Events in History
- Oct 1 Watergate cover-up trial opens in Washington, D.C.
- Oct 3 Watergate crinimal trial begins
- Oct 5 Guildford pub bombing by the IRA leaves 5 dead and 65 injured.
- Oct 7 German Democratic Republic amends constitution
- Oct 8 Franklin National Bank collapses due to fraud and mismanagement; at the time it was the largest bank failure in the history of the United States.
- Oct 9 Race riot in Boston due to "bussing"
- Oct 10 A's Mike Andrews files $25 million lawsuit against Charlie Finley
- Oct 10 Canadian John Hathaway begins 2-yr ride of 50,600 miles
Election of Interest
Oct 10 Labour Party led by Harold Wilson wins UK general election

Harold Wilson
- Oct 10 The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and its political wing the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) founded at the Spa Hotel in the village of Lucan near Dublin
- Oct 11 A's Catfish Hunter charge owner Charlie Finley with breach of contract
- Oct 12 1st time Wash Caps are shutout as they are beat 6-0 by Minnesota
- Oct 15 National Guard mobilizes to restore order in Boston school busing
- Oct 15 Nobel prize for chemistry awarded to Paul J Flory (macro molecules)
- Oct 16 As' Ken Holtzman, who hasn't batted all season, belts 3rd inning home run in Game 4 & gets the win, 5-2
- Oct 18 Andre van de Louw appointed Mayor of Rotterdam
- Oct 19 Niue becomes self-govering, in association with New Zealand
- Oct 20 1st broadcast of "Derrick" on ZDF
- Oct 21 1st Islander shut-out opponent-Billy Smith 5-0 vs Caps
- Oct 22 Yanks trade Bobby Murcer to Giants for Bobby Bonds
- Oct 23 Lake Isaac in Cleveland Metroparks' Big Creek Reservation dedicated
- Oct 25 US Air Force fires 1st ICBM
- Oct 25 Dmitri Shostakovitch' 15th String Quartet premieres in Leningrad
- Oct 28 Luna 23 launched (landing on Moon)
- Oct 28 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Oct 29 Law bans discrimination of sex or marital status in credit application
- Oct 30 Catfish Hunter is named AL Cy Young Award
- Oct 31 Ted Bundy victim Laura Aime disappears in Utah
- Oct 31 Dutch Marines end hostage crisis in Scheveningen prison
Birthdays in History
- Oct 2 Paul Teutul Jr., co-star of American Chopper
- Oct 5 Rich Franklin, American Mixed Martial Artist
- Oct 12 Stephen Lee, English snooker player
- Oct 17 Ariel Levy, American feminist writer
- Oct 23 Derek Landy, Lusk, Irish author (Skulduggery Pleasant series)
- Oct 24 Alexander PGR duke of Ulster, son of English prince Richard
Deaths in History
- Oct 1 Spyridon Marinatos, Greek archaeologist (b. 1901)
- Oct 2 Ina Seidel, writer, dies at 89
- Oct 4 Anne Sexton, American poet (Live or Die; Pulitzer 1967), dies at 45
- Oct 10 Marie Luise Kaschnitz, writer, dies at 73
- Oct 17 René A de Rooy, Suriname/Antillean poet, dies at 57
- Oct 27 Rudolf Dassler, German founder of sportswear company Puma, dies at 76
- Oct 29 Victor E. van Vriesland, Dutch poet (Mirror of Dutch Poetry), dies at 82