Historical Events
- Oct 1 The watch company founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison relocates to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American System of Watch Manufacturing.
Historic Event
Oct 4 Abraham Lincoln makes his 1st political speech at Illinois State Fair
- Oct 6 The Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead started shortly after midnight, leading to 53 deaths and hundreds injured.
- Oct 9 The siege of Sevastopol begins during the Crimean War
- Oct 10 US Assay Office in NYC, New York opens
- Oct 12 Lincoln University founded in Pennsylvania as Ashmun Institute
- Oct 17 French and British forces bombard Sevastopol for the first time during the Crimean War
Historic Event
Oct 21 Florence Nightingale with a staff of 38 nurses is sent to the Crimean War
- Oct 23 English newspaper "The Times" gives precise British positions in Crimea during Crimean War
The Charge of the Light Brigade, a Brave and Foolish Tale
Oct 25 The infamous "Charge of the Light Brigade" during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War results in over 100 killed
- Oct 25 Prince Menshikov of Crimea occupies British base at Balaclava
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 2 Patrick Geddes, Scottish biologist and town planner who coined the term conurbation, born in Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (d. 1932)
- Oct 3 William Crawford Gorgas, American physician and 22nd Surgeon-General of the U.S. Army (help cure yellow fever), born in Toulminville, Alabama (d. 1920)
- Oct 7 Christiaan R de Wet, South African rebel leader, politician and general in the Boer War
- Oct 10 Gerónimo Giménez, Spanish composer, born in Seville, Spain (d. 1923)
- Oct 16 Karl J Kautsky, Austrian marxist/socialist
Oscar Wilde
Oct 16 Oscar Wilde [Fingal O'Flahertie Wills], (The Picture of Dorian Gray), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1900)
- Oct 18 Billy Murdoch, Australian cricket batsman (18 Tests Australia, 1 England; 2 x 100s; NSW, Sussex CCC, London CCC), born in Bendigo, Australia (d. 1911)
- Oct 18 Salomon August Andrée, Swedish engineer, balloonist and polar explorer, born in Gränna, Sweden (d. 1897)
- Oct 18 Charles Scribner II, American magazine and book publisher, born in New York City (d. 1930)
- Oct 20 Alphonse Allais, French author/humorist (Pass the Bile)
Arthur Rimbaud
Oct 20 Arthur Rimbaud, French poet and adventurer (Illuminations), born in Charleville, France (d. 1891)
- Oct 24 Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (Heterogenen Gleichgewichte), born in Alkmaar, Netherlands (d. 1907)
- Oct 26 August Kiehl, Dutch actor (Op hoop van zegen, De kribbebijter), born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 1938)
- Oct 26 C. W. Post, American manufacturer of breakfast cereals, born in Springfield, Illinois (d. 1914)
- Oct 27 Sir William Alexander Smith, Scottish founder of the Boys' Brigade, born in Pennyland House, Thurso, Scotland (d. 1914)
- Oct 31 Adolf Erman, German Egyptologist (Grammar of Ancient Egypt), born in Berlin (d. 1937)
