- 1344 Mary Plantagenet, English princess, daughter of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, born in Waltham, Hampshire (d. 1362)
- 1486 Charles III, Duke of Savoy (1504-53), born in Chazey-sur-Ain, France (d. 1553)
- 1567 Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain [Catalina Micaela de Austria], Duchess consort of Savoy (1585-97), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1597)
- 1599 Jacob Aertsz Colom, Dutch publisher (Consolation of the Sea), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1673)
- 1678 John Campbell, 2nd duke of Argyll and field marshal (Union of 1707), born in Ham House, Petersham, Surrey (d. 1743)
- 1684 Jean-Antoine Watteau, French Rococo painter (fêtes galantes), born in Valenciennes, France (d. 1721)
- 1700 Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor, born in Nancy, Kingdom of France (d. 1759)
- 1731 Henry Cavendish, England, physicist and chemist (discovered hydrogen), born in Nice (d. 1810)
- 1738 Benjamin West, Anglo-American painter (Death of General Wolfe), born in Springfield, Province of Pennsylvania (d. 1820)
- 1757 Erik Acharius, Swedish botanist (lichens), born in Gävle, Sweden (d. 1819)
- 1779 Antoine Philippe Vischer, comte de Celles, Belgian-French politician, born in Brussels (d. 1841)
- 1780 John Abercrombie, Scottish physician, born in Aberdeen (d. 1844)
- 1794 William Whiting Boardman, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut), born in New Milford, Connecticut (d. 1871)
- 1817 C. H. D. Buys Ballot, Dutch meteorologist (Buys Ballot's law), born in Kloetinge, Netherlands (d. 1890)
- 1819 Zebulon York, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Avon, Maine (d. 1900)
- 1825 Paul Kruger, 3rd President of South African Republic (1883-1900), born in Steynsburg, Cape Colony (d. 1904)
- 1828 Samuel J. Randall, American politician (Speaker of the United States House of Representatives), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1890)
- 1829 Dandridge McRae, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Baldwin County, Alabama (d. 1899)
- 1830 Isabella II, Queen of Spain (1833-68), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1904)
- 1832 Theodore Shelton Bowers, Bvt Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Hummelstown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania (d. 1866)
- 1834 Aleksis Kivi, Finnish writer and poet (Nummisuutarit), born in Nurmijärvi, Grand Duchy of Finland (d. 1872)
Fridtjof Nansen
1861 Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian Arctic explorer and advocate for refugees (Nobel Peace Prize 1922), born in Store Frøen, Christiania (d. 1930)
Fridtjof Nansen
- 1863 Louis Cyr, French Canadian strongman (lifting 500 pounds (227 kg) with one finger and backlifting 4,337 pounds (1,967 kg)), born in Quebec, Canada (d. 1912)
- 1864 T. Frank Appleby, American Republican Party politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey), born in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey (d. 1924)
- 1865 Rafael Merry del Val, British-born Spanish Roman Catholic cardinal, born in London, England (d. 1930)
- 1870 Louise Mack, Australian poet and novelist, born in Hobart, Tasmania (d. 1935)
- 1884 Ferdinand Bordewijk, Dutch lawyer and writer (Bint), born in Amsterdam (d. 1965)
- 1885 Walter Anderson, German folklorist, born in Minsk, Russian Empire (d. 1962)
- 1887 Rie Cramer, Dutch writer and illustrator, born in Sukabumi, Dutch East Indies (d. 1977)
- 1889 Han [Henricus Antonius] van Meegeren, Dutch painter and art forger (Vermeer), born in Deventer, Netherlands (d. 1947)
- 1892 Earle Dickson, American inventor (Band-Aid), born in Grandview, Tennessee (d. 1961)
- 1893 August Balthazar, Belgian politician, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1952)
- 1895 Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, German field marshal (German Air Force-WW II), born in Barzdorf, German Empire (d. 1945)
- 1898 Lilly Daché, French-American milliner and fashion designer, born in Bègles, France (d. 1989)
- 1901 Alberto Giacometti, Swiss-French painter and sculptor, born in Borgonovo, Stampa, Graubünden, Switzerland (d. 1966)
- 1902 Dick Ket, Dutch painter and cartoonist, born in Den Helder, Netherlands (d. 1940)
- 1903 Charles Théodore Henri Antoine Meinrad de Belgique, Count of Flanders, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1983)
R.K. Narayan
1906 R.K. Narayan, Indian novelist (Malguidi Days), born in Madras (d. 2001)
R.K. Narayan
Clare Hollingworth
1911 Clare Hollingworth, British war correspondent who was the first to report on the outbreak of WWII, born in Knighton, England (d. 2017)
Clare Hollingworth
- 1912 Charles Henry Madge, English poet and founder of Mass-Observation, born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 1996)
- 1913 Claude Simon, Malagasy-French writer (Nobel Prize Literature 1985), born in Tananarive, Madagascar (d. 2005)
- 1918 Jean Gimpel, French author and medievalist, born in Paris (d. 1996)
- 1918 Yigal Allon, Israeli politician, born in Kfar Tavor, Palestine (d. 1980)
- 1921 Boy Trip, Dutch minister, born in Amersfoort, Netherlands (d. 1990)
- 1922 Boeli van Leeuwen, Antillian writer (Vreemdeling Op Aarde), born in Curaçao (d. 2007)
- 1924 James Clavell, British-American author (The Asian Saga), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1994)
- 1925 Ivan Sviták, Czech philosopher and poet, born in Hranice na Moravě, Czechoslovakia (d. 1994)
- 1925 Great Antonio, Croatian-Canadian strongman, born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (d. 2001)
- 1927 John Eric Tieman, production manager (The Guardian) (d. 1995)
- 1930 Adlai Stevenson III, American politician (U.S. Senator from Illinois), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1930 Harold Pinter, British playwright (The Homecoming, Servant), born in London, England (d. 2008)
- 1930 Mustafa Zaidi, Pakistani Urdu poet, born in Allahabad, India (d. 1970)
- 1933 Gerald Masters, South African-British author (Pan Book of Dates)
- 1933 Jay Sebring, American hair stylist and Manson murder victim, born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 1969)
- 1935 André Bureau, French Canadian lawyer and communications executive, born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
- 1935 Khalil al-Wazir [Abu Jihad], Founder of Palestinian group Fatah and PLO leader, born in Ramla, Mandatory Palestine (d. 1988)
- 1935 Ousmane Sow, Senegalese sculptor, born in Dhakar (d. 2016)
- 1936 Gerhard Ertl, German surface chemist (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007), born in Stuttgart, Germany
- 1938 Marcus Jan Adriani, biologist and director (Weevers' Duin) (d. 1995)
- 1938 Toby Roth, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin), born in Strasburg, North Dakota
- 1938 Daidō Moriyama, Japanese photographer, born in Ikeda, Osaka
- 1939 Joe Pitts, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania), born in Lexington, Kentucky
- 1941 Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian writer and environmentalist, born in Bori, Nigeria (d. 1995)
- 1941 Laurence Henry Tribe, Harvard Law professor, born in Shanghai, China
- 1942 Radu Vasile, Prime Minister of Romania (1998-99), born in Sibiu, Romania (d. 2013)
- 1942 James Marshall, American illustrator and author (George and Martha, The Stupids), born in San Antonio, Texas (d. 1992)
- 1943 Alexander MacMillan, 2nd Earl of Stockton, English publisher and politician
- 1943 Frederick Barthelme, American author (There Must be Some Mistake), born in Houston, Texas
- 1944 Christopher Ndodebandla Dlamini, South African trade unionist and SACP-leader, born in Benoni, Transvaal, South Africa
- 1944 Renier Schoeman, South African journalist and politician
- 1946 Franco Malerba, Italian astronaut (STS 46), born in Genoa, Italy
- 1946 Mildred Grieveson, English writer (Leopard in the Snow), born in England
- 1946 Naoto Kan, Japanese politician (61st Prime Minister of Japan), born in Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
- 1950 Nora Roberts, American novelist (Angels Fall), born in Silver Spring, Maryland
- 1951 Epeli Ganilau, Fijian soldier and politician (National Alliance Party of Fiji)
- 1954 James Fearnley, English accordionist (The Pogues), born in Worsley, Greater Manchester
- 1957 Rumiko Takahashi, Japanese artist, born in Niigata, Japan
- 1958 John M. Grunsfeld, American physicist and astronaut (STS 67, 81), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1962 Rex J. Walheim, U.S. Air Force officer and NASA astronaut, born in Redwood City, California
- 1963 Daniel Pearl, American journalist (kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan), born in Princeton, New Jersey (d. 2002)
- 1965 Steve Scalise, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- 1967 Jonathan Littell, French-American writer (The Kindly Ones), born in NYC, New York
- 1967 Gavin Newsom, American politician (Governor of California 2019-), born in San Francisco, California
Chris Ofili
1968 Chris Ofili, English painter (Turner prize - elephant dung), born in Manchester
Chris Ofili
- 1982 Amon Buchanan, Australian rules footballer
October in History
![Jazz Singer Sounds Death Knell for Silent Movies]()
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]()
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]()
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]()
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
