Historic Publication
Oct 1 Canadian children's author Robert Munsch publishes "Love You Forever"
Robert Munsch
- Oct 2 Astros starter Mike Scott finishes MLB regular season with 306 strikeouts with 8 in a 2-1 win in San Francisco; 3rd NL pitcher to reach 300 in a season
- Oct 2 New York Mets' Dwight Gooden becomes first pitcher to collect 200 strikeouts in each of his first 3 seasons when he records 7 in 8-2 win v Pittsburgh Pirates
- Oct 2 Sikhs attempt to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
- Oct 3 Baltimore loses 6-3 to Detroit Tigers, assuring Orioles of club's first ever last-place finish in AL East standings
- Oct 3 Soviet Yankee-class sub sinks off NC, 3 die
- Oct 3 TASCC, a superconducting cyclotron at the Chalk River Laboratories, was officially opened.
Baseball Record
Oct 4 NY Yankees closer Dave Righetti saves both doubleheader games at Fenway Park for 5-3 and 3-1 wins v Boston; Righetti's MLB record 46th save
Dave Righetti
- Oct 4 Queen Beatrice installs dam at Oosterschelde
- Oct 4 Rachel Oliver (Mass), 20, crowned 19th Miss Black America
- Oct 5 London Sunday Times reports Israel is stocking nuclear arms
- Oct 5 Rams running back Eric Dickerson runs for an NFL overtime record 42-yard touchdown as LA defeats Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26-20 at Anaheim Stadium
- Oct 6 Russian nuclear sub K291 sinks in Atlantic Ocean
- Oct 7 First edition of new British newspaper "Independent" published
Event of Interest
Oct 7 Steve Yzerman is named captain of the Detroit Red Wings, a title he would hold for over 1,300 games
Steve Yzerman
Music Premiere
Oct 9 "Phantom of the Opera" premieres in London, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Event of Interest
Oct 9 Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo, becomes the 12th NHLer to score 500 goals
Gilbert Perreault
- Oct 9 Senate convicted US District Judge Harry E Claiborne making him 5th federal official to be removed from office through impeachment
Television Premiere
Oct 9 "The Late Show with Joan Rivers" premieres on Fox, first woman to host a US late-night TV talk show
Joan Rivers
- Oct 10 7.5 Earthquake strikes San Salvador, El Salvador
Event of Interest
Oct 10 Shimon Peres resigns as Prime Minister of Israel
Shimon Peres
Reagan and Gorbachev
Oct 11 Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland
More >>
- Oct 12 California Angels within 1 pitch of pennant victory lose to Red Sox
Event of Interest
Oct 12 Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visit the People's Republic of China
Elizabeth II
Prince Philip
Nobel Prize
Oct 14 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel, for his efforts to ensure the Holocaust was remembered
Elie Wiesel
- Oct 14 Tim Kides of West NY, NJ performs 25,000 leg raises in 11:57:15
- Oct 15 Longest post season game, Mets beat Astros 7-6 in 16 & win NL pennant
- Oct 15 MLB National League Championship: New York Mets beat Houston Astros, 4 games to 2
- Oct 15 MLB American League Championship: Boston Red Sox beat California Angels, 4 games to 3
- Oct 16 "Raggedy Ann" opens at Nederlander Theater NYC for 5 performances
- Oct 16 Armand Hammer returns to US with Jewish refusenik David Goldfarb
Event of Interest
Oct 16 US government shuts down due to disputes between President Reagan and the House
Ronald Reagan
- Oct 16 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Oct 16 Wole Soyinka, Nigerian playwright and poet, becomes the first African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature
- Oct 17 US Senate approved immigration bill prohibiting hiring of illegal aliens & offered amnesty to illegals who entered prior to 1982
Event of Interest
Oct 17 Yitzhak Rabin forms Israeli government
Yitzhak Rabin
- Oct 19 "Flamenco Puro" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 40 performances
- Oct 19 "Raggedy Ann" closes at Nederlander Theater NYC after 5 performances
- Oct 19 Allan Border scores the 1,000,000th run in all test cricket (v India, Bombay)
- Oct 19 USSR expels five US diplomats
- Oct 20 Tupolev-134 crashes in Southern Africa
- Oct 21 1st-class cricket debut of Andy Flower, ZCU Presidents XI v Young WI
- Oct 21 Hugh Whitemore's "Breaking the Code" premieres in London
- Oct 21 IBM re-forms in South Africa
- Oct 21 Republic of Marshall Islands signs Compact of Free Association with US
- Oct 21 US writer Edward A Tracy kidnap in Beirut
- Oct 22 "Into the Light" opens at Neil Simon Theater NYC for 6 performances
Event of Interest
Oct 23 Artist Keith Haring commissioned to paint a mural on the Berlin wall by Checkpoint Charlie Museum 300 metres long
Keith Haring
- Oct 24 Dodgers' Bill Russell, 38, announces his retirement
- Oct 24 Great Britain drops diplomatic relations with Syria
- Oct 25 International Red Cross ousted from South Africa
- Oct 25 Michael Sergio Parachutes into Shea Stadium during game 6 of WS
- Oct 25 Trailing 5-3 with 2 out & no one on in bottom of 10th, NY rallies to win Game 6 of the World Series, 6-5, Bill Buckner misplays a ball
- Oct 26 "Into the Light" closes at Neil Simon Theater NYC after 6 performances
- Oct 26 French McLaren driver Alain Prost retains his Formula 1 World Drivers Championship with victory in season ending Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide; wins title by 2 points from Nigel Mansell
- Oct 27 NY Mets beat Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3 in 83rd World Series
Event of Interest
Oct 27 Paul McCartney release "Pretty Little Head"
Paul McCartney
- Oct 27 British government deregulates financial markets in a "Big Bang", enhancing London's status as a financial capital while increasing income inequality
- Oct 28 KOB-AM in Albuquerque NM changes call letters to KKOB
- Oct 28 KOB-TV in Albuquerque NM's final transmission
- Oct 28 The centennial of the Statue of Liberty's dedication is celebrated in New York Harbor.
- Oct 29 Kirk Muller scores NJ Devil record 6 point, beat Penguins, 8-6
- Oct 29 Padres pitcher LaMarr Hoyt is arrested at US-Mexico border for drugs
- Oct 29 West Indies all out for 53 v Pakistan (Abdul Qadir 6-16)
- Oct 30 Discovery moves to OPF where more than 200 modifications are made