Events in History Oct 23 Colony Massachusetts under authority of English crown mounted Birthdays in History Oct 10 Jean-Antoine Watteau, French Rococo painter (fêtes galantes), born in Valenciennes, France (d. 1721) Oct 26 Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal, born in Löwitz, Pomerania (d. 1757) Deaths in History Oct 1 Pierre Corneille, French poet and dramatist (El Cid, Polyeucte), dies at 42 1683 On This Day in History 1685