- 42 BC Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman senator (b. 85 BC)
- 930 Daigo, Emperor of Japan (b. 885)
- 1260 Koetoez, Turkish sultan of Egypt, murdered
- 1450 Johannes van Capestrano, Italian saint, dies at 70
- 1456 Giovanni da Capistrano, Italian saint (b. 1386)
- 1550 Tiedemann Giese, Polish Catholic bishop (b. 1480)
- 1581 Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer, dies at 52
- 1602 Franciscus Junius, French-Dutch calvinist theologist and vicar, dies at 57
- 1616 Leonhard Hutter, German theologian (b. 1563)
- 1688 Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange, French philologist (b. 1610)
- 1764 Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc, Comte Dubois de la Motte, French naval officer (b. 1683)
- 1774 Michel Benoist, French Jesuit missionary and scientist, dies at 59
- 1799 William Paca, American judge and signer (Declaration of Independence), dies at 58
- 1868 Cullen Whipple, American inventor (pointed screw machine), dies at 67
Edward Smith-Stanley
1869 Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, British Prime Minister (Conservative: 1852, 1858-59, 1866-68), dies at 70
Edward Smith-Stanley
- 1872 Théophile Gautier, French writer, historian and poet (Albertus, La Chanson de Roland, Émaux et camées), dies at 61
- 1874 Abraham Geiger, German theologian and leader of Reform Judaism, dies at 64
- 1885 Charles S. West, American jurist and politician, dies at 56
- 1890 Charles Verlat, Flemish painter, dies at 65
- 1892 Emin Pasha, German explorer and governor (Equatoria), murdered at 52
- 1899 W Penn Symons, British gen-maj, dies in battle
- 1901 Georg von Siemens, founder (Deutsche Bank), dies
- 1903 Francis Ellingwood Abbot, American theologian (Scientific Theism), dies at 66
- 1910 Rama V [Chulalongkorn], King of Thailand (1868-1910), dies at 57
- 1913 Edwin Klebs, German physician and bacteriologist (bacterial theory of infection, diphtheria bacillus), dies at 79
- 1921 John B Dunlop, Scottish inventor air tire (Dunlop Rubber), dies at 81
- 1928 François Victor Alphonse Aulard, French historian, dies at 79
- 1929 Thomas Frederick Tout, British historian (Manch school of historiography), dies at 74
- 1935 Abe Landau, US gangster, murdered
- 1935 Dutch Schultz [Arthur Flegenheimer], US gangster, murdered at 33
- 1935 Otto "Aba Daba" Berman, US gangster, murdered
- 1939 Zane Grey, American western writer (Spirit of the Border), dies at 67
- 1942 Georg Stumme, German general/commandant of African corps, dies
- 1944 Hana Brady, Jewish Czech Holocaust victim (Hanna's Suitcase), dies at 13
- 1944 Charles Glover Barkla, English physicist (1917 Nobel Prize for Physics for X-ray scattering), dies at 67
- 1953 Maurice Lugeon, Swiss geologist (nappism), dies at 83
Christian Dior
1957 Christian Dior, French fashion designer (New Look), dies of a heart attack at 52
Christian Dior
- 1963 Raphael HLAJM Verwilghen, architect/urban developer, dies at 78
- 1986 Edward A Doisy Sr, American bio-chemist (Vitamin K1, Nobel 1943), dies at 92
- 1990 Louis Althusser, French philosopher, dies
- 1991 Lance Baker, dies at 31
- 1992 Kees Spermon, Dutch painter and graphic artist, dies
- 1996 Diana Trilling, writer, dies at 91
- 1996 Lin Onus, Australian Aboriginal artist (Michael and I are just slipping down to the pub for a minute), dies at 47
- 1996 Ronald Alfred Gardyne "Rags" Butler, sailor, dies at 68
- 1997 Luther George Simjian, Turkish-American Inventor (teleprompter and first self-posing portrait camera), dies at 92
- 1998 Barnett Slepian, American physician (b. 1946)
- 2001 Ronald William Kirby, British artist, dies at 72
- 2002 Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford, British historian, dies at 96
Soong Mei-ling
2003 Soong Mei-ling [Madame Chiang Kai-shek], Chinese political figure and First Lady of the Republic of China (1948-75), dies at 106
Soong Mei-ling
- 2005 Stella Obasanjo, Nigerian first lady (b. 1945)
- 2005 John Muth, American economist (b. 1930)
- 2006 Lebo Mathosa, South African entertainer (b. 1977)
- 2007 John Ilhan, Australian entrepreneur, Crazy John's mobile phones (b. 1965)
- 2007 Lim Goh Tong, Founder of Genting Group (b. 1918)
- 2010 Leo Cullum, American cartoonist (d. 1942)
- 2016 Tom Hayden, American civil rights and antiwar activist and politician (Rep-D-Ca), dies at 76
- 2016 Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar (1972-95), dies at 84
October in History
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
The Charge of the Light Brigade, a Brave and Foolish Tale
The Charge of the Light Brigade is infamous as an act of bravery in the face all insurmountable odds. An event immortalized in poetry by Alfred Tennyson.
October 25, 1854