| 1537 | * | England's Edward VI christened. | |
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| 1582 | * | The first day of the Gregorian calendar by the order of Pope Gregory XIII. The previous day was October 4th on the Julian calendar. Britain will adopt the Gregorian calendar on September 2nd, 1752; the Soviet Union will adopt the Julian calendar on January 31st, 1918. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1641 | * | Fort Amsterdam (now, NY City) conducts its first Cattle Fair. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1641 | * | Paul de Chomedy de Maisonneuve claims Montreal. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1732 | * | (Zenger) (date given as "Fall") New York Governor Cosby demands that Council president Rip Van Dam split his salary with him. When Van Dam refuses, Cosby sues. Cosby appoints Francis Harison to be censor (and effectively editor) of the New York Gazette. | Ref: 87 |
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| 1734 | * | (Zenger) (day speculative) At the instigation of Governor Cosby, Chief Justice Delancey twice puts the issue of the "libels" before a grand jury. In both cases, the grand jury refuses to issue indictments, based on what the grand jury says is a lack of evidence concerning the identity of the author of the libels. | Ref: 87 |
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| 1789 | * | First presidental tour-George Washington in New England. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1790 | * | Ann Teresa Mathews (aka Mother Bernardina) and Frances Dickinson founded a convent of Discalced Carmelites (a contemplative working order) in Port Tobacco, Maryland. It was the first Catholic convent founded in the United States. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1832 | * | (date speculative) Simon Kenton and Major James Galloway visit Old Chillicothe (about 3 miles north of modern Xenia) and talk of old times. | Ref: 58 |
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| 1839 | * | Queen Victoria proposes marriage to Prince Albert. | Ref: 10 |
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| 1840 | * | In Melville, Missouri, the Evangelical Synod of North America was founded. It later became one of the branches of today's United Church of Christ. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1854 | * | Florence Nightingale is solicited to organize nurses in Crimea. | Ref: 62 |
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| 1860 | * | Grace Bedell, age 11, of Westfield NY, wrote Abe Lincoln with a suggestion. She urged Lincoln to grow a beard. If he did, she’d try to get her four brothers to vote for him for president. Lincoln won the election in November -- then he grew a beard. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1863 | * | Cliff House opens in SF (1st of many on the site). | Ref: 5 |
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| 1869 | * | Sergeant Whelan arrives at Eleven Mile Creek, arrests Australian bushranger and folk hero Edward "Ned" Kelly, and takes him to the Benella lock-up for the previous day's altercation with Ah Fook. Ref | |
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| 1870 | * | (day unknown) Australian bushranger and folk hero Edward "Ned" Kelly, aged fifteen, is charged with assaulting a neighbour and sentenced to three months' gaol. In the same Court he was given a further three months, on a second charge arising from the same incident. Ref | |
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| 1871 | * | The Cleveland Sunday Times, the first successful Sunday paper, is published. | |
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| 1877 | * | 45th Congress (1877-79) convenes. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1878 | * | Thomas A. Edison founds Edison Electric Light Co in New York City.
Thomas A. Edison founds Edison Electric Light Co. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1880 | * | K”ln cathedral completed, 633 years after it begun. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1883 | * | The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a significant part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which forbade racial discrimination and segregation in public places. The Court holds that only state-imposed discrimination is unlawful, not discrimination by individuals or corporations. | Ref: 3 |
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| 1890 | * | Alabama Penny Savings Bank organizes in Birmingham. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1892 | * | The U.S. government convinced the Crow Indians to give up 1.8 million acres of their reservation for 50¢ per acre. On this day, by presidential proclamation, the land in the mountainous area of western Montana was opened to settlers. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1894 | * | (Dreyfus) Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, is arrested for betraying military secrets to Germany. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1900 | * | Pentecostal evangelist Charles Fox Parham opened Bethel Bible Institute in Topeka, KS. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1901 | * | That the first Christian in modern times was reported to have spoken in tongues: student Agnes Ozman. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1906 | * | (Shipp) The defendants and their lawyers appear in Washington before the justices of the Supreme Court to enter their pleas. All members of the mob plead "not guilty,"claiming alibis or mistaken identities. | Ref: 87 |
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| 1910 | * | (Triangle) The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory passes a routine fire inspection. | Ref: 87 |
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| 1914 | * | The U.S. House of Representatives gives its seal of approval to what was termed "labor's charter of freedom"--the Clayton Anti-Trust Act. In essence, the Clayton Act legally sanctions unions, removing them from the jurisdiction of anti-trust laws. | Ref: 3 |
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| 1935 | * | Bruno Hauptmann's defense team files second appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. | Ref: 87 |
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| 1936 | * | The first generator at Boulder (later Hoover) Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1938 | * | German troops occupy the Sudetenland. The Czech government resigns. | Ref: 35 |
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| 1939 | * | The New York Municipal Airport, later re-named LaGuardia Airport, was dedicated. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1941 | * | Jews caught outside the Polish Ghetto walls could be put to death. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1942 | * | Groves asks Oppenheimer to head Project Y, planned to be the new central laboratory for weapon physics research and design. | Ref: 91 |
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| 1944 | * | Nazis seize control of the Hungarian puppet government, then resume deporting Jews, which had temporarily ceased due to international political pressure to stop Jewish persecutions. | Ref: 35 |
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| 1949 | | Tripura accedes to the Indian union and the administration of territory of Manipur taken over by the Indian govt. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1949 | * | Billy Graham begins his ministry. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1950 | * | President Harry Truman meets with General Douglas MacArthur at Wake Island to discuss U.N. progress in the Korean War. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1956 | * | (US Supreme Court Justice) William J Brennan Jr appointed to the Supreme Court. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1962 | * | (US Supreme Court Justice) Byron R White is appointed to the Supreme Court. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1964 | * | It was announced that Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev had been removed from office. He was succeeded as premier by Alexei N. Kosygin and as Communist Party secretary by Leonid I. Brezhnev. (Go to article.) | Ref: 70 |
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| 1966 | * | President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill creating the Department of Transportation. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1969 | * | Bank of America World Headquarters (555 California) dedicated | Ref: 5 |
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| 1970 | * | Congress approved the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. This law contained a section known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act or RICO. RICO has become a very effective tool in convicting members of organized criminal enterprises. | Ref: 14 |
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| 1974 | * | National Guard mobilizes to restore order in Boston school busing. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1976 | * | In the first debate of its kind between vice-presidential nominees, Democrat Walter F. Mondale and Republican Bob Dole faced off in Houston. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1978 | * | Lee Iacocca leaves Ford Motor Company to become president of Chrysler. | Ref: 45 |
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| 1981 | * | President Reagan submits a waiver of law to Congress that would clear the way for construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska through Canada. (As of August, 2003, the pipeline has not been built. Natural gas discovered on the Alaskan North Slope has been reinjected into the ground.) (Time, p 39, 7/21/2003) | |
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| 1985 | * | The hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise liner surrendered after the ship arrived in Port Said, Egypt. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1989 | | South African pres FW de Klerk frees Sisulu & 4 other political prisoners. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1990 | * | Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the USSR (1985-1991), won the Nobel Prize for Peace. Gorbachev is widely credited for “helping to end the Cold War, change the map of Europe and usher in a new era in world affairs.” | Ref: 4 |
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| 1990 | * | South Africa's Separate Amenities Act, which had barred blacks from public facilities for decades, was formally scrapped. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1991 | * | (US Supreme Court Justice) The Senate narrowly confirmed the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, 52-48. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1993 | * | African National Congress leader Nelson (Rolihlahla) Mandela and South African President F.W. (Frederik Willem) de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to usher in reforms that 1) ended South Africa’s era of white minority rule and 2) laid the foundations for democracy. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1995 | * | (King) (and 16th) Koon is released from the Federal Work Camp in Sheridan, Oregon, to enter a halfway house in California. Powell is released from a Federal Work Camp near Edwards Air Force Base, north of Los Angeles. | Ref: 87 |
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| 1999 | * | The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. | Ref: 70 |
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| 2001 | * | ABC said the infant son of a news producer in NY had developed skin anthrax. | Ref: 70 |
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| 2002 | * | (DC Sniper) Robert Holmes, friend of suspected serial sniper John Allen Muhammed, calls the FBI office in Tacoma, WA, indicating his suspicions regarding the identity of the then-unknown sniper. (USA Today, p 2A, 11/19/2002) | Ref: 13 |
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| 2002 | * | (date given as October, 2002) US officials say North Korea admitted it has a clandestine nuclear program, in breach of a 1994 accord with the US. (WSJ, p A4, 7/22/2003) | Ref: 33 |
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| 2002 | * | ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal pleaded guilty in New York in the biotech company's insider trading scandal. | Ref: 70 |
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| 2003 | * | (Mutual Funds) Bank One says two executives tied to the illegal mutual fund trading probe have left the company. (WSJ, p C1, 10/29/2003) | Ref: 33 |
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| 1641 | * | Paul de Chomedy de Maisonneuve claims Montreal. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1783 | * | Francois Pilatre de Rozier makes the first manned flight in a hot air balloon. The first flight was let out to 82 feet, but over the next few days the altitude increased up to 6,500 feet. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1803 | * | William Clark joins the expedition at Fort Massac, KY. (Time, p 44, 7/08/2002) | |
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| 1924 | * | German ZR-3 flies 5000 miles, the furthest Zeppelin flight to date. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1928 | * | The German dirigible "Graf Zeppelin" lands in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on its first commercial flight across the Atlantic. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1984 | * | Public telephones flew on 20 flights beginning this day for those who had credit cards. Costs: $7.50 for a three-minute call, $1.25 for each additional minute anywhere you wanted to call in the United States. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1985 | * | Shuttle Columbia carries Spacelab into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1989 | * | The official Soviet news agency Tass reported that a spaceship of some kind, complete with a trio of tall aliens, had visited a park in the city of Voronezh. | Ref: 5 |
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| 2003 | * | China launches its first manned spacecraft, Shenzhou IV (Divine Vessel) with taikonaut Yang Liwei. Shenzhou IV completed 14 orbits and lands safely in Mongolia, as planned. China is the third nation to put a man in space. (USA Today, p 13A, 10/16/2003) | Ref: 13 |
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| 1529 | | Ottoman armies under Suleiman end their siege of Vienna and head back to Belgrade. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1863 | * | For the second time, the Confederate submarine H L Hunley sinks during a practice dive in Charleston Harbor, this time drowning its inventor along with seven crew members. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1914 | * | Germans occupy Ostend. Belgian government removed to Havre, France. | Ref: 38 |
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| 1915 | * | Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria. | Ref: 38 |
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| 1916 | * | Germany resumes U-boat attacks under search and destroy rules. | |
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| 1941 | * | Submarine U-558 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Vancouver Island in the North Atlantic. 65 crew members, 8 gunners, and 32 passengers die. | |
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| 1941 | * | Odessa, a Russian port on the Black Sea which has been surrounded by German troops for several weeks, is evacuated by Russian troops. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1943 | * | In Italy, the 1st Canadian Corps takes Vinchiaturo. | |
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| 1944 | * | The German battleship Tirpitz leaves Kaafjord, Norway, heading for a final resting place near Troms”. | |
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| 1965 | * | Anti-Vietnam war demonstrations in U.S. major cities start;draft card burning. | Ref: 10 |
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| 1969 | * | Peace demonstrators staged activities across the country, including a candlelight march around the White House, as part of a moratorium against the Vietnam War. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1520 | * | King Henry VIII of England orders bowling lanes at Whitehall. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1885 | * | Hoss Radbourne pitches his 60th win of the season. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1892 | * | On the last day the season, Cincinnati pitcher Charles 'Bumpus' Jones, in his first major league start , no-hits Pittsburgh. This will turn out to be the latest date in the season that a no hitter is ever pitched in the major league. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1917 | * | The White Sox win the World Series as Eddie Collins scurries home scoring the winning run with Giant third baseman Heinie Zimmerman chasing him. NY left home plate uncovered. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1919 | * | 14 horses begin 300-mile race from Vt to Mass for $1000 prize money. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1919 | * | (Black Sox) Comiskey releases a statement that if anyone knows about the possible fix of the World Series he will pay them $20,000. | Ref: 87 |
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| 1923 | * | The Yankees defeat cross-town rivals New York Giants for their first World Championship. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1925 | * | The Pirates become the first team to win a World Series after being down three games to one as the Bucs beat Washington and Walter Johnson in Game 7, 9-7. Kiki Cuyler's bases-loaded double in the eighth inning proves to be the difference. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1933 | * | Philadelphia Eagles play 1st NFL game, lose to NY Giants 56-0. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1935 | * | NHL's St Louis Eagles fold. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1946 | * | In Game 7, the Cards beat the Red Sox, 4-3 as Enos Slaughter streaked home from first on Harry Walker's single, surprising everyone including cut-off man shortstop Johnny Pesky who hesitated, as legend has it, throwing the ball home. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1964 | * | Despite three Bronx Bombers HRs by Mickey Mantle, Clete Boyer and Phil Linz, Bob Gibson and the 1964 Cardinals hang on to defeat the Yankees, 7-5 to capture the World Championship. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1964 | * | Craig Breedlove sets auto speed record of 846.97 kph. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1964 | * | Ken & Clete Boyer are the 1st brothers to hit homers in same Series game. | |
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| 1965 | * | Dodgers & Sandy Koufax win 7th game of 62nd World Series vs Twins. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1969 | * | Oriole Earl Weaver becomes first manager ejected in a world series (World Series #66). | Ref: 5 |
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| 1970 | * | The Baltimore Orioles overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-3, and win the World Series in five games. It was the first Series on artificial turf and the first at Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati). And it was the Brooks Robinson show. With the Orioles’ third baseman leading the way, the Orioles avenged their World Series loss (to the NY Mets) of a year earlier by getting beating the Reds in five games. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1974 | * | Washington Capitals first NHL tie, playing LA Kings to 1-1 tie. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1977 | * | Arkansas' Steve Little kicks a record tying 67 yard field goal. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1979 | * | The New York Knicks retire Walt Frazier's uniform no. 10. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1979 | * | First Monday night game from NYC, Jets beat Vikings 14-7 (Shea Stad). | Ref: 5 |
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| 1980 | * | The Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Boston Red Sox, 4-1, to chalk up their 67th win of the season, 8 more victories than ever before. | Ref: 86 |
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| 1981 | * | With Dave Righetti, Ron Davis and Goose Gossage combining to shutout Oakland, 4-0, the Yankees sweep the A's to capture their thirty-third AL pennant. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1981 | * | Bobby Cox, former Atlanta Braves Manager (1978-81), is named Toronto Blue Jays Manager for the 1982 season. | Ref: 86 |
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| 1983 | * | Columbia beats Yale 21-18 in football, will lose next 44 games. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1983 | * | Black Hawks & Maple Leafs combine for fastest 5 goals (84 seconds). | Ref: 5 |
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| 1985 | | Shelley Taylor of Australia makes fastest swim ever around Manhattan Island, doing it in 6 hours 12 minutes 29 seconds. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1986 | * | In the longest postseason game played, the Mets clinch their third National League crown ever beating Houston in the sixteen innings at the Astrodome, 7-6. Trailing 3-0, Lenny Dykstra and Ray Knight spark a ninth rally to send the game into extra inning. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1986 | * | After being down three games to one in the ALCS, the Red Sox pull off one the greatest comebacks in playoff history by defeating the CA Angels 8-1 to win the American League pennant. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1987 | * | NFL Players Assn orders an end to the 24 day strike. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1988 | * | Pinch hitting in the ninth with two outs in game one, a limping Kirk Gibson sends a 3-2 pitch from the A's relief ace Dennis Eckersley over the right field fence. It's the first time a World Series game is ever decided on a come-from-behind HR in the final inning. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1988 | * | NCAA record rushing yardage (768 yards-Oklahoma). | Ref: 5 |
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| 1989 | * | Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings surpassed Gordie Howe's NHL scoring record of 1,850 points, in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1995 | * | The Carolina Panthers win the first game in franchise history, 26-15 over the New York Jets. (USA Today, p 3C, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
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| 1996 | * | The Tampa Bay Devil Rays name Jamie Reed as Major League head trainer, the first on-field hire for the 1998 Major League Devil Rays. | Ref: 86 |
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| 1997 | * | Thanks to an an 11th-inning homer by Tony Fernandez, the Indians win their second pennant in three years defeating the Orioles 1-0 to win the AL Championship Series in six games. | Ref: 1 |
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| 1997 | * | British Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green drove (piloted?) the first land-based vehicle, the Thrust Supersonic, (at Black Rock Desert, NV) to break the sound barrier: a two-way average speed of 763.035 mph – mach 1.020. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1997 | * | Major League Baseball approves a resolution creating a 16-team National League and a 14-team American League for the 1998 season. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are placed in the American League Eastern Division with the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. | Ref: 86 |
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| 1998 | * | British land-speed record broken by Richard Brown of 216.55 mph on rocket powered motorcycle. | Ref: 10 |
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| 2001 | * | The Yankees beat the A's 5-3 to win the ALDS. The Bronx Bombers become the first team ever to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home. | Ref: 1 |
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| 2001 | * | In only their fourth year of existence, the Diamondbacks win their post season series beating the Cardinals, 2-1, thanks to Tony Womack's two-out game-winning hit in the deciding fifth game of the NLDS. Arizona had lost their first playoff appearance to the Mets in 1999. | Ref: 1 |
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| 2001 | * | In a classic Game 5 in the ALDS, Cleveland IndianJamie Moyer pitched great over six innings as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Indians, 3-1, thus eliminating the Tribe from the playoffs. | Ref: 86 |
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| 2002 | * | Kirk Gibson signs a three-year deal to become the Tigers' bench coach. The aggressive former outfielder joins the staff of former 1984 teammate of the World Champion Tigers of the newly hired Detroit skipper, Alan Trammell. | Ref: 1 |
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| 2003 | * | In the rape trial of LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant, a detective testifies that another man's semen was found on the accusers underwear. (USA Today, p 1A, 10/16/2003) | Ref: 13 |
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| 2003 | * | Cubs fan Steve Bartman snatches a foul ball hit by Florida Marlins Luis Castillo that appeared was going to drop into the glove of Cubs' outfielder Moises Alou. Instead of an out, Castillo walks and the Florida Marlins go on to score 8 runs that inning, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the NLCS and beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-6, after trailing 5-3 in the fifth inning. (WSJ, p A1, 10/16/2003) | Ref: 33 |
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| 1581 | * | First ballet de cour at Catherine de' Medici's court in France entitled "Le Ballet comique de la Reine." | Ref: 10 |
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| 1764 | | In Rome, Edward Gibbon sits amidst Capitol ruins and gets idea to write his "Decline and Fall…” | Ref: 10 |
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| 1881 | | First American fishing magazine, American Angler published. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1901 | | The first fishing magazine in the United States was published in that mecca of fine fishing -- Philadelphia, PA. The magazine was called American Angler. Go fish! | Ref: 4 |
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| 1905 | * | President Grover Cleveland wrote an article for Ladies Home Journal, joining others in the U.S. who opposed women voters. The president said, “We all know how much further women go than men in their social rivalries and jealousies... sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.” | Ref: 4 |
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| 1914 | * | ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers) founded. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1931 | * | The production of The Cat and the Fiddle opened in NY. It played for 395 performances. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1932 | * | The War Memorial Opera House became the first municipally-owned opera palace -- in San Francisco, CA. Tosca was the first opera presented. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1937 | * | Ernest Hemingway novel "To Have & Have Not" is published. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1946 | * | The Eugene O'Neill drama "The Iceman Cometh" opened at the Martin Beck Theater in NY. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1951 | * | "I Love Lucy" debuts on CBS TV. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1953 | * | The Pulitzer-prize winning "Teahouse of the August Moon" opens on Broadway to begin a long and successful run (1,027 performances). | Ref: 4 |
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| 1959 | * | Van Johnson was originally slated to play Eliot Ness, but he backed out in a dispute over money the weekend before filming was to begin. Robert Stack was hastily recruited for the starring role in The Untouchables on a Sunday morning. He was fitted for costumes in the afternoon, and started filming the first episode, The Empty Chair, on Monday morning. The Untouchables, with the chatter of machine-gun fire and the squeal of tires on the streets of Chicago, began a four-year run this day on ABC-TV. With Stack, as G-man Ness, were Nick Georgiade (as Enrico Rossi), Jerry Paris (as Martin Flaherty), Abel Fernandez (as William Youngfellow), Anthony George (as Cam Allison), Paul Percerni (as Lee Hobson), Steve London (as Agent Rossman) and Bruce Gordon (as Frank Nitti). The unforgettable narrator was radio’s famous Walter Winchell. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1969 | * | Madison Square Garden TV Network begins (Rangers vs North Stars). | Ref: 5 |
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| 1971 | * | Rick Nelson was booed off the stage when he didn’t stick to all oldies at the seventh Annual Rock ’n’ Roll Revival show at Madison Square Garden, NY. He tried to slip in some of his new material and the crowd did not approve. The negative reaction to his performance inspired Nelson to write his last top-40 hit, Garden Party, which hit the top-ten about a year after the Madison Square Garden debacle. Garden Party, ironically, was Nelson’s biggest hit in years, “...If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck; But if memories were all I sang, I rather drive a truck.” | Ref: 4 |
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| 1973 | * | “From those of us working the late shift in Southern CA, sweet dreams.” Tom Snyder would use this phrase to close his late-night show, Tomorrow, which debuted on NBC-TV this night. Tom would yuk it up with some of TV’s most interesting chatter -- right after the Tonight show. NBC would later add critic Rona Barrett to the show. Tomorrow ran until January of 1982. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1976 | * | Ringo releases "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll". | Ref: 5 |
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| 1977 | * | Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life," goes #1 & stays #1 for 10 weeks. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1988 | * | Red Red Wine, by UB40, was the first reggae hit to make it to number one in the U.S. From the album Labour of Love, Red Red Wine was #1 for only one week, but turned out to be UB40’s signature song. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1988 | * | Amnesty International's Global Concert Tour ends in Buenos Aires. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1989 | * | Billy Graham is given the 1,900th star on Hollywood Blvd. | Ref: 5 |
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| -70 | * | -BC- Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) Mantua, Italy (’neid), poet, is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1542 | * | Akbar Indian Mughal emperor (1556-1605), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1608 | * | Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist and mathematician, is born. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1674 | * | Robert Herrick Mass, British poet (Together), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1686 | * | Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet, is born. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1784 | * | Birth of Thomas Hastings, American sacred composer. Hastings was an albino afflicted with extreme nearsightedness, yet from his pen came such enduring hymn tunes as TOPLADY ("Rock of Ages") and ORTONVILLE ("Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned"). | Ref: 5 |
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| 1785 | * | Jose Miguel Carrera, president of Chile (1811-14), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1829 | * | Asaph Hall, discoverer of Mars satellites Phobos and Deimos, is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1831 | * | Helen Maria Hunt Jackson author (Ramona), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1836 | * | James Tissot, French artist, is born. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1838 | * | Letitia Landon, English poet and novelist, is born. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1844 | * | Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and writer, is born. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1858 | * | John L. Sullivan International Boxing Hall of Famer: World Heavyweight champion [1881-1889], Marquis of Queensbury Champion [1885-1892]; last bareknuckle championship fight [75 rounds in 1889]; is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1872 | * | Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, American first lady (1911-1919), is born. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1880 | * | Marie C. C. Stopes, Scottish scientist and advocate of birth control, is born. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1881 | * | P.G. Wodehouse British-American writer (Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1888 | * | S.S. VanDine, American critic, editor and author of popular detective novels, is born | Ref: 70 |
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| 1892 | | Ina Claire is born. | Ref: 10 |
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| 1896 | * | Melville Cooper Birmingham England, TV panelist (I Got a Secret), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1900 | * | Fritz Feld actor (Jack Benny Show, At the Circus), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1900 | * | Mervyn LeRoy, American film director (Devil at 4 O'Clock), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1902 | * | William Edmundson Spokane Wash, vocalist (Southernaires), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1903 | * | Mule (George William) Haas baseball: Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Athletics [World Series: 1929-1931], Chicago White Sox; is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1904 | * | Marty Mann social activist: first woman to stay sober in Alcoholics Anonymous [AA], founded National Committee for Education on Alcoholism; author: A New Primer on Alcoholism; died in 1980 | Ref: 4 |
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| 1905 | * | C P Snow England, novelist/scientist (Death Under Sail), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1907 | * | John Cardinal Dearden US cardinal (1969-88), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1908 | * | John Kenneth Galbraith writer (Affluent Society-1958 Hillman Award), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1909 | * | Robert Trout Wake County NC, newscaster (ABC), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1910 | * | Torbjorn Oskar Caspersson, Swedish cytologist and geneticist, is born. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1913 | * | David Carroll musician, conductor, arranger: Melody of Love, It’s Almost Tomorrow; record producer for The Diamonds, The Platters, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1917 | * | Arthur Schlesinger Jr historian/author (1946 Pulitzer-Age of Jackson), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1917 | * | Jan Miner Boston Mass, actress (Crime Photographer), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1920 | * | Chris Economaki (auto sports writer, broadcaster: ABC Sports) is born. | Ref: 3 |
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| 1920 | * | Mario Puzo, novelist and screenwriter best known for The Godfather, is born. | Ref: 68 |
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| 1923 | * | Italo Calvino, Italian novelist, is born. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1924 | * | Lee (Lido) Iacocca mechanical engineer, automobile executive: chairperson of Chrysler Corporation, president of Ford Motor Company; >author: Iacocca; chairperson: centennial rehabilitation of Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island foundation, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1924 | * | José Quintero director: Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, Medea; is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1924 | * | Colin Romoff NYC, orch leader (Andy Williams Show), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1925 | * | Mickey (McHouston) Baker musician: guitar, singer: duo: Mickey & Sylvia: Love is Strange, There Oughta Be a Law, Baby You’re So Fine; solo: session player: Losing Hand, [Mama] He treats Your Daughter Mean, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1926 | * | Evan Hunter [Ed McBain], American writer (Blackboard Jungle), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1926 | * | Jean Peters actress (Viva Zapata!, Apache, Deep Waters), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1930 | * | Phillipe Leroy Paris France, actor (Night Porter, Leonardo da Vinci), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1932 | * | Abby Dalton Las Vegas, actress (Ellie-Joey Bishop Show, Falcon Crest), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1934 | * | Peter Haskell Boston Mass, actor (Bracken's World, Rituals), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1935 | * | Bobby-Joe Morrow US, 100m/200m dash (Olympic-gold-1956), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1937 | * | Barry McGuire Oklahoma City, singer (Eve of Destruction), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1937 | * | Linda Lavin, Portland ME, actress (Alice, Barney Miller), is born. (Also TWA, 1986) | Ref: 5 |
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| 1938 | * | Marv Johnson singer: You Got What it Takes, I Love the Way You Love, Come to Me, I Miss You Baby [How I Miss You]; in film: The Teenage Millionaire [1962]; is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1939 | * | Carmelo Bossi Italy, light middleweight boxer (Olympic-silver-1960), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1940 | * | Rock musician-songwriter John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1942 | * | Actress, director Penny (Carole) Marshall (of Laverne and Shirley) is born in Bronx NY. | Ref: 3 |
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| 1942 | * | Dick Lotz golf: PGA Tour [1969]; champ: [Kemper Open: 1970], is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1942 | * | Don Stevenson musician: drums, singer: group: Moby Grape, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1945 | * | Jim (James Alvin), NYC, Oriole pitcher/sportscaster/jockey underwear salesman, is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1945 | | Richard Carpenter is born. | Ref: 10 |
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| 1946 | * | Richard Carpenter New Haven Ct, vocalist (Carpenters-Close to You), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1946 | * | Victor Banerjee actor: Bitter Moon, Foreign Body, The Home and the World, A Passage to India, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1946 | * | Jim Beirne football: Purdue [All-American: 1966], Houston Oilers, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1948 | * | Chris De Burgh (Christopher John Davidson) singer, songwriter: The Lady in Red, A Spaceman Came Travelling, Ship to Shore, Don’t Pay the Ferryman, High on Emotion, The Ecstacy of Flight [I Love the Night], Transmission Ends, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1951 | * | Roscoe Tanner tennis player (Wimbledon Finals 1979), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1953 | * | Tito Jackson singer (Jackson 5-ABC, Never Can Say Goodbye), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1954 | * | Tanya Roberts (Leigh) actress: Charlie’s Angels, Deep Down, Sins of Desire, Body Slam, A View to a Kill, Tourist Trap, California Dreaming, Forced Entry, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1955 | * | Tanya Roberts [Leigh], Bronx NY, actress (Charlie's Angels, Sheena), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1958 | * | Jayne Modean Hartford Ct, actress (Nurse Hooter-Trauma Center), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1959 | * | Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York: ‘Fergie’, is born. | Ref: 3 |
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| 1959 | * | Emeril Lagasse celebrity chef, TV host, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1965 | * | Trace Armstrong football: Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, is born. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1966 | * | Jeffrey Jacquet Bay City TX, actor (Mork & Mindy, Whiz Kids), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1991 | * | Owen Joseph Kline son of Phoebe Cates & Kevin Kline, is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1389 | * | Pope Urban VI dies. | Ref: 69 |
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| 1564 | * | Andreas Vesalius anatomist, dies at 49. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1605 | * | Akbar the Great, Muslim emporer of Northern India, dies in Agra, India. | Ref: 68 |
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| 1655 | * | Jews of Lublin are massacred. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1770 | * | -Governor Botetourt of Virginia dies. William Nelson of Yorktown, president of the Council, acted as governor until Dunmore is appointed. | |
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| 1779 | * | Shawnee Chief Black Fish is allegedly killed in a raid on his village by Colonel John Bowman. (Ref 61 gives the date of the Bowman raid as May 29th, 1779 and Blackfish's death six weeks later, in mid-July). | Ref: 57 |
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| 1789 | * | John Morgan American physician-in-chief of Continental Army, dies. | Ref: 17 |
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| 1838 | * | Letitia Elizabeth Landon, English poet/novelist/socialite, dies at age 36. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1852 | * | Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, German known as the "father of gymnastics", dies at age 74. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1880 | * | Victorio, feared leader of the Minbreno Apache, is killed by Mexican troops in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1889 | * | Sir Daniel Gooch laid first successful transatlantic cables, dies at age 73. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1892 | * | An attempt to rob two banks in Coffeyville, Kan., ends in disaster for the Dalton gang as four of the five outlaws are killed and Emmet Dalton is seriously wounded. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1898 | * | A Magisterial inquiry is held into the drowning death of the sister of of Australian bushranger and folk hero Edward "Ned" Kelly, no new light is thrown as to how and why it happened. According to the death certificate, there was no evidence. Ref | |
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| 1910 | * | Stanley "Midnight Assassin" Ketchel HW boxing champ, shot & killed. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1910 | * | Larkin Goldsmith Mead, American sculptor, dies. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1917 | * | Mata Hari (Gertrud Margarete Zelle), 41, a Paris dancer, courtesan, double agent: German spy: Agent H-21; executed by firing squad by the French near Paris. | Ref: 68 |
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| 1930 | * | Herbert H. Dow, American founder of Dow Chemical Co., dies at age 64. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1945 | * | Vichy French Premier Pierre Laval is executed by a firing squad for his wartime collaboration with the Germans. | Ref: 2 |
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| 1958 | * | Actor Jack Hamilton (Perry White on the original Superman TV show) dies at 61. | Ref: 24 |
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| 1964 | * | Lyricist Cole Porter dies at age 73. | Ref: 68 |
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| 1965 | * | Carl Hoff orch leader (Music Hall), dies at 60. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1968 | * | Bea Benaderet NYC, actress (Kate-Petticoat Junction), dies at 62. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1976 | * | Carlo Gambino, Italian-born American organized crime leader, dies at age 74. | Ref: 70 |
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| 1980 | * | Robert ‘Squirrel’ Lester singer: groups: The Moonglows, The Flamingos, The Chi-Lites; dies. | Ref: 4 |
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| 1981 | * | Frank DeKova actor (Chief Wild Eagle-F Troop), is born. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1983 | * | Pat (William Joseph Patrick) O'Brien, actor: Knute Rockne, All American, Ragtime, Fighting Father Dunne, Some like It Hot, Harrigan and Son, dies at age 83. | Ref: 68 |
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| 1983 | * | US Marine sharpshooters kill 5 snipers at Beirut Intl Airport. | Ref: 5 |
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| 1986 | * | Jacqueline Picasso, wife of the painter, found dead of gunshot wound. Suicide was the cause | Ref: 62 |
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| 1990 | * | The first swarm of killer bees to be found in the US was destroyed in Texas | Ref: 62 |
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| 2003 | * | Ten are killed and 34 injured as a New York Ferry smashes into a pier in the worst mass transit accident in New York since 1918. (USA Today, p 1A, 10/16/2003) | Ref: 13 |
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