Historical Events
Friday Night Lights
Oct 3 American drama series "Friday Night Lights" starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton premieres on NBC-TV
Historic Communication
Oct 4 WikiLeaks is launched, created by internet activist Julian Assange
Film & TV History
Oct 7 Novaya Gazeta Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya shot and killed outside her apartment in Moscow
- Oct 9 North Korea conducts its first nuclear test, with an estimated yield of between 0.4-2 kilotons
30 Rock
Oct 11 US sitcom "30 Rock" created by and starring Tina Fey alongside Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan first premieres on NBC in the US
- Oct 12 United States Postal Service designates facility in Green River, Wyoming, as the "Curt Gowdy Post Office Building," honoring the noted broadcaster
Nobel Peace Prize
Oct 13 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to banker Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for microlending to the poor
- Oct 14 MLB American League Championship: Detroit Tigers beat Oakland Athletics, 4 games to 0
- Oct 17 The United States population reaches 300 million
- Oct 19 MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat New York Mets, 4 games to 3
- Oct 22 Panama Canal expansion proposal is approved by 77.8% of voters in a National referendum held in Panama
F1 World Champion
Oct 22 Spanish Renault driver Fernando Alonso finishes 2nd in season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace to retain Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 13 points from Michael Schumacher
Irreplaceable
Oct 23 "Irreplaceable" single released by Beyonce (Soul Train Music Awards Best R&B/Soul Single 2007, Billboard Song of the Year 2007)
The Black Parade
Oct 23 "The Black Parade" 3rd studio album by My Chemical Romance is released
- Oct 24 Justice Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down the "motive clause", an important part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act
- Oct 24 MESSENGER spacecraft performs a Venus flyby
- Oct 27 Baseball World Series: St. Louis beats Detroit Tigers, 4-2 in Game 5 at Busch Stadium to win Cardinals' 10th title in franchise history; MVP: Cardinals infielder David Eckstein
- Oct 28 Funeral service for the peace of the executed at Bykivnia forest, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, with reburial of 817 Ukrainian civilians (out of some 100,000) executed by Bolsheviks at Bykivnia in 1930s - early 1940s.
Election of Interest
Oct 29 Lula da Silva is elected President of Brazil defeating Geraldo Alckmin in the second round
2006 History
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 30 Saniyya Sidney, American actress (King Richard), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Weddings
Darryl Strawberry
Oct 1 Baseball player Darryl Strawberry (44) weds Tracy Boulware
Michael Flatley
Oct 14 "Celtic Tiger" choreographer Michael Flatley (48) weds fellow dancer Niamh O'Brien at St. Patrick's Church in Fermoy, Ireland
- Oct 14 Merengue singer Melina Leon (33) weds Ruy Fernando Delgado at La Iglesia Metodista Universitaria in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Oct 20 "Liberty X" member Michelle Heaton (27) weds Pop Idol's Andy Scott-Lee (26) in Hertfordshire, England
Famous Divorces
Matt LeBlanc
Oct 6 "Friends" actor Matt LeBlanc (39) divorces former model Melissa McKnight (41) due to irreconcilable differences after 3 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 André Viger, French Canadian wheelchair marathoner (3 Paralympics gold medals), dies from cancer at 54
- Oct 1 Jerald Tanner, American religious activist (b. 1938)
- Oct 2 Helen Chenoweth-Hage, American politician (b. 1938)
- Oct 2 Milly Vitale, Italian actress (7 Little Foys, War & Peace, Juggler), dies at 73
- Oct 2 Paul Halmos, Hungarian-born American mathematician (b. 1916)
- Oct 2 Tamara Dobson, American actress (Amazons; Cleopatra Jones), dies of complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis, at 59
- Oct 3 Alberto Ramento, Filipina bishop (b. 1937)
- Oct 3 John Crank, British mathematician (b. 1913)
- Oct 3 Peter Norman, Australian track star (b. 1942)
- Oct 4 Oskar Pastior, Romanian-born German writer, dies at 78
- Oct 4 Tom Bell, English actor on stage, television and film (b. 1933)
- Oct 5 Antonio Peña, Mexican founder of lucha libre promotion AAA (b. 1953)
- Oct 5 Friedrich K Flick, German industrialist, dies at 79
- Oct 5 Jennifer Moss, English Actress (b. 1945)
- Oct 6 Alex Shigo, American Biologist and plant pathologist known for his study of tree decay and contributions to modern arboricultural practices, dies at 76
Buck O'Neil (1911-2006)
Oct 6 American Baseball HOF coach (1st African-American coach in MLB) and first baseman (NgL World Series 1942; 2 x NgL All Star; KC Monarchs), dies at 94
- Oct 6 Eduardo Mignogna, Argentinian film director (b. 1940)
- Oct 6 Puck Brouwer, Dutch athlete (b. 1930)
- Oct 6 Valentin Muratov, Russian gymnast (4 gold, 1 silver medals 1952, 1956 Olympics), dies at 78
- Oct 6 Wilson Tucker, American sci-fi writer, dies at 91
- Oct 7 Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist and human rights activist, dies at 48
- Oct 9 Danièle Huillet, French film director, with Jean-Marie Straub (Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach; Sicilia!), dies of cancer at 70 [1]
- Oct 9 Kanshi Ram, Indian Dalit leader and politician (President of the Bahujan Samaj Party, 1984- 2003; Member of Parliament, 1991- 2004), dies of a heart attack at 72
- Oct 9 Paul Hunter, English snooker player (Masters 2001, 02, 04), dies from neuroendocrine tumours at 27
- Oct 9 Raymond Noorda, American co-founder and long time CEO of Novell, dies at 82
- Oct 10 Francis Berry, British poet and academic (Shakespearean scholar), dies at 91
- Oct 10 Ian Scott, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
- Oct 10 Michael John Rogers, English ornithologist (b. 1932)
- Oct 11 Benito Martínez, Haitan born Cuban who claimed to be the oldest living person at 126 (b. 1880)
- Oct 11 Cory Lidle, American baseball pitcher (b. 1972)
- Oct 11 Howard Kerzner, Chief Executive Officer of Kerzner International (b. 1964)
- Oct 12 Gillo Pontecorvo, Italian film director (b. 1919)
- Oct 13 Bob Lassiter 'Mad Dog', American radio personality, dies at 61
- Oct 13 Wang Guangmei, Chinese first lady (b. 1921)
- Oct 14 Freddy Fender [Baldemar Huerta], American rock, country and Tejano singer ("Wasted Days And Wasted Nights"; "Before The Next Teardrop Falls"; Texas Tornados - "A Man Can Cry"), dies of lung cancer at 69
- Oct 14 Gerry Studds, American politician (Rep-D-MA, 1973-97), first openly gay member of US Congress, dies at 69
- Oct 14 Jared Anderson, American heavy metal bassist and vocalist (Morbid Angel; Hate Eternal), dies at 31
- Oct 14 Maurice Grosse, British paranormal investigator (b. 1919)
- Oct 14 Nancy Lynn, American aviator (b. 1956)
- Oct 15 Derek Bond, British actor (Nicholas Nickelby, Armchair Theatre), dies at 86
- Oct 16 Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright (b. 1921)
- Oct 16 Ross Davidson, British actor (b. 1949)
- Oct 16 Tommy Johnson, American orchestral and session tuba player (theme to "Jaws"), dies from cancer and kidney failure at 71
- Oct 16 Valentín Paniagua Corazao, Ex President of Peru (b. 1936)
- Oct 17 Christopher Glenn, American newscaster (b. 1938)
- Oct 17 Daniel Emilfork, French actor (b. 1924)
- Oct 18 Anna Russell, English music satirist and composer, dies at 94
- Oct 18 Mario Francesco Cardinal Pompedda (b. 1929)
- Oct 19 James Glennon, American cinematographer, dies at 64
- Oct 19 Phyllis Kirk [Kirkegaard], American actress (Thin Man, Red Button's Show), dies at 79
- Oct 20 Frank Vicari, American jazz, session, and touring saxophonist (Maynard Ferguson; Woody Herman; Tom Waits; Saturday Night Live), dies at 75
Jane Wyatt (1910-2006)
Oct 20 American actress (Father Knows Best, Star Trek), dies at 96
- Oct 21 Rene Gerber, Swiss composer, dies at 98
- Oct 22 Arthur Hill, Canadian actor (Owen Marshall, Glitter), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 84
- Oct 22 Choi Kyu-hah, President of South Korea, dies at 87
- Oct 22 Richard Mayes, British actor (Doctor Who, Emmerdale), dies of a stroke at 83
- Oct 23 Lebo Mathosa, South African entertainer (b. 1977)
- Oct 23 Leonid Hambro, American concert pianist and composer, dies at 86
- Oct 24 Enolia McMillan, American civil rights activist (b. 1904)
- Oct 24 William Montgomery Watt, Islamic studies scholar, orientalist and historian (b. 1909)
- Oct 26 Pontus Hultén, Swedish art collector and museum director (b. 1924)
- Oct 26 Tillman Franks, American country music bassist, songwriter and artist manager (Webb Pierce), dies at 86
- Oct 27 Brad Will, American anarchist and independent journalist (b. 1970)
- Oct 27 Joe Niekro, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1979; NL wins leader 1979; Houston Astros; World Series 1987; NY Yankees), dies from a brain aneurysm at 61
- Oct 27 Marlin McKeever, American NFL linebacker (Pro Bowl 1966; LA Rams), dies from injuries suffered in a fall at 66
- Oct 28 Marijohn Wilkin, American songwriter ("One Day at a Time"), dies of heart disease at 86
Red Auerbach (1917-2006)
Oct 28 American Basketball HOF coach (9xNBA C'ship; NBA Coach of the Year 1965 Boston Celtics; 11×NBA All-Star Game HC) and executive (President Boston Celtics 7× NBA C'ship), dies of a heart attack at 89
Trevor Berbick (1954-2006)
Oct 28 Jamaican boxer (WBC heavyweight champion 1986), dies from blows to the head by his nephew at 52
P. W. Botha (1916-2006)
Oct 31 South African politician (President of South Africa, 1984-89; Prime Minister, 1977-84), dies at 90
