October 8

October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 84 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Thursday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Tuesday or Wednesday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Friday or Sunday (56).

Events

• 314 – Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses his European territories.
• 451 – At Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor, the first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins (ends on November 1).
• 876 – Battle of Andernach: Frankish forces led by Louis the Younger prevent a West Frankish invasion and defeat emperor Charles II ("the Bald").
• 1075 – Dmitar Zvonimir is crowned King of Croatia.
• 1200 – Isabella of Angoulême is crowned Queen consort of England.
• 1322 – Mladen II Šubić of Bribir, defeated in the battle of Bliska, is arrested by the Parliament.
• 1480 – Great stand on the Ugra river, a standoff between the forces of Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde, and the Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia, which results in the retreat of the Tataro-Mongols and the eventual disintegration of the Horde.
• 1573 – End of the Spanish siege of Alkmaar, the first Dutch victory in Eighty Years' War.
• 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
• 1600 – San Marino adopts its written constitution.
• 1645 – Jeanne Mance opened the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, the first lay hospital in North America.
• 1806 – Napoleonic Wars: Forces of the British Empire lay siege to the port of Boulogne in France by using Congreve rockets, invented by Sir William Congreve.
• 1813 – The Treaty of Ried is signed between Bavaria and Austria.
• 1821 – The government of general José de San Martín establishes the Peruvian Navy.
• 1829 – Rail transport: Stephenson's The Rocket wins The Rainhill Trials.
• 1856 – The Second Opium War between several western powers and China begins with the Arrow Incident on the Pearl River.
• 1860 – Telegraph line between Los Angeles and San Francisco opens.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Perryville: Union forces under General Don Carlos Buell halt the Confederate invasion of Kentucky by defeating troops led by General Braxton Bragg at Perryville, Kentucky.
• 1871 – Four major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Holland, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan including the Great Chicago Fire, and the much deadlier Peshtigo Fire.
• 1879 – War of the Pacific: The Chilean Navy defeats the Peruvian Navy in the Battle of Angamos, Peruvian Admiral Miguel Grau is killed in the encounter.
• 1895 – Eulmi incident: Queen Min of Joseon, the last empress of Korea, is assassinated and her corpse burnt by Japanese infiltrators inside Gyeongbok Palace.
• 1904 – Edmonton, Alberta is incorporated as a city.
• 1904 – Prince Albert, Saskatchewan is incorporated as a city.
• 1912 – First Balkan War begins: Montenegro declares war against the Ottoman Empire.
• 1918 – World War I: In action near Pittem, Belgium, USMC 2nd Lieutenant aviator Ralph Talbot of Weymouth, Massachusetts becomes the first-ever USMC aviator to earn the Medal of Honor.
• 1918 – World War I: In the Argonne Forest in France, United States Corporal Alvin C. York kills 28 German soldiers and captures 132, for which he is awarded the Medal of Honor.
• 1921 – KDKA in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field conducts the first live broadcast of a football game.
• 1928 – Joseph Szigeti gives the first performance of Alfredo Casella's Violin Concerto.
• 1932 – The Indian Air Force is established.
• 1939 – World War II: Germany annexes western Poland.
• 1941 – World War II: During the preliminaries of the Battle of Rostov, German forces reach the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.
• 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Crucifix Hill occurs just outside Aachen; Capt. Bobbie Brown receives a Medal of Honor for his heroics in this battle.
• 1952 – The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash kills 112 people.
• 1956 – New York Yankees's Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series.
• 1962 – Spiegel scandal: Der Spiegel publishes the article "Bedingt abwehrbereit" ("Conditionally prepared for defense") about a NATO manoeuvre called "Fallex 62", which uncovered the sorry state of the Bundeswehr (Germany's army) facing the perceived communist threat from the east at the time. The magazine is soon accused of treason.
• 1967 – Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia.
• 1969 – The opening rally of the Days of Rage occurs, organized by the Weather Underground in Chicago.
• 1970 – Vietnam War: In Paris, a Communist delegation rejects US President Richard Nixon's October 7 peace proposal as "a manoeuvre to deceive world opinion".
• 1973 – Yom Kippur War: Gabi Amir's armored brigade unsuccessfully attacks Egyptian-occupied positions on the Israeli side of the Suez Canal, in hope of driving them away; more than 150 Israeli tanks are destroyed.
• 1973 – Greek military junta of 1967–74: Junta strongman George Papadopoulos appoints Spyros Markezinis as Prime Minister of Greece with the task to lead Greece to parliamentary rule.
• 1974 – Franklin National Bank collapses due to fraud and mismanagement; at the time it is the largest bank failure in the history of the United States.
• 1978 – Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60 mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.
• 1982 – Poland bans Solidarity and all trade unions.
• 1982 – Cats opens on Broadway and runs for nearly 18 years before closing on September 10, 2000.
• 1990 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: In Jerusalem, Israeli police kill 17 Palestinians and wound over 100 near the Dome of the Rock mosque on the Temple Mount.
• 1991 – Croatia and Slovenia vote to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia.
• 2001 – A twin engine Cessna and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) jetliner collide in heavy fog during takeoff from Milan, Italy, killing 118 people.
• 2001 – U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security.
• 2005 – The 7.6 Mw Kashmir earthquake strikes with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 86,000–87,351 people dead, 69,000–75,266 injured, and 2.8 million homeless.
• 2016 – In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the death toll rises to nearly 900.

Births

• 319 BC – Pyrrhus of Epirus (d. 272 BC)
• 1150 – Narapatisithu, king of Burma (d. 1211)
• 1552 – Matteo Ricci, Italian Jesuit missionary (d. 1610)
• 1585 – Heinrich Schütz, German organist and composer (d. 1672)
• 1676 – Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, Spanish monk and scholar (d. 1764)
• 1713 – Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi and author (d. 1793)
• 1715 – Michel Benoist, French scientist and missionary (d. 1774)
• 1747 – Jean-François Rewbell, French lawyer and politician (d. 1807)
• 1765 – Harman Blennerhassett, English-Irish lawyer and politician (d. 1831)
• 1789 – John Ruggles, American lawyer and politician (d. 1874)
• 1789 – William John Swainson, English-New Zealand ornithologist and entomologist (d. 1855)
• 1807 – Harriet Taylor Mill, English philosopher and activist (d. 1858)
• 1818 – John Henninger Reagan, American judge and politician, 3rd Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905)
• 1834 – Walter Kittredge, American violinist and composer (d. 1905)
• 1845 – Salomon Kalischer, German pianist, composer, and physicist (d. 1924)
• 1847 – Rose Scott, Australian activist (d. 1925)
• 1848 – Pierre De Geyter, Belgian composer (d. 1932)
• 1850 – Henry Louis Le Châtelier, French chemist and academic (d. 1936)
• 1860 – John D. Batten, British painter, printmaker and illustrator (d.1932)
• 1863 – Edythe Chapman, American actress (d. 1948)
• 1864 – Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter and educator (d. 1955)
• 1870 – Louis Vierne, French organist and composer (d. 1937)
• 1872 – Mary Engle Pennington, American bacteriological chemist and refrigeration engineer (d. 1952)
• 1873 – Ejnar Hertzsprung, Danish chemist and astronomer (d. 1967)
• 1873 – Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect and academic, designed Lenin's Mausoleum (d. 1949)
• 1875 – Laurence Doherty, English tennis player and golfer (d. 1919)
• 1876 – Frederick Montague, 1st Baron Amwell, English lieutenant and politician (d. 1966)
• 1877 – Hans Heysen, German-Australian painter (d. 1968)
• 1883 – Dick Burnett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1977)
• 1883 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
• 1884 – Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (d. 1942)
• 1887 – Ping Bodie, American baseball player (d. 1961)
• 1887 – Huntley Gordon, Canadian-American actor (d. 1956)
• 1888 – Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist and author (d. 1964)
• 1889 – R. Fraser Armstrong, Canadian engineer (d. 1983)
• 1889 – Collett E. Woolman, American businessman, co-founded Delta Air Lines (d. 1966)
• 1890 – Snuffy Browne, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1964)
• 1890 – Eddie Rickenbacker, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1973)
• 1890 – Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (d. 1971)
• 1892 – Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet and author (d. 1941)
• 1893 – Clarence Williams, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
• 1895 – Zog I of Albania (d. 1961)
• 1895 – Juan Perón, Argentinian general and politician, 29th President of Argentina (d. 1974)
• 1896 – Julien Duvivier, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
• 1897 – Rouben Mamoulian, Georgian-American director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
• 1897 – Marcel Herrand, French actor (d. 1953)
• 1901 – Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (d. 1977)
• 1901 – Mark Oliphant, Australian physicist, humanitarian and politician, Governor of South Australia (d. 2000)
• 1903 – Georgy Geshev, Bulgarian chess player (d. 1937)
• 1904 – Yves Giraud-Cabantous, French race car driver (d. 1973)
• 1907 – Richard Sharpe Shaver, American author and illustrator (d. 1975)
• 1908 – Ezekias Papaioannou, Greek-Cypriot politician (d. 1988)
• 1910 – Kirk Alyn, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1910 – Paulette Dubost, French actress (d. 2011)
• 1910 – Gus Hall, American soldier and politician (d. 2000)
• 1910 – Helmut Kallmeyer, German chemist and soldier (d. 2006)
• 1910 – Ray Lewis, Canadian runner (d. 2003)
• 1913 – Robert R. Gilruth, American pilot and engineer (d. 2000)
• 1917 – Billy Conn, American boxer (d. 1993)
• 1917 – Walter Lord, American historian and author (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Danny Murtaugh, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1976)
• 1917 – Rodney Robert Porter, English biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
• 1918 – Halfdan Hegtun, Norwegian radio host and politician (d. 2012)
• 1918 – Jens Christian Skou, Danish chemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1919 – Jack McGrath, American racing driver (d. 1955)
• 1919 – Kiichi Miyazawa, Japanese politician, 78th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Frank Herbert, American journalist, photographer, and author (d. 1986)
• 1921 – Abraham Sarmiento, Filipino lawyer and jurist (d. 2010)
• 1922 – Nils Liedholm, Swedish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Herbert B. Leonard, American production manager and producer (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Alphons Egli, Swiss lawyer and politician, 77th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2016)
• 1924 – Aloísio Lorscheider, Brazilian cardinal (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (d. 2006)
• 1924 – John Nelder, English mathematician and statistician (d. 2010)
• 1925 – Álvaro Magaña, Salvadoran economist and politician, President of El Salvador (d. 2001)
• 1926 – Raaj Kumar, Pakistani-Indian police officer and actor (d. 1996)
• 1927 – Jim Elliot, American missionary and translator (d. 1956)
• 1927 – César Milstein, Argentinian-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Didi, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2001)
• 1928 – M. Russell Ballard, American lieutenant and religious leader
• 1928 – Neil Harvey, Australian cricketer
• 1928 – Bill Maynard, English actor
• 1929 – Betty Boothroyd, English academic and politician, British Speaker of the House of Commons
• 1930 – Pepper Adams, American saxophonist and composer (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra) (d. 1986)
• 1930 – Alasdair Milne, Indian-English director and producer (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Faith Ringgold, American painter and activist
• 1930 – Toru Takemitsu, Japanese composer and theorist (d. 1996)
• 1931 – Bill Brown, Scottish-Canadian footballer (d. 2004)
• 1932 – Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player and police officer
• 1934 – Kader Asmal, South African academic and politician (d. 2011)
• 1934 – Gerry Hitchens, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)
• 1934 – James Holshouser, American lawyer and politician, 68th Governor of North Carolina (d. 2013)
• 1935 – Albert Roux, French-English chef
• 1936 – Rona Barrett, American journalist and businesswoman
• 1937 – Merle Park, British ballerina and educator
• 1937 – Paul Schell, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (d. 2014)
• 1938 – William Corlett, English author and playwright (d. 2005)
• 1938 – Walter Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey coach and author
• 1938 – Fred Stolle, Australian-American tennis player and sportscaster
• 1938 – Bronislovas Lubys, Lithuanian businessman and politician, Prime Minister of Lithuania (d. 2011)
• 1939 – Elvīra Ozoliņa, Latvian javelin thrower
• 1939 – Harvey Pekar, American author and critic (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Lynne Stewart, American lawyer and criminal
• 1940 – Fred Cash, American soul singer
• 1940 – Paul Hogan, Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1941 – Jesse Jackson, American minister and activist
• 1941 – Shane Stevens, American author
• 1941 – George Bellamy, English singer, guitarist, and producer
• 1942 – Stanley Bates, English actor and screenwriter
• 1943 – Chevy Chase, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1943 – R. L. Stine, American author, screenwriter, and producer
• 1944 – Ed Kirkpatrick, American baseball player (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian scholar, activist, and politician
• 1946 – Jean-Jacques Beineix, French director and producer
• 1946 – Dennis Kucinich, American journalist and politician, 53rd Mayor of Cleveland
• 1946 – Bel Mooney, English journalist and author
• 1946 – Jon Ekerold, South African motorcycle racer
• 1947 – Richard Morris, English archaeologist, historian, and author
• 1947 – Emiel Puttemans, Belgian runner
• 1947 – Stephen Shore, American photographer and educator
• 1948 – Benjamin Cheever, American journalist and author
• 1948 – Claude Jade, French actress (d. 2006)
• 1948 – Johnny Ramone, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2004)
• 1949 – Jerry Bittle, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
• 1949 – Ashawna Hailey, American computer scientist and philanthropist (d. 2011)
• 1949 – Hamish Stuart, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1949 – Sigourney Weaver, American actress and producer
• 1950 – Robert "Kool" Bell, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1950 – Blake Morrison, English poet, author, and academic
• 1951 – Jack O'Connell, American educator and politician
• 1951 – Timo Salonen, Finnish race car driver
• 1951 – Shannon C. Stimson, American philosopher, historian, and theorist
• 1952 – Takis Koroneos, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1952 – Jan Marijnissen, Dutch journalist and politician
• 1952 – Edward Zwick, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1953 – Robert Saxton, English composer and educator
• 1954 – Huub Rothengatter, Dutch race car driver and manager
• 1955 – Bill Elliott, American race car driver
• 1955 – Alain Ferté, French race car driver
• 1955 – Darrell Hammond, American comedian and actor
• 1955 – Lonnie Pitchford, American singer and guitarist (d. 1998)
• 1956 – Jeff Lahti, American baseball player
• 1956 – Janice E. Voss, American engineer and astronaut (d. 2012)
• 1957 – Antonio Cabrini, Italian footballer and manager
• 1958 – Steve Coll, American journalist and author
• 1958 – Bret Lott, American journalist, author, and academic
• 1958 – Ursula von der Leyen, Belgian-German physician and politician, Defense Minister of Germany
• 1958 – Ruffin McNeill, American football player and coach
• 1959 – Tommy Armour III, American golfer
• 1959 – Nick Bakay, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Gavin Friday, Irish singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
• 1959 – Erik Gundersen, Danish motorcycle racer
• 1959 – Peter Horrocks, English journalist and producer
• 1959 – Mike Morgan, American baseball player and coach
• 1959 – Carlos I. Noriega, Peruvian-American colonel and astronaut
• 1959 – Daniel Ribacoff, Brazilian-American polygraph examiner
• 1960 – Andrea Anastasi, Italian volleyball player and coach
• 1960 – Reed Hastings, American businessman, co-founded Netflix
• 1960 – Rano Karno, Indonesian actor and politician
• 1960 – Ralf Minge, German footballer and manager
• 1960 – François Pérusse, Canadian singer-songwriter and comedian
• 1960 – Mike Teague, English rugby player
• 1961 – Steven Bernstein, American trumpet player and composer
• 1961 – Jon Stevens, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter (Noiseworks)
• 1961 – Simon Burke, Australian actor and producer
• 1961 – Ted Kooshian, American pianist and composer
• 1962 – Bruno Thiry, Belgian race car driver
• 1962 – Chen Xiaoxia, Chinese diver
• 1964 – Jakob Arjouni, German author (d. 2013)
• 1964 – Ian Hart, English actor
• 1964 – CeCe Winans, American singer-songwriter
• 1965 – Matt Biondi, American swimmer and coach
• 1965 – Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Harri Koskela, Finnish wrestler
• 1965 – C. J. Ramone, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1966 – Art Barr, American wrestler (d. 1994)
• 1966 – Karyn Parsons, American actress and producer
• 1967 – Yvonne Reyes, Venezuelan television host and actress
• 1967 – Teddy Riley, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1968 – Ali Benarbia, Algerian footballer
• 1968 – Zvonimir Boban, Croatian footballer and sportscaster
• 1968 – Emily Procter, American actress
• 1968 – CL Smooth, American rapper and producer
• 1968 – Leeroy Thornhill, English keyboard player and DJ
• 1969 – Jeremy Davies, American actor
• 1969 – Dylan Neal, Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, Congolese colonel
• 1970 – Matt Damon, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Anne-Marie Duff, English actress
• 1970 – Sadiq Khan, English lawyer and politician, Minister of State for Transport, Mayor of London
• 1970 – Sisaundra Lewis, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1970 – Tetsuya Nomura, Japanese video game designer and director
• 1971 – Marc Ellis, New Zealand rugby player and television host
• 1971 – David Gauke, English lawyer and politician
• 1971 – Pınar Selek, Turkish sociologist, author, and academic
• 1971 – Monty Williams, American basketball player and coach
• 1972 – Terry Balsamo, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1972 – Stanislav Varga, Slovak footballer and manager
• 1973 – Jim Fairchild, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1973 – Kari Korhonen, Finnish cartoonist
• 1974 – Kevyn Adams, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1974 – Fredrik Modin, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1974 – Koji Murofushi, Japanese hammer thrower
• 1976 – Karina Bacchi, Brazilian model and actress
• 1976 – Galo Blanco, Spanish tennis player and coach
• 1976 – Renate Groenewold, Dutch speed skater and cyclist
• 1977 – Anne-Caroline Chausson, French cyclist
• 1977 – Jamie Marchi, American voice actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1977 – Erna Siikavirta, Finnish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1978 – Antonino D'Agostino, Italian footballer
• 1978 – Mick O'Driscoll, Irish rugby player and coach
• 1979 – Paul Burchill, English wrestler
• 1979 – Gregori Chad Petree, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1980 – Nick Cannon, American actor, rapper, and producer
• 1980 – Rajesh Sharma, Canadian-Indian politician
• 1981 – Vladimir Kisenkov, Russian footballer
• 1981 – Raffi Torres, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Phil Mustard, English cricketer
• 1982 – Miloš Pavlović, Serbian race car driver
• 1983 – Mario Cassano, Italian footballer
• 1983 – Michael Fraser, Scottish footballer
• 1983 – Mihkel Kukk, Estonian javelin thrower
• 1983 – Abhishek Nayar, Indian cricketer
• 1983 – Travis Pastrana, American motorcycle racer
• 1984 – Domenik Hixon, American football player
• 1985 – Bruno Mars, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1985 – Eiji Wentz, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Louis Dodds, English footballer
• 1986 – Michele Sepe, Italian rugby player
• 1987 – Aya Hirano, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1987 – Hassan Maatouk, Lebanese footballer
• 1987 – Taylor Price, American football player
• 1989 – Sione Lousi, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1989 – Mahmut Temür, Turkish footballer
• 1989 – Armand Traoré, French footballer
• 1990 – Rachel Klamer, Zimbabwean-Dutch triathlete
• 1991 – Jordan McLean, Australian rugby league player
• 1992 – Maria João Koehler, Portuguese tennis player
• 1992 – Lidziya Marozava, Belarusian tennis player
• 1993 – Garbiñe Muguruza, Spanish tennis player
• 1993 – Barbara Palvin, Hungarian model and actress
• 1993 – Molly Quinn, American actress and producer
• 1993 – Darrell Wallace, Jr., American race car driver
• 1994 – Luca Hänni, Swiss singer-songwriter
• 1996 – Sara Sorribes Tormo, Spanish tennis player
• 1996 – Sara Takanashi, Japanese ski jumper
• 1997 – Bella Thorne, American actress

Deaths

• 705 – Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Muslim caliph (b. 646)
• 976 – Helen of Zadar, queen consort of the Kingdom of Croatia
• 1281 – Princess Constance of Greater Poland (b. c.1245)
• 1286 – John I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1217)
• 1317 – Emperor Fushimi of Japan (b. 1265)
• 1354 – Cola di Rienzo, Roman tribune (b. c.1313)
• 1361 – John Beauchamp, 3rd Baron Beauchamp
• 1436 – Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut (b. 1401)
• 1469 – Filippo Lippi, artist (b. 1406)
• 1621 – Antoine de Montchrestien, French soldier, playwright, and economist (b. 1575)
• 1647 – Christen Sørensen Longomontanus, Danish astronomer and mathematician (b. 1562)
• 1652 – John Greaves, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1602)
• 1656 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1585)
• 1659 – Jean de Quen, French missionary, priest, and historian (b. 1603)
• 1735 – Yongzheng Emperor of China (b. 1678)
• 1754 – Henry Fielding, English novelist and playwright (b. 1707)
• 1772 – Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, French violinist and composer (b. 1711)
• 1793 – John Hancock, American merchant and politician, 1st Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1737)
• 1795 – Andrew Kippis, English minister and author (b. 1725)
• 1802 – Emmanuele Vitale, Maltese general and politician (b. 1758)
• 1804 – Thomas Cochran, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1777)
• 1809 – James Elphinston, Scottish orthographer, phonologist, and linguist (b. 1721)
• 1834 – François-Adrien Boieldieu, French composer (b. 1775)
• 1869 – Franklin Pierce, American general, lawyer, and politician, 14th President of the United States (b. 1804)
• 1879 – Miguel Grau Seminario, Peruvian admiral (b. 1834)
• 1886 – Austin F. Pike, American lawyer and politician (b. 1819)
• 1897 – Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter and academic (b. 1830)
• 1928 – Larry Semon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1889)
• 1931 – John Monash, Australian general and engineer (b. 1865)
• 1936 – Premchand, Indian author and screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 1936 – Red Ames, American baseball player and manager (b. 1882)
• 1936 – Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, Ottoman politician, 292nd Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1845)
• 1936 – William Henry Stark, American businessman (b. 1851)
• 1942 – Sergey Chaplygin, Russian physicist, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1869)
• 1944 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (b. 1892)
• 1945 – Felix Salten, Austrian author and critic (b. 1869)
• 1952 – Joe Adams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1877)
• 1953 – Nigel Bruce, British actor (b. 1895)
• 1953 – Kathleen Ferrier, English soprano (b. 1912)
• 1955 – Iry LeJeune, American accordion player (b. 1928)
• 1958 – Ran Bosilek, Bulgarian author and translator (b. 1886)
• 1962 – Solomon Linda, South African singer-songwriter (b. 1909)
• 1963 – Remedios Varo, Spanish-Mexican painter (b. 1908)
• 1967 – Clement Attlee, English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1883)
• 1970 – Jean Giono, French author and poet (b. 1895)
• 1973 – Gabriel Marcel, French philosopher, playwright, and critic (b. 1889)
• 1977 – Giorgos Papasideris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1902)
• 1978 – Bertha Parker Pallan, American archaeologist (b. 1907)
• 1979 – Brian Edmund Baker, English air marshal (b. 1896)
• 1979 – Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian politician (b. 1902)
• 1982 – Fernando Lamas, Argentinian-American actor and director (b. 1915)
• 1982 – Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, English runner and politician, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
• 1983 – Joan Hackett, American actress (b. 1934)
• 1985 – Malcolm Ross, American captain, physicist, and balloonist (b. 1919)
• 1985 – Gordon Welchman, English-American mathematician and scholar (b. 1906)
• 1987 – Konstantinos Tsatsos, Greek scholar and politician, 2nd President of Greece (b. 1899)
• 1992 – Willy Brandt, German lawyer and politician, 4th Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
• 1994 – Oscar M. Ruebhausen, American lawyer (b. 1912)
• 1995 – Christopher Keene, American conductor and educator (b. 1946)
• 1997 – Bertrand Goldberg, American architect, designed the Marina City Building (b. 1913)
• 1999 – John McLendon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Charlotte Lamb, English author (b. 1937)
• 2001 – Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1917)
• 2002 – Phyllis Calvert, English actress (b. 1915)
• 2002 – Jacques Richard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1952)
• 2004 – James Chace, American historian and author (b. 1931)
• 2006 – Mark Porter, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1974)
• 2007 – Constantine Andreou, Greek painter and sculptor (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Ângelo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Bob Friend, English journalist (b. 1938)
• 2008 – Eileen Herlie, Scottish-American actress (b. 1918)
• 2008 – George Emil Palade, Romanian-American biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
• 2010 – Frank Bourgholtzer, American journalist (b. 1919)
• 2011 – Al Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
• 2011 – Mikey Welsh, American guitarist and painter (b. 1971)
• 2011 – Roger Williams, American pianist (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Varsha Bhosle, Indian singer and journalist (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1955)
• 2012 – Eric Lomax, Scottish captain and author (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Nawal Kishore Sharma, Indian politician, 20th Governor of Gujarat (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Philip Chevron, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Rod Grams, American journalist and politician (b. 1948)
• 2013 – Rodolphe Kasser, Swiss archaeologist and philologist (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Andy Pafko, American baseball player and manager (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Morris Lurie, Australian author and playwright (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Alden E. Matthews, American missionary (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Harden M. McConnell, American chemist and academic (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Zilpha Keatley Snyder, American author (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Jeen van den Berg, Dutch speed skater (b. 1928)
• 2015 – Richard Davies, Welsh-English actor (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Jim Diamond, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
• 2015 – Dennis Eichhorn, American author and illustrator (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Lindy Infante, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Paul Prudhomme, American chef and author (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Palatias and Laurentia
  • Pelagia (Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churces)
  • San Ernesto, Che Guevara as a saint. (Bolivian campesinos)
  • William Dwight Porter Bliss and Richard T. Ely (Episcopal Church)
  • October 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Columbus Day can fall, while October 14 is the latest; observed on the second Monday of October (United States); and its related observance (see also October 12):
  • Discoverer's Day (Hawaii)
  • Indigenous Peoples' Day, a counter Columbus Day (United States)
  • Piomingo Day (Chickasaw Nation)
• Earliest day on which Mother's Day can fall, while October 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in October (Malawi)
• Earliest day on which the first day of Fire Prevention Week can fall, while October 14 is the latest; observed on the second week in October. (United States and Canada)
• Earliest day on which Thanksgiving can fall, while October 14 is the latest; observed on the second week in October. (Canada)
• Earliest day on which White Sunday can fall, while October 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in October. (Samoa, Tonga)
• World Space Week (October 4–10)
• Air Force Day (India)
• Arbor Day (Namibia)
• Children's Day (Iran)
• Independence Day, celebrates the official separation of Croatia from Yugoslavia in 1991.
• Navy Day (Peru)

External links

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