- Oct 1 Les Scheinflug, Australian soccer midfielder, coach (Marconi; Australia; 6 caps), born in Bückeburg, Germany
- Oct 2 Lloyd Turner, journalist (Daily Express), born in Australia (d. 1996)
- Oct 2 Rex Reed, American movie critic and actor (Myra Breckinridge), born in Fort Worth, Texas
- Oct 2 Waheed Murad, Pakistani film actor and director (Armaan), born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan (d. 1983)
- Oct 3 Alessandro Mazzinghi, Italian boxer (WBA and WBC light-middleweight champion 1963–65, 68), born in Pontedera, Italy (d. 2020)
- Oct 3 Dave Obey, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin), born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma
- Oct 3 Eddie Cochran, American rock vocalist and guitarist ("Summertime Blues"; "C'Mon Everybody"), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 1960)
- Oct 3 Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Peruvian economist and 66th President of Peru (2016-present), born in Lima, Peru
- Oct 3 Tereza Kesovija, Croatian popular music singer, born in Dubrovnik, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Croatia)
- Oct 4 Kurt Wüthrich, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate
- Oct 5 Carlo Mastrangelo, Italian-American rock vocalist (Dion & The Belmonts; Pulse), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2016)
- Oct 5 Teresa Heinz Kerry, American philanthropist (wife of John Kerry), born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese East Africa
- Oct 6 Serge Nubret, French bodybuilder
Ann Haydon-Jones (84 years old)
Oct 7 British tennis player (Wimbledon 1969, French Open 1961, 66), born in Birmingham, England
- Oct 7 Carlos Contreras, Chilean soccer defender (30 caps; Universidad de Chile), born in Santiago, Chile (d. 2020)
- Oct 8 David Willis, British journalist (BBC World Service) (d. 1993)
- Oct 8 Fred Stolle, Australian tennis player, broadcaster (French C'ship 1965, US Nat C'ship 1966), born in Sydney, Australia
- Oct 8 Penny Pitou, American skier (Olympic-2 silvers-1960), born in Bayside, New York
- Oct 8 Walter Gretzky, father of Wayne Gretzky, born in Canning, Ontario, Canada
- Oct 9 Heinz Fischer, Austrian politician (11th President of Austria), born in Graz, Austria
- Oct 9 Olga Szabó-Orbán, Romanian fencer (World C'ship gold women's foil individual 1962, team 1969; Olympic silver individual 1956, bronze team 1968, 72), born in Cluj, Romania (d. 2022)
- Oct 10 Daidō Moriyama, Japanese photographer, born in Ikeda, Osaka
- Oct 10 Gloria Coates, American post-minimalist composer, born in Wausau, Wisconsin
- Oct 10 Marcus Jan Adriani, biologist and director (Weevers' Duin) (d. 1995)
- Oct 10 Toby Roth, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin), born in Strasburg, North Dakota
- Oct 12 Andrzej Pogorzelski, Polish motorcycle speedway rider (Speedway World Team Cup gold 1965, 66, 69), born in Leszno, Poland (d. 2020)
- Oct 12 Bob Miller, American NHL broadcaster, born in Chicago, Illinois
- Oct 13 Enzo Dara, Italian operatic basso buffo (The Barber of Seville - "Don Bartolo"), and author, born in Mantua, Kingdom of Italy (d. 2017)
- Oct 13 Hugo Young, British journalist (The Guardian), born in Sheffield, England (d. 2003)
- Oct 13 Jim McMullan, American actor (Dr McDaniel-Ben Casey), born in Long Island, New York
- Oct 13 Mahboob Shah, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani Test umpire on intl panel), born in Delhi, India
- Oct 14 Farah Pahlavi, Queen consort of Iran (1959-61), born in Tehran, Iran
- Oct 14 John Dean, American attorney and former White House counsel (Watergate figure), born in Akron, Ohio
- Oct 15 Betty Farmer, American jazz and cabaret singer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2001)
- Oct 15 Fela Kuti, Nigerian Afrobeat musician and composer, born in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria (d. 1997)
- Oct 15 Marv Johnson, American R&B pianist, songwriter, and singer ("You Got What It Takes"; "(You've Got To) Move Two Mountains"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1993)
- Oct 15 Rafael Aponte-Ledeé, Puerto Rican composer, born in Guayama, Puerto Rico
- Oct 16 Carl Gunter Jr, Louisiana State Representative (d. 1999)
- Oct 16 Nico [Christa Päffgen], German singer-songwriter (Velvet Underground), fashion model, and actress, born in Cologne, Germany (d. 1988)
Evel Knievel (1938-2007)
Oct 17 American motorcycle daredevil (Snake River Canyon), born in Butte, Montana
Dawn Wells (1938-2020)
Oct 18 American actress (Gilligan's Island -"Mary Ann"), born in Reno, Nevada [1]
- Oct 18 Ronnie Bright, American doo-wop bass vocalist (Johnny Cymbal's "Mr. Bass Man"; The Coasters, 1968-2009), born in New York City (d. 2015)
- Oct 19 Ton Regtien, Dutch student leader
- Oct 20 Iain Macmillan, Scottish Abbey Road photographer, born in Carnoustie, Scotland (d. 2006)
- Oct 22 Christopher Lloyd, American Emmy Award-winning actor (Taxi - "Reverend Jim"; Back to the Future films), born in Stamford, Connecticut
- Oct 22 Derek Jacobi, British Tony, BAFTA, and Tony Award-winning stage and screen actor and director (I, Claudius; Much Ado About Nothing; Dead Again), born in London, England
- Oct 23 John Heinz, American businessman and Republican politician (Senator from Pennsylvania, 1977-1991), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1991)
- Oct 23 Jordan Christopher, American actor (Secrets of Midland Heights), born in Youngstown, Ohio
- Oct 24 Fred E. Finn, American pianist (Mickie Finn's), born in San Francisco, California
- Oct 25 Robert Webster, American diver (Olympic gold 1960, 64), born in Berkeley, California
- Oct 26 Bernadette Lafont, French actress (Perils of Gwendoline), born in Nimes, France (d. 2013)
- Oct 26 Charles Stenholm, American politician (Rep-D-Texas, 1979-2005), born in Stamford, Texas
- Oct 27 Elliot del Borgo, American music educator (SUNY/Crane School of Music, 1966-95) and composer (1980 Winter Olympics), born in Port Chester, New York (d. 2013)
- Oct 27 Maurice Hinchey, American politician (Rep-D-New York), born in NYC, New York
- Oct 28 Anne Perry [Juliet Marion Hulme], English-born novelist, born in London, England
- Oct 28 David Dimbleby, English TV presenter and political commentator, born in Surrey, England
- Oct 28 Peter Carlstein, South African cricketer (South African Test batsman 1958-64), born in Klerksdorp, South Africa
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (84 years old)
Oct 29 President of Liberia (2006-2018) and the first elected female head of state in Africa, born in Monrovia, Liberia
- Oct 29 Peter Stampfel, American musician and songwriter (The Holy Modal Rounders), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Oct 29 Ralph Bakshi, Krymchak-American animator and film maker (Fritz the Cat; Lord of the Rings (1978); Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures), born in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine
- Oct 29 Wilbert McClure, American boxer (Olympic gold light middleweight 1960), born in Toledo, Ohio (d. 2020)
- Oct 30 Ed Lauter, American actor (The Artist, The Number 23), born in Long Beach, New York (d. 2013)
About October 1938
How Old? 84 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No