Historical Events
Yogi Berra's Grand Slam
Oct 5 Catcher Yogi Berra becomes 4th NY Yankee to hit a Baseball World Series grand slam in Game 2 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn; Dodgers win, 13-8 but lose series, 4-3
String Quartet No. 6
Oct 6 Dmitri Shostakovich's 6th Iron quartet premieres in Leningrad
Oral Polio Vaccine
Oct 6 Scientist Albert Sabin announces that his oral polio vaccine is ready for testing; it would soon supplant Jonas Salk's vaccine in many parts of the world
Hemingway Visits Baroja
Oct 9 Ernest Hemingway visits fellow writer Pío Baroja at his hospital bed shortly before the Spaniard's death
Giant
Oct 10 "Giant", directed by George Stevens, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean in his last role, premieres in NYC
- Oct 10 Baseball World Series: Behind Yogi Berra's 2 HRs, NY Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 9-0 in Game 7 at Ebbets Field; MVP: Yankees pitcher Don Larsen
Sports History
Oct 10 Fazal Mahmood takes 13-114 for match v Australia in Karachi
- Oct 11 1st Pakistan v Australia Test 95 runs scored on 1st day
- Oct 11 AL President Will Harridge bars Washington Senators move to West Coast, unless unanimously approved by the other AL owners
- Oct 11 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga, Australia
- Oct 12 Marga Klompé becomes first Dutch women elected minister
- Oct 13 WAGM TV channel 8 in Presque Isle, ME (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins
Music History
Oct 14 Charles Ives' overture "Robert Browning" premieres in NYC
Event of Interest
Oct 14 Indian social reformer B.R. Ambedkar and 500,000 supporters convert to Buddhism in Nagpur
- Oct 15 First plane to land safely on water - Pan Am Flight 6 San Francisco to Honolulu, all 24 passengers and 7 crew survive
- Oct 15 Pyotr Bolotnikov runs world record 10k (28:42.8)
- Oct 15 William J. Brennan, Jr. is appointed to US Supreme Court
Around the World in 80 Days
Oct 17 "Around the World in 80 Days", based on the book by Jules Verne, directed by Michael Anderson and starring David Nivon and Cantinflas, premieres in New York
Sports History
Oct 17 Chess "Game of the Century": 13-year-old Bobby Fischer defeats 1953 U.S. Champion Donald Byrne in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City
- Oct 17 England's 1st large scale nuclear power station opens
- Oct 17 Pakistan defeat Australia by nine wickets at 1st attempt
- Oct 20 58°F (15°C), Esperanza Station, Antarctica (then Antarctic record high)
- Oct 20 Hannes Lindemann begins journey across Atlantic in a 17' craft
- Oct 22 A concrete girder weighing 200 tons kills 48 in Karachi, Pakistan.
- Oct 22 France intercept Moroccan plane, arrest Ahmed Ben Bella
- Oct 22 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga, Australia
- Oct 23 First video recording on magnetic tape televised coast-to-coast
- Oct 23 Thousands of Hungarians protest against the government and Soviet occupation. (The Hungarian Revolution is crushed on November 4).
- Oct 24 AP names Cin manager Birdie Tebbets as NL Manager of the Year
- Oct 24 Margaret Towner becomes first woman to be ordained into the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA)
- Oct 26 UN's International Atomic Energy Agency statute approved
- Oct 26 Vietnam promulgates its constitution
Maria Callas Debuts
Oct 29 Greek-American soprano Maria Callas makes her Metropolitan Opera debut, in the title role of Bellini's "Norma"
- Oct 29 International Xzone of Tangier returns to Kingdom of Morocco
Huntley–Brinkley Report
Oct 29 NBC anchors Chet Huntley and David Brinkley first team up in "The Huntley–Brinkley Report"
- Oct 29 Suez Crisis erupts into war as Israel invades the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, to be followed by a planned airborne assault by France and Britain
- Oct 30 Dodgers sell Ebbets Field to a real estate group. They agree to stay until 1959, with an option to stay until 1961
- Oct 30 Israel captures Egyptian military post at El-Thamad
- Oct 31 Britain and France join Israeli forces in Egypt and begin to bomb Egypt to reopen Suez Canal
- Oct 31 Brooklyn, NY ends streetcar service
- Oct 31 Rear Adm GJ Dufek becomes 1st American to land an airplane at South Pole
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Buddy Teevens, American college football coach (Dartmouth College 1987-91, 2005-23; Uni of Maine, Tulane Uni, Stanford University), born in Pembroke, Massachusetts (d. 2023)
- Oct 1 Gina Haspel, American intelligence officer, First female director of the US CIA, born in Ashland, Kentucky
- Oct 1 Leslie Burr-Howard, American equestrian rider (Olympic gold show jumping, team 1984), born in Union, New Jersey
Theresa May (67 years old)
Oct 1 British Prime Minister (Conservative: 2016-19), born in Eastbourne, England
- Oct 2 Freddie Jackson, American R&B singer and songwriter ("Rock Me Tonight"), born in Harlem, New York
- Oct 2 Murphy Morobe, South Afr UDF leader (spent 3 yrs in Robbeneiland Jail)
- Oct 3 Hart Bochner, actor (Aron-East of Eden, Supergirl, Die Hard), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Oct 3 Peter Frechette, American actor (Paint it Black, George-Profiler), born in Warwick, Rhode Island
- Oct 3 Sumi Tonooka, American jazz pianist and composer. (Out from the Silence), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Oct 4 Christoph Waltz, German Austrian actor (Django Unchained), born in Vienna, Austria
- Oct 4 Hans van Breukelen, Dutch soccer goalkeeper (73 caps; PSV Eindhoven; technical director KNVB), born in Utrecht, Netherlands
Sherri Turner (67 years old)
Oct 4 American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1988), born in Greenville, South Carolina
- Oct 6 Kathleen Webb, American comic book writer and artist
- Oct 6 Mike Shipley, Australian audio engineer, and record producer of rock and country music (Paper Airplane), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2013)
- Oct 7 Brian Sutter, Canadian NHL left wing, 1976-88 (St. Louis Blues), and coach, 1988-2004 (St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, and 2 other teams), born in Viking, Alberta
- Oct 7 James Van Patten, American actor (Bo-Chisholms), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Oct 8 Danny Jacob, American session and touring guitarist (Bette Midler), and cartoon music composer (Phineas and Ferb), born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 8 Janice Voss, American astronaut (shuttle radar topography mission), born in South Bend, Indiana (d. 2012)
- Oct 8 Larry Crane, American rock guitarist (John Mellencamp band), born in Seymour, Indiana
- Oct 8 Scott Michael Pellaton, American barefoot water ski champ, born in Brentwood, California
- Oct 8 Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress (Remington Steele; Centennial), born in New York City
- Oct 10 Amanda Burton, Northern Irish actress (Silent Witness; The Commander), born in Derry, Northern Ireland
- Oct 10 Fiona Fullerton, British actress (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; A View to a Kill), born in Kaduna, Nigeria
- Oct 10 Mark Gordon, American film producer (Saving Private Ryan), born in Newport News, Virginia
- Oct 11 Nicanor Frutos, 47th President of Paraguay (2003-08), born in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay
- Oct 12 David Vanian, British singer (The Damned - "Eloise"), born in Hemel Hempstead, England
- Oct 13 Anura Ranasinghe, Sri Lankan cricketer (Sri Lankan batsman in 3 Tests 1982), born in Kalatura, Sri Lanka
- Oct 13 Chris Carter, American television producer (The X-Files), born in Bellflower, California
- Oct 13 Truong My Lan, Vietnamese-Chinese businesswoman at Van Thinh Phat company, sentenced to death for fraud, born in Saigon, Vietnam
Beth Daniel (67 years old)
Oct 14 American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1990), born in Charleston, South Carolina
- Oct 15 Chris Lacklison, British pop keyboardist (Kenny - "Fancy Pants"; "Julie Anne"), born in London, England
- Oct 16 James H Newman, Trust Territory of Pacific, PhD/Astronaut (STS 51, 69)
- Oct 16 Johnny Chavis, American football coach
- Oct 16 Marin Alsop, American conductor and 1st woman to head a major American orchestra (Baltimore Symphony, 2007-2021; Vienna RSO, 2019-present), born in New York City
- Oct 16 Melissa Belote, American 100m/200m swimmer (Olympics 3 gold-1972), born in Washington, D.C.
