- 1345 Ferdinand I, King of Portugal (1367-83), born in Coimbra, Portugal (d. 1383)
- 1424 Wladyslaw III Warnenczyk, King of Poland and Hungary, born in Kraków, Poland (d. 1444)
- 1538 Caesar Baronius, Italian cardinal and historian, born in Sora, Italy (d. 1607)
- 1541 Hendrik van Kinschot, Dutch lawyer
- 1599 Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English statesman and writer, born in Houghton, England (d. 1680)
- 1620 John Evelyn, English writer and diarist (Life of Mrs Godolphin), born in Wotten, England (d. 1706)
Jan Vermeer
1632 Jan Vermeer [Johannes Vermeer], Dutch painter (Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Astronomer), born in Delft, Netherlands (d. 1675)
Jan Vermeer
- 1636 Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (1651-79), born in Schleissheim Palace, Bavaria (d. 1679)
- 1638 Meindert Hobbema, Amsterdams landscape painter, baptised
- 1692 Comte de Caylus, French archaeologist, born in Paris (d. 1765)
- 1705 Pope Clement XIV [Giovanni Ganganelli], Pope (1769-74), born in Rimini, Italy (d. 1774)
- 1711 Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar, born in Bologna, Italy (d. 1778)
- 1724 Christopher Anstey, English poet (The New Bath Guide), born in Brinkley, England (d. 1805)
- 1737 James Lovell, American educator (d. 1789)
- 1740 William Paca, American judge and signer (Declaration of Independence), born in Abingdon, Maryland (d. 1799)
- 1750 Leonor de Almeida marquesa de Alorna, Portuguese poet, born in São Jorge de Arroios, Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1839)
- 1755 Jean Louis van Aelbroeck, Flemish agronomist, born in Zottergem, Belgium (d. 1846)
- 1761 Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck, Dutch politician (Grand Pensionary of Batavia), born in Deventer, Overijssel, United Provinces (d. 1825)
- 1785 George F Kersting, German painter, born in Güstrow, Germany (d. 1847)
John Keats
1795 John Keats, English Romantic poet (Ode to a Grecian Urn), born in London (d. 1821)
John Keats
- 1815 Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician (theory of functions), born in Ostenfelde, Germany (d. 1897)
- 1825 Charles Lavigerie, French Catholic cardinal, born in Bayonne, France (d. 1892)
- 1826 Hugh Boyle Ewing, American diplomat, author, attorney, and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Lancaster, Ohio (d. 1905)
- 1827 Richard Morris Hunt, American architect and educator, born in Brattleboro, Vermont (d. 1895)
- 1831 Daniel Butterfield, American Major General (Union Army), assistant US Treasurer, born in Utica, New York (d. 1901)
- 1831 Paolo Mantegazza, Italian neurologist and anthropologist, born in Monza, Italy (d. 1910)
- 1835 Adelbert Ames, American soldier and politician, Bvt Major General (Union Army), born in Rockland, Maine (d. 1933)
- 1835 Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist (Nobel 1905), born in Berlin (d. 1917)
- 1835 Krišjānis Barons, Latvian writer, born in Jaunpils Parish, Latvia (d. 1923)
- 1838 Luís I, King of Portugal (1861-89), born in Necessidades Palace, Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1889)
- 1840 Franz Müller, German tailor and first train murderer (killing Thomas Briggs) (d. 1864)
- 1847 Galileo Ferraris, Italian physicist and electrical engineer, born in Livorno Ferraris, Italy (d. 1897)
- 1848 Boston Custer, brother of George Armstrong Custer, born in New Rumley, Ohio (d. 1876)
- 1851 Lovisa of Sweden, Queen of Denmark, born in Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1926)
- 1852 Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, American writer (Revolt of Mother), born in Randolph, Massachusetts (d. 1930)
- 1854 Adolf Erman, German Egyptologist (Grammar of Ancient Egypt), born in Berlin (d. 1937)
Juliette Gordon Low
1860 Juliette Gordon Low, American activist and founder of the Girl Scouts of America, born in Savannah, Georgia (d. 1927)
Juliette Gordon Low
- 1875 Seerp Anema, Dutch poet and writer (Dutch Coasts) (d. 1961)
Sardar Patel
1875 Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian freedom fighter and statesman, born in Gujarat, India (d. 1950)
Sardar Patel
Chiang Kai-shek
1887 Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese political and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (1928-1975), born in Xikou, Zhejiang, China (d. 1975)
Chiang Kai-shek
- 1888 George Hubert Wilkins, Australian polar explorer (Flying the Arctic), born in Hallett, Australia (d. 1958)
- 1888 Napoleon Lapathiotis, Greek poet, born in Athens, Greece (d. 1944)
- 1892 Ruth Fuller Sasaki, American Zen teacher (1st Zen Institute of America), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1967)
- 1895 B. H. Liddell Hart, English military historian and publicist (The Rommel Papers), born in Paris (d. 1970)
- 1898 Alfred Sauvy, French statistician (Affluence & Population), born in Villeneuve-de-la-Raho, France (d. 1990)
- 1902 Charles Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet (Claro Enigma), born in Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- 1902 Abraham Wald, Hungarian mathematician (field of statistical sequential analysis), born in Cluj-Napoca, Austria-Hungary (d. 1950)
- 1906 Jo Vis, resistance fighter (Yad Vashem-distinction)
- 1907 Helen Lessore, English artist, born in London (d. 1994)
- 1914 Joe Carcione, American consumer advocate (The Green Grocer) (d. 1988)
- 1914 John Hugenholtz, Dutch race track designer, born in Westerveld, Netherlands (d. 1995)
- 1916 Carl Johan Bernadotte, formerly Prince of Sweden, born in Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden (d. 2012)
- 1917 William H. McNeill, Canadian-born historian (Rise of the West), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2016)
- 1918 Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American parapsychologist and reincarnation expert, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (d. 2007)
- 1919 Magnus Wenninger, American mathematician and author of Polyhedron models, born in Park Falls, Wisconsin (d. 2017)
- 1920 Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan freedom fighter, born in Nyeri District, Central Province, Kenya (d. 1957)
- 1920 Helmut Newton, German photographer, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2004)
- 1923 Hicks B Waldron, Chairman and CEO of Avon Products, Inc., born in Amsterdam, New York (d. 2017)
- 1925 John Pople, English chemist (Nobel Prize 1998), born in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England (d. 2004)
- 1926 Jimmy Savile, English entertainer and suspected sexual predator, born in Leeds (d. 2011)
- 1930 Michael Collins, Mjr Gen USAF/astronaut (Gemini 10, Apollo 11), born in Rome, Italy
- 1936 Sergei Nikolayevich Gaidukov, Russian cosmonaut
- 1941 Dan Alderson, American scientist
- 1947 Russ Ballard, English rocker (Argent), born in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, England
- 1949 Dumisa Ntsebeza, South African attorney and anti-apartheid activist, born in Transkei, South Africa
- 1949 Michael Parker, American businessman and politician (Rep-D-Mississippi), born in Laurel, Mississippi
- 1949 Terrence W Wilcutt, United States Marine Corps officer and a NASA astronaut, born in Russellville, Kentucky
- 1950 Jozef Stolorz, polish art painter
- 1950 Zaha Hadid, British architect (London Aquatic Centre), born in Baghdad, Iraq (d. 2016)
- 1950 Antonio Taguba, US Army Major General, born in Manila, Philippines
- 1956 Anders Lago, Swedish Social Democratic politician, born in Jönköping, Sweden
- 1959 Neal Stephenson, American author, born in Fort Meade, Maryland
- 1960 Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran, born in Tehran, Iran
- 1960 Luis Fortuño, Puerto Rican delegate to Congress, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 1966 Joseph Boyden, Canadian novelist (Three Day Road), born in Willowdale, North York, Ontario
- 1971 Toby Anstis, British radio presenter
- 1979 Saaphyri Windsor, American reality TV figure, born in Los Angeles, California
- 1981 Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer (Give Me [Songs for Lovers]), born in Yekaterinburg, Russia
- 1981 Selina (Jiaxuan) Ren, member of Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E, born in Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2005 Infanta Leonor of Spain, daughter of Felipe, King of Asturias and Letizia, Queen of Asturias, born in Madrid, Spain
October in History
The Gunfight at OK Corral
Said to have lasted just 30 seconds, the gunfight at OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, is remembered as one of the great shootouts in the annals of the Wild West
October 26, 1881
The Man Who Saved The World
Many people think John F Kennedy saved the world with his handling of the Cuban missile crisis. But an unknown Russian sailor also played a dramatic role.
October 27, 1962
'Splendid Achievement' becomes the 'Road To Hell'
London's orbital road, the M25 was hailed as a splendid achievement by PM Margaret Thatcher when she opened it on this day. But it soon developed another nickname...
October 29, 1986
Panic Over War of the Worlds
When Orson Welles decided to present the War of the Worlds story in a radio newscast format, his broadcast on this day apparently caused panic across the US.
October 30, 1938