October 2

October 2 is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 90 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 829 – Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor.
• 1187 – Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule.
• 1263 – The battle of Largs is fought between Norwegians and Scots.
• 1470 – A rebellion organised by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick forces King Edward IV of England to flee to the Netherlands, restoring Henry VI to the throne.
• 1535 – Jacques Cartier discovers the area where Montreal is now located.
• 1552 – Conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible.
• 1780 – John André, British Army officer of the American Revolutionary War, is hanged as a spy by American forces.
• 1789 – George Washington sends proposed Constitutional amendments (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification.
• 1814 – Battle of Rancagua: Spanish Royalists troops under Mariano Osorio defeats rebel Chilean forces of Bernardo O'Higgins and José Miguel Carrera.
• 1835 – The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales: Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, Texas, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Saltville: Union forces attack Saltville, Virginia, but are defeated by Confederate troops.
• 1889 – In Colorado, Nicholas Creede strikes it rich in silver during the last great silver boom of the American Old West.
• 1919 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.
• 1925 – John Logie Baird performs the first test of a working television system.
• 1928 – The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá.
• 1937 – Dominican Republic strongman Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of the Haitian population living within the borderlands; approximately 20,000 are killed over the next five days.
• 1941 – World War II: In Operation Typhoon, Germany begins an all-out offensive against Moscow.
• 1942 – World War II: Ocean Liner RMS Queen Mary accidentally rams and sinks her own escort ship, HMS Curacoa, off the coast of Ireland, killing 239 crewmen aboard the Curacoa.
• 1944 – World War II: German troops end the Warsaw Uprising.
• 1950 – Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published.
• 1958 – Guinea declares its independence from France.
• 1959 – The anthology series The Twilight Zone premieres on CBS television.
• 1967 – Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of United States Supreme Court.
• 1968 – A peaceful student demonstration in Mexico City culminates in the Tlatelolco massacre by the order of the president, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, to the soldiers of killing unarmed students, hiding the event from the public eye. The 1968 Summer Olympics, hosted in Mexico City, started ten days after the massacre.
• 1970 – A plane carrying the Wichita State University football team, administrators, and supporters crashes in Colorado killing 31 people.
• 1979 – Pope John Paul II denounces all forms of concentration camps and torture while speaking at the U.N. in New York City.
• 1980 – Michael Myers becomes the first member of either chamber of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War.
• 1990 – Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked and lands at Guangzhou, where it crashes into two other airliners on the ground, killing 128.
• 1992 – The Carandiru massacre takes place after a riot in the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil.
• 1996 – The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
• 1996 – Aeroperú Flight 603, a Boeing 757, crashes into the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff from Lima, Peru, killing 70.
• 1997 – Amsterdam Treaty on European Union is signed.
• 2001 – NATO backs U.S. military strikes following 9/11.
• 2002 – The Beltway sniper attacks begin, extending over three weeks.
• 2005 – Ethan Allen boating accident: The Ethan Allen tour boat capsizes on Lake George in Upstate New York, killing twenty.
• 2006 – Five school girls are murdered by Charles Carl Roberts in a shooting at an Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania before Roberts commits suicide.