- Oct 16 Roger Phegley, American NBA basketball player, 1977-84 (Washington Bullets, San Antonio Spurs, and 3 other teams), born in East Peoria, Illinois
- Oct 17 Fred Hickman, American sports broadcaster (CNN, TBS, YES Network, ESPN; NY Sports Emmy Award 2004), born in Springfield, Illinois (d. 2022)
Mae Jemison (67 years old)
Oct 17 1st African American woman in space (STS 47), born in Decatur, Alabama
- Oct 17 Robin LO Linschoten, Dutch ass. secretary of Social Affairs (VVD)
- Oct 18 Craig Bartlett, American animator (Hey Arnold!, Dinosaur Train, Ready Jet Go!), born in Seattle, Washington
- Oct 18 Jim Talent, American politician (Rep-R-Missouri), born in Des Peres, Missouri
Martina Navratilova (67 years old)
Oct 18 Czech-American tennis player (18 Grand Slam singles titles), born in Prague, Czech Republic
- Oct 19 Bruce Weber, American Basketball Coach, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Oct 19 Didier Theys, Belgian racing driver
- Oct 19 George Holzka, American fashion, portrait, commercial, and Grammy Award-winning album cover photographer, born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
- Oct 19 Steve Doocy, American journalist and TV anchor (Fox and Friends), born in Algona, Iowa
- Oct 19 Sunny Deol, Indian actor
Danny Boyle (67 years old)
Oct 20 English film director (Trainspotting; Slumdog Millionaire), born in Manchester, England
Carrie Fisher (1956-2016)
Oct 21 American actress (Princess Leia in Star Wars, When Harry Met Sally...) and writer (Postcards from the Edge), born in Burbank, California
- Oct 23 Betsy Nagelsen, American tennis player (Australian Open doubles 1978, 80; Australian Open singles 1978 runner-up), born in St Petersburg, Florida
- Oct 23 Darrell Pace, American archer (Olympic gold individual 1976, 84; silver team 1988), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Oct 23 Dwight Yoakam, American country singer-songwriter ("Honky Tonk Man"), born in Pikeville, Kentucky
- Oct 24 Dale Maharidge, American author (And Their Children After Them), born in Ohio
- Oct 24 Jeff Merkley, American politician (Senator-D-Oregon 2009-), born in Myrtle Creek, Oregon
- Oct 25 Danny Gans, American entertainer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2009)
- Oct 25 Matthias Jabs, German rock guitarist (Scorpions - "Wind of Change"), born in Hannover, Germany
- Oct 26 Mike LeDonne, American jazz Hammond organist, pianist, and composer (Benny Golson; The Groover Quartet), born in Bridgeport, Connecticut
- Oct 26 Regina Benjamin, 18th US Surgeon General (2009-13), born in Mobile, Alabama
Rita Wilson (67 years old)
Oct 26 American actress, singer, and film producer, born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 26 Stephen Gumley, Australian businessman (1st CEO of Australian Defence Materiel Organisation)
- Oct 27 Ben Besiakov, Danish jazz pianist and jazz-fusion keyboard player, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Oct 27 Jaq D. Hawkins, British author, occultist and lecturer, born in California
Patty Sheehan (67 years old)
Oct 27 American golfer (6 LPGA major titles; US Open 1992, 94), born in Middlebury, Vermont
- Oct 28 Dave Wyndorf, American rock singer (Monster Magnet), born in Red Bank, New Jersey
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (67 years old)
Oct 28 President of Iran (2005-13), born in Aradan, Iran
- Oct 29 Wilfredo Gómez, Puerto Rican boxer, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Oct 30 Juliet Stevenson, English actress (Secret Rapture, Life Story), born in Kelvedon, Essex, England
- Oct 30 Tim Roemer, American politician (Rep-D-Indiana), born in South Bend, Indiana
- Oct 31 Anders Lago, Swedish Social Democratic politician, born in Jönköping, Sweden
- Oct 31 Charles Moore, British editor-in-chief (Sunday Telegraph), born in Hastings, Sussex, England
Famous Weddings
- Oct 6 South African politician "Kobie" Coetsee marries Helena E Malan
Ken Rosewall
Oct 6 Tennis player champ Ken Rosewall (21) weds Wilma McIver at St John's Church of England Cathedral in Brisbane, Australia
Roger Maris
Oct 13 MLB player Roger Maris (22) weds high school sweetheart Pat Carvell at St. Anthony Padua Church
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 Stan Ockers, Belgian road cyclist (World road champion 1955; Tour de France runner-up 1950, 52), dies in track cycling accident at 36
- Oct 2 George Bancroft, American actor (Texas, Stagecoach, Little Men), dies at 74
- Oct 6 Charles E. Merrill, American investment banker (Merrill Lynch), dies at 70
- Oct 6 Walter Herlihy, announcer (Music at Meadowbrook), dies at 42
Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956)
Oct 7 American inventor and founder of the modern frozen food industry (Birdseye), dies of a heart attack at 69
- Oct 9 Marie Doro, American stage and film actress of the early silent film era (The Heart of Nora Flynn, The White Pearl), dies at 74
- Oct 16 Jules Rimet, French football administrator (3rd President of FIFA 1921-54), dies at 83
- Oct 17 Anne Crawford, British film actress (Knights of the Round Table), dies of leukemia at 35
Charles Strite (1878-1956)
Oct 18 American inventor who invented the automatic pop-up toaster, dies at 78
- Oct 18 Harry Parry, Welsh jazz clarinetist and bandleader (BBC's Radio Rhythm Club), dies at 44
- Oct 19 Isham Jones, American saxophonist, bandleader ("Star Dust") and songwriter ("It Had To Be You"; "I'll See You in My Dreams"), dies of cancer at 62
- Oct 24 Henry Nicholas Ridley, British botanist (Malay Peninsula rubber industry), dies at 100
- Oct 25 Risto Ryti, Finnish politician (Prime Minister of Finland 1939-41, President of Finland 1940-44), dies at 67
- Oct 26 Walter Gieseking, French-German pianist, composer, and lepidopterist, dies at 60
Pío Baroja (1872-1956)
Oct 30 Spanish Basque writer, author of over 100 novels (The Struggle for Life, Zalacain the Adventurer), dies at 83
