Historical Events
- Oct 3 American surfer Kelly Slater clinches his record 9th world championship after round 3 of Billabong Pro in Mundaka, Spain; accrues enough points with 5 victories to win title with 2 scheduled ASP Tour contests to be surfed
O. J. Simpson Robbery Case
Oct 3 Former NFL star O.J. Simpson found guilty of charges of kidnapping and armed robbery
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act
Oct 3 The $700 billion bailout bill for the US financial system is signed by President George W. Bush
Appointment of Interest
Oct 4 Mark Zuckerberg announces the appointment of Google executive Sheryl Sandberg as Facebook COO
- Oct 4 On This Day (then HistoryOrb.com) receives its first major overhaul and redesign
- Oct 6 MESSENGER spacecraft performs a second Mercury flyby
- Oct 7 Music, podcast, and video streaming service Spotify is launched by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon
- Oct 8 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology awarded jointly to Harald zur Hausen (cause of cervical cancer) and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Luc Montagnier (discovery of HIV)
- Oct 10 Singapore becomes the first Asian country to slip into a recession since the credit crisis began: growth has faltered as a result of less demand for exports, a reduction in tourism, and the end of the real-estate boom
Sports History
Oct 12 Anna Kournikova and Andy Roddick defeat Martina Navratilova and Jesse Levine in a match for charity, raising over $400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund
Senior Players Championship
Oct 12 Senior Players Championship Men's Golf, Baltimore CC: D. A. Weibring wins his lone career major title by 1 stroke from Fred Funk
- Oct 13 HM Treasury infused £37 billion ($64 billion, 47 billion euros) of new capital-bailout into Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Lloyds TSB and HBOS Plc, to avert a financial sector collapse.
- Oct 15 MLB National League Championship: Philadelphia Phillies beat Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1
- Oct 17 Iran's attempt to create the world's largest sandwich (1,500 metres) fails when crowds eat it before it can be measured
Cricket Record
Oct 17 Sachin Tendulkar becomes the highest run-scorer ever in test cricket beating Brian Lara's record and passing 12,000 runs against Australia in Mohali
- Oct 24 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Santa Anita Racetrack; Day 1 winners: Ventura, Maram, Stardom Bound, Together Forever, Zenyatta
- Oct 24 Iceland receives a £1.3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 1st European country to require an emergency loan as a result of the financial crisis
- Oct 24 In a "Bloody Friday" many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst decline in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices
- Oct 25 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Santa Anita Racetrack; Day 2 winners: Muhannak, Desert Code, Albertus Maximus, Goldikova, Midshipman, Donativum, Midnight Lute, Conduit, Raven's Pass
- Oct 27 The banking group BNP Paribas states that Australia is in a risky position with regards to the global financial crisis as foreign liabilities accounted for 60% of the nation's GDP
- Oct 28 In the UK, 500,000 mortgage holders are left in negative equity after house prices drop 15% since the previous summer
Quantum of Solace
Oct 29 "Quantum of Solace" 22nd James Bond film starring Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko, premieres in London
Event of Interest
Oct 29 10th century Archimedes Palimpsest, featuring lost works of Archimedes, made freely available on the web, 10 years after bought by unknown tech figure
- Oct 29 Baseball World Series: Philadelphia beats Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3 in Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park for Phillies second title in their 126-year history; MVP: Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels
- Oct 29 Delta Air Lines merges with Northwest Airlines, creating the world's largest airline and reducing the number of US legacy carriers to 5.
- Oct 31 Whitepaper "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" is published by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. It describes a decentralized peer-to-peer network that could track and verify transactions while producing a transparent, verifiable record.
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 3 Karolina Protsenko, Ukrainian-American pop violinist ("Despacito"), and YouTube sensation, born in Ukraine
Famous Weddings
- Oct 1 "7th Heaven" actress Beverley Mitchell (27) weds Michael Cameron (27) at the Church of Santa Maria a Gradillo in Ravello, Italy
Howard Stern
Oct 3 American radio personality Howard Stern (54) weds second wife, American model and actress Beth Ostrosky (36) in Manhattan, New York
- Oct 5 American Idol season 6 fourth finalist LaKisha Jones (28) weds financial adviser Larry Davis at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California
Michael Chang
Oct 18 Tennis player Michael Chang (35) weds fellow tennis player Amber Liu (24) at Lake Hills Community Church in Laguna Hills, California
Wanda Sykes
Oct 25 Comedienne and writer Wanda Sykes marries Alex Niedbalski
- Oct 25 Olympic gold medal-winning skier Picabo Street (37) weds John Reeser (31) on top of Alabama's Prospect Mountain in Hanceville
- Oct 26 World's fattest man Manuel Uribe (43) weds Claudia Solis (38) in Monterrey, Mexico
Famous Divorces
- Oct 10 Actor and comedian Chris Kattan (37) divorces model Sunshine Tutt (32) due to irreconcilable differences after 2 months of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 House Peters Jr., American actor (King of the Rocket Man), dies at 92
- Oct 1 Nick Reynolds, American folk singer, tenor guitarist, and bongo player (The Kingston Trio, 1957-67 - "Tom Dooley"; "M.T.A."), dies from respiratory disease at 75
- Oct 2 Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress (b. 1968)
- Oct 2 Rob Guest, New Zealand entertainer (b. 1950)
- Oct 3 Aurel Stroe, Romanian composer, dies at 76
- Oct 3 Karam ud Din, Pakistani Navy officer (b. 1941)
- Oct 3 Zulfiqar Ahmed, Pakistani cricket pace bowler (9 Tests, 20 wickets; Punjab, Bahawalpur), dies at 81
- Oct 5 Ken Ogata [Akinobu Ogata], Japanese actor (Okinawan Boys, Taikōki), dies of liver cancer at 71
- Oct 6 Kim Ji-hoo, South Korean actor and model (b. 1985)
- Oct 6 Nadia Nerina [Nadine Judd], South African-British ballerina (Sadler's/Royal Ballet, 1949-68), dies at 80
- Oct 7 Leslie Hardman, Jewish Orthodox rabbi (b. 1913)
- Oct 7 Peter Copley, British actor (Victim, Kingdom of Heaven, King & Country), dies at 93
- Oct 8 Bob Friend, British newscaster (BBC, 1969-89; Sky News, 1989-2003), dies from a brain tumor at 70
- Oct 8 Eileen Herlie [Herlihy], Scottish-American actress (All My Children; The Angel with the Trumpet), dies of complications from pneumonia at 90
- Oct 8 George E. Palade, Romanian-American cell biologist (ribosomen, Nobel 1974), dies at 95
- Oct 8 Gidget Gein [Bradley Stewart], American hard rock bassist (Marilyn Manson), dies of a suspected drug overdose at 39
- Oct 9 Albert Hall, American hammer throw athlete, dies at 74
- Oct 10 Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (b. 1947)
- Oct 10 Sid Hudson, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1941, 42; Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox), dies at 93
- Oct 11 Jörg Haider, Austrian far-right politician (b. 1950)
- Oct 11 Neal Hefti, American jazz trumpeter, arranger (Woody Herman; Count Basie); bandleader (Kate Smith Show) and composer ("Li'l Darlin"; The Odd Couple; Batman theme), dies at 85
- Oct 12 Cliff Nobles American soul singer ("The Horse"), dies at 67
- Oct 12 Karl Chircop, Maltese politician (b. 1965)
- Oct 12 Marta Pan, Hungarian-French sculptor (Great spiral), dies at 85
- Oct 13 Alexei Cherepanov, Russian hockey player (b. 1989)
- Oct 13 Matthew J. Rinaldo, American politician (Rep-R-NJ, 1973-93), dies at 77
- Oct 14 Barrington J. Bayley, English sci-fi author (Collision Course), dies at 71
- Oct 14 Martin Peake, 2nd Viscount Ingleby, British peer and businessman, dies at 82
- Oct 14 Richard Cooey, American murderer and rapist (executed) (b. 1967)
- Oct 15 Chris Mims, American NFL defensive end, 1992-99 (San Diego Chargers; Washington Redskins), dies of cardiomegaly (enlarge heart) at 38
- Oct 15 Edie Adams [Edith Enke], American businesswoman, singer, actress and comedian (Murial Cigar), dies at 81
- Oct 15 Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, Turkish poet, dies at 94
- Oct 15 Jack Narz, American TV game show host (Dotto, Video Village), dies at 85
- Oct 15 Nathan Davis, American actor (Dunston Checks In, Holes, Code of Silence), dies from emphysema and pneumonia at 91
- Oct 15 Tom Tresh, American baseball utility (MLB All-Star 1962, 63; AL Rookie of Year & World Series 1962 NY Yankees), dies from a heart attack at 70
- Oct 17 Ben Weider, Canadian businessman and author (The Murder of Napoleon), dies at 85
- Oct 17 Levi Stubbs [Stubbles], American baritone singer (The Four Tops - "It's the Same Old Song"; "Standing In The Shadows of Love"), dies at 72
- Oct 18 (Deliah) "Dee Dee" Warwick, American soul singer, dies of complications from diabetes at 66
- Oct 19 Doreen Wilber, American archer (Olympic gold individual 1972), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 78
- Oct 19 Mr. Blackwell, American fashion critic, dies at 86
- Oct 19 Rudy Ray Moore, American comedian and actor (Dolemite) (b. 1937)
- Oct 20 Gene Hickerson, American football Hall of Famer (b. 1935)
- Oct 20 Pierre Sancan, French composer (Sonatine for flute and piano; La Légende de Icare), pianist, conductor, and teacher (Conservatoire de Paris, 1956-85), dies at 92
- Oct 20 Sœur Emmanuelle, Belgian-French religious sister, dies at 99
- Oct 24 Ankie Peypers, Dutch author and poet, dies at 80
- Oct 24 Merl Saunders, American Hammond B-3 organ player and pianist (Jerry Garcia Band; Saunders/Garcia), and composer, dies at 74
- Oct 24 Moshe Cotel, American composer and pianist (b. 1943)
- Oct 25 Anne Pressly, American news anchor (b. 1982)
- Oct 26 Delmar Watson, American child actor (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Heidi, Annie Oakley), dies at 82
- Oct 26 Tony Hillerman, American writer Navajo Tribal Police), dies at 83
- Oct 27 Bernard W. Rogers, United States Army general who served as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, dies at 87
- Oct 28 George Sopkin, American cellist (Fine Arts Quartet, 1941-79), and teacher, dies at 94
- Oct 29 Gerald Arpino, American dancer and choreographer (co-founder of Joffrey Ballet), dies from prostate cancer at 85
- Oct 29 Mike Baker, American heavy metal singer and bass player (Shadow Gallery), dies of a heart attack at 45
- Oct 30 Pedro Pompilio Argentinian businessman (b. 1950)
- Oct 31 Studs Terkel, American writer, historian and radio host (Stud's Place, Working), dies at 96
