October 8

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)