Historical Events
- Oct 21 Jacques Offenbach's operetta " Orpheus in the Underworld" (Orphée aux Enfers) premieres in Paris, includes "Infernal Galop" (can-can tune)
- Oct 26 Hamilton Smith patents rotary washing machine in Pittsburgh
- Oct 28 R. H. Macy & Co opens 1st store, (6th Ave-NYC) Gross receipts $11.06
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 5 Henry von Battenberg, German son-in-law of Queen Victoria, born in Milan, Lombardy–Venetia (d. 1896)'
- Oct 9 Gerard Philips, Dutch industrialist and manufacturer (Philips), born in Zaltbommel, Netherlands (d. 1942)
- Oct 9 Mihajlo "Micheal" Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and telephone pioneer, born in Idvor, Military Frontier of Austria (now Kovačica, Serbia) (d. 1935)
- Oct 15 Frank Valentine der Stucken, American-Belgian composer, born in Fredericksburg, Texas (d. 1929)
John L. Sullivan
Oct 15 John L. Sullivan, American boxer (first heavyweight gloved champion, de facto 1882-92; last heavyweight bare-knuckle champion), born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (d. 1918)
Theodore Roosevelt
Oct 27 Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (R: 1901-09; Nobel 1906), born in NYC, New York (d. 1919)