• 2007 – President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea walks across the Military Demarcation Line into North Korea on his way to the second Inter-Korean Summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Births

• 1452 – Richard III of England (d. 1485)
• 1470 – Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan (d. 1524)
• 1538 – Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal and saint (d. 1584)
• 1644 – François-Timoléon de Choisy, French historian and author (d. 1724)
• 1704 – František Tůma, Czech organist and composer (d. 1774)
• 1718 – Elizabeth Montagu, English author and critic (d. 1800)
• 1722 – Leopold Widhalm, Austrian instrument maker (d. 1776)
• 1727 – Ignaz Schiffermüller, Austrian entomologist and academic (d. 1806)
• 1768 – William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, English general and politician (d. 1854)
• 1798 – Charles Albert of Sardinia (d. 1849)
• 1800 – Nat Turner, American slave (d. 1831)
• 1824 – Henry C. Lord, American businessman (d. 1884)
• 1828 – Charles Floquet, French lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of France (d. 1896)
• 1832 – Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist and academic (d. 1917)
• 1833 – William Corby, American priest and academic (d. 1897)
• 1847 – Paul von Hindenburg, Polish-German field marshal and politician, 2nd President of Germany (d. 1934)
• 1851 – Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal and theorist (d. 1929)
• 1852 – William Ramsay, Scottish-English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
• 1854 – Patrick Geddes, Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, and philanthropist (d. 1932)
• 1869 – Mahatma Gandhi, Indian activist and philosopher (d. 1948)
• 1871 – Cordell Hull, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
• 1871 – Martha Brookes Hutcheson, American landscaper and author (d. 1959)
• 1873 – Stephen Warfield Gambrill, American lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
• 1873 – Pelham Warner, English cricketer and manager (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Wallace Stevens, American poet and educator (d. 1955)
• 1882 – Boris Shaposhnikov, Russian colonel (d. 1945)
• 1883 – Lesley Ashburner, American hurdler (d. 1950)
• 1883 – Karl von Terzaghi, Czech-American geologist and engineer (d. 1963)
• 1890 – Groucho Marx, American comedian, actor, and singer (d. 1977)
• 1893 – Leroy Shield, American composer and conductor (d. 1962)
• 1895 – Ruth Cheney Streeter, American colonel (d. 1990)
• 1897 – Bud Abbott, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
• 1901 – Alice Prin, French singer, actress, and painter (d. 1953)
• 1902 – John G. Crommelin, American admiral and politician (d. 1996)
• 1902 – Leopold Figl, Austrian engineer and politician, 18th Chancellor of Austria (d. 1965)
• 1904 – Graham Greene, English author, playwright, and critic (d. 1991)
• 1904 – Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian academic and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of India (d. 1966)
• 1905 – Franjo Šeper, Croatian cardinal (d. 1981)
• 1906 – August Komendant, Estonian-American engineer and academic (d. 1992)
• 1907 – Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Bolivian politician, 52nd President of Bolivia (d. 2001)
• 1907 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
• 1911 – Jack Finney, American author and playwright (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Frank Malina, American engineer and painter (d. 1981)
• 1914 – Jack Parsons, American chemist, occultist, and engineer (d. 1952)
• 1914 – Bernarr Rainbow, English organist, conductor, and historian (d. 1998)
• 1915 – Chubby Wise, American singer and fiddler (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Chuck Williams, American author and businessman, founded Williams-Sonoma
• 1917 – Christian de Duve, English-Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Charles Drake, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1918 – Herb Voland, American actor (d. 1981)
• 1919 – John W. Duarte, English guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Jan Flinterman, Dutch race car driver and pilot (d. 1992)
• 1921 – Albert Scott Crossfield, American pilot and engineer (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Robert Runcie, English archbishop (d. 2000)
• 1925 – Wren Blair, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Jan Morris, English-Welsh historian and author
• 1928 – George McFarland, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1928 – Wolfhart Pannenberg, Polish-German theologian and academic (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Peter Bronfman, Canadian businessman (d. 1996)
• 1929 – Moses Gunn, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1929 – Cesare Maestri, Italian mountaineer and author
• 1929 – Howard Roberts, American guitarist and educator (The Wrecking Crew) (d. 1992)
• 1930 – Dave Barrett, Canadian social worker and politician, 26th Premier of British Columbia
• 1932 – Maury Wills, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
• 1933 – John Gurdon, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1933 – Phill Niblock, American composer and director
• 1933 – Enn Nõu, Estonian-Swedish author and academic
• 1933 – Michel Plasson, French conductor
• 1933 – Dave Somerville, Canadian singer and actor (The Diamonds) (d. 2015)
• 1934 – Richard Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote, South African-English lawyer and judge
• 1934 – Earl Wilson, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Peter Frankl, Hungarian-English pianist and educator
• 1935 – Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 2005)
• 1936 – Dick Barnett, American basketball player and educator
• 1936 – Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., Filipino lawyer and politician, 20th Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
• 1936 – Connie Dierking, American basketball player (d. 2013)
• 1936 – David Gale, English actor (d. 1991)
• 1937 – Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer (d. 2005)
• 1938 – Nick Gravenites, American singer–songwriter and guitarist (Big Brother and the Holding Company)
• 1938 – Waheed Murad, Pakistani actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1983)
• 1938 – Rex Reed, American actor and critic
• 1940 – Gheorghe Gruia, Romanian-Mexican handball player and coach
• 1940 – Pantelis Voulgaris, Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1941 – Diana Hendry, English poet and author
• 1942 – Steve Sabol, American director and producer, co-founded NFL Films (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Anna Ford, English journalist and academic
• 1943 – William Margold, American porn actor and director
• 1943 – Franklin Rosemont, American poet, painter, and historian (d. 2009)
• 1944 – Vernor Vinge, American computer scientist and author
• 1945 – Martin Hellman, American cryptographer and academic
• 1945 – Don McLean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1946 – Sonthi Boonyaratglin, Thai general and politician
• 1946 – Peter Kellner, English journalist and author
• 1946 – Marie-Georges Pascal, French actress (d. 1985)
• 1946 – Eric Peterson, Canadian actor
• 1946 – Jo-El Sonnier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player
• 1947 – Paul Jackson, English director and producer
• 1948 – Trevor Brooking, English footballer and manager
• 1948 – Avery Brooks, American actor and director
• 1948 – Donna Karan, American fashion designer, founded DKNY
• 1948 – Siim Kallas, Estonian soldier and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Estonia
• 1948 – Persis Khambatta, Indian model and actress, Femina Miss India 1965 (d. 1998)
• 1948 – Chris LeDoux, American singer-songwriter and sculptor (d. 2005)
• 1949 – Richard Hell, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Television, Neon Boys, The Heartbreakers, and Dim Stars)
• 1949 – Annie Leibovitz, American photographer
• 1950 – Ian McNeice, English actor
• 1950 – Mike Rutherford, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Genesis and Mike + The Mechanics)
• 1951 – Sting, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (The Police)
• 1951 – Romina Power, American-Italian singer and actress
• 1952 – Robin Riker, American actress and author
• 1952 – Jan Švejnar, Czech-American economist and politician
• 1952 – Wahed Wafa, Afghan-American singer
• 1953 – Vanessa Bell Armstrong, American singer
• 1953 – Muhammad Abdul Bari, Bangladeshi-English physicist and academic
• 1953 – Lisa St Aubin de Terán, English author
• 1954 – Lorraine Bracco, American actress and producer
• 1955 – Philip Oakey, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (The Human League)
• 1955 – Nancy Rothwell, English physiologist and academic
• 1956 – Charlie Adler, American voice actor and director
• 1956 – Peter Bruce, Scottish chemist and academic
• 1956 – Freddie Jackson, American singer and pianist
• 1956 – Viatcheslav Mukhanov, Russian-German cosmologist and physicist
• 1957 – John Cook, American golfer
• 1957 – Wade Dooley, English rugby player and police officer
• 1957 – Dave Faulkner, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Victims, The Manikins, and Hoodoo Gurus)
• 1957 – Kate St John, English singer-songwriter and producer (The Dream Academy)
• 1958 – Robbie Nevil, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1958 – Wayne Toups, American singer-songwriter and accordion player
• 1958 – Jeffrey Weissman, American actor and producer
• 1960 – Glenn Anderson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1960 – Django Bates, English pianist and composer
• 1960 – Al Connelly, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Glass Tiger)
• 1960 – Johan Lammerts, Dutch cyclist
• 1960 – Joe Sacco, American journalist and cartoonist
• 1960 – Tom Schweich, American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (d. 2015)
• 1960 – Dereck Whittenburg, American basketball player and coach
• 1961 – Jaan Toomik, Estonian director and producer
• 1962 – Sigtryggur Baldursson, Icelandic singer and drummer (The Sugarcubes, Þeyr, KUKL, Reptile Palace Orchestra)
• 1962 – Jeff Bennett, American voice actor and singer
• 1962 – El Dandy, Mexican wrestler
• 1962 – James Hunter, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1962 – Aziz M. Osman, Singaporean-Malaysian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Mark Rypien, Canadian-American football player
• 1963 – Keith Bradshaw, Australian cricketer and accountant
• 1964 – Sam Bockarie, Sierra Leonean commander (d. 2003)
• 1964 – Dirk Brinkmann, German field hockey player
• 1964 – Jaanus Kuum, Estonian-Norwegian cyclist (d. 1998)
• 1966 – Yokozuna, American wrestler (d. 2000)
• 1967 – Frankie Fredericks, Namibian sprinter
• 1967 – Bud Gaugh, American drummer (Sublime, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Eyes Adrift, Volcano, and Sublime with Rome)
• 1967 – Gary L. Gregg, American political scientist, author, and academic
• 1967 – Thomas Muster, Austrian tennis player
• 1967 – Lew Temple, American actor
• 1967 – Gillian Welch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Victoria Derbyshire, English journalist and radio host
• 1968 – Benjie Paras, Filipino basketball player and actor
• 1968 – Jeff Martin, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Tea Party and Jeff Martin 777)
• 1968 – Jana Novotná, Czech tennis player and sportscaster
• 1968 – Glen Wesley, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
• 1968 – Kelly Willis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Lucy Cohu, English actress
• 1969 – Badly Drawn Boy, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1969 – Mitch English, American actor and talk show host
• 1970 – Eddie Guardado, American baseball player and coach
• 1970 – Patricia O'Callaghan, Canadian soprano and producer
• 1970 – Kelly Ripa, American actress, producer, and talk show host
• 1970 – Maribel Verdú, Spanish actress and singer
• 1971 – Tiffany Darwish, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1971 – Jim Root, American guitarist and songwriter (Slipknot and Stone Sour)
• 1972 – Tara Dawn Holland, American model Miss America 1997
• 1972 – Aaron McKie, American basketball player and coach
• 1973 – Proof, American rapper and actor (D12) (d. 2006)
• 1973 – Melissa Harris-Perry, American journalist, author, and educator
• 1973 – Lene Nystrøm, Norwegian singer-songwriter and actress (Aqua)
• 1973 – Efren Ramirez, American actor and producer
• 1973 – Scott Schoeneweis, American baseball player
• 1973 – Verka Serduchka, Ukrainian comedian and singer
• 1973 – Maria Wetterstrand, Swedish politician
• 1974 – Adel Ferdosipour, Iranian journalist and sportscaster
• 1974 – Simon Gregson, English actor
• 1974 – Bjarke Ingels, Danish architect, designed Mountain Dwellings and 8 House
• 1974 – Brian Knight, American baseball player and umpire
• 1974 – Michelle Krusiec, Taiwanese-American actress and producer
• 1974 – Matthew Nicholson, Australian cricketer
• 1974 – Mark Porter, New Zealand race car driver (d. 2006)
• 1974 – Sam Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1974 – Paul Teutul, Jr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers
• 1974 – Kevin Van De Wege, American firefighter and politician
• 1975 – Michel Trudeau, Canadian son of Pierre Trudeau (d. 1998)
• 1976 – Mandisa, American singer
• 1976 – Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (d. 2005)
• 1976 – John Thornton, American football player
• 1978 – Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1978 – Matthew Hancock, English economist and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office
• 1979 – Primož Brezec, Slovenian basketball player
• 1979 – Francisco Fonseca, Mexican footballer
• 1979 – Maja Ivarsson, Swedish singer-songwriter (The Sounds)
• 1980 – Shane Andrus, American football player
• 1980 – Arta Dobroshi, Kosovar-Albanian actress
• 1981 – Ridzuan Fatah Hasan, Singaporean footballer
• 1981 – Santi Kolk, Dutch footballer
• 1981 – Sidney Samson, Dutch DJ and producer
• 1981 – Luke Wilkshire, Australian footballer
• 1982 – Tyson Chandler, American basketball player
• 1982 – Amber Lee Ettinger, American actress and singer
• 1982 – Esra Gümüş, Turkish volleyball player
• 1982 – George Pettit, Canadian singer-songwriter and bass player (Alexisonfire and Black Lungs)
• 1982 – Gary Wilkinson, American basketball player
• 1984 – Marion Bartoli, French tennis player
• 1985 – Çağlar Birinci, Turkish footballer
• 1985 – Buster Davis, American football player
• 1985 – Brandon Jackson, American football player
• 1986 – Camilla Belle, American actress
• 1987 – Bojana Bobusic, Australian tennis player
• 1987 – Joe Ingles, Australian basketball player
• 1987 – Phil Kessel, American ice hockey player
• 1987 – Joel Reinders, American football player
• 1987 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., American race car driver
• 1989 – George Christopher Nash, English rower
• 1990 – Samantha Barks, Manx-English actress and singer
• 1990 – Dean Bouzanis, Australian footballer
• 1992 – Sirje Roops, Estonian footballer
• 1993 – Tara Lynne Barr, American actress
• 1993 – Luke Thomas, Welsh chef
• 1993 – Aaro Vainio, Finnish race car driver
• 1994 – Joana Eidukonytė, Lithuanian tennis player
• 1997 – Hana Sugisaki, Japanese actress

Deaths

• 534 – Athalaric, Italian king (b. 516)
• 829 – Michael II, Byzantine emperor (b. 770)
• 939 – Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine (b. 890)
• 1559 – Jacquet of Mantua, French-Italian composer (b. 1483)
• 1626 – Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, 1st Count of Gondomar, Spanish academic and diplomat (b. 1567)
• 1629 – Antonio Cifra, Italian composer (b. 1584)
• 1629 – Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and theologian (b. 1575)
• 1685 – David Teniers III, Flemish painter (b. 1638)
• 1708 – Anne Jules de Noailles, French general (b. 1650)
• 1709 – Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1639)
• 1724 – François-Timoléon de Choisy, French historian and author (b. 1644)
• 1746 – Josiah Burchett, English admiral and politician (b. 1666)
• 1764 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1720)
• 1775 – Fukuda Chiyo-ni, Japanese nun and poet (b. 1703)
• 1780 – John André, English soldier (b. 1750)
• 1782 – Charles Lee, English-American general (b. 1732)
• 1786 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, English admiral and politician (b. 1725)
• 1803 – Samuel Adams, American philosopher and politician, 4th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1722)
• 1804 – Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, French engineer (b. 1725)
• 1850 – Sarah Biffen, English painter (b. 1784)
• 1853 – François Arago, French mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (b. 1786)
• 1920 – Max Bruch, German composer and conductor (b. 1838)
• 1927 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
• 1938 – Alexandru Averescu, Romanian field marshal and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1859)
• 1938 – André Lagache, French race car driver and engineer (b. 1885)
• 1947 – P. D. Ouspensky, Russian-English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1878)
• 1953 – John Marin, American painter (b. 1870)
• 1955 – Humphrey Barclay, English priest (b. 1882)
• 1955 – William Orthwein, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1881)
• 1962 – Boris Yakovlevich Bukreev, Russian mathematician and author (b. 1859)
• 1968 – Marcel Duchamp, French painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
• 1971 – Jessie Arms Botke, American painter (b. 1883)
• 1971 – Bola de Nieve, Cuban-Mexican singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1911)
• 1973 – Paul Hartman, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
• 1973 – Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner (b. 1897)
• 1974 – Vasily Shukshin, Russian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 1975 – K. Kamaraj, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1903)
• 1981 – Harry Golden, American journalist and author (b. 1902)
• 1981 – Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American singer, pianist, and actress (b. 1920)
• 1985 – Rock Hudson, American actor and singer (b. 1925)
• 1987 – Madeleine Carroll, English-American actress (b. 1906)
• 1987 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
• 1988 – Alec Issigonis, Greek-English car designer, designed the Mini (b. 1906)
• 1989 – Aarne Viisimaa, Estonian tenor and director (b. 1898)
• 1991 – Hazen Argue, Canadian politician (b. 1921)
• 1991 – Demetrios I of Constantinople (b. 1914)
• 1994 – Harriet Nelson, American actress and singer (b. 1909)
• 1996 – Robert Bourassa, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Premier of Quebec (b. 1933)
• 1996 – Andrey Lukanov, Bulgarian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1938)
• 1998 – Gene Autry, American singer, guitarist, and actor (b. 1907)
• 1998 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian race car driver (b. 1924)
• 1998 – Sanjaasürengiin Zorig, Mongolian academic and politician (b. 1962)
• 1999 – Heinz G. Konsalik, German journalist and author (b. 1921)
• 2001 – Franz Biebl, German composer and academic (b. 1906)
• 2001 – Lembit Sibul, Estonian actor and journalist (b. 1947)
• 2002 – Heinz von Foerster, Austrian-American physicist and philosopher (b. 1911)
• 2003 – John Thomas Dunlop, American scholar and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Labor (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Bert Eriksson, Belgian activist (b. 1931)
• 2005 – Nipsey Russell, American comedian and actor (b. 1918)
• 2005 – August Wilson, American author and playwright (b. 1945)
• 2006 – Frances Bergen, American actress (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Helen Chenoweth-Hage, American politician (b. 1938)
• 2006 – Tamara Dobson, American actress (b. 1947)
• 2006 – Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Charles Carl Roberts, American murderer (b. 1973)
• 2007 – Tex Coulter, American football player (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Christopher Derrick, English author and critic (b. 1921)
• 2007 – George Grizzard, American actor (b. 1928)
• 2007 – Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (b. 1913)
• 2007 – Dan Keating, Irish soldier (b. 1902)
• 2007 – Tawn Mastrey, American radio host and producer (b. 1954)
• 2008 – Rob Guest, English-Australian actor and singer (b. 1950)
• 2008 – Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress (b. 1968)
• 2010 – Kwa Geok Choo, Singaporean lawyer and scholar (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Peter L. Benson, American psychologist and academic (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Nguyễn Chí Thiện, Vietnamese-American poet and activist (b. 1939)
• 2012 – Marjorie Lane, American singer and actress (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Mohammed Mushaima, Bahraini activist (b. 1988)
• 2012 – Hideji Ōtaki, Japanese actor (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Charles Roach, Trinidadian-Canadian lawyer and activist (b. 1933)
• 2012 – J. Philippe Rushton, English-Canadian psychologist, theorist, academic (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Big Jim Sullivan, English guitarist (James Last Orchestra) (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Gottfried Fischer, German psychologist, therapist, and academic (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Herman Hugg, American painter and sculptor (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Jonathan Kaufer, American director and screenwriter (b. 1955)
• 2013 – Abraham Nemeth, American mathematician and academic (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Kaare Ørnung, Norwegian pianist and educator (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Robert Flower, Australian footballer (b. 1955)
• 2014 – Vaughn O. Lang, American general (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Pedro Peña, Spanish actor (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Frederic Tamler Sommers, American philosopher and academic (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (b. 1937)
• 2015 – Brian Friel, Irish author, playwright, and director (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Johnny Paton, Scottish footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Blessed Bartolomé Blanco
  • Feast of the Guardian Angels
  • Leodegar
  • October 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Batik Day (Indonesia)
• Gandhi's birthday-related observances:
  • Gandhi Jayanti (India)
  • International Day of Non-Violence (International)
  • World Day for Farmed Animals
• Independence Day (Guinea), celebrates the independence of Guinea from France in 1958
• Mehregan, according to Iranian civil calendar (Iran)
• National Grandparents Day (Italy)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada