Historical Events
Sports History
Oct 5 Catcher Yogi Berra becomes 4th NY Yankee to hit a Baseball World Series grand slam in Game 2 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn; Dodgers win, 13-8 but lose series, 4-3
Music History
Oct 6 Dmitri Shostakovich's 6th Iron quartet premieres in Leningrad
Polio
Oct 6 Scientist Albert Sabin announces that his oral polio vaccine is ready for testing; it would soon supplant Jonas Salk's vaccine in many parts of the world
- Oct 8 Yankees pitcher Don Larsen throws a perfect game as New York beats Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0 in Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium
- Oct 9 10th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC: All-Stars tie Montreal Canadiens, 1-1
- Oct 9 Ernest Hemingway visits fellow writer Pío Baroja at his hospital bed shortly before the Spaniard's death
- Oct 10 Fazal Mahmood takes 13-114 for match v Australia in Karachi
- Oct 10 Baseball World Series: Behind Yogi Berra's 2 HRs, NY Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 9-0 in Game 7 at Ebbets Field; MVP: Yankees pitcher Don Larsen
Film Premiere
Oct 10 "Giant", directed by George Stevens, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean in his last role, premieres in NYC
- Oct 11 1st Pakistan v Australia Test 95 runs scored on 1st day
- Oct 11 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga, Australia
- Oct 11 AL President Will Harridge bars Washington Senators move to West Coast, unless unanimously approved by the other AL owners
- Oct 12 Marga Klompé becomes first Dutch women elected minister
- Oct 13 WAGM TV channel 8 in Presque Isle, ME (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins
- Oct 14 Charles Ives' overture "Robert Browning" premieres in NYC
Historic Event
Oct 14 Indian social reformer B.R. Ambedkar and 500,000 supporters convert to Buddhism in Nagpur
- Oct 15 Pyotr Bolotnikov runs world record 10k (28:42.8)
- Oct 15 William J. Brennan, Jr. is appointed to US Supreme Court
- Oct 15 First plane to land safely on water - Pan Am Flight 6 San Francisco to Honolulu, all 24 passengers and 7 crew survive
- Oct 17 England's 1st large scale nuclear power station opens
- Oct 17 Pakistan defeat Australia by nine wickets at 1st attempt
Film Premiere
Oct 17 "Around the World in 80 Days", based on the book by Jules Verne, directed by Michael Anderson and starring David Nivon and Cantinflas, premieres in New York
Sports History
Oct 17 Chess "Game of the Century": 13-year-old Bobby Fischer defeats 1953 U.S. Champion Donald Byrne in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City
- Oct 20 58°F (15°C), Esperanza Station, Antarctica (then Antarctic record high)
- Oct 20 Hannes Lindemann begins journey across Atlantic in a 17' craft
- Oct 22 France intercept Moroccan plane, arrest Ben Bella
- Oct 22 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga Australia
- Oct 22 A concrete girder weighing 200 tons kills 48 in Karachi, Pakistan.
- Oct 23 First video recording on magnetic tape televised coast-to-coast
- Oct 23 Thousands of Hungarians protest against the government and Soviet occupation. (The Hungarian Revolution is crushed on November 4).
- Oct 24 AP names Cin manager Birdie Tebbets as NL Manager of the Year
- Oct 24 Soviet troops invade Hungary, Imre Nagy becomes Prime Minister of Hungary
- Oct 24 Margaret Towner becomes first woman to be ordained into the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA)
- Oct 25 White Sox manager Marty Marion resigns and is replaced by Al López
- Oct 26 UN's International Atomic Energy Agency statute approved
- Oct 26 Vietnam promulgates its constitution
Film & TV History
Oct 29 NBC anchors Chet Huntley and David Brinkley first team up in "The Huntley–Brinkley Report"
Music History
Oct 29 Greek-American soprano Maria Callas makes her Metropolitan Opera debut, in the title role of Bellini's "Norma"
- Oct 30 Israel captures Egyptian military post at El-Thamad
- Oct 30 Dodgers sell Ebbets Field to a real estate group. They agree to stay until 1959, with an option to stay until 1961
- Oct 31 Rear Adm GJ Dufek becomes 1st American to land an airplane at South Pole
- Oct 31 Britain and France join Israeli forces in Egypt and begin to bomb Egypt to reopen Suez Canal
- Oct 31 Brooklyn, NY ends streetcar service
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Leslie Burr-Howard, American equestrian rider (Olympic gold show jumping, team 1984), born in Union, New Jersey
Theresa May
Oct 1 Theresa May, British Prime Minister (Conservative: 2016-19), born in Eastbourne, England
- Oct 1 Gina Haspel, American intelligence officer, First female director of the US CIA, born in Ashland, Kentucky
- Oct 2 Freddie Jackson, American R&B singer and songwriter ("Rock Me Tonight"), born in Harlem, New York
- Oct 2 Murphy Morobe, South Afr UDF leader (spent 3 yrs in Robbeneiland Jail)
- Oct 3 Hart Bochner, actor (Aron-East of Eden, Supergirl, Die Hard), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Oct 3 Peter Frechette, American actor (Paint it Black, George-Profiler), born in Warwick, Rhode Island
- Oct 4 Hans van Breukelen, Dutch soccer goalkeeper (73 caps; PSV Eindhoven; technical director KNVB), born in Utrecht, Netherlands
Sherri Turner
Oct 4 Sherri Turner, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1988), born in Greenville, South Carolina
- Oct 4 Christoph Waltz, German Austrian actor (Django Unchained), born in Vienna, Austria
- Oct 6 Kathleen Webb, American comic book writer and artist
- Oct 6 Michael Shipley, Australian audio engineer, and record producer of rock and country music, born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2013)
- Oct 7 James Van Patten, American actor (Bo-Chisholms), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Oct 7 Mike Shipley, Australian audio engineer (Paper Airplane), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2013)
- Oct 7 Brian Sutter, Canadian NHL left wing, 1976-88 (St. Louis Blues), and coach, 1988-2004 (St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, and 2 other teams), born in Viking, Alberta
- Oct 8 Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress (Remington Steele; Centennial), born in NYC, New York
- Oct 8 Scott Michael Pellaton, American barefoot water ski champ, born in Brentwood, California
- Oct 8 Janice Voss, American astronaut (shuttle radar topography mission), born in South Bend, Indiana (d. 2012)
- Oct 8 Larry Crane, American rock guitarist (John Mellencamp band), born in Seymour, Indiana
- Oct 8 Danny Jacob, American session and touring guitarist (Bette Midler), and cartoon music composer (Phineas and Ferb), born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 10 Mark Gordon, American film producer (Saving Private Ryan), born in Newport News, Virginia
- Oct 11 Nicanor Frutos, 47th President of Paraguay (2003-08), born in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay
- Oct 12 David Vanian, British singer (The Damned - "Eloise"), born in Hemel Hempstead, England
- Oct 13 Anura Ranasinghe, Sri Lankan cricketer (Sri Lankan batsman in 3 Tests 1982), born in Kalatura, Sri Lanka
- Oct 13 Chris Carter, American television producer (The X-Files), born in Bellflower, California
Beth Daniel
Oct 14 Beth Daniel, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1990), born in Charleston, South Carolina
- Oct 15 Chris Lacklison,, British pop keyboardist (Kenny - "Fancy Pants"; "Julie Anne"), born in London, England
- Oct 16 Melissa Belote, American 100m/200m swimmer (Olympics 3 gold-1972), born in Washington, D.C.
- Oct 16 James H Newman, Trust Territory of Pacific, PhD/Astronaut (STS 51, 69)
- Oct 16 Johnny Chavis, American football coach
- Oct 16 Marin Alsop, American conductor and 1st woman to head a major American orchestra (Baltimore Symphony, 2007-2021; Vienna RSO, 2019-present), born in NYC, New York
- Oct 16 Roger Phegley, American NBA basketball player, 1977-84 (Washington Bullets, San Antonio Spurs, and 3 other teams), born in East Peoria, Illinois
Mae Jemison
Oct 17 Mae Jemison, 1st African American woman in space (STS 47), born in Decatur, Alabama
- Oct 17 Robin LO Linschoten, Dutch ass. secretary of Social Affairs (VVD)
Martina Navratilova
Oct 18 Martina Navratilova, Czech/American tennis player (18 Grand Slam singles titles), born in Prague, Czech Republic
- Oct 18 Craig Bartlett, American animator (Hey Arnold!, Dinosaur Train, Ready Jet Go!), born in Seattle, Washington
- Oct 18 Jim Talent, Des Peres, Missouri, American politician (Rep-R-Missouri)
- Oct 19 Bruce Weber, American Basketball Coach, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Oct 19 Sunny Deol, Indian actor
- Oct 19 Didier Theys, Belgian racing driver
Danny Boyle
Oct 20 Danny Boyle, English film director (Trainspotting; Slumdog Millionaire), born in Manchester, England
Carrie Fisher
Oct 21 Carrie Fisher, American actress (Princess Leia in Star Wars, When Harry Met Sally...) and writer (Postcards from the Edge), born in Beverly Hills, California (d. 2016)
- Oct 23 Betsy Nagelsen, American tennis player, born in St Petersburg, Florida
- Oct 23 Darrell Pace, American archer (Olympic 2 gold/silver-1976, 84, 88), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Oct 23 Dwight Yoakam, American country singer-songwriter ("Honky Tonk Man"), born in Pikeville, Kentucky
- Oct 24 Dale Maharidge, American author (And Their Children After Them), born in Ohio
- Oct 25 Matthias Jabs, German rock guitarist (Scorpions - "Wind of Change"), born in Hannover, Germany
- Oct 25 Danny Gans, American entertainer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2009)
- Oct 26 Stephen Gumley, Australian businessman (1st CEO of Australian Defence Materiel Organisation)
- Oct 26 Rita Wilson, American actress, singer, and film producer, born in Los Angeles, California
- Oct 26 Regina Benjamin, 18th US Surgeon General (2009-13), born in Mobile, Alabama
- Oct 26 Mike LeDonne, American jazz Hammond organist, pianist, and composer (Benny Golson; The Groover Quartet), born in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Patty Sheehan
Oct 27 Patty Sheehan, American golfer (6 LPGA major titles; US Open 1992, 94), born in Middlebury, Vermont
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Oct 28 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran (2005-13), born in Aradan, Iran
- Oct 28 Dave Wyndorf, American rock singer (Monster Magnet), born in Red Bank, New Jersey
- Oct 29 Wilfredo Gómez, Puerto Rican boxer, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Oct 30 Juliet Stevenson, English actress (Secret Rapture, Life Story), born in Kelvedon, Essex, England
- Oct 30 Leslie Webb, equestrian dressage (Olympics 1996)
- Oct 30 Tim Roemer, American politician (Rep-D-Indiana), born in South Bend, Indiana
- Oct 31 Charles Moore, British editor-in-chief (Sunday Telegraph), born in Hastings, Sussex, England
- Oct 31 Anders Lago, Swedish Social Democratic politician, born in Jönköping, Sweden
Famous Weddings
- Oct 6 South African politician "Kobie" Coetsee marries Helena E Malan
Ken Rosewall
Oct 6 Tennis player champ Ken Rosewall (21) weds Wilma McIver at St John's Church of England Cathedral in Brisbane, Australia
Roger Maris
Oct 13 MLB player Roger Maris (22) weds high school sweetheart Pat Carvell at St. Anthony Padua Church
Famous Deaths
- Oct 1 Stan Ockers, Belgian road cyclist (World road champion 1955; Tour de France runner-up 1950, 52), dies in track cycling accident at 36
- Oct 2 George Bancroft, American actor (Texas, Stagecoach, Little Men), dies at 74
- Oct 2 Paul de Backer, Belgian radiologist, dies at 73
- Oct 6 Walter Herlihy, announcer (Music at Meadowbrook), dies at 42
- Oct 6 Charles E. Merrill, American investment banker (Merrill Lynch), dies at 70
Clarence Birdseye
Oct 7 Clarence Birdseye, American inventor and founder of the modern frozen food industry (Birdseye), dies of a heart attack at 69
- Oct 8 Dirk Koster, literary (New Noises), dies at 69
- Oct 9 Marie Doro, American stage and film actress of the early silent film era (The Heart of Nora Flynn, The White Pearl), dies at 74
- Oct 16 Jules Rimet, French football administrator (3rd President of FIFA 1921-54), dies at 83
- Oct 17 Anne Crawford, British film actress (Knights of the Round Table), dies of leukaemia at 35
- Oct 18 Harry Parry, Welsh jazz clarinetist and bandleader (BBC's Radio Rhythm Club), dies at 44
Charles Strite
Oct 18 Charles Strite, American inventor who invented the automatic pop-up toaster, dies at 78
- Oct 19 Isham Jones, American saxophonist, bandleader ("Star Dust") and songwriter ("It Had To Be You"; "I'll See You in My Dreams"), dies of cancer at 62
- Oct 24 Henry Nicholas Ridley, British botanist (Malay Peninsula rubber industry), dies at 100
- Oct 25 Risto Ryti, Finnish minister/premier/president, dies at 67
- Oct 26 Walter Gieseking, French-German pianist, composer, and lepidopterist, dies at 60
Pío Baroja
Oct 30 Pío Baroja y Nessi, Spanish Basque writer, author of over 100 novels (The Struggle for Life, Zalacain the Adventurer), dies at 83
