- 460 Eudocia Aelia Athenais, empress Oostromeinse Rich/poetess, dies
- 1139 Henry X the Trotse, duke of Bayern (1126-38), dies
- 1187 Urban III, [Umberto Crivelli], Italian Pope (1185-87), dies
- 1268 Conrad Hohenstaufen/Conradin, last Duke of Swabia, beheaded in Naples aged 16
- 1274 Engelbert II of Falkenburg, archbishop of Cologne, dies
- 1438 Jacopo di Piero della Quercia, Italian sculptor, dies at about 64
- 1525 Joannes Custos, S Neth humanist, dies at about 50
- 1570 João de Barros, Portuguese historian (b. 1496)
- 1631 Michael Maestlin, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1550)
- 1640 John Ball, English Puritan clergyman (b. 1585)
- 1652 Antonio Coello, Spanish writer (b. 1611)
- 1713 Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician (b. 1652)
- 1740 Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1711-40), dies at 55
- 1765 William August duke of Cumberland, Engl supreme commander, dies at 44
- 1794 James Adam, System architect (essays on agriculture), dies at about 64
- 1842 Grace Darling, English heroine (b. 1815)
- 1864 Stephen Dodson Ramseur, Confederate gen-major, dies at 27
- 1865 Champ Ferguson, Confederate guerrilla (b. 1821)
- 1876 Jeronimo de Bosch Kemper, Dutch sociologist/historian, dies at 68
- 1882 Olegario Victor Andrade, Argentina poet (El arpa perdida), dies at 41
Richard Francis Burton
1890 Richard Burton, English explorer and translator (Arabian Nights), dies at 69
Richard Francis Burton
- 1894 James Anthony Froude, English historian and novelist (The Nemesis of Faith), dies at 76
- 1896 Félix Tisserand, French Astronomer, dies at 51
- 1899 Robert H "Bobby" Gunning, British colonel (60th Rifles), dies in battle
- 1900 Charles Dudley Warner, American novelist (As We Go), dies at 70
- 1900 Naim Frashëri, Albanian poet (b. 1846)
- 1907 Said Pasha Kurd, Kurdish statesman (b.1834)
- 1910 David B. Hill, American politician and Governor of New York (1885-91), dies at 67
- 1913 Daniel David Palmer, Canadian founder of chiropractic (1897 Palmer School of Chiropractic), dies of typhoid fever at 68
- 1926 Eugene V. Debs, American labor leader and Socialist presidential candidate (b. 1855)
- 1929 Rudolf Kittel, German theologist (Psalms), dies at 76
- 1935 Adolphus Washington Greely, American Arctic explorer and recipient of the Medal of Honor, dies at 91
- 1936 Anne Sullivan [Johanna Macy], American teacher who educated Helen Keller, dies at 70
- 1940 Gunnar Asplund, Swedish architect (b. 1885)
- 1950 Henry L. Stimson, American statesman (46th United States Secretary of State), dies at 83
- 1953 Werner Baumbach, German bomber pilot (b. 1916)
Herbert Hoover
1964 Herbert Hoover, 31st President of US (1929-33), dies in NY at 90
Herbert Hoover
- 1964 Miles WL Killearn of Killearn, baron/diplomat (Egypt), dies at 84
- 1967 Yoshida Shigeru, Japanese politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Japan (1946-54), dies at 89
- 1968 Lightfoot Solomon Michaux, African-American TV preacher, dies at 84
- 1972 Harlow Shapley, American astronomer (Sun's position in galaxy), dies at 86
- 1983 Yves Thériault, French Canadian author (b. 1915)
- 1984 Carl Ferdinand Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1896)
Paul Dirac
1984 Paul Dirac, English physicist (quantum electrodynamics, Nobel 1933), dies at 82
Paul Dirac
Sheila Scott
1988 Sheila Scott, English aviator (completes 1st round-the-world solo flight by a woman), dies at 61
Sheila Scott
- 1990 Bridget Bate Tichenor (born Bridget Pamela Arkwright Bate), Mexican surrealist painter dies at 72
- 1992 Orton Chirwa, Malawi's lawyer/Justice minister, dies in captivity
- 1993 Sugiyama Yasushi, Japanese painter (b. 1909)
- 1994 Sergei Bondarchuk, Soviet director (Destiny of a Man, War and Peace), dies of a heart attack at 74
- 1994 Ivan Sviták, Czech philosopher and poet, dies at 69
- 1994 Francis Steegmuller, American biographer (Cocteau), dies at 88
- 1995 Bernadette Hingley, priest, dies at 47
- 1996 Alfred William Bill Bedford, test Pilot, dies at 75
- 1996 Mary Tuck, social researcher/civil servant, dies at 68
- 1999 Calvin Griffith, Former owner of Washington Senators (b. 1911)
- 2001 Ted Ammon, American financier and investment banker, bludgeoned to death at 52
- 2004 Anthony Hecht, American poet (b. 1923)
- 2005 Endon Mahmood, First Lady of Malaysia (breast cancer) (b. 1941)
- 2005 Eva Svankmajerova, Czech artist (b. 1940)
- 2007 Paul Raven, British bass-player (Killing Joke, Ministry) (b. 1961)
Bob Guccione
2010 Bob Guccione, American publisher (Penthouse magazine), dies at 79
Bob Guccione
Muammar Gaddafi
2011 Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan revolutionary, political theorist and dictator (1969-2011), beaten to death in captivity by a Misratan militia at between 68–71
Muammar Gaddafi
- 2011 Moatassem Gaddafi, Son of Moammar Gaddafi and National Security Adviser of Libya (b. 1977)
- 2011 Tone Pavček, Slovenian poet and translator (b. 1928)
- 2014 John Hoskyns, Policy Advisor to Margaret Thatcher (1979-82), dies at 87
- 2016 Junko Tabei, Japanese mountain-climber, 1st woman to climb Mount Everest, dies at 77
October in History
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
The Tragedy of Aberfan
One hundred and sixteen young children died on this day when an avalanche of coal tip waste and debris thundered down a hillside and engulfed their school.
October 21, 1966
Jumping Jacques Makes First Parachute Descent
Daredevil André-Jacques Garnerin took to the sky in a hydrogen balloon on this day and after cutting himself adrift performed the first ‘parachute’ descent.
October 22, 1797
Test of Time for the Date of Creation
The assertion by a 17th Century bishop that the universe was created on this day in the year 4004 BC was put to the test in a famous trial in the United States.
October 23, 4004 BC