- 1138 Earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, kills an estimated 230,000
Event of Interest
1521 Pope Leo X titles King Henry VIII of England "Defender of the Faith"
Henry VIII
Leo X
- 1531 Battle of Kappel: Swiss Roman Catholic cantons beat protestant forces of Zurich; Huldrych Zwingli Swiss reformation leader is killed
- 1540 Emperor Karel names his son Philip, Duke of Milan
- 1573 Battle of South Seas - Dutch rebels beat Spanish navy
- 1614 Adriaen Block and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General for exclusive trading rights in the New Netherland colony.
- 1634 Burchardi flood - "the second Grote Mandrenke" kills about 15,000 in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany
- 1674 Pierre Corneille's "Surena" premieres in Paris
- 1687 Hungary accepts Habsburg sovereignty
- 1698 France, England & Netherlands ratified the First Partition Treaty, which eventually led to the War of the Spanish Succession
Event of Interest
1726 Benjamin Franklin returns to Philadelphia from England
Benjamin Franklin
- 1737 Earthquake kills 300,000 and destroys half of Calcutta, India
- 1746 Battle of Rocoux: French defeat British, Austrian and Dutch armies
- 1776 Brigadier-General Arnold's Lake Champlain fleet defeated by British during the Battle of Valcour Island (American Revolutionary War)
- 1797 Battle of Camperdown (Kamperduin): British navy defeats Dutch fleet
- 1811 The Juliana, 1st steam-powered ferryboat, begins operation
- 1852 The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney.
- 1861 Battle of Dumfries, VA (Quantico Creek)
- 1863 Skirmish at Rheatown/Henderson's Mill, Tennessee
- 1864 Slavery abolished in Maryland
- 1864 Campina Grande, Brazil was established as a city.
Event of Interest
1865 President Andrew Johnson paroles Confederate States VP Alexander H. Stephens
Alexander H. Stephens
Andrew Johnson
- 1865 Paul Bogle led hundreds of black men and women in a march in Jamaica, starting the Morant Bay rebellion.
- 1873 Toronto Argonaut Football Club 1st game losing to U of Toronto
- 1881 David Houston patents roll film for cameras
- 1887 A Miles patents elevator
- 1890 First 100 yard dash under 10 seconds run by John Owen in 9.8 sec at Analostan Island, Washington D.C.
- 1890 Daughters of American Revolution founded
- 1895 Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia rejects a treaty with Italy
- 1899 South African Boers declare war on Great Britain
- 1902 8th US Golf Open: Laurie Auchterlonie shoots a 307 at Garden City, NY
- 1902 Commencement of 1st Test Cricket between South Africa & Australia
- 1906 White Sox Ed Walsh strikes out then record 12 in a World Series game
- 1906 San Francisco Board of Education orders segregation in separate schools of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean children sparking diplomatic crisis
- 1913 Philadelphia A's beat NY Giants, 4 games to 1 in 10th World Series
- 1914 German troops occupy Ghent
- 1915 Bulgarian anti-Serbian offensive begins
- 1915 Despite international protest, Edith Cavell an English nurse in Belgium, is executed by the Germans for aiding the escape of Allied prisoners
- 1918 Major tsumani shakes Caribbean
- 1919 First transcontinental air race ends
- 1922 First woman FBI "special investigator", Alaska Davidson, appointed
- 1922 Turkey & Greece sign cease fire
Event of Interest
1927 Lou Gehrig named AL MVP (Babe Ruth (former winner) not eligible)
Lou Gehrig
- 1929 Sean O'Casey's "Silver Tassle" premieres in London
Event of Interest
1929 JC Penney opens store #1252 in Milford, Delaware, making it a nationwide company with stores in all 48 U.S. states.
James Cash Penney
Joseph Stalin
- 1936 "Professor Quiz" first radio quiz show premieres
Event of Interest
1939 Albert Einstein informs FDR of the possibilities of an atomic bomb
Albert Einstein
Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 1939 Bucky Harris signs to manage Washington again
Event of Interest
1939 Gertrude Lawrence's "Skylark" premieres in NYC
Gertrude Lawrence
- 1939 NAACP organized Legal Defense & Education Fund
- 1941 1st NSB-battalion departures to Eastern front
- 1942 -Oct 12] Naval battle at Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal
- 1943 NY Yankees beat Cards 4 games to 1, in 40th World Series, to become 1st team to win 10 World Series
- 1944 Allies bomb sea wall at Veere
- 1944 Tuvinian People's Republic or formerly Tannu Tuva was annexed by the U.S.S.R
Film Release
1944 "Laura" directed by Otto Preminger starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews is released in NYC, New York
Gene Tierney
Event of Interest
1945 Chinese civil war begins between Kuomintang government led by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong's Communist Party
Mao Zedong
Chiang Kai-shek
- 1945 JPL WAC Corporal Launch (1st Man-Made Object to escape Atmosphere)
- 1947 Brazil & Chile break diplomatic relations with USSR
- 1948 "Love Life" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 252 performances
- 1948 "Where's Chartev?" opens at St James Theater NYC for 792 performances
- 1948 Cleveland Indians beat Boston Braves, 4 games to 2 in 45th World Series
- 1950 The U.S. Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS
- 1954 "On Your Toes" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 64 performances
- 1954 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Ad caeli Reginam
- 1955 All Peron feast days disposed of in Argentina
- 1955 Persia signs Pact of Baghdad
- 1956 1st Pakistan v Australia Test 95 runs scored on 1st day
- 1956 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga, Australia
- 1956 AL President Will Harridge bars Washington Senators move to West Coast, unless unanimously approved by the other AL owners
- 1958 "Goldilocks" opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC for 161 performances
- 1958 2nd US Moon probe, Pioneer 1, reaches 113,810 km, falls back
- 1959 KTHI TV channel 11 in Fargo-Grand Forks, ND (NBC) begins broadcasting
- 1960 Hurricane ravages East-Pakistan (6,000 die)
- 1960 Radio/TV executive John Fetzer buys a controlling interest of Detroit Tigers
- 1961 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 66,100m
- 1961 USSR performs nuclear test
- 1962 1st appearance of a Gabor sister on Merv Griffin Show
Event of Interest
1962 Second Vatican Council (21st ecumenical) convened by Pope John XXIII
John XXIII
- 1967 World Series record 3 consecutive HRs (Carl Yastremski, Reggie Smith, & Rico Petrocelli) by Red Sox
Event of Interest
1967 Yoko Plus Me art exhibit opens in London (the me is John Lennon)
John Lennon
Event of Interest
1969 Blues artist Muddy Waters involved in a car crash that kills 3
Muddy Waters
- 1969 Soyuz 6 launched; Soyuz 7 & 8 follow in next 2 days
- 1969 Three people shot dead during street violence in the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast
- 1971 60th Davis Cup: USA beats Romania in Charlotte (3-2)
- 1971 Brooks Robinson ties Series record, reaches base 5 straight times
- 1971 Frank McGee becomes news anchor of Today Show
- 1971 Switzerland recognizes North Vietnam
- 1972 World Hockey Association officially makes it's debut as the Alberta Oilers defeat the Ottawa Nationals, 7-4 at the Ottawa Civic Centre
- 1972 Panama adopts constitution
- 1972 Prison uprising at Washington, D.C. jail
- 1972 MLB National League Championship: Cincinnati Reds beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 2
- 1973 Oakland beats Baltimore 3 games to 2 to win AL pennant
- 1973 Héctor José Cámpora is elected President of Argentina
- 1973 MLB American League Championship: Oakland Athletics beat Baltimore Orioles, 3 games to 2
- 1974 A's Catfish Hunter charge owner Charlie Finley with breach of contract
Event of Interest
1975 Islander's Bryan Trottier's 1st career hat trick
Bryan Trottier
Event of Interest
1975 "Saturday Night Live" created by Lorne Michaels premieres on NBC with George Carlin as host
Lorne Michaels
- 1976 10th Country Music Association Award: Mel Tillis wins
Event of Interest
1976 Mao Zedong's widow Jiang Qing & "Gang of Four" arrested & charged with plotting a coup
Jiang Qing
- 1977 Soyuz 25 returns to Earth
Historic Invention
1977 American inventor Gordon Gould issued his first US patent for a optically pumped laser amplifier, 20 years after first claiming to have invented the laser
Gordon Gould
Baseball Record
1978 Dodgers Bob Welch dramatically strikes out Reggie Jackson in 9th
Reggie Jackson
- 1979 "Most Happy Fella" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 53 performances
- 1979 German DR frees dissidents Rudolf Bahro & Nico Hubner
- 1979 Allan McLeod Cormack & Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield win Nobel Prize for medicine for developing CAT scan
- 1980 Cosmonauts Popov & Ryumin set space endurance record of 184 days
- 1980 Dallas Mavericks open debut NBA season with a 103-92 victory against interstate rival San Antonio Spurs at Reunion Arena
- 1980 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- 1981 LeRoy Irvin sets yards gained on punt returns record (207 yds)
- 1981 Unknown rocker Prince opens for Rolling Stones at LA Coliseum
- 1981 Yanks beat Brewers 7-3 & win only Eastern Championship Series
Music Awards
1982 16th Country Music Association Award: Willie Nelson & Ricky Skagg
Willie Nelson
Album Release
1983 "Can't Slow Down" 2nd studio album by Lionel Richie is released
Lionel Richie
- 1984 1st space walk by US woman (Dr Kathryn D Sullivan)
- 1984 August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" premieres in NYC
- 1984 NASA launches space vehicle S-208
- 1984 US Vice Presidential candidates' debate - Geraldine Ferraro (D) & George H. W. Bush (R)
- 1985 Atlantis (51-J) returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
Event of Interest
1985 President Reagan bans import of South African Krugerrands to the USA
Ronald Reagan
- 1985 US intercepts Egyptian Boeing with Achille Lauro terrorists
Reagan and Gorbachev
1986 Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland
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- 1987 200,000 march for gay and lesbian civil rights in Washington D.C.
- 1990 "Miser" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 93 performances
- 1990 Center for Urban archaeology opens in NYC South Street Seaport Museum
- 1990 Mexican writer Octavio Paz is awarded the Nobel Prize for literature
- 1990 Oil hits a record $40.42 per barrel
- 1990 Libya's Qadhafi says Israel must be eliminated
- 1990 UK Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd says force would be used if Iraq does not withdraw from Kuwait
- 1991 Law Professor Anita Hill testifies Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her
- 1991 Chip Beck ties PGA record lowest 18 hole score of 59 during 3rd round of the Las Vegas Invitational at the Sunrise GC
- 1991 Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart seen soliciting a prostitute
Event of Interest
1992 1st three-way US presidential debate (George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot)
Bill Clinton
George H. W. Bush
Event of Interest
1992 Deion Sanders, plays for Atlanta Falcons (NFL) & Braves (Baseball)
Deion Sanders
- 1995 John Bobbitt has plastic surgery to increase his penis 3 inches
TV Show Appearance
1995 O.J. Simpson cancels a TV appearance on Dateline
O.J. Simpson
- 1996 Ford buys rights to name Detroit domed stadium for $40 million
Event of Interest
1997 Dennis Rodman returns from second longest NBA suspension (11 games)
Dennis Rodman
V. S. Naipaul
- 2001 The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.
Nobel Prize
2001 Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences awarded to George Akerlof, Joseph E. Stiglitz and A. Michael Spence for "their analyses of markets with asymmetric information"
George Akerlof
Michael Spence
- 2002 A bomb attack in a shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven.
Television Debut
2006 "30 Rock", starring Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, and Tracy Morgan, debuts on NBC
Tina Fey
Alec Baldwin
Television Premiere
2006 US sitcom "30 Rock" created by and starring Tina Fey alongside Alec Baldwin and ensemble cast first premieres
Alec Baldwin
- 2013 10 people are killed and a hospital fire in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan
- 2013 27 people are killed after a migrant boat sinks in the Channel of Sicily
- 2013 The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons wins the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize
- 2015 Nepal's parliament elects Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, leader of the Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist party, as Prime Minister
- 2016 South Korean firm Samsung announces it will permanently stop production of Note 7 phones after complaints devices caught fire
- 2017 TripAdvisor customer poll names The Black Swan in Oldstead, North Yorkshire, world's best restaurant
- 2018 World's new longest flight flies from Singapore to Newark Airport, New Jersey takes 17 hours 52 mins
- 2018 Russian Soyuz spacecraft makes emergency landing when rocket fails two minutes after liftoff, with American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut aboard
October in History
Jazz Singer Sounds Death Knell for Silent Movies
The Jazz Singer was premiered on this day and audiences were thrilled to hear Al Jolson talking. The pioneer film spelled the end for the silent-movie industry.
October 6, 1927
The Great Stand on the Ugra River
On one side of the Ugra River stood the Mongol Golden Horde, on the other, Ivan III, Grand Prince of the rising Muscovy Principality. At stake, everything.
October 8, 1480
Grim History of London's Speakers' Corner
Nowhere in England is the principal of free speech embodied more than at Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park. But this right was won through death and protest.
October 14, 1855
Hurricane on the Way? Don't Worry
A cosy assurance from a BBC weather forecaster for viewers not to worry about an impending storm has gone down as the most spectacular mis-forecast in history.
October 15, 1987