October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 91 days remaining until the end of the year.
Today in history
331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.
911 – During a siege in Constantinople, the Theotokos appeared at the church in Blachernae holding her veil over the praying faithful, among them St. Andrew of Constantinople.
959 – Edgar the Peaceable becomes king of all England.
1189 – Gerard de Ridefort, grandmaster of the Knights Templar since 1184, is killed in the Siege of Acre.
1787 – Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn.
1791 – First session of the French Legislative Assembly.
1795 – Belgium is conquered by France.
1800 – Spain cedes Louisiana to France via the Treaty of San Ildefonso.
1811 – The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orléans, Louisiana.
1814 – Opening of the Congress of Vienna, intended to redraw the Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoléon the previous spring.
1827 – The Russian army under Ivan Paskevich storms Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination in Armenia.
1829 – South African College is founded in Cape Town, South Africa; it will later separate into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools.
1843 – The News of the World tabloid began publication in London.
1847 – German inventor and industrialist Werner von Siemens founds Siemens AG & Halske.
1854 – The watch company founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison relocates to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American System of Watch Manufacturing.
1869 – Austria issues the world's first postcards.
1880 – John Philip Sousa becomes leader of the United States Marine Band.
1880 – First electric lamp factory opened by Thomas Edison.
1887 – Balochistan conquered by the British Empire.
1890 – The Yosemite National Park and the Yellowstone National Park are established by the U.S. Congress.
1891 – In the U.S. state of California, Stanford University opens its doors.
1894 – First meeting of The Owl Club of Cape Town.
1898 – Czar Nikolay II expels Jews from major Russian cities.
1898 – The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration is founded under the name k.u.k. Exportakademie.
1903 – Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.
1905 – František Pavlík is killed in a demonstration in Prague, inspiring Leoš Janáček to the piano composition 1. X. 1905.
1908 – Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of US$825.
1910 – Los Angeles Times bombing: A large bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles, California, killing 21.
1918 – World War I: Arab forces under T. E. Lawrence (a/k/a "Lawrence of Arabia") capture Damascus.
1920 – Sir Percy Cox landed in Basra to assume his responsibilities as high commissioner in Iraq.
1926 – An oil field accident cost aviator Wiley Post his left eye, but he used the settlement money to buy his first aircraft.
1928 – The Soviet Union introduces its First Five-Year Plan.
1931 – The George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York opens.
1936 – Francisco Franco is named head of the Nationalist government of Spain.
1937 – The Japanese city Handa is founded in Aichi Prefecture.
1938 – Germany annexes the Sudetenland.
1939 – After a one-month Siege of Warsaw, hostile forces entered the city.
1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic.
1942 – USS Grouper torpedoes Lisbon Maru not knowing she is carrying British PoWs from Hong Kong
1942 – First flight of the Bell XP-59 "Aircomet".
1943 – World War II: Naples falls to Allied soldiers.
1946 – Nazi leaders sentenced at Nuremberg Trials.
1946 – Mensa International is founded in the United Kingdom.
1947 – The F-86 Sabre flies for the first time.
1949 – The People's Republic of China is declared by Mao Zedong.
1957 – First appearance of "In GERD We Trust" on U.S. paper currency.
1958 – NASA created to replace NACA.
1960 – Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1961 – East and West Cameroon merge as Federal Republic of Cameroon.
1961 – Baseball: Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees engage in an epic battle to break Babe Ruth's single season home run record of 60 in 1927. Maris ends up hitting his 61st against the Boston Red Sox, passing Ruth
1962 – First broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1964 – The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of University of California, Berkeley.
1964 – Japanese Shinkansen ("bullet trains") begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka.
1965 – Apostasia of 1965, a political move in Greece designed to overthrow the Prime Minister, George Papandreou.
1965 – General Suharto crushes an attempted coup in Indonesia.
1966 – West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatal injuries and no survivors 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.
1968 – The Guyanese government takes over the British Guiana Broadcasting Service (BGBS).
1969 – The Concorde supersonic transport plane breaks the sound barrier for the first time.
1971 – Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, United States.
1975 – The Seychelles gain internal self-government. The Ellice Islands split from Gilbert Islands and take the name Tuvalu.
1975 – Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.
1978 – Tuvalu gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1978 – The Voltaic Revolutionary Communist Party is founded.
1979 – The United States returns sovereignty of the Panama canal to Panama.
1982 – Helmut Kohl replaces Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of Germany through a Constructive Vote of No Confidence.
1982 – EPCOT Center opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
1982 – Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101).
1985 – The Israeli air force bombs PLO Headquarters in Tunis.
1987 – The Whittier Narrows earthquake shook the San Gabriel Valley, registering as a magnitude 5.9.
1989 – Denmark: World's first legal modern same-sex civil union called "registered partnership"
1991 – New Zealand's Resource Management Act 1991 commences.
1992 – Turkish destroyer TCG Muavenet (DM-357) damaged by two Sea Sparrow missiles mistakenly launched by U.S. aircraft carrier USS Saratoga.
1994 – Palau gains independence from the United Nations (trusteeship administered by the United States of America).
1998 – Vladimir Putin became a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
2004 – Baseball: Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki gets his 258th hit of the season, breaking George Sisler's 84-year-old single-season record.
2005 – Bombing kills 19 people in Bali.
2007 – Most of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 came into force in the United Kingdom.
Births
1207 – King Henry III of England (d. 1272)
1507 – Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Italian architect (d. 1573)
1540 – Johann Jakob Grynaeus, Swiss Protestant clergyman (d. 1617)
1577 – Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Swiss friar, martyr, and saint (d. 1622)
1620 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (d. 1683)
1644 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (d. 1682)
1671 – Guido Grandi, Italian mathematician (d. 1742)
1685 – Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1740)
1691 – Arthur Onslow, English politician (d. 1768)
1730 – Richard Stockton, American attorney, signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1781)
1760 – William Thomas Beckford, English writer and politician (d. 1844)
1771 – Pierre Baillot, French violinist and composer (d. 1842)
1791 – Sergei Aksakov, Russian writer (d. 1859)
1800 – Lars Levi Laestadius, Swedish-born botanist and founder of Laestadianism (d. 1861)
1835 – Ádám Politzer, Austrian physician (d. 1920)
1842 – Charles Cros, French poet and inventor (d. 1888)
1865 – Paul Dukas, French composer (d. 1935)
1870 – Josiah Edward Spurr, American Geologist (d. 1950)
1878 – Othmar Spann, Austrian philosopher and economist (d. 1950)
1881 – William Boeing, American engineer (d. 1956)
1885 – Louis Untermeyer, American author (d. 1977)
1890 – Stanley Holloway, British actor (d. 1982)
1893 – Cliff Friend, American songwriter (d. 1974)
1893 – Yip Man, Martial Arts Master (d. 1972)
1896 – Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1951)
1896 – Ted Healy, American actor and comedian (d. 1937)
1899 – Ernest Haycox, American writer (d. 1950)
1900 – Tom Goddard, English cricketer (d. 1966)
1903 – Vladimir Horowitz, Ukrainian-American pianist (d. 1989)
1904 – Otto Robert Frisch, Austrian-born physicist (d. 1979)
1904 – A.K. Gopalan, Indian communist leader (d. 1977)
1909 – Maurice Bardèche, French fascist, (d. 1998)
1909 – Sam Yorty, Mayor of Los Angeles (d. 1998)
1910 – Bonnie Parker, American Outlaw Bonnie and Clyde (d. 1934)
1910 – Fritz Köberle, Austrian-born physician (d. 1983)
1910 – José Enrique Moyal, Australian mathematical physicist (d. 1998)
1913 – Helio Gracie, Martial Arts Master (d. 2009)
1914 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and Librarian of Congress (d. 2004)
1917 – Cahal Cardinal Daly, Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Armagh
1920 – Walter Matthau, American actor (d. 2000)
1921 – James Whitmore, American actor (d. 2009)
1922 – Kim Ki-young, South Korean film director (d. 1998)
1924 – Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1924 – William Rehnquist, 16th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 2005)
1925 – Bob Boyd, American baseball player (d. 2004)
1926 – Roger Williams, American pianist
1927 – Tom Bosley, American actor
1927 – Sandy Gall, Malaysian-born British journalist and newscaster
1928 – Laurence Harvey, Lithuanian-born actor (d. 1973)
1928 – George Peppard, American actor (d. 1994)
1928 – Willy Mairesse, Belgian racing driver (d. 1969)
1928 – Zhu Rongji, Chinese politician
1929 – Ken Arthurson, Australian rugby league identity
1930 – Frank Gardner, Australian racing driver
1930 – Richard Harris, Irish actor (d. 2002)
1930 – Naimatullah Khan, Pakistani politician
1930 – Philippe Noiret, French actor (d. 2006)
1931 – Sylvano Bussotti, Italian composer
1932 – Albert Collins, American guitarist (d. 1993)
1935 – Julie Andrews, British actress and singer
1936 – Duncan Edwards, English footballer (d. 1958)
1936 – Stella Stevens, American actress
1939 – George Archer, American golfer (d. 2005)
1939 – Geoffrey Whitehead, English actor
1942 – Jean-Pierre Jabouille, French race car driver
1943 – Jean-Jacques Annaud, French film director
1943 – Angèle Arsenault, Canadian singer and songwriter
1943 – Jerry Martini, American saxophonist (Sly & the Family Stone)
1945 – Rod Carew, Panamanian-born baseball player
1945 – Donny Hathaway, American soul musician and composer (d. 1979)
1945 – Ellen McIlwaine, American singer/songwriter
1945 – Spider Sabich, American skier (d. 1976)
1946 – Tim O'Brien, American writer
1947 – Aaron Ciechanover, Israeli biologist
1947 – Stephen Collins, American actor
1947 – Adriano Tilgher, Italian politician
1947 – Mariska Veres, Dutch singer (Shocking Blue) (d. 2006)
1948 – Cub Koda, American singer (Brownsville Station) (d. 2000)
1949 – Isaac Bonewits, American author
1950 – Randy Quaid, American actor
1950 – Jeane Manson, American singer and actress
1950 – Elpida, Greek singer and Eurovision contestant (Sokrati, Tora Zo)
1952 – Jacques Martin, Canadian ice hockey coach and executive
1953 – John Hegley, British poet
1953 – Pete Falcone, American baseball player
1953 – Grete Waitz, Norwegian athlete
1954 – Martin Strel, Slovenian swimmer
1955 – Howard Hewett, R & B Singer
1956 – Theresa May, British politician
1957 – Stelios Mainas, Greek actor
1958 – Masato Nakamura, Japanese musician
1959 – Youssou N'Dour, Senegalese singer
1961 – Gary Ablett, Australian rules footballer
1961 – Robert Rey, Brazilian-American plastic surgeon and television personality
1961 – Rico Constantino, American professional wrestler
1961 – Corrie van Zyl, former South African cricketer
1962 – Esai Morales, American actor
1962 – Paul Walsh, English footballer
1963 – Jean-Denis Délétraz, Swiss race car driver
1963 – Mark McGwire, American baseball player
1964 – Harry Hill, British comedian
1964 – Max Matsuura, Japanese record producer
1964 – Jonathan Sarfati, Australian-born chess player, scientist, and author
1965 – Andreas Keller, German field hockey player
1965 – Cindy Margolis, American model and spokesmodel
1965 – Cliff Ronning, Canadian ice hockey player
1965 – Ted King, American actor
1965 – Chris Reason, Australian journalist
1966 – Christopher Titus, American actor/comedian
1966 – George Weah, Liberian politician and footballer
1966 – Cuco Ziganda, Spanish footballer
1967 – Scott Young, American ice hockey player
1967 – Mike Pringle, American football player
1968 – Jon Guenther, American author
1968 – Rob Collard, British racing driver
1969 – Igor Ulanov, Russian hockey player
1969 – Ori Kaplan, Israeli jazz musician
1969 – Marcus Stephen, Nauruan weightlifter and politician, current President of Nauru
1970 – Gam Wu-seong, South Korean actor
1970 – Jung Joon-ho, South Korean actor and singer
1970 – Simon Davey, Barnsley football manager
1970 – Alexei Zhamnov, Russian ice hockey player
1971 – Andrew O'Keefe, Australian television personality
1971 – Song Il Gook, Korean actor
1971 – Gigi Lai, Hong Kong actress
1972 – Jean Paulo Fernandes, Brazilian footballer
1972 – Ronen Altman Kaydar, Israeli Author
1973 – Jana Henke, German swimmer
1973 – Rachid Chékhémani, French runner
1973 – John Thomson, American baseball player
1974 – Mats Lindgren, Swedish ice hockey player
1974 – Keith Duffy, Irish singer (Boyzone) and actor
1974 – Christian Borle, American actor
1975 – Chulpan Khamatova, Russian actress
1975 – Zoltán Sebescen, German footballer
1975 – Kim Suna, Korean actress
1976 – Antonio Roybal, American painter and sculptor
1976 – Denis Gauthier, Canadian hockey player
1976 – Dora Venter, Hungarian pornographic film actress
1976 – Ümit Karan, Turkish footballer
1977 – Jeffrey van Hooydonk, Belgian race car driver
1978 – Andrew JC Jackson, Australian surf lifesaver
1978 – Leticia Cline, American model and TV Personality
1979 – Cameron Bruce, Australian rules footballer
1979 – Rudi Johnson, American football player
1979 – Gilberto Martínez, Costa Rican footballer
1979 – Marko Stanojevic, English-born Italian rugby union footballer
1980 – Antonio Narciso, Italian footballer
1981 – Júlio Baptista, Brazilian footballer
1981 – Rupert Friend, British actor
1981 – Johnny Oduya, Swedish ice hockey player
1981 – Arnau Riera, Spanish footballer
1982 – Haruna Babangida, Nigerian footballer
1982 – Sandra Oxenryd, Swedish singer
1983 – Mirko Vučinić, Montenegrin footballer
1983 – Ashley Green, Yorkshire Author/Comic
1984 – Matt Cain, American baseball player
1984 – Daniel Guillén, Spanish footballer
1985 – Ryo Miyamori, Japanese singer
1985 – Nazimuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi cricketer
1985 – Revazi Zintiridis, Greek judoka
1985 – Tim Deasy, English footballer
1986 – Justin Westhoff, Australian rules footballer
1986 – Jurnee Smollett, American actress
1986 – Sayaka, Japanese singer
1986 – Ricardo Vaz Tê, Portuguese footballer
1987 – Hiroki Aiba, Japanese actor, singer
1987 – Lionel Ainsworth, English footballer
1988 – Cariba Heine, Australian actress
1988 – Jorge Núñez, Puerto Rican singer
1990 – Charlie Mcdonnell, English videoblogger
Deaths
959 – King Edwy of England
1040 – Alan III, Duke of Brittany (poisoned) (b. 997)
1189 – Gerard de Ridefort, grandmaster of the Knights Templar
1310 – Beatrice of Burgundy, Lady of Bourbon (b. 1257)
1404 – Pope Boniface IX (b. 1356)
1499 – Marsilio Ficino, Italian philosopher (b. 1433)
1500 – John Alcock, English Catholic bishop
1567 – Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (b. 1508)
1570 – Frans Floris, Flemish painter (b. 1520)
1574 – Marten Jacobszoon Heemskerk van Veen, Dutch painter (b. 1498)
1578 – Don John of Austria, military leader (b. 1547)
1588 – Blessed Edward James, Catholic martyr
1602 – Hernando de Cabezón, Spanish composer (b. 1541)
1609 – Gianmatteo Asola, Italian composer
1684 – Pierre Corneille, French author (b. 1606)
1693 – Pedro Abarca, Spanish theologian (b. 1619)
1708 – John Blow, British composer (b. 1649)
1768 – Robert Simson, Scottish mathematician (b. 1687)
1837 – Robert Clark, American politician (b. 1777)
1838 – Charles Tennant, Scottish chemist and industrialist (b. 1768)
1864 – Rose Greenhow, American Confederate spy (b. 1817)
1876 – James Lick, California land baron (b. 1796)
1885 – John Light Atlee, American physician and surgeon (b. 1799)
1901 – Abdur Rahman Khan, Afghan amir
1913 – Eugene O'Keefe, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1827)
1919 – Princess Charlotte of Prussia (b. 1860)
1929 – Antoine Bourdelle, French sculptor (b. 1861)
1942 – Ants Piip, Estonian Prime Minister (b. 1884)
1955 – Charles Christie, American film studio owner (b. 1880)
1958 – Robert Falk, Russian painter (b. 1886)
1959 – Enrico de Nicola, 1st President of the Italian Republic (b. 1877)
1970 – Raoul Riganti, Argentine racing driver (b. 1893)
1974 – Spyridon Marinatos, Greek archaeologist (b. 1901)
1975 – Al Jackson, American drummer (Booker T. & the M.G.'s) (b. 1935)
1984 – Walter Alston, American baseball player and manager (b. 1911)
1985 – E. B. White, American author (b. 1899)
1988 – Sacheverell Sitwell, English writer (b. 1897)
1990 – Curtis LeMay, American Air Force general (b. 1906)
1992 – Petra Kelly, German politician (b. 1947)
1994 – Paul Lorenzen, German philosopher (b. 1915)
1996 – Pat McGeown, Provisional Irish Republican Army member (b. 1956)
1997 – Jerome H. Lemelson, American inventor (b. 1923)
1998 – Pauline Julien, French Canadian singer (b. 1928)
1999 – Lena Zavaroni, Scottish singer and Child star (b. 1963)
2000 – Robert Allen, American pianist and songwriter (b. 1928)
2000 – Reginald Kray, British gangster (b. 1933)
2001 – Guy Beaulne, French-Canadian actor and theatre director (b. 1921)
2001 – Kathleen Ankers, American scenic designer (b. 1919)
2002 – Walter Annenberg, American publisher and philanthropist (b. 1908)
2004 – Richard Avedon, American photographer (b. 1923)
2004 – Bruce Palmer, Canadian musician (Buffalo Springfield) (b. 1946)
2006 – Jerald Tanner, American religious activist (b. 1938)
2006 – André Viger, French Canadian wheelchair marathoner (b. 1952)
2007 – Chris Mainwaring, Australian rules footballer (b. 1965)
2007 – Harry Lee, Sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (b. 1932)
2007 – Al Oerter, American track and field athlete (b. 1936)
2007 – Ned Sherrin, English broadcaster, author and stage director (b. 1931)
2007 – Ronnie Hazlehurst, English conductor and theme song composer (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances
National Day of the People's Republic of China (1949)
Republic of Cyprus – Independence Day (from Britain, 1960)
Nigeria – Independence Day (from Britain, 1960)
Tuvalu – Independence Day (from Gilbert Islands (Kiribati), 1975)
Singapore – Children's Day
Abai (martyr) in the Syrian Church
International Day of Older Persons
World Vegetarian Day (from North American Vegetarian Society, 1977)
World Day of Music by the proposal of Yehudi Menuhin (1975)
