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.
Event of Interest
Oct 4 Abraham Lincoln made his 1st political speech at Illinois State Fair
Abraham Lincoln
- 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
Event of Interest
Oct 21 Florence Nightingale with a staff of 38 nurses is sent to the Crimean War
Florence Nightingale
- 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
Read the Article >>
- 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)
Oscar Wilde
Arthur Rimbaud
Oct 20 Arthur Rimbaud, French poet and adventurer (Illuminations), born in Charleville, France (d. 1891)
Arthur Rimbaud
- 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)
