Historical Events
- Oct 1 1st Dutch casino opens
Sports History
Oct 1 Muhammad Ali visits Istanbul, Turkey, praying alongside Deputy Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan at Sultan Ahmet mosque [1]
- Oct 2 "Let My People Come" closes at Morosco Theater NYC after 106 performances
Sports History
Oct 3 Future Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder Hank Aaron singles in his last MLB at-bat & drives in his 2,297th run as Milwaukee Brewers lose, 5-2 v Detroit Tigers
- Oct 3 Helmuth Kohl's CDU wins German parliament election
- Oct 4 Official launch of the Intercity 125 High Speed Train (HST).
- Oct 4 Supreme Court lifts 1972 ban on death penalty for convicted murderers
- Oct 4 US Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz resigns after telling a racial joke
- Oct 5 MLB expansion draft: Seattle Mariners & Toronto Blue Jays pick 30 unprotected AL players; Ruppert Jones OF (Seattle) & Bob Bailor OF (Toronto) are first picks
- Oct 6 "Gang of Four" arrested in Beijing
- Oct 6 Cubana Flight 455 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean after two bombs, placed by terrorists with connections to the CIA, explode onboard shortly after taking off from Bridgetown, Barbados, killing all 73 people on board
- Oct 6 John Hathaway completes 50,600 mile bicycle tour of every continent
Event of Interest
Oct 6 US President Gerald Ford says there is "no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe"
Event of Interest
Oct 6 Wang Hongwen finishes his term as Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
- Oct 6 Yao Wenyuan is arrested for his role in the Chinese Cultural Revolution
Event of Interest
Oct 7 Hua Guofeng succeeds Mao as Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Music History
Oct 8 EMI signs British punk rock band "Sex Pistols"
- Oct 9 "Robber Bridegroom" opens at Biltmore Theater NYC for 145 performances
- Oct 9 Peter Petherick takes hat-trick on cricket debut New Zealand v Pakistan Javed 1st wkt
- Oct 9 Test Cricket debut of Javed Miandad (Pakistan), scores 163 on 1st day
- Oct 9 Yanks 1st AL Championship game, beat Royals 4-1
Event of Interest
Oct 10 Beijing reports arrest of Mao Zedong's widow
- Oct 10 Giant's Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey opens with the NY Giants going down 24–14 to the Dallas Cowboys in from of 76,042 fans
- Oct 10 Greece's 98 year-old Dimitrion Yordanidis, is oldest man to compete in a marathon; he finishes in 7:33
- Oct 11 10th Country Music Association Awards: Mel Tillis wins
Event of Interest
Oct 11 Mao Zedong's widow Jiang Qing and the "Gang of Four" are arrested and charged with plotting a coup
- Oct 12 Hua Guo-feng succeeds Mao Zedong as chairman of Communist Party
- Oct 12 MLB National League Championship: Cincinnati Reds beat Philadelphia Phillies, 3 games to 0
- Oct 13 A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia killing 100 (97, mostly children, killed on the ground)
- Oct 13 First electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, working at the C.D.C.
- Oct 14 Chris Chambliss' 9th inning lead off homer gives NY Yanks pennant #30
- Oct 14 MLB American League Championship: New York Yankees beat Kansas City Royals, 3 games to 2
Nobel Prize for Economics
Oct 14 Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to American economist Milton Friedman
- Oct 14 Soyuz 23 carries 2 to Salyut 6, but returns without docking
Event of Interest
Oct 15 1st debate of major-ticket US Vice President nominees, Walter Mondale (D) vs Bob Dole (R)
A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll
Oct 15 Ringo Starr releases single "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll"; peaks at 26 in US, fails to chart in UK
- Oct 16 Soyuz 23 returns to Earth
- Oct 16 Toronto Maple Leaf Lanny McDonald scores a hat trick in 2 min 54 sec
- Oct 17 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
- Oct 17 Coldest World Series game; Reds beat NY Yankees, 4-3 in Game 2 at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati; 39 degrees F (until 1997)
- Oct 18 Nobel prize for chemistry awarded to American William Lipscomb
- Oct 19 Battle of Aishiya, Lebanon during Lebanese Civil War.
- Oct 19 US President Gerald Ford signs 1st major revision of copyright law since 1909
- Oct 20 70 die as Norwegian tanker Frosta collides with George Prince
- Oct 20 NY Nets Julius "Dr J" Erving sold to Philadelphia 76ers
World Series
Oct 21 Baseball World Series: defending champions Cincinnati Reds sweep NY Yankees; beat Bombers, 7-2 in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium; MVP: Reds catcher Johnny Bench
Nobel Prize in Literature
Oct 21 Nobel prize for literature awarded to American Saul Bellow
Sports History
Oct 21 NY Knicks retire 1st number, # 19, Willis Reed
- Oct 22 Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it is discovered that it causes tumors in the bladders of dogs. The dye is still used in Canada.
Sports History
Oct 22 Rick Barry (San Francisco), begins then longest NBA free throw streak of 60
- Oct 24 1st Jewish film & TV festival
- Oct 24 1st Toronto International Film Festival opens
F1 World Champion
Oct 24 English McLaren driver James Hunt finishes 4th in the season ending Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway to win his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by 1 point from Niki Lauda
New York City Marathon
Oct 24 New York City Marathon: American Bill Rodgers wins his first title in 2:10:10; Miki Gorman takes out women's race in 2:39:11
- Oct 24 Sadiq & Mushtaq Mohammad score hundreds in same Test Cricket innings v NZ
- Oct 25 5th Enterprise, approach & lands test (ALT) flight
- Oct 25 Governor Wallace grants full pardon to Clarence Norris, last known survivor of 9 Scottsboro Boys who were convicted in 1931 rape
- Oct 26 Transkei gains independence, not recognized outside of South Africa
- Oct 26 Trinidad & Tobago becomes a republic
Sports History
Oct 28 Billy Martin named AL Manager of Year (NY Yankees)
- Oct 30 "Going Up" closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 49 performances
- Oct 30 Jane Pauley becomes news co-anchor of Today Show
- Oct 30 Rev Joseph Evans elected president of United Church of Christ
- Oct 31 Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad scores 206 v NZ, aged 19 yrs 141 days (29 fours 1 six)
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Antonio Roybal, American painter and sculptor
- Oct 2 Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (d. 2005)
- Oct 2 Jason Dodson, American political consultant and teacher of esotericism
- Oct 2 Mandisa [Hundley] American Grammy Award-winning gospel and contemporary Christian singer (Overcomer), born in Citrus Heights, California (d. 2024)
- Oct 3 Kirsi Haenninen, Finnish ice hockey defenseman and pesäpallo player (Olympics bronze 1998), born in Joensuu, Finland
- Oct 3 Seann William Scott, American actor (Role Models), born in Cottage Grove, Minnesota
Alicia Silverstone (47 years old)
Oct 4 American actress (Clueless, Batman Forever), born in San Francisco, California
- Oct 4 Cabral Ibacka, Romanian actor and television presenter
- Oct 4 Mauro Camoranesi, Italian soccer winger and manager (55 caps; Juventus), born in Tandil, Argentina
- Oct 4 Ueli Steck, Swiss mountain climber, born in Emmental (d. 2017)
- Oct 5 J. J. Yeley, American race car driver, born in Phoenix, Arizona
- Oct 5 Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechen President, born in Tsentaroy, Russia
- Oct 5 Song Seung-hun, South Korean actor, born in Seoul, South Korea
- Oct 6 Barbie Hsu, Taiwanese actress and singer
- Oct 7 Charles Woodson, American College Football Hall of Fame cornerback (Heisman Trophy 1997, U of Michigan; 9 x Pro Bowl; Super Bowl 2010, Green Bay Packers), born in Fremont, Ohio
- Oct 7 Gilberto Silva, Brazilian soccer defender (93 caps; Arsenal, Panathinaikos), born in Lagoa da Prata, Minas Gerais
- Oct 7 Marc Coma, Spanish motorcycle racer, born in Avià, Spain
- Oct 7 Pekka Kuusisto, Finnish violinist and composer, born in Espoo, Finland
- Oct 7 Santiago Solari, Argentinian footballer, born in Rosario, Argentina
- Oct 7 Taylor Hicks, American pop and blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter (American Idol, 2006), born in Birmingham, Alabama
- Oct 8 Galo Blanco, Spanish tennis player, born in Oviedo, Spain
- Oct 8 Mohammad Hussain, Pakistani cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 3 wickets; 14 ODIs, 13 wickets; Lahore), born in Lahore, Pakistan (d. 2022)
- Oct 9 Nick Swardson, American stand up comedian and actor (Reno 911!), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Oct 10 Bob Burnquist, Brazilian-American skateboarder, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Oct 10 Pat Burrell, American baseball player, born in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
- Oct 10 Shane Doan, Canadian NHL right wing (Winnipeg Jets), born in Halkirk, Alberta, Canada
- Oct 11 Emily Deschanel, American actress (Bones), born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 12 Sarah Lane, American television personality and ballet dancer, born in San Francisco, California
- Oct 13 Ed Ellis, American football tackle (New England Patriots), born in Hamden, Connecticut
- Oct 14 Ben Pridmore, World Memory Champion
- Oct 14 Chang Chen, Taiwanese actor (Red Cliff), born in Taipei, Taiwan
- Oct 14 Henry Mateo, Dominican baseball player
- Oct 14 Nataša Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer
- Oct 14 Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lankan cricket all-rounder (87 Tests, 16 x 100, HS 193, 39 wickets; 330 ODIs; 80 T20Is), born in Kalutara, Sri Lanka
- Oct 15 Yoon Son-ha, South Korean actress and singer (Fighting Girl), born in Jeonju, South Korea
- Oct 16 Ryan Fitzgerald, Australian football (AFL) player and media personality
- Oct 17 Sebastián Abreu, Uruguayan footballer
- Oct 19 Desmond Harrington, American actor
- Oct 19 Joseph Andrew Duplantier, French-American heavy metal guitarist and vocalist (Gojira), born in Paris
- Oct 19 Michael Young, baseball player
- Oct 19 Omar Gooding, American actor
- Oct 19 Pete Loeffler, American rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (Chevelle - "The Red"; "Jar"), born in Grayslake, Illinois
- Oct 20 Tom Wisniewski, American Christian-punk guitarist (MxPx), born in Dunoon, Scotland
- Oct 21 Jeremy Miller, American actor (Ben Seaver-Growing Pains), born in Covina, California
- Oct 21 Josh Ritter, American singer-songwriter (Sermon On The Rocks), born in Moscow, Idaho
- Oct 21 Lavinia Miloşovici, Romanian gymnast
- Oct 21 Mélanie Turgeon, French Canadian alpine skier
- Oct 22 Brad Stevens, American basketball coach (Boston Celtics 2013-21; NBA All-Star Game 2017), born in Zionsville, Indiana
- Oct 22 Helen Svedin, Swedish model
- Oct 22 Jon Foreman, American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, and keyboard player (Switchfoot - "Meant to Live"), born in San Bernardino, California
- Oct 23 Cat Deeley, English TV presetner, model and television personality (SMTV Live), born in West Bromwich, England
Ryan Reynolds (47 years old)
Oct 23 Canadian-American actor (The Proposal; Deadpool), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- Oct 24 Petar Stoychev, Bulgarian swimmer, born in Momchilgrad, Bulgaria
- Oct 25 Steve Jones, Northern Irish footballer, born in Derry, Northern Ireland
- Oct 26 Florence Kasumba, German actress (Marvel Comics Universe films), born in Kampala, Uganda
- Oct 26 Miikka Kiprusoff, Finnish NHL hockey player (San Jose Sharks), born in Turku, Finland
- Oct 28 Karl Tremblay, Canadian folk-rock singer (Les Cowboys Fringants), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Oct 29 Mohsen Emadi, Iranian-Mexican Poet, born in Sari, Iran
- Oct 30 Stern John, Trinidadian footballer (Columbus Crew), born in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago
- Oct 31 Guti [José María Gutiérrez Hernández], Spanish footballer, born in Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain
- Oct 31 Piper Perabo, American actress (Covert Affairs), born in Dallas, Texas
Famous Weddings
Benjamin Spock
Oct 24 Pediatrician Benjamin Spock (73) weds Mary Morgan
Famous Divorces
Larry Bird
Oct 31 NBA legend Larry Bird (19) divorces highschool sweetheart Janet Condra only 11 months after getting married
Famous Deaths
- Oct 3 Herb Flemming [Nicolaiih El-Michelle], American jazz trombonist and vocalist, dies at 77
- Oct 3 Victoria Spivey, American vaudeville and blues singer, pianist, organist, and songwriter ("Dope Head Blues"; Organ Grinder Blues"), dies at 69
- Oct 4 Alexander Gray, American actor (Sally, This is Music), dies at 85
- Oct 5 Barbara Nichols, American actress (Dear Heart, Disorderly Orderly), dies of complications from organ damage at 47
- Oct 5 Lars Onsager, Norwegian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
- Oct 6 Gilbert Ryle, British philosopher (b. 1900)
- Oct 7 Nikolai Lopatnikoff, Estonian-American composer (Variazioni Concertanti), dies at 73
- Oct 9 Walter Warlimont, German military officer (WW - 2nd Lieutenant inI; WWII General), and convicted war criminal, dies at 82
- Oct 10 Connee Boswell, American jazz singer (Pete Kelly's Blue), dies at 68
- Oct 10 Silvana Armenulic, Yugoslavian folk singer (b. 1939)
- Oct 11 Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (b. 1897)
- Oct 12 José Rozo Contreras, Colombian saxophonist, conductor, and composer, dies at 82
- Oct 14 Edith Evans, English actress (Tom Jones, Scrooge, Chalk Garden), dies at 88
Carlo Gambino (1902-1976)
Oct 15 Italian-born American mafioso (Gambino family), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Oct 18 Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Indian Telugu writer (Ramayana Kalpa Vrukshamu, Veyipadagalu), dies at 81
- Oct 23 Leonard Lee, American vocalist (Shirley & Lee - "I'm Gone"), dies at 40
- Oct 24 Richard Sturzenegger, Swiss composer and cellist, dies at 70
- Oct 25 Raymond Queneau [M Presle], French writer (Last Days), dies at 73
- Oct 27 Deryck Victor Cooke, composer, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 57
- Oct 31 Linda Watkins, American actress (From Hell it Came, Harpy), dies at 68
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning