Events

Pre-1600

• 539 BC The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia conquer Babylon, ending the Babylonian empire. (Julian calendar)

• 633 Battle of Hatfield Chase: King Edwin of Northumbria is defeated and killed by an alliance under Penda of Mercia and Cadwallon of Gwynedd.

• 1279 The Nichiren Shōshū branch of Buddhism is founded in Japan.

• 1398 In the Treaty of Salynas, Lithuania cedes Samogitia to the Teutonic Knights.

• 1406 Chen Yanxiang, the only person from Indonesia known to have visited dynastic Korea, reaches Seoul after having set out from Java four months before.

• 1492 Christopher Columbus's first expedition makes landfall on San Salvador Island in the Caribbean. (Julian calendar)

1601–1900

• 1654 The Delft Explosion devastates the city in the Netherlands, killing more than 100 people.

• 1692 The Salem witch trials are ended by a letter from Province of Massachusetts Bay Governor William Phips.

• 1748 War of Jenkins' Ear: A British squadron wins a tactical victory over a Spanish squadron off Havana.

• 1773 America's first insane asylum opens.

• 1792 The first celebration of Columbus Day is held in New York City.

• 1793 The cornerstone of Old East, the oldest state university building in the United States, is laid at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

• 1798 Flemish and Luxembourgish peasants launch the rebellion against French rule known as the Peasants' War.

• 1799 Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse becomes the first woman to jump from a balloon with a parachute.

• 1810 The citizens of Munich hold the first Oktoberfest in celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Louis of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

• 1822 Pedro I of Brazil is proclaimed the emperor.

• 1849 The city of Manizales, Colombia, is founded by 'The Expedition of the 20'.

• 1856 An M 7.7–8.3 earthquake off the Greek island of Crete cause major damage as far as Egypt and Malta.

• 1871 The British in India enact the Criminal Tribes Act, naming many local communities "Criminal Tribes".

• 1890 Uddevalla Suffrage Association is formed.

• 1892 The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many US public schools.

1901–present

• 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House.

• 1909 Foundation of Coritiba Foot Ball Club.

• 1915 World War I: British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium.

• 1917 World War I: The First Battle of Passchendaele takes place resulting in the largest single-day loss of life in New Zealand history.

• 1918 A massive forest fire kills 453 people in Minnesota.

• 1928 An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Boston Children's Hospital.

• 1933 The military Alcatraz Citadel becomes the civilian Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.

• 1944 World War II: The Axis occupation of Athens comes to an end.

• 1945 World War II: Desmond Doss is the first conscientious objector to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor.

• 1945 The Lao Issara took control of Laos' government and reaffirmed the country's independence.

• 1959 At the national congress of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance in Peru, a group of leftist radicals are expelled from the party who later form APRA Rebelde.

• 1960 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a desk at the United Nations to protest a Philippine assertion.

• 1962 The Columbus Day Storm strikes the U.S. Pacific Northwest with record wind velocities. There was at least U.S. $230million in damages and 46 people died.

• 1963 After nearly 23 years of imprisonment, Reverend Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit missionary, was released from the Soviet Union.

• 1964 The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew, and the first flight without pressure suits.

• 1967 A bomb explodes on board Cyprus Airways Flight 284 while flying over the Mediterranean Sea, killing 66.

• 1968 Equatorial Guinea becomes independent from Spain.

• 1970 Vietnam War: Vietnamization continues as President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will withdraw 40,000 more troops before Christmas.

• 1971 The 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire begins.

• 1973 President Nixon nominates House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as the successor to Vice President Spiro T. Agnew.

• 1976 Indian Airlines Flight 171 crashes at Santacruz Airport in Bombay, India, killing 95.

• 1977 Hua Guofeng succeeds Mao Zedong as paramount leader of China.

• 1979 Typhoon Tip becomes the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded.

• 1983 Japan's former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei is found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from the Lockheed Corporation, and is sentenced to four years in jail.

• 1984 The Provisional Irish Republican Army fail to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. The bomb kills five people and wounds at least 31 others.

• 1988 Two officers of the Victoria Police are gunned down execution-style in the Walsh Street police shootings, Australia.

• 1992 A 5.8 earthquake occurred in Cairo, Egypt. At least 510 died.

• 1994 The Magellan spacecraft burns up in the atmosphere of Venus.

• 1994 Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 746 crashes near Natanz, Iran, killing all 66 people on board.

• 1996 New Zealand holds its first general election under the new mixed-member proportional representation system, which led to Jim Bolger's National Party forming a coalition government with Winston Peters's New Zealand First.

• 1997 The Sidi Daoud massacre in Algeria kills 43 people at a fake roadblock.

• 1999 Pervez Musharraf takes power in Pakistan from Nawaz Sharif through a bloodless coup.

• 1999 The former Autonomous Soviet Republic of Abkhazia declares its independence from Georgia.

• 2000 The USS Cole, a US Navy destroyer, is badly damaged by two al-Qaeda suicide bombers, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39.

• 2002 Terrorists detonate bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, killing 202 and wounding over 200.

• 2005 The second Chinese human spaceflight, Shenzhou 6, is launched, carrying two cosmonauts in orbit for five days.

• 2010 The Finnish Yle TV2 channel's Ajankohtainen kakkonen current affairs program airs controversial Homoilta episode (literally "gay night"), which leads to the resignation of almost 50,000 Finns from the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

• 2012 The European Union wins the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize.

• 2013 An apartment building collapse in Medellín, Colombia results in the deaths of twelve people.

• 2017 The United States announces its decision to withdraw from UNESCO. Israel immediately follows.

• 2018 Princess Eugenie marries Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

• 2019 Typhoon Hagibis makes landfall in Japan, killing 10 and forcing the evacuation of one million people.

• 2019 Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya becomes the first person to run a marathon in less than two hours with a time of 1:59:40 in Vienna.

• 2019 The Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans, which is under construction, collapses, killing three workers and injuring 30 others.

• 2022 2022 Bratislava shooting, killing 3 (including the perpetrator) and injuring one. The shooting occurred outside of a gay bar in Bratislava known as Tepláreň. Two people (excluding the perpetrator) died as a result of the shooting: Juraj Vankulič, a non-binary person, and Matúš Horváth, a bisexual man. The perpetrator (Juraj Krajčík) was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot the morning after the attack.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1008 Go-Ichijō, emperor of Japan (died 1036)

• 1240 Trần Thánh Tông, emperor of Vietnam (then Đại Việt) (died 1290)

• 1350 Dmitri Donskoi, Grand Duke of Moscow (died 1389)

• 1490 Bernardo Pisano, Italian composer and priest (died 1548)

• 1533 Asakura Yoshikage, Japanese ruler (died 1573)

• 1537 Edward VI, king of England (died 1553)

• 1555 Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, English diplomat (died 1601)

• 1558 Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria (died 1618)

• 1559 Jacques Sirmond, French scholar and Jesuit (died 1651)

• 1576 Thomas Dudley, English-American soldier and politician, 3rd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (died 1653)

1601–1900

• 1602 William Chillingworth, English scholar and theologian (died 1644)

• 1614 Henry More, English philosopher (died 1687)

• 1687 Sylvius Leopold Weiss, German lute player and composer (died 1750)

• 1710 Jonathan Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 16th Governor of Connecticut (died 1785)

• 1725 Étienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist (died 1810)

• 1792 Christian Gmelin, German chemist and pharmacist (died 1860)

• 1798 Pedro I, emperor of Brazil (died 1834)

• 1801 Friedrich Frey-Herosé, Swiss lawyer and politician, 5th President of the Swiss Confederation (died 1873)

• 1815 William J. Hardee, American general (died 1873)

• 1826 Kathinka Kraft, Norwegian memoirist (died 1895)

• 1838 George Thorn, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (died 1905)

• 1840 Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress (died 1909)

• 1855 Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor and academic (died 1922)

• 1860 Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American engineer and businessman, co-invented the gyrocompass (died 1930)

• 1864 Kamini Roy, British India's first female graduate, Bengali poet, social activist, and feminist writer (died 1933)

• 1865 Arthur Harden, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1940)

• 1866 Ramsay MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1937)

• 1868 August Horch, German engineer and businessman, founded Audi (died 1951)

• 1868 Mariano Trías, Filipino general and politician, 1st Vice President of the Philippines (died 1914)

• 1872 Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer and educator (died 1958)

• 1874 Jimmy Burke, American baseball player and manager (died 1942)

• 1875 Aleister Crowley, English magician and author (died 1947)

• 1878 Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (died 1956)

• 1880 Louis Hémon, French-Canadian author (died 1913)

• 1880 Kullervo Manner, Finnish Speaker of the Parliament, the Prime Minister of the FSWR and the Supreme Commander of the Red Guards (died 1939)

• 1882 – Pete Hill, American baseball player

• 1889 Dietrich von Hildebrand, German Catholic philosopher and author (died 1977)

• 1891 Edith Stein, Polish nun and martyr; later canonized (died 1942)

• 1891 Fumimaro Konoe, Japanese soldier and politician, 39th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1945)

• 1892 Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano and actress (died 1975)

• 1893 Velvalee Dickinson, American spy (died 1980)

• 1894 Elisabeth of Romania, queen consort of Greece (died 1956)

• 1896 Eugenio Montale, Italian poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1981)

1901–present

• 1903 Josephine Hutchinson, American actress (died 1998)

• 1904 Lester Dent, American journalist and author (died 1959)

• 1904 Anthony F. DePalma, American orthopedic surgeon and professor (died 2005)

• 1904 Ding Ling, Chinese author and educator (died 1986)

• 1905 – Rick Ferrell, American baseball player (died 1995)

• 1906 Joe Cronin, American baseball player and manager (died 1984)

• 1906 John Murray, American playwright and producer (died 1984)

• 1906 Piero Taruffi, Italian race car driver and motorcycle racer (died 1988)

• 1908 Paul Engle, American novelist, poet, playwright, and critic (died 1991)

• 1908 Ann Petry, American novelist (died 1997)

• 1909 Dorothy Livesay, Canadian poet (died 1996)

• 1910 Robert Fitzgerald, American poet, critic, and translator (died 1985)

• 1910 Malcolm Renfrew, American chemist and academic (died 2013)

• 1911 Vijay Merchant, Indian cricketer (died 1987)

• 1912 Muhammad Shamsul Huq, Bangladeshi academic and former Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2006)

• 1913 Alice Chetwynd Ley, English author and educator (died 2004)

• 1914 John E. Hodge, African-American chemist (died 1996)

• 1916 Alice Childress, American actress and playwright (died 1994)

• 1916 Lock Martin, American actor (died 1959)

• 1917 Roque Máspoli, Uruguayan footballer and manager (died 2004)

• 1917 James Phillip McAuley, Australian Poet (died 1976)

• 1919 Gilles Beaudoin, Canadian politician, 34th Mayor of Trois-Rivières (died 2007)

• 1919 Doris Miller, American cook and soldier (died 1943)

• 1920 Christopher Soames, English politician and diplomat, Governor of Southern Rhodesia (died 1987)

• 1920 – Steve Conway, British singer (died 1952)

• 1921 Art Clokey, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor, created Gumby (died 2010)

• 1921 Jaroslav Drobný, Czech-English tennis player and ice hockey player (died 2001)

• 1921 Logie Bruce Lockhart, Scottish rugby player and journalist (died 2020)

• 1922 William H. Sullivan, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Philippines (died 2013)

• 1923 Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman, co-founded Weight Watchers (died 2015)

• 1923 Goody Petronelli, American boxer, trainer, and manager (died 2012)

• 1924 Leonidas Kyrkos, Greek politician (died 2011)

• 1925 Denis Lazure, Canadian psychiatrist and politician (died 2008)

• 1926 Eliška Misáková, Czech gymnast (died 1948)

• 1928 Al Held, American painter and academic (died 2005)

• 1928 Domna Samiou, Greek singer and musicologist (died 2012)

• 1929 Nappy Brown, American R&B singer-songwriter (died 2008)

• 1929 Robert Coles, American psychologist, author, and academic

• 1929 Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic journalist and academic (died 2007)

• 1930 Denis Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player and photographer (died 2013)

• 1930 Milica Kacin Wohinz, Slovenian historian and author (died 2021)

• 1931 Ole-Johan Dahl, Norwegian computer scientist and academic, co-developed Simula (died 2002)

• 1932 Dick Gregory, American comedian, actor, and author (died 2017)

• 1932 Ned Jarrett, American race car driver and sportscaster

• 1933 Guido Molinari, Canadian painter and art collector (died 2004)

• 1934 James "Sugar Boy" Crawford, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2012)

• 1934 Richard Meier, American architect, designed the Getty Center and City Tower

• 1934 Albert Shiryaev, Russian mathematician and academic

• 1934 Oğuz Atay, Turkish engineer and author (died 1977)

• 1934 Constantine Manos, Greek-born American photographer (died 2025)

• 1935 Don Howe, English footballer and manager (died 2015)

• 1935 Tony Kubek, American baseball player and sportscaster

• 1935 Sam Moore, American soul singer-songwriter (died 2025)

• 1935 Shivraj Patil, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence

• 1935 Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor and actor (died 2007)

• 1937 Paul Hawkins, Australian race car driver (died 1969)

• 1937 Robert Mangold, American painter

• 1941 Michael Mansfield, English lawyer, academic, and republican

• 1942 Melvin Franklin, American soul bass singer (died 1995)

• 1943 Kostas Tsakonas, Greek actor (died 2015)

• 1943 – Lin Shaye, American actress

• 1944 Angela Rippon, English journalist and author

• 1944 – Jack Marin, American basketball player

• 1945 Aurore Clément, French actress

• 1945 Dusty Rhodes, American wrestler (died 2015)

• 1946 Drew Edmondson, American politician

• 1946 Ashok Mankad, Indian cricketer (died 2008)

• 1946 Daryl Runswick, English bassist and composer

• 1947 Chris Wallace, American journalist

• 1948 John Engler, American businessman and politician, 46th Governor of Michigan

• 1948 Rick Parfitt, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2016)

• 1949 Dave Lloyd, English cyclist and coach

• 1949 Carlos the Jackal, Venezuelan terrorist

• 1949 Barclay Shaw, American artist

• 1949 Paul Went, English footballer and manager (died 2017)

• 1950 Susan Anton, American actress and model

• 1950 Dave Freudenthal, American economist and politician, 31st Governor of Wyoming

• 1951 Sally Little, South African-American golfer

• 1951 Ed Royce, American businessman and politician

• 1951 Norio Suzuki, Japanese golfer

• 1952 Trevor Chappell, Australian cricketer and coach

• 1952 Béla Csécsei, Hungarian educator and politician (died 2012)

• 1952 Roger Heath-Brown, English mathematician and theorist

• 1953 Les Dennis, English comedian and actor

• 1953 David Threlfall, English actor and director

• 1954 Evalie A. Bradley, Anguillian politician and member of the House of Assembly of Anguilla

• 1954 Massimo Ghini, Italian actor

• 1954 Michael Roe, American singer, songwriter, and record producer

• 1954 Linval Thompson, Jamaican singer and producer

• 1955 Einar Jan Aas, Norwegian footballer

• 1955 Pat DiNizio, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2017)

• 1955 Ante Gotovina, Croatian general

• 1955 Jane Siberry, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer

• 1956 Rafael Ábalos, Spanish author

• 1956 Allan Evans, Scottish footballer

• 1956 Lutz Haueisen, German cyclist

• 1956 Catherine Holmes, Australian judge

• 1956 Gerti Schanderl, German figure skater

• 1956 David Vanian, English singer-songwriter

• 1957 Clémentine Célarié, French actress, singer, and director

• 1957 Serge Clerc, French comic book artist and illustrator

• 1957 Mike Dowler, Welsh footballer

• 1957 Annik Honoré, Belgian journalist and music promoter (died 2014)

• 1957 William F. Laurance, Australian biologist

• 1958 Steve Austria, American lawyer and politician

• 1958 Maria de Fátima Silva de Sequeira Dias, Portuguese historian, author, and academic (died 2013)

