
Oct 4 Johnny Mercer's musical "Top Banana", starring Phil Silvers, closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC. after 356 performances and a Tony Award win
- Oct 5 19th congress of Communist Party meets in Moscow
- Oct 5 6th NHL All-Star Game, Detroit Olympia, Detroit, MI: 1st Team ties 2nd Team, 1-1; second year format - 1st v 2nd All-Star Teams, with additional players
The Mousetrap
Oct 6 Agatha Christie's play "The Mousetrap" opens in London (still running)
- Oct 7 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-2 at Ebbets Field in Game 7 to tie own record 4th straight WS; MVP: NY 1B Johnny Mize
American Bandstand
Oct 7 First "Bandstand" broadcast in Philadelphia on WFIL-TV (Dick Clark joins in 1955 as a substitute-host)
Cricket History
Oct 12 Hanif Mohammad completes twin cricket centuries for Pakistan v North Zone (India) in Amritsar; 121 & 109 no
- Oct 12 KBTV (now KUSA) TV channel 9 in Denver, CO (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Oct 14 "Buttrio Square" opens at New Century Theater NYC for 7 performances
Unité d’Habitation
Oct 14 One of the most influential of all Modernist buildings the Unité d’Habitation, designed by Le Corbusier is officially inaugurated in Marseille, France
- Oct 14 UN General Assembly first meets at its new headquarters in New York
Charlotte's Web
Oct 15 "Charlotte's Web" by E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams is published by Harper & Brothers
- Oct 15 Arthur Laurent's "Time of the Cuckoo" premieres in NYC
Photography
Oct 15 Photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson's influential photography book "The Decisive Moment" is first published in the US and France
- Oct 16 Pakistan's 1st Test starts, v India at Delhi
- Oct 16 Woolworth's at Powell & Market (San Francisco) opens
- Oct 18 Arthur Jones, Fred Stamer, and Gen Genovese's musical "Buttrio Square" closes at New Century Theater, NYC, after 7 performances
- Oct 18 Date of the first Mad Magazine issue
- Oct 18 Vinoo Mankad takes 13 Pakistan wkts to win 1st India-Pak clash
- Oct 19 Alain Bombard departs from the Canary Islands on his solitary journey across the Atlantic ocean with almost no provisions and only a sextant for navigation to test his theory that a shipwrecked person could survive
- Oct 20 Emergency crisis proclaimed in Kenya
- Oct 21 Dutch government refuses New Guinea (West-Irian)
Limelight
Oct 23 Charlie Chaplin's "Limelight", starring himself and Claire Bloom, with an appearance by Buster Keaton, premieres in New York City; Not released in Los Angeles until 1972, winning Chaplin his only competitive Academy Award for original score
- Oct 24 Arab Liberation Movement becomes only political party in Syria
- Oct 25 First Dutch edition of children's magazine "Donald Duck"
- Oct 25 French president inaugurates Donzère-Mondragonstuw Dam
- Oct 25 Nazar Mohammad scores Pakistan's first ever Test cricket century (124no) in 2nd Test v India in Lucknow
Cricket History
Oct 26 Pakistan's 1st Test Cricket win Fazal Mahmood 12 wkts v India
My Darlin' Aida
Oct 27 Charles Friedman and Giuseppe Verdi's musical '"My Darlin' Aida", an adaptation of Verdi's opera "Aida" opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 89 performances
- Oct 30 4th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Tim Flock wins
Event of Interest
Oct 30 Clarence Birdseye sells first frozen peas
- Oct 31 1st thermonuclear bomb detonated at Marshall Islands
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Earl Slick [Frank Madeloni] American rock guitarist (David Bowie; Phantom, Rocker & Slick), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Oct 1 Jacques Martin, Canadian NHL coach, executive (Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens), born in Rockland, Ontario
- Oct 2 George Meegan, British adventurer who walked 19,019 miles from Argentina to Alaska, born in London
- Oct 2 John Otway, British cult rocker ("Bunsen Burner"), born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England
- Oct 2 Wahed Wafa, Tajik pop and classical singer, born in Afghanistan
- Oct 3 Gary Troup, New Zealand cricket fast/medium bowler (15 Tests, 39 wickets; 22 ODI), born in Taumarunui, King Country
- Oct 4 Anita Luceete Defrantz, American rower (Olympic bronze 1976; first female vice-president IOC executive committee), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Oct 4 Jody Stephens, American rock drummer (Big Star), born in Memphis, Tennesee
- Oct 4 Nina Carter, vocalist (Blonde on Blonde), born in London, England
- Oct 5 Clive Barker, English author and film director (Hellraiser, Lord of Illusions), born in Liverpool
- Oct 5 Duncan Regehr, Canadian actor 9My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn), born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
- Oct 5 Gigi Sabani, Italian TV host, born in Rome (d. 2007)
Imran Khan (71 years old)
Oct 5 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (2018-2022) and cricket all-rounder (88 Tests, 3,807 runs, 362 wickets), born in Lahore, Pakistan
- Oct 6 Ayten Mutlu, Turkish poet and writer
- Oct 7 Graham Yallop, Australian cricket batsman (39 Tests, [7 captain], 8 x 100s, 9 x 50, HS 268; Victoria CA), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Oct 7 Ludmilla Tourischeva, Russian gymnast (9 x Olympic medalist USSR, 4 x gold [3 x team, 1 x All Around]; 7 x World C'ship gold), born in Grozny, Russia
- Oct 7 Mary Badham, American actress, born in Birmingham, Alabama
Vladimir Putin (71 years old)
Oct 7 Russian politician (President and Prime Minister), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union
- Oct 8 Clifford Adams, American trombone player (Kool & the Gang - "Joanna"), born in Trenton, New Jersey (d. 2015)
- Oct 8 Edward Zwick, American film director (The Last Samurai; Legends of the Fall), and producer (Shakespeare in Love; Traffic), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Oct 8 Jan Marijnissen, Dutch politician (Member of House of Representative, 1994-2010; Leader of the Socialist Party, 1988-2008), born in Oss, Netherlands
Sharon Osbourne (71 years old)
Oct 9 English-American music manager, TV personality (X-Factor: America's Got Talent, 2007-12; The Talk, 2010-21), and wife of Ozzy Osbourne, born in London
- Oct 10 Bobby Nystrom, Swedish NHL right wing (Stanley Cup 1979-83; jersey #23 retired 1995), born in Stockholm, Sweden
- Oct 12 Danielle Proulx, French Canadian actress, born in Montreal, Quebec
- Oct 12 Trevor Chappell, Australian cricket all-rounder (3 Tests; 20 ODIs, 1 x 100; underarm bowling controversy; South Australia, West Australia, NSW), born in Adelaide, South Australia
- Oct 13 Beverly Johnson, American model and actress (Ashanti Land of No Mercy), born in Buffalo, New York
- Oct 13 Michael R. Clifford, American astronaut (STS 53, 59, 76), born in Norton AFB, California
- Oct 13 Pierre Lacocque, Belgian-American blues harmonica player (Mississippi Heat), born in Jerusalem, Israel
- Oct 14 Harry Anderson, American comic, magician, and actor (Night Court - "Judge Harry Stone"; Dave's World), born in Newport, Rhode Island (d. 2018)
- Oct 14 Kaija Saariaho, Finnish electro-acoustic and contemporary classical composer (L'Amour de loin (Love from Afar); Circle Map), born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 2023) [1]
- Oct 14 Margriet Eshuijs, Dutch singer and pianist, born in Zaandam, Netherlands
- Oct 14 Nikolai Adrianov, Soviet-Russian gymnast (Olympic-4 gold/2 silver/bronze-1976), born in Vladimir, Russia (d. 2011)
- Oct 16 Christopher Cox, American politician (Rep-R-California 1989-2005), born in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Oct 16 Cordell "Boogie" Mosson, American funk-rock bassist (Parliament-Funkadelic collective), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2013)
- Oct 16 Ron Taylor, American actor (d. 2002)
- Oct 18 Bảo Ninh, Vietnamese novelist
- Oct 18 Chuck Lorre, American television director, writer, and producer (Dharma & Greg; Two and a Half Men; The Big Bang Theory), born in Plainview, New York
- Oct 18 Jerry Royster, American baseball player
- Oct 18 Roy Dias, cricketer (pioneering Sri Lankan Test batsman)
- Oct 19 Verónica Castro, Mexican actress (Nana), and Latin pop singer ("Simplemente Todo"; "Macumba"), born in Mexico City
- Oct 20 Dave McLelland, Canadian NHL goaltender (Vancouver Canucks), born in Penticton, British Columbia
- Oct 20 Melanie Mayron, American actress (30 Something, Car Wash, Missing), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Oct 21 Allen Hoey, American poet and novelist
- Oct 21 Brent Mydland, American rock keyboardist and vocalist (Grateful Dead, 1979-90), born in Munich, Germany (d. 1990)
- Oct 21 Patti Davis [Patricia Ann Reagan], American actress, writer, and daughter of Ronald and Nancy, born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 22 Greg Hawkes, American rock keyboardist (The Cars - "Shake it Up"; "Drive"), born in Fulton, Maryland
Jeff Goldblum (71 years old)
Oct 22 American actor (The Fly; Jurassic Park; Independence Day), and jazz pianist (The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra), born in West Homestead, Pennsylvania
- Oct 22 Julie Dash American filmmaker (Daughters of the Dust), born in New York City
- Oct 23 Pierre Moerlen, French rock-jazz fusion drummer and percussionist (Gong: Mike Oldfield), born in Colmar, France (d. 2005)
- Oct 25 Ioannis Kyrastas, Greek soccer midfielder (46 caps; Olympiacos; Panathinaikos) and manager (Panathinaikos), born in Piraeus, Greece (d. 2004)
- Oct 26 Abbas al-Musawi, influential Lebanese Shia cleric, and founder and leader of Hezbollah, born in Al-Nabi Shayth, Lebanon (d. 1992)
- Oct 26 Andrew Motion, English poet (British Poet Laureate 1999-2009), born in London
- Oct 26 Andy Richards, British-Australian session and touring keyboard player ("Relax"; "Careless Whisper"), and producer, born in London, England
- Oct 26 David Was [Weiss], American rock musician and producer (Was (Not Was) - "Walk The Dinosaur"), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Oct 27 (Edward) "Ted" Wass, American actor (Soap - "Danny"; Blossom - "Nick'), and director, born in Lakewood, Ohio
- Oct 27 Bill Bottrell, American Grammy Award-winning sound engineer, songwriter and record producer (Sheryl Crow; Shelby Lynne; Michael Jackson; Rosanne Cash), born in California
Roberto Benigni (71 years old)
Oct 27 Italian director and actor (Life Is Beautiful, The Tiger and the Snow), born in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
- Oct 28 Annie Potts, American actress (Designing Women - "Mary Jo"; Any Day Now), born in Nashville, Tennessee
- Oct 28 Tommy Dobeck, American rock drummer (Michael Stanley Band; Circus), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Oct 29 Arnell Carmichael, American funk-R&B singer (Raydio - "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)"), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Oct 29 Valeri Tokarev, Russian colonel and cosmonaut, born in Kapustin Yar, Soviet Union
- Oct 31 Bernard Edwards, American bassist (Chicago - "Addicted to Love"), born in Greenville, North Carolina
Famous Weddings
Hank Williams
Oct 17 American country music legend Hank Williams (29) weds Billie Jean Jones in Minden, Louisiana
- Oct 18 Latin actress Maria Felix (38) weds actor and singer Jorge Negreta (40) in Mexico
Famous Deaths
- Oct 3 Alfred Neumann, German playwright (Devil), dies at 56
- Oct 8 Joe Adams, American baseball player known as "Old Wagon Tongue" (St. Louis Cardinals - 1 game in 1904, 4 innings, 9.0 ERA), minor league manager, and restaurateur, dies at 74
- Oct 20 Basil Radford, British actor (The Lady Vanishes, Whiskey Galore, Night Train), dies from a heart attack at 55
- Oct 22 Ernst Rüdin, Swiss-German psychiatrist, geneticist, and eugenicist, dies at 78
- Oct 23 Susan Peters [Suzanne Carnahan], American actress (Random Harvest; Young Ideas), dies of complications resulting from pyelonephritis, pneumonia, and starvation at 31
- Oct 24 Frederick Jacobi, American composer, dies at 61
- Oct 25 Sergei Bortkiewicz, Ukranian composer, dies at 75
Hattie McDaniel (1895-1952)
Oct 26 1st African American actress to win an Oscar (Gone With The Wind -"Mammy"), dies of breast cancer at 57
