Historical Events
- Oct 1 Israeli air raid on PLO-headquarter at Tunis, 68 killed
- Oct 2 A Mayor Richard Caliguiri led coalition of public and private groups committed to keeping the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates in town for at least 5 years reach agreement to buy the baseball team for $22 million
- Oct 2 Detroit 1st baseman Darrell Evans hits home run #40 in Tigers' 4-2 win over Toronto Blue Jays; first to record 40 x HRs in a MLB season in both Leagues
- Oct 3 21st Shuttle Mission (51J)-Atlantis 1-all-military flight launched
- Oct 3 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) adopts constitution
Beatification
Oct 3 Pope John Paul II beatifies Dutch Roman Catholic priest and anti-Nazi activist Titus Brandsma (1881-1942); canonized as a saint in 2022
- Oct 3 South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands adopts constitution
- Oct 3 Walter Polovchak becomes a "free man" upon turning 18
- Oct 4 Free Software Foundation is founded in Massachusetts, USA
- Oct 4 Henry G Perry completes 157 day, 14,021 mile bicycle tour of Australia
- Oct 4 Shi'ite Muslims claim to have killed hostage William Buckley
- Oct 5 Grambling's Eddie Robinson wins record 324th football game
F1 World Champion
Oct 6 French McLaren driver Alain Prost clinches his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship with a 4th placing in the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch
- Oct 6 Marita Koch of E Germany sets 400m woman's record (47.6) in Australia
Sports History
Oct 6 New York Yankees knuckleballer Phil Niekro becomes 18th pitcher to win 300 games; at 46 becomes oldest to pitch a shut-out, beating Toronto 8-0
- Oct 6 PC Keith Blakelock is murdered as riots erupt in the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham, north London.
- Oct 7 21st NASA Space Shuttle Mission (51-J): Atlantis 1 lands at Edwards AFB
- Oct 7 KHQ-AM in Spokane Wash's final transmission
- Oct 7 Lynette Woodward chosen as 1st woman in Harlem Globetrotters
- Oct 7 PLO terrorists seize Italian cruise liner Achille Lauro
- Oct 8 "Rembrandt & Hitler or Me" premieres in Amsterdam
- Oct 8 Alain Boubil and Herbert Kretzner's musical "Les Misérables" premieres in London at the Barbican Centre
Music History
Oct 8 Little Richard seriously injured in a single car accident in Los Angeles
Music History
Oct 9 "Strawberry Fields" memorial to John Lennon in Central Park, NYC is dedicated by mayor Ed Koch
- Oct 9 "Tango Argentino" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC; runs for 198 performances
- Oct 9 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Oct 10 Sudan adopts interim constitution
- Oct 10 US fighter jets force Egyptian plane carrying hijackers of Italian ship Achille Lauro to land in Italy, gunmen are placed in custody
- Oct 11 Atlantis (51-J) returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
Event of Interest
Oct 11 President Reagan bans import of South African Krugerrands to the USA
- Oct 11 US intercepts Egyptian Boeing with Achille Lauro terrorists
- Oct 12 Challenger moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) for maintenance of STS 61A mission
- Oct 12 Intl Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War receives Nobel Prize
- Oct 12 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Oct 13 "Sunday in the Park with George" closes at Booth NYC after 604 performances
- Oct 13 Belgium premier Martens CVP wins parliamentary election
- Oct 13 During NLCS, Cards rookie Vince Coleman is injured stretching before game as his left leg is caught in Busch Stadium's automated tarpaulin
- Oct 14 19th Country Music Association Awards: Ricky Skaggs wins
Sports History
Oct 14 New York Jets retire Joe Namath's #12 on nationally televised Monday Night Football; beat Miami Dolphins, 23-7
- Oct 15 Nobel prize for economics awarded to Franco Modigliani
- Oct 15 Shelley Taylor of Australia makes fastest swim ever around Manhattan Island, doing it in 6 hours 12 minutes 29 seconds
- Oct 15 Shuttle Columbia carries Spacelab into orbit
- Oct 16 Challenger vehicle moves to launch pad for STS 61A mission
- Oct 16 KC Royals & St Louis Cardinals win their league championships
- Oct 16 MLB American League Championship: Kansas City Royals beat Toronto Blue Jays, 4 games to 3
- Oct 16 MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2
- Oct 16 Nobel prize for chemistry awarded to Herbert Hauptman & Jerome Karle
- Oct 17 French author Claude Simon wins the Nobel Prize for Literature
- Oct 17 Lou Piniella named NY Yankee manager
- Oct 21 Qasim Omar (206) & Javed Miandad (203*) make 397 stand v SL
- Oct 25 Kosmos 1700 communications satellite placed in geostationary orbit
- Oct 26 CBS' premiere of fact based TV film "Children of the Night", based on sociology student Lois Lee's expose on female crime and inconsistent enforcement of prostitution laws in Los Angeles
Sports History
Oct 26 Doug Harvey's #2 jersey is retired by the Montreal Canadiens
- Oct 26 Hurricane Juan kills 97 in US
- Oct 26 On a poor call in Game 6, umpire Don Deckinger starts a string of events probably costing St. Louis Cardinals the Baseball World Series; lose 2-1 to KC when leading series, 3-2
NYC Women's Marathon
Oct 27 15th NYC Women's Marathon won by Grete Waitz in 2:28:34
- Oct 27 16th NYC Marathon won by Orlando Pizzolato in 2:11:34
- Oct 27 Anthony Carter begins NFL streak of 100+ consecutive game receptions
- Oct 27 Baseball World Series: KC Royals rout St Louis Cardinals, 11-0 at Royals Stadium for 4 games to 3 series win; MVP: KC pitcher Bret Saberhagen
Sports History
Oct 27 Billy Martin is fired by Yankees for 4th time
- Oct 27 Hurricane Juan ravages US Gulf states & east coast, 49 die
- Oct 28 Ravi Ratnayeke takes 8-83 for Sri Lanka v Pakistan
- Oct 29 Major General Samuel K. Doe is announced the winner of the first multiparty election in Liberia
- Oct 29 St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andújar is suspended by MLB for 10 games for bumping an umpire
- Oct 30 "Rockin' with the Rhythm" second studio album by The Judds is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1986)
- Oct 30 22nd NASA Space Shuttle Mission (61-A): Challenger 9 launches
- Oct 31 Last day in Test cricket for Pakistan's Zaheer Abbas
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Emerald Fennell, English, actress, writer and director (The Crown, Saltburn), born in London, England
- Oct 1 Revazi Zintiridis, Greek judoka
- Oct 1 Ryo Miyamori, Japanese rock singer (Orange Range), born in Koza (now part of Kushimoto), Japan
- Oct 1 Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricket batsman (24 Tests, 75 ODI), born in Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Oct 5 Nicola Roberts, English singer (Girls Aloud), born in Stamford, United Kingdom
- Oct 7 Evan Longoria, American baseball player, born in Downey, California
Bruno Mars (38 years old)
Oct 8 American pop and R&B singer-songwriter ("Just the Way You Are", "The Lazy Song"; "Uptown Funk"), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Oct 8 Eiji Wentz, Japanese American entertainer (WaT), born in Tokyo, Japan
- Oct 10 Aaron Himelstein, American actor (Austin Powers in Goldmember), born in Buffalo Grove, Illinois
- Oct 10 Dominique Cornu, Belgian professional cyclist, born in Beveren, Belgium
- Oct 11 Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress (Harriet the Spy), born in New York
- Oct 12 Mike Green, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings), born in Calgary, Alberta
- Oct 14 Alexandre Sarnes Negrão, Brazilian racing driver
- Oct 14 Daniel Clark, Canadian actor
- Oct 14 Digão, Brazilian footballer
- Oct 14 Sherlyn González, Mexican actress
- Oct 15 Marcos Martinez Ucha, Spanish racing driver, born in Madrid, Spain
- Oct 15 Walter López, Uruguayan footballer (West Ham), born in Montevideo, Uruguay
- Oct 16 Casey Stoner, Australian motorcycle racer and 2007 MotoGP World Champion
- Oct 18 Yoenis Céspedes, Cuban baseball outfielder (MLB All-Star 2014, 16; Gold Glove Award 2015 Detroit Tigers; Silver Slugger Award 2016; Boston Red Sox, NY Mets), born in Campechuela, Cuba
- Oct 20 Dominic McGuire, American basketball player, born in San Diego, California
- Oct 20 James Sutton, British auto racer (Porsche Carrera Cup GB 2007), born in Stevenage, England
- Oct 21 Maximillian Roeg, English actor (Aria), born in London
- Oct 22 Zac Hanson, American pop drummer and singer (Hanson - "MMMMbop"), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Oct 23 James Kotecki, American political blogger, born in Syracuse, New York
- Oct 23 Miguel [Pimentel], American R&B singer ("Kaleidoscope Dream"), born in San Pedro, California
Wayne Rooney (38 years old)
Oct 24 English soccer midfielder (England 119 caps, Man U, Everton), born in Liverpool, England
Ciara (38 years old)
Oct 25 American singer and songwriter (Ciara: The Evolution) and model, born in Austin, Texas
- Oct 26 Andrea Bargnani, Italian basketball player (Toronto Raptors), born in Rome, Italy
- Oct 26 Asin Thottumkal, Indian actress (Ghajini), born in Kochi, Kerala, India
- Oct 26 Monta Ellis, American basketball player (Golden State Warriors), born in Jackson, Mississippi
- Oct 28 Nomcebo [Nkwanyana], South African singer-songwriter ("Jerusalema"), born in Hammarsdale, Republic of South Africa
- Oct 28 Richard Smith, American entrepreneur
- Oct 29 Gio Benitez, American TV journalist (Good Morning America), born in Miami, Florida
- Oct 29 Vijender Singh, Indian boxer, born in Kaluwas, Bhiwani, India
- Oct 31 Pierre Kwenders [José Modabi], Congolese-Canadian pop and world music singer-songwriter, and multi-lingual rapper, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Famous Weddings
George Gervin
Oct 9 NBA guard George Gervin (33) weds Joyce King in Bexar County, Texas
Famous Deaths
E. B. White (1899-1985)
Oct 1 American writer (New Yorker: Stuart Little; Charlotte's Web), dies at 86
- Oct 2 (Georgios) "George" Savalas, Greek-American actor (Kojak; Kelly's Heroes), dies of leukemia at 58
Rock Hudson (1925-1985)
Oct 2 American actor (Pillow Talk, A Farewell to Arms, Ice Station Zebra), dies of AIDS-related complications at 59
- Oct 2 Sidney Clute, American actor (Lou Grant; Cagney & Lacey), dies at 69
- Oct 3 Charles Collingwood, American news commentator (Chronicles), dies at 68
- Oct 3 Maurice Copeland, American actor (Ralph-Those Young Charmings), dies at 74
- Oct 5 Brian Keenan, American rock drummer (The Chamber Brothers), dies of a heart attack at 42
- Oct 5 Karl Menger, Austrian-American mathematician (dimension theory), dies at 83
- Oct 6 Nelson Riddle, American Grammy Award-winning bandleader, conductor, and orchestrator for Capitol Records (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Dean Martin), dies of complications from cirrhosis of the liver at 64
- Oct 7 Cemal Reşit Rey, Turkish composer, dies at 81
- Oct 8 Leon Klinghoffer, American murdered by hijackers of the Achille Lauro when they threw him off the boat at 69
- Oct 8 Malcolm Ross, American balloonist and atmospheric physicist, dies at 65
- Oct 8 Ricardo Bacchelli, Italian playwright and poet (Il malino del Po), dies at 94
- Oct 9 Emílio Garrastazu Médici, 28th President of Brazil (1969-74), dies at 79
Orson Welles (1915-1985)
Oct 10 American actor and director (Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds), dies of a heart attack at 70
Yul Brynner (1920-1985)
Oct 10 Russian-Swiss Tony and Academy Award-winning stage and screen actor (The King and I; The Ten Commandments), dies of lung cancer at 65
- Oct 11 Alex La Guma, South African novelist (A Walk in the Night), and anti-apartheid activist (1956 Treason Trial), dies of a heart attack at 61
- Oct 11 Tex Williams, American country-western singer, dies of cancer at 68
- Oct 12 Johnny Olson, American radio personality and television announcer (The Price is Right), dies at 75
- Oct 12 Ricky Wilson, American rock guitarist (B-52's - "Love Shack"), dies of AIDS at 32
- Oct 13 Francesca Bertini, Italian actress (Odette; Assunta Spina), dies at 93
- Oct 13 Jack Wilson, Australian cricket spin bowler (1 Test; 43 wickets on England Tour 1956), dies at 64
- Oct 14 Emil Gilels, Soviet concert pianist (Brussels Competition - 1st prize, 1938), dies at 68
- Oct 15 Meret Oppenheim, German born Swiss surrealist artist and photographer (Object: Le Déjeuner en fourrure), dies at 72
- Oct 15 Ted Steele, American orchestra leader (Cavalcade of Stars), dies at 68
- Oct 16 Claude Stroud, American actor (Breakfast at Tiffany's; Ted Knight Show; Duke), dies at 78
- Oct 17 Joseph Rosenstock, American conductor (NY City Opera), dies at 90
- Oct 18 Benjamin Moloisi, South African poet/Anc'er, hanged at 30
- Oct 19 Alfred Rouleau, French Canadian businessman (b. 1915)
- Oct 22 Viorica Ursuleac, Romanian operatic soprano, dies at 91
- Oct 24 Lásló Jósef Bíró, Hungarian inventor (ballpoint pen), dies at 86
- Oct 24 Maurice Roy, Archbishop of Quebec, (b. 1905)
- Oct 24 Richie Evans, American auto racer (9 x NASCAR Modified Champion 1973, 78-85), dies in practice accident at 44
- Oct 25 (John) Morton Downey, American pop tenor, known as "The Irish Nightengale", songwriter, radio and television host, dies at 83
- Oct 25 Elsa Moranet, writer, dies at 67
- Oct 26 Bob Scheffing, American baseball catcher (Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds), manager (Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers) and executive (GM NY Mets 1970-74), dies at 72
- Oct 26 Karel Kupka, Czech composer and choirmaster, dies at 58
- Oct 29 John Lodge, American actor (Witchmaker) and politician (79th Governor of Connecticut), dies at 82
- Oct 30 Kirby Grant, American actor (Rustlers Round-Up, Yukon Gold, Sky King), dies in an auto accident at 74
- Oct 31 Anton Christoforidis, Greek boxer (NBA light heavyweight title 1941), dies of a heart attack at 68
- Oct 31 Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek surrealist painter and poet (Do Not Distract the Driver), dies of a heart attack at 78
- Oct 31 Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor (Soldaten og Jenny, Det gælder os alle), dies at 72