• 1958 Jeff Keith, American rock singer-songwriter

• 1958 Bryn Merrick, Welsh bass player (died 2015)

• 1959 Anna Escobedo Cabral, American lawyer and politician, 42nd Treasurer of the United States

• 1960 Steve Lowery, American golfer

• 1960 Carlo Perrone, Italian footballer and manager

• 1960 Hiroyuki Sanada, Japanese actor and martial artist

• 1960 Dorothee Vieth, German Paralympic cyclist

• 1961 Chendo, Spanish footballer

• 1962 Carlos Bernard, American actor and director

• 1962 Michelle Botes, South African actress (died 2024)

• 1962 Chris Botti, American trumpet player and composer

• 1962 John Coleman, English footballer and manager

• 1962 Branko Crvenkovski, Macedonian engineer and politician, 3rd President of the Republic of Macedonia

• 1962 Deborah Foreman, American actress and photographer

• 1962 Mads Eriksen, Norwegian guitarist and composer

• 1963 Raimond Aumann, German footballer

• 1963 Hideki Fujisawa, Japanese composer

• 1963 Satoshi Kon, Japanese animator and screenwriter (died 2010)

• 1963 Dave Legeno, English actor and mixed martial artist (died 2014)

• 1963 Alan McDonald, Irish footballer and manager (died 2012)

• 1963 Luis Polonia, Dominican baseball player

• 1965 Dan Abnett, English author

• 1965 Chris Chandler, American football player

• 1965 J. J. Daigneault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

• 1965 Scott O'Grady, American captain and pilot

• 1966 Jonathan Crombie, Canadian actor and voice over artist (died 2015)

• 1966 Wim Jonk, Dutch footballer

• 1966 Brian Kennedy, Northern Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1966 Brenda Romero, American game designer

• 1967 Becky Iverson, American golfer

• 1968 Bill Auberlen, American race car driver

• 1968 Paul Harragon, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster

• 1968 Hugh Jackman, Australian actor, singer, and producer

• 1968 Leon Lett, American football player

• 1968 Adam Rich, American actor (died 2023)

• 1969 Martie Maguire, American singer-songwriter, violinist, and producer

• 1969 Željko Milinovič, Slovenian footballer

• 1969 Dwayne Roloson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

• 1969 José Valentín, American baseball player, coach, and manager

• 1970 Kirk Cameron, American actor, screenwriter, and Christian evangelical/anti-evolution activist

• 1970 Patrick Musimu, Belgian diver and physiotherapist (died 2011)

• 1970 Tanyon Sturtze, American baseball player

• 1970 Charlie Ward, American basketball player and coach

• 1971 Tony Fiore, American baseball player

• 1971 Steve Johnston, Australian motorcycle racer

• 1971 Bronzell Miller, American football player and actor (died 2013)

• 1972 Juan Manuel Silva, Argentinian race car driver

• 1972 Tom Van Mol, Belgian footballer

• 1973 Lesli Brea, Dominican baseball player

• 1973 Martin Corry, English rugby player

• 1974 Stephen Lee, English snooker player

• 1975 Susana Félix, Portuguese singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

• 1975 Marion Jones, American basketball player and runner

• 1975 Randy Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1976 Simon Bridges, New Zealand politician

• 1977 Cristie Kerr, American golfer

• 1977 Bode Miller, American skier

• 1977 Javier Toyo, Venezuelan footballer

• 1978 Stefan Binder, German footballer

• 1978 Baden Cooke, Australian cyclist

• 1978 Marko Jarić, Serbian basketball player

• 1979 Steven Agnew, Northern Irish politician

• 1979 Steve Borthwick, English rugby player and coach

• 1979 Jordan Pundik, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1980 Ledley King, English footballer

• 1980 Ann Wauters, Belgian basketball player

• 1981 Tom Guiry, American actor

• 1981 Marcel Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player

• 1981 Brian Kerr, Scottish footballer and manager

• 1981 Giuseppe Lanzone, American rower

• 1981 Brian J. Smith, American actor

• 1981 Conrad Smith, New Zealand rugby player

• 1981 Sun Tiantian, Chinese tennis player

• 1983 Alex Brosque, Australian footballer

• 1983 Carlton Cole, English footballer

• 1983 Katie Piper, English philanthropist, broadcaster, and acid violence survivor

• 1983 Mariko Yamamoto, Japanese cricketer

• 1985 Michelle Carter, American shot putter

• 1985 Mike Green, Canadian hockey player

• 1985 Anna Iljuštšenko, Estonian high jumper

• 1985 Greig Laidlaw, Scottish rugby player

• 1985 Carl Söderberg, Swedish ice hockey player

• 1986 Ioannis Maniatis, Greek footballer

• 1986 Sergio Peter, German footballer

• 1986 Cristhian Stuani, Uruguayan footballer

• 1986 Tyler Blackburn, American actor

• 1987 Marvin Ogunjimi, Belgian footballer

• 1988 Sam Whitelock, New Zealand rugby player

• 1988 Calum Scott, British singer

• 1989 Anna Ohmiya, Japanese curler

• 1990 Henri Lansbury, English footballer

• 1991 Nicolao Dumitru, Italian footballer

• 1992 Josh Hutcherson, American actor and producer

• 1993 Ketel Marte, Dominican baseball player

• 1993 – Jake McCabe, American ice hockey player

• 1994 Sean Monahan, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1994 Olivia Smoliga, American swimmer

• 1995 Jessica Hogg, Welsh artistic gymnast

• 1996 James Graham, British singer

• 1996 Owen Watkin, Welsh rugby player

• 1997 Curtis Scott, Australian rugby league player

• 1999 Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Irish actor and musician

• 2000 Jongho, South Korean singer and actor

• 2000 Mia Threapleton, British actress

• 2001 Brett Cooper, American political commentator, actress, and social media personality

• 2002 Iris Apatow, American actress

• 2004 Darci Lynne, American ventriloquist

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 322 BC Demosthenes, Athenian statesman, (born 384 BC)

• 638 Honorius I, pope of the Catholic Church

• 642 John IV, pope of the Catholic Church

• 884 Tsunesada, Japanese prince (born 825)

• 974 Al-Muti, Abbasid caliph (born 913/14)

• 1095 Leopold II, margrave of Austria (born 1050)

• 1152 Adolf III of Berg, German nobleman (born 1080)

• 1176 William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel, English politician (born 1109)

• 1320 Michael IX Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1277)

• 1328 Clementia of Hungary, queen consort of France and Navarre (born 1293)

• 1448 Zhu Quan, Chinese prince, historian and playwright (born 1378)

• 1491 Fritz Herlen, German painter (born 1449)

• 1492 Piero della Francesca, Italian mathematician and painter (born 1415)

• 1565 Jean Ribault, French-American lieutenant and navigator (born 1520)

• 1576 Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1527)

• 1590 Kanō Eitoku, Japanese painter and educator (born 1543)

• 1600 Luis de Molina, Spanish priest and philosopher (born 1535)

1601–1900

• 1601 Nicholas Brend, English landowner (born 1560)

• 1632 Kutsuki Mototsuna, Japanese commander (born 1549)

• 1646 François de Bassompierre, French general and courtier (born 1579)

• 1654 Carel Fabritius, Dutch painter (born 1622)

• 1678 Edmund Berry Godfrey, English lawyer and judge (born 1621)

• 1679 William Gurnall, English minister, theologian, and author (born 1617)

• 1685 Christoph Ignaz Abele, Austrian lawyer and jurist (born 1628)

• 1730 Frederick IV, king of Denmark and Norway (born 1671)

• 1758 Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, Irish field marshal and politician (born 1680)

• 1812 Juan José Castelli, Argentinian lawyer and politician (born 1764)

• 1828 Ioan Nicolidi of Pindus, Aromanian physician and noble (born 1737)

• 1845 Elizabeth Fry, English prison reformer, Quaker and philanthropist (born 1780)

• 1858 Hiroshige, Japanese painter (born 1797)

• 1870 Robert E. Lee, American general (born 1807)

• 1875 Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French sculptor and painter (born 1827)

• 1896 Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs, Danish lawyer and politician, 9th Council President of Denmark (born 1817)

• 1898 Calvin Fairbank, American minister and activist (born 1816)

1901–present

• 1914 Margaret E. Knight, American inventor (born 1838)

• 1915 Edith Cavell, English nurse (born 1865)

• 1923 Bunny Lucas, English cricketer (born 1857)

• 1924 Anatole France, French journalist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1844)

• 1926 Edwin Abbott Abbott, English theologian and author (born 1838)

• 1933 John Lister, English philanthropist and politician (born 1847)

• 1940 Tom Mix, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1880)

• 1946 Joseph Stilwell, American general (born 1883)

• 1948 Susan Sutherland Isaacs, English psychologist and psychoanalyst (born 1885)

• 1954 George Welch, American soldier and pilot (born 1918)

• 1956 Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer and painter (born 1872)

• 1957 Arie de Jong, Indonesian-Dutch linguist and physician (born 1865)

• 1958 Gordon Griffith, American actor, director, and producer (born 1907)

• 1960 Inejiro Asanuma, Japanese lawyer and politician (born 1898)

• 1965 Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899)

• 1967 Ram Manohar Lohia, Indian activist and politician (born 1910)

• 1969 Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater and actress (born 1912)

• 1969 Serge Poliakoff, Russian-French painter and academic (born 1906)

• 1969 Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (born 1891)

• 1970 Feodor Stepanovich Rojankovsky, Russian-American illustrator and painter (born 1891)

• 1970 Mustafa Zaidi, Pakistani poet and academic (born 1930)

• 1971 Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (born 1893)

• 1971 Gene Vincent, American musician (born 1935)

• 1972 Robert Le Vigan, French-Argentinian actor and politician (born 1900)

• 1973 Peter Aufschnaiter, Austrian mountaineer, geographer, and cartographer (born 1899)

• 1978 Nancy Spungen, American figure of the 1970s punk rock scene (born 1958)

• 1984 Anthony Berry, English politician (born 1925)

• 1985 Johnny Olson, American radio host and game show announcer (born 1910)

• 1985 Ricky Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1953)

• 1987 Alf Landon, American lieutenant and politician, 26th Governor of Kansas (born 1887)

• 1987 Fahri Korutürk, Turkish commander and politician, 6th President of Turkey (born 1903)

• 1988 Ruth Manning-Sanders, Welsh-English poet and author (born 1886)

• 1988 Coby Whitmore, American painter and illustrator (born 1913)

• 1989 Jay Ward, American animator, producer, and screenwriter, founded Jay Ward Productions (born 1920)

• 1990 Rifaat el-Mahgoub, Egyptian politician (born 1926)

• 1990 Peter Wessel Zapffe, Norwegian physician, mountaineer, and author (born 1899)

• 1991 Sheila Florance, Australian actress (born 1916)

• 1991 Arkady Strugatsky, Russian author and translator (born 1925)

• 1991 Regis Toomey, American actor (born 1898)

• 1993 Leon Ames, American actor (born 1902)

• 1994 Gérald Godin, Canadian journalist and politician (born 1938)

• 1996 René Lacoste, French tennis player and fashion designer, co-founded Lacoste (born 1904)

• 1996 Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (born 1911)

• 1997 John Denver, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1943)

• 1998 Mario Beaulieu, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1930)

• 1998 Matthew Shepard, American murder victim (born 1976)

• 1999 Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (born 1936)

• 1999 Robert Marsden Hope, Australian lawyer and judge (born 1919)

• 2001 Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, English academic and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (born 1907)

• 2001 Hikmet Şimşek, Turkish conductor (born 1924)

• 2001 Richard Buckle, Ballet critic and writer (born 1916)

• 2002 Ray Conniff, American bandleader and composer (born 1916)

• 2002 Audrey Mestre, French biologist and diver (born 1974)

• 2002 – Hilaire du Berrier, American-French aviator, mercenary, and writer (born 1906)

• 2003 Jim Cairns, Australian economist and politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (born 1914)

• 2003 Joan Kroc, American philanthropist (born 1928)

• 2003 Bill Shoemaker, American jockey (born 1931)

• 2005 C. Delores Tucker, American activist and politician (born 1927)

• 2006 Angelika Machinek, German glider pilot (born 1956)

• 2006 Eugène Martin, French race car driver (born 1915)

• 2006 Gillo Pontecorvo, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1919)

• 2006 Carlo Acutis, Italian programmer, known for his devotion to the Eucharist (born 1991)

• 2007 Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower (born 1934)

• 2008 Karl Chircop, Maltese physician and politician (born 1965)

• 2009 Dickie Peterson American singer-songwriter and bass player (born 1948)

• 2009 Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian cyclist (born 1974)

• 2010 Austin Ardill, Northern Irish soldier and politician (born 1917)

• 2010 Woody Peoples, American football player (born 1943)

• 2010 Belva Plain, American author (born 1919)

• 2011 Patricia Breslin, American actress (born 1931)

• 2011 Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist, created the C programming language (born 1941)

• 2012 James Coyne, Canadian lawyer and banker, 2nd Governor of the Bank of Canada (born 1910)

• 2012 Norm Grabowski, American hot rod builder and actor (born 1933)

• 2012 Sukhdev Singh Kang, Indian judge and politician, 14th Governor of Kerala (born 1931)

• 2012 Torkom Manoogian, Iraqi-Armenian patriarch (born 1919)

• 2012 Erik Moseholm, Danish bassist, composer, and bandleader (born 1930)

• 2012 Břetislav Pojar, Czech animator, director, and screenwriter (born 1923)

• 2013 George Herbig, American astronomer and academic (born 1920)

• 2013 Oscar Hijuelos, American author and academic (born 1951)

• 2013 Hans Wilhelm Longva, Norwegian diplomat (born 1942)

• 2013 Malcolm Renfrew, American chemist and academic (born 1910)

• 2014 Ali Mazrui, Kenyan-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (born 1933)

• 2014 Graham Miles, English snooker player (born 1941)

• 2014 Roberto Telch, Argentinian footballer and coach (born 1943)

• 2015 Abdallah Kigoda, Tanzanian politician, 8th Tanzanian Minister of Industry and Trade (born 1953)

• 2015 Joan Leslie, American actress, dancer, and vaudevillian (born 1925)

• 2017 Margarita D'Amico, Venezuelan journalist (born 1938)

• 2020 Conchata Ferrell, American actress (born 1943)

• 2020 Roberta McCain, American socialite and oil heiress (born 1912)

• 2023 Luis Garavito, Colombian serial killer (born 1957)

• 2024 Jackmaster, Scottish DJ and record producer (born 1986)

• 2024 Ka, American rapper (born 1972)

• 2024 Lilly Ledbetter, American activist (born 1938)

• 2024 Tito Mboweni, South African politician (born 1959)

• 2024 Alvin Rakoff, Canadian film and television director (born 1927)

• 2024 Alex Salmond, Scottish economist and politician, First Minister of Scotland (born 1954)

• 2024 Baba Siddique, Indian politician (born 1958)

• 2025 Jackie Burch, American casting director (born 1951)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

• Blessed Louis Brisson

• Edith Cavell and Elizabeth Fry (Church of England)

• Fiacc

• Our Lady of the Pillar (Fiestas del Pilar)

• Our Lady of Aparecida

• Radim Gaudentius (Czech Republic)

• Seraphin of Montegranaro

• Wilfrid of Ripon

• Carlo Acutis

• October 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Children's Day (Brazil)

Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8):

• Columbus Day (Honduras)

• Día de la Hispanidad or Fiesta Nacional de España, also Armed Forces Day (Spain)

• Día de la Raza (El Salvador, Uruguay)

• Día de la Resistencia Indígena, "Day of Indigenous Resistance" (Venezuela)

• Día de las Américas (Belize)

• Día de las Culturas, "Day of the Cultures" (Costa Rica)

• Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural, "Day of respect for cultural diversity" (Argentina)

• Discovery Day (The Bahamas)

• Feast for Life of Aleister Crowley, celebrated as "Crowleymas" (Thelema)

• Fiesta Nacional de España (Spain)

• Hafez Day (Iran) 1

• Independence Day (Equatorial Guinea), celebrates the independence of Equatorial Guinea from Spain in 1968.

• International Day Against DRM

References

External links