- 578 Justinus II, Byzantine emperor (565-78), dies
- 1056 Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1017)
- 1111 Robrecht II of Jerusalem, Count of Flanders (1st Crusader), dies
- 1112 Sigebert of Gembloux, French chronicler
- 1285 Philip III "the Bold", King of France (1270-85), dies of dysentry at 40
- 1399 Raymundus of Capua, Italian general, dies
- 1496 Ferdinand II, King of Naples (1495-96), dies at 27
- 1528 Richard Foxe, English churchman
- 1557 Il Bacchiacca, [Franceso Ubertini], Italian painter, dies at 63
- 1565 Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician (b. 1522)
- 1606 Philippe Desportes, French poet (b. 1546)
- 1631 Arabella Holles, wife of English politician Thomas Wentworth, dies
- 1714 Kaibara Ekiken, Japanese philosopher (b. 1630)
- 1740 Johann Philipp Baratier, German scholar (b. 1721)
- 1763 August III, king of Poland, dies at 66
- 1777 Ján Andrej Segner, Slovak and German mathematician, physicist, and physician, dies at 72
- 1787 Thomas Stone, US attorney/signer (Dec of Ind), dies at about 44
- 1799 Antonio Dinis da Cruz e Silva, Portuguese poet (O Hissope), dies at 68
Charles Cornwallis
1805 Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general and colonial administrator (leading British general in the American War of Independence), dies of fever at 66
Charles Cornwallis
- 1837 Hortense de Beauharnais, French Queen of Holland (1806-10), dies at 54
- 1848 Joseph Hormayr Freiherr zu Hortenburg, Austrian politician (b. 1781)
- 1861 Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish bishop (b. 1778)
- 1871 Alexander Afanasyev, Russian ethnographer and folklorist, dies at 45
- 1878 George B. Vashon, American, lawyer, academic and poet, first African American lawyer, dies of yellow fever at 54
- 1892 Bill Powers, US member of Daltonbende, dies
- 1892 Bob Dalton, US leader of Daltonbende, dies
- 1892 Dick Broadwell, US member of Daltonbende, dies
- 1892 Grat Dalton, US member of Daltonbende, dies
- 1906 Raja Ravi Varma, Indian painter, dies at 58
- 1913 Hans von Bartels, German painter (b. 1856)
- 1918 Roland Garros, French stunt flyer, dies
- 1930 Christopher Birdwood Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson, British military officer (b. 1875)
- 1933 Nikolaj N Joedenitsj, Russian general/contra revolutionary, dies at 71
- 1933 Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich, Russian WWI general, dies at 71
- 1936 Jan J Slauerhoff, Dutch ship doc/writer (Seaman's Grave), dies at 38
- 1938 Saint Faustina, Polish saint (b. 1905)
- 1940 Lincoln Loy McCandless, American cattle rancher and politician, dies at 81
- 1940 Ballington Booth, English Officer in The Salvation Army and co-founder of Volunteers of America
- 1941 Louis Brandeis, American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, dies at 84
- 1944 Joseph B "Aristide" Maillol, French sculptor/graphic artist, dies
- 1950 Frederic Lewy, German neurologist (b. 1885)
- 1953 Friedrich Wolf, writer, dies at 64
- 1960 Alfred L. Kroeber, American anthropologist and author (Anthropologist looks at History), dies at 84
- 1967 Clifton Williams, American major and NASA astronaut, dies at 35, in T-38 jet crash
- 1976 Lars Onsager, Norwegian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
- 1979 Charlie Smith, oldest American (137 year), dies
- 1983 Earl Tupper, American-born Costa Rican inventor and businessman (Tupperware), dies of a heart attack at 76
- 1986 James H. Wilkinson, English mathematician (b. 1919)
- 1990 Meir Kahane, American founder of the Jewish Defense League, assassinated at 58
- 1992 Cornelis "Cees" Berkhouwer, Dutch politician (VVD), dies
- 1993 Karl G Henize, astronaut (STS 51-F), dies of heart failure at 66
- 1995 Fred Fehl, photographer, dies at 89
- 1996 Catherine Elizabeth Pennington, personal assistant, dies at 77
- 1996 Seymour Cray, American inventor (Cray Research, Cray I supercomputer), dies after a car accident at 71
- 2000 Sidney R. Yates, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois), dies at 91
- 2000 Keith Roberts, English writer (Irish Encounter, Ladies from Hell), dies at 65
- 2001 Mike Mansfield, American politician (b. 1903)
- 2001 Lou Zara, American writer (Stump the Authors), dies at 91
- 2004 Maurice Wilkins, New Zealand-born physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1916)
- 2004 William H. Dobelle, American biomedical engineer, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine nominee (b. 1941)
- 2006 Antonio Peña, Mexican founder of lucha libre promotion AAA (b. 1953)
- 2007 Justin Tuveri, Italian veteran of the First World War (b. 1898)
- 2007 Walter Kempowski, German writer (German Chronicle), dies at 78
- 2010 Bernard Clavel, French novelist (b. 1923)
Fred Shuttlesworth
2011 Fred Shuttlesworth, American civil rights activist, dies at 89
Fred Shuttlesworth
- 2011 Derrick Bell, American legal scholar and civil rights advocate (b. 1930)
Steve Jobs
2011 Steve Jobs, American computer entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple, dies of respiratory arrest related to cancer at 56
Steve Jobs
- 2012 Keith H.S. Campbell, British biologist, dies at 58
- 2015 Henning Mankell, Swedish playwright and author (Wallander novels), dies of cancer at 67
October in History
Elvis Comes Fifth in Talent Show
Elvis Presley made his first public appearance as a singer on this day. It did not go well: he came fifth in a local talent show. But he was only ten years old.
October 3, 1945
Barking Mad! Puppies Slain to Cure Leg Injury
Charles Darwin shocked the world in 1859 with his evolution theory. Today, it's his writings about practices in the 19th Century that will shock many modern readers.
October 3, 1833
Jazz Singer Sounds Death Knell for Silent Movies
The Jazz Singer was premiered on this day and audiences were thrilled to hear Al Jolson talking. The pioneer film spelled the end for the silent-movie industry.
October 6, 1927
The Great Stand on the Ugra River
On one side of the Ugra River stood the Mongol Golden Horde, on the other, Ivan III, Grand Prince of the rising Muscovy Principality. At stake, everything.
October 8, 1480