October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 91 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
Pre-1600
331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.
366 – Pope Damasus I is consecrated.
959 – Edgar the Peaceful becomes king of all England, in succession to Eadwig.
965 – Pope John XIII is consecrated.
1553 – The coronation of Queen Mary I of England is held at Westminster Abbey.
1588 – The coronation of Shah Abbas I of Persia occurs.
1601–1900
1730 – Ahmed III is forced to abdicate as the Ottoman sultan.
1779 – The city of Tampere, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.
1787 – Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn.
1791 – First session of the French Legislative Assembly.
1795 – More than a year after the Battle of Sprimont, the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium) are officially annexed by Revolutionary France.
1800 – Via the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain cedes Louisiana to France, which would sell the land to the United States thirty months later.
1814 – The Congress of Vienna opens with the intention of redrawing Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoleon in the previous spring.
1827 – Russo-Persian War: The Russian army under Ivan Paskevich storms Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination of Armenia.
1829 – The South African College is founded in Cape Town, later separating into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools.
1832 – Texian political delegates convene at San Felipe de Austin to petition for changes in the governance of Mexican Texas.
1861 – Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management is published, going on to sell 60,000 copies in its first year and remaining in print until the present day.
1887 – Balochistan is conquered by the British Empire.
1890 – Yosemite National Park is established by the U.S. Congress.
1891 – Stanford University opens its doors in California, United States.
1898 – The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration is founded under the name k.u.k. Exportakademie.
1901–present
1903 – Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.
1908 – Ford Model T automobiles are offered for sale at a price of US$825.
1910 – A large bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building, killing 21.
1918 – World War I: The Egyptian Expeditionary Force captures Damascus.
1918 – Sayid Abdullah becomes the last Khan of Khiva.
1923 – The 1923 Imperial Conference opened in London.
1923 – Georges Carpentier knocked out former British heavyweight champion Joe Beckett a mere twenty seconds into the first round of their boxing match at Olympia in London.
1928 – The Soviet Union introduces its first five-year plan.
1928 – Newark Liberty International Airport opens, becoming the first airport in the New York City metro area.
1931 – The George Washington Bridge in the United States is opened, linking New Jersey and New York.
1931 – Clara Campoamor persuades the Constituent Cortes to enfranchise women in Spain's new constitution.
1936 – Spanish Civil War: Francisco Franco is named head of the Nationalist government of Spain.
1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia dissolves itself, handing control of Catalan defence militias over to the Generalitat.
1938 – Pursuant to the Munich Agreement signed the day before, Nazi Germany begins the military occupation and annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.
1939 – World War II: After a one-month siege, German troops occupy Warsaw.
1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic.
1942 – World War II: USS Grouper torpedoes Lisbon Maru, not knowing that she is carrying British prisoners of war from Hong Kong.
1943 – World War II: After the Four Days of Naples, Allied troops enter the city.
1946 – Nazi leaders are sentenced at the Nuremberg trials.
1946 – The Daegu October incident occurs in Allied-occupied Korea.
1947 – The North American F-86 Sabre flies for the first time.
1949 – The People's Republic of China is established.
1953 – Andhra State is formed, consisting of a Telugu-speaking area carved out of India's Madras State.
1953 – A United States-South Korea mutual defense treaty is concluded in Washington, D.C.
1955 – The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is established.
1957 – The motto In God We Trust first appears on U.S. paper currency.
1958 – The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is replaced by NASA.
1960 – Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1961 – The United States Defense Intelligence Agency is formed, becoming the country's first centralized military intelligence organization.
1961 – East and West Cameroon merge to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.
1961 – The CTV Television Network, Canada's first private television network, is launched.
1962 – James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying racial segregation rules.
1963 – On its third anniversary as an independent nation, Nigeria became a republic.
1964 – The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
1964 – Japanese Shinkansen ("bullet trains") begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka.
1966 – West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with no survivors in Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.
1968 – Guyana nationalizes the British Guiana Broadcasting Service, which would eventually become part of the National Communications Network, Guyana.
1969 – Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time.
1971 – Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida.
1971 – The first practical CT scanner is used to diagnose a patient.
1975 – Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.
1978 – Tuvalu gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1979 – Pope John Paul II begins his first pastoral visit to the United States.
1979 – The MTR, Hong Kong's rapid transit railway system, opens.
1982 – Helmut Kohl replaces Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of Germany through a constructive vote of no confidence.
1982 – EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) opens at Walt Disney World in Florida.
1982 – Sony and Phillips launch the compact disc in Japan; on the same day, Sony releases the model CDP-101 compact disc player, the first player of its kind.
1985 – Israel-Palestinian conflict: Israel attacks the Palestine Liberation Organization's Tunisia headquarters during Operation Wooden Leg.
1987 – The 5.9 Mw Whittier Narrows earthquake shakes the San Gabriel Valley with a Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing eight and injuring 200.
1989 – Denmark introduces the world's first legal same-sex registered partnerships.
1991 – Croatian War of Independence: The Siege of Dubrovnik begins.
1994 – Palau enters a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
2000 – Israel-Palestinian conflict: Palestinians protest the murder of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah by Israeli police in northern Israel, beginning the "October 2000 events".
2001 – Militants attack the state legislature building in Kashmir, killing 38.
2001 – 3G wireless technology first becomes available when it is adopted by Japanese telecommunications company NTT Docomo.
2003 – The popular and controversial English-language imageboard 4chan is launched.
2009 – The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom takes over the judicial functions of the House of Lords.
2012 – A ferry collision off the coast of Hong Kong kills 38 people and injures 102 others.
2014 – A series of explosions at a gunpowder plant in Bulgaria completely destroys the factory, killing 15 people.
2014 – A double bombing of an elementary school in Homs, Syria kills over 50 people.
2015 – A gunman kills nine people at a community college in Oregon.
2015 – Heavy rains trigger a major landslide in Guatemala, killing 280 people.
2015 – The American cargo vessel SS El Faro sinks with all of its 33 crew after steaming into the eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin.
2016 – The leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, Pedro Sánchez, resigns. He would return to the position a year later.
2017 – An independence referendum, later declared illegal by the Constitutional Court of Spain, takes place in Catalonia.
2017 – Fifty-eight people are killed and 869 others injured in a mass shooting at a country music festival at the Las Vegas Strip in the United States; the gunman, Stephen Paddock, later commits suicide.
2018 – The International Court of Justice rules that Chile is not obliged to negotiate access to the Pacific Ocean with Bolivia.
2019 – Kuopio school stabbing: one dies and ten are injured when Joel Marin, armed with a sabre, attacks a school class at Savo Vocational College in Kuopio, Finland.
2021 – The 2020 World Expo in Dubai begins. Its opening was originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 – One hundred and thirty-five are killed in a human crush following a football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in East Java, Indonesia.
Births
Pre-1600
86 BC – Sallust, Roman historian (d. 34 BC)
208 – Alexander Severus, Roman emperor (d. 235)
1207 – Henry III of England (d. 1272)
1476 – Guy XVI, Count of Laval (d. 1531)
1480 – Saint Cajetan, Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer (d. 1547)
1507 – Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Italian architect who designed the Church of the Gesù (d. 1573)
1526 – Dorothy Stafford, English noble (d. 1604)
1540 – Johann Jakob Grynaeus, Swiss pastor and theologian (d. 1617)
1542 – Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, Spanish explorer (d. 1595)
1550 – Anne of Saint Bartholomew, Spanish Discalced Carmelite nun (d. 1626)
1554 – Leonardus Lessius, Jesuit theologian (d. 1623)
1601–1900
1620 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (d. 1683)
1671 – Luigi Guido Grandi, Italian monk, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1742)
1681 – Giulia Lama, Italian painter (d. 1747)
1685 – Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1740)
1691 – Arthur Onslow, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 1768)
1712 – William Shippen, American physician and politician (d. 1801)
1719 – John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley, British parliamentarian (d. 1781)
1724 – Giovanni Battista Cirri, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1808)
1729 – Anton Cajetan Adlgasser, German organist and composer (d. 1777)
1730 – Richard Stockton, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1781)
1760 – William Thomas Beckford, English author and politician (d. 1844)
1762 – Anton Bernolák, Slovak priest and linguist (d. 1813)
1771 – Pierre Baillot, French violinist and composer (d. 1842)
1791 – Sergey Aksakov, Russian soldier and author (d. 1859)
1808 – Mary Anna Custis Lee, American wife of Robert E. Lee (d. 1873)
1832 – Caroline Harrison, American educator, 24th First Lady of the United States (d. 1892)
1832 – Henry Clay Work, American composer and songwriter (d. 1884)
1835 – Ádám Politzer, Hungarian-Austrian physician and anatomist (d. 1920)
1842 – S. Subramania Iyer, Indian lawyer and jurist (d. 1924)
1842 – Charles Cros, French poet and author (d. 1888)
1846 – Nectarios of Aegina, Greek metropolitan and saint (d. 1920)
1847 – Annie Besant, English-Indian activist and author (d. 1933)
1865 – Paul Dukas, French composer, scholar, and critic (d. 1935)
1878 – Othmar Spann, Austrian economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1950)
1881 – William Boeing, American engineer and businessman who founded the Boeing Company (d. 1956)
1885 – Louis Untermeyer, American poet, anthologist, and critic (d. 1977)
1887 – Ned Hanlon, Australian politician, 26th Premier of Queensland (d. 1952)
1887 – Shizuichi Tanaka, Japanese general (d. 1945)
1890 – Stanley Holloway, English actor (d. 1982)
1893 – Cliff Friend, American pianist and songwriter (d. 1974)
1893 – Ip Man, Chinese martial artist (d. 1972)
1894 – Edgar Krahn, Estonian mathematician and academic (d. 1961)
1895 – Liaquat Ali Khan, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1951)
1896 – Ted Healy, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1937)
1899 – Ernest Haycox, American author (d. 1950)
1900 – Tom Goddard, English cricketer (d. 1966)
1901–present
1903 – Vladimir Horowitz, Russian-born American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1903 – Pierre Veyron, French race car driver (d. 1970)
1904 – Otto Robert Frisch, Austrian-English physicist and academic (d. 1979)
1904 – A. K. Gopalan, Indian educator and politician (d. 1977)
1906 – S. D. Burman, Indian composer and singer (d. 1975)
1907 – Maurice Bardèche, French journalist, author, and critic (d. 1998)
1907 – Ödön Pártos, Hungarian-Israeli viola player and composer (d. 1977)
1908 – Herman David Koppel, Danish pianist and composer (d. 1998)
1909 – Sam Yorty, American captain, politician, and 37th Mayor of Los Angeles (d. 1998)
1910 – Fritz Köberle, Austrian-Brazilian physician and pathologist (d. 1983)
1910 – José Enrique Moyal, Australian physicist and engineer (d. 1998)
1910 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (d. 1934)
1910 – Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Polish-Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2012)
1911 – Irwin Kostal, American songwriter, screenwriter, and publisher (d. 1994)
1911 – Heinrich Mark, Estonian lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Estonia in exile (d. 2004)
1912 – Kathleen Ollerenshaw, English mathematician, astronomer, and politician, Lord Mayor of Manchester (d. 2014)
1913 – Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist (d. 2009)
1913 – Harry Lookofsky, American violinist and producer (d. 1998)
1914 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, lawyer, author, and 12th Librarian of Congress (d. 2004)
1915 – Jerome Bruner, American psychologist and author (d. 2016)
1917 – Cahal Daly, Irish cardinal and theologian (d. 2009)
1919 – Bob Boyd, American baseball player (d. 2004)
1919 – Majrooh Sultanpuri, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2000)
1920 – David Herbert Donald, American historian and author (d. 2009)
1920 – Walter Matthau, American actor (d. 2000)
1921 – James Whitmore, American actor (d. 2009)
1922 – Chen-Ning Yang, Chinese-American physicist, academic, and Nobel Prize laureate
1924 – Jimmy Carter, American naval lieutenant, politician, 39th President of the United States, and Nobel Prize laureate
1924 – Bob Geigel, American wrestler and promoter (d. 2014)
1924 – Leonie Kramer, Australian academic (d. 2016)
1924 – William Rehnquist, American lawyer and jurist, 16th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 2005)
1924 – Roger Williams, American pianist (d. 2011)
1927 – Tom Bosley, American actor (d. 2010)
1927 – Sherman Glenn Finesilver, American lawyer and judge (d. 2006)
1927 – Sandy Gall, Malaysian-Scottish journalist and author
1928 – Laurence Harvey, Lithuanian-English actor, director, and producer (d. 1973)
1928 – Willy Mairesse, Belgian race car driver (d. 1969)
1928 – George Peppard, American actor (d. 1994)
1928 – Sivaji Ganesan, Indian actor (d. 2001)
1928 – Zhu Rongji, Chinese engineer and politician, 5th Premier of the People's Republic of China
1929 – Ken Arthurson, Australian rugby player and coach
1929 – Grady Chapman, American singer (d. 2011)
1929 – Bonnie Owens, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
1930 – Frank Gardner, Australian race car driver and manager (d. 2009)
1930 – Richard Harris, Irish actor (d. 2002)
1930 – Naimatullah Khan, Pakistani lawyer and politician, Mayor of Karachi (d. 2020)
1930 – Philippe Noiret, French actor (d. 2006)
1931 – Sylvano Bussotti, Italian violinist and composer (d. 2021)
1931 – Anwar Shamim, Pakistani general (d. 2013)
1931 – Alan Wagner, American radio host and critic (d. 2007)
1932 – Albert Collins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1993)
1934 – Emilio Botín, Spanish banker and businessman (d. 2014)
1935 – Julie Andrews, English actress and singer
1935 – Walter De Maria, American sculptor and drummer (d. 2013)
1936 – Duncan Edwards, English footballer (d. 1958)
1937 – Saeed Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2024)
1938 – Tunç Başaran, Turkish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
1938 – Mary McFadden, American fashion designer
1938 – Stella Stevens, American actress and director (d. 2023)
1939 – George Archer, American golfer (d. 2005)
1939 – Geoffrey Whitehead, English actor
1940 – Phyllis Chesler, American feminist psychologist
1940 – Steve O'Rourke, English race car driver and manager (d. 2003)
1940 – Marc Savoy, American accordion player, created the Cajun accordion
1942 – Herb Fame, American R&B singer
1942 – Jean-Pierre Jabouille, French race car driver and engineer (d. 2023)
1942 – Bob Lanigan, Australian rugby league player (d. 2024)
1942 – Robert Lelièvre, French singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1973)
1942 – David Stancliffe, English bishop and scholar
1942 – Günter Wallraff, German journalist and author
1943 – Jean-Jacques Annaud, French director, producer, and screenwriter
1943 – Angèle Arsenault, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
1943 – Jerry Martini, American saxophonist
1943 – Robert Slater, American author and journalist (d. 2014)
1945 – Rod Carew, Panamanian-American baseball player and coach
1945 – Donny Hathaway, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1979)
1945 – Ram Nath Kovind, 14th President of India
1946 – Dave Holland, English bassist, composer, and bandleader
1946 – Tim O'Brien, American novelist and short story writer
1947 – Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (d. 2009)
1947 – Dalveer Bhandari, Indian lawyer and judge
1947 – Buzz Capra, American baseball player and coach
1947 – Aaron Ciechanover, Israeli biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate
1947 – Stephen Collins, American actor and director
1947 – Nevill Drury, English-Australian journalist and publisher (d. 2013)
1947 – Adriano Tilgher, Italian politician
1947 – Martin Turner, English singer-songwriter and bass player
1947 – Mariska Veres, Dutch singