Historical Events
- Oct 1 An all-African podium for the men's marathon at the Sydney Olympics as Gezahegne Abera of Ethiopia runs 2:10:11 for the gold medal, 0.20s ahead of Kenyan Erick Wainaina with bronze to Ethiopian Tesfaye Tola
- Oct 1 Cuban boxer Félix Savon wins his 3rd consecutive Olympic heavyweight gold medal at the Sydney Games; easily beats Russian Sultan Ibragimov on points 21-13; retires after victory ceremony
- Oct 1 German canoeist Birgit Fischer teams with Katrin Wagner to win the K2 500m gold medal at the Sydney Olympics; becomes first woman to win 2 or more medals at 4 Summer Olympics; only 4th woman to win 7 career gold
- Oct 1 Juan Antonio Samaranch, President of the IOC declares the XXVII Olympics in Sydney, Australia the "best Olympic Games ever" at the closing ceremony
- Oct 1 NBA stars Ray Allen and Vince Carter each score 13 points as the US beats France 85-75 to win the men's basketball gold medal at the Sydney Olympics
- Oct 1 Norwegian canoeist Knut Holmann beats Petar Merkov of Bulgaria for the second consecutive day to win the K-1 500m gold medal at the Sydney Olympics; beat Markov in K-1 1000m the previous day
- Oct 1 Stephanie Cook of Great Britain scores 5,318 points to beat American Emily de Riel by just 8 points to win the inaugural Olympic women's modern pentathlon at the Sydney Games
- Oct 1 United States wins the most medals (97), and the most gold medals (40) in Summer Olympics held in Sydney, Australia
Dark Angel
Oct 3 TV series "Dark Angel" created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee and starring Jessica Alba premieres in the US
You're the One
Oct 3 Warner Bros. Records releases "You're the One", the tenth solo studio album by singer-songwriter Paul Simon; Grammy nomination for Album of the Year makes Simon the first artist nominated in category in five consecutive decades (1960s-2000s)
Country Music Association Awards
Oct 4 34th Country Music Association Awards: Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill & Tim McGraw win
Bulldozer Revolution
Oct 5 Mass demonstrations in Belgrade culminate in the resignation of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević, often called the Bulldozer Revolution
- Oct 6 President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević resigns
- Oct 6 Swedish comedy drama "Songs from the Second Floor" written and directed by Roy Andersson is released in Sweden
- Oct 7 Last ever competitive soccer match at Wembley Stadium, England defeated 1-0 by Germany, last goal scored by Liverpool's Dietmar Hammann. Match is Tony Adams' 60th at Wembley, the record for most appearances at the stadium.
F1 World Champion
Oct 8 German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher wins Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka to clinch his 3rd, and 1st of 5 straight F1 World Drivers Championships
- Oct 8 Musical "Peter Pan" starring Cathy Rigby, and filmed before a live audience, premieres on A&E TV
- Oct 8 Solheim Cup Women's Golf, Loch Lomond GC: Europe regains Cup 14½-11½; Carin Koch holes winning putt, coming back from 3 down to beat Michele Redman
Cricket History
Oct 11 South African Cricket Board issues former captain Hansie Cronje with a life ban as a result of match-fixing allegations
- Oct 11 The 100th Space Shuttle mission (STS-92) is flown
- Oct 12 American destroyer USS Cole is badly damaged in Aden, Yemen, by two suicide bombers, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Oct 15 Larry David's comedy show "Curb Your Enthusiasm" debuts on HBO
Event of Interest
Oct 15 Museo de Antioquia re-opens in Medellín, Columbia, featuring works and sculptures donated by Medellín-born artist Fernando Botero
Music History
Oct 18 Zack de la Rocha announces he is leaving rock band Rage Against the Machine
- Oct 22 German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher wins Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, his 4th straight race victory to finish season; 3rd, and 1st of 5 straight F1 World Drivers Championships; wins by 19 points from Mika Häkkinen
President's Cup
Oct 22 Presidents Cup Golf, Robert Trent Jones GC: Davis Love III, Stewart Cink and Kirk Triplett are unbeaten as US outclasses International team, 21½–10½
- Oct 23 "Monday Night Miracle", down 30-7 at the end of the third quarter, New York Jets pull together an improbable comeback with 4 touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter, eventually defeating the Miami Dolphins 40-37 in overtime
- Oct 25 A team led by Brigitte Senut and Martin Pickford discover Orrorin tugenensis, one of the earliest species on the human family tree that lived about 6 million years ago, in the Tugen Hills, Kenya
World Series
Oct 26 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees beat NY Mets, 4-2 in Game 5 at Shea Stadium to win "Subway Series"; Yankees 3rd straight title; MVP: Derek Jeter
- Oct 26 Laurent Gbagbo takes over as president of Côte d'Ivoire following a popular uprising against President Robert Guéï. Bret Hart retires.
- Oct 31 A chartered Antonov An-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50
- Oct 31 A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 operating as Flight 006 collides with construction equipment upon takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 79 passengers and four crew members
Event of Interest
Oct 31 Pope John Paul II declares Saint Thomas More as "the heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians"
- Oct 31 The last Multics (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service) machine shut down
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 6 Addison Rae [Easterling], American dancer and TikTok star, born in Lafayette, Louisiana
- Oct 6 Jazz Jennings, American transgender activist, born in South Florida (probable date)
- Oct 21 Imanbek [Zeikenov], Kazakh music producer (Roses), born in Aksu, Kazakhstan
- Oct 22 Baby Keen [Hykeem Carter Jr.], American rapper (Family Ties), born in Carson, California
- Oct 25 Iris Law, English model and social media personality, born in London, England
Willow Smith (23 years old)
Oct 31 American actress, singer ("Whip My Hair") and dancer, born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Weddings
Rod Steiger
Oct 10 Actor Rod Steiger (75) weds actress and fifth wife Joan Benedict (73) in Malibu, California
- Oct 14 Asylum recording artist Bryan White (26) weds actress Erika Page at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas
Famous Divorces
Demi Moore & Bruce Willis
Oct 18 Actress Demi Moore (37) divorces actor Bruce Willis (45) due to irreconcilable differences after 13 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 Reginald Kray "Reggie", British gangster, one of the Kray Twins, dies of cancer at 66
- Oct 1 Robert Allen, American pianist and songwriter "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays"; "Chances Are"), dies of colon cancer at 73
- Oct 3 Benjamin Orr [Orzechowski], American rock bassist and singer (The Cars - "Just What I Needed", "Drive"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 53
- Oct 3 John Grant, British politician (b. 1932)
- Oct 4 Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist (Nobel 1993- Site-directed mutagenesis), dies at 68
- Oct 4 Yu Kuo-hwa, former Premier of Taiwan (b. 1914)
- Oct 5 Cătălin Hîldan, Romanian footballer (b. 1976)
- Oct 5 Keith Roberts, English writer (Irish Encounter, Ladies from Hell), dies at 65
- Oct 5 Sidney R. Yates, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois), dies at 91
- Oct 6 Richard Farnsworth, American actor (Misery, Havana, Sylvester), dies at 80
- Oct 6 William Putnam Bundy, American attorney and intelligence expert (9th Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs), dies at 83
- Oct 9 David Dukes, American actor (Beacon Hill, 79 Park Avenue, Winds of War), dies at 55
- Oct 9 Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1918)
- Oct 10 Bruce F. Vento, American politician (Rep-D-Minnesota, 1977-2000), dies of cancer at 60
- Oct 10 Ferenc Farkas, Hungarian composer, dies at 94
Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1916-2000)
Oct 10 Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (1960-65, 1970-77 and 1994-2000) and 1st female head of state, dies of a heart attack at 84
- Oct 11 Donald Campbell Dewar, Scottish politician (1st minister of Scotland's first Parliament in almost 300yrs), dies from health complications at 63
- Oct 13 Britt Woodman, American jazz trombonist (Duke Ellington; Charles Mingus; Lionel Hampton), dies of respiratory issues at 80
- Oct 13 Gus Hall, American union organizer and head of the U.S. Communist Party, dies at 90
- Oct 13 Jean Peters, American actress (Viva Zapata!, Apache, Deep Waters), dies at 73
- Oct 15 Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist, (1964 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on cholesterol), dies at 88
- Oct 16 Mel Carnahan, American politician (b. 1934)
- Oct 16 Rick Jason [Richard Jacobson], American stage and screen actor (Combat! - "Lt. Hanley"; The Fountain of Youth; Day of the Wolves), dies of a self-inflicted gunshot at 77
- Oct 17 Leo Nomellini, American College/Pro Football HOF defensive tackle (Uni of Minnesota; 6×First-team All-Pro; 10×Pro Bowl; NFL 1950s All-Decade Team; SF 49ers), dies of a stroke at 76
- Oct 18 Gwyneth “Gwen” Verdon, American actress, singer and dancer (Cotton Club; Sweet Charity), dies at 75
- Oct 18 Julie London, American singer ("Cry Me A River") and actress (Emergency - "Nurse McCall"), dies at 74
- Oct 19 Hortense Ellis, Jamaican reggae singer ("Right On the Tip of My Tongue"), dies from a stomach infection at 59
- Oct 22 Hank Wyse, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1945; Chicago Cubs), dies at 82
- Oct 23 Rodney Anoa'i (aka Yokozuna), Samoan-American professional wrestler, dies from pulmonary edema at 34
- Oct 25 Don Frank Brooks, American session and touring blues harmonica player (Waylon Jennings; Ken Burns' "The Civil War"), dies of leukemia at 53
- Oct 27 Walter Berry, Austrian lyric bass-baritone singer, dies of a heart attack at 71
- Oct 28 Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (b. 1912)
- Oct 28 Lída Baarová [Ludmila Babková], Czech actress (Die Fledermaus, Virginity), dies after a long illness at 86
Steve Allen (1921-2000)
Oct 30 American comedian, composer, actor and TV host (Tonight Show; Steve Allen Show), dies of injuries from a car accident at 78
- Oct 31 Ring Lardner Jr., American journalist and screenwriter (Woman of the Year, M A S H), dies at 75
- Oct 31 Watanabe Kazuki Japanese progressive rock guitarist and songwriter (Raphael), dies of an accidental sedative overdose at 19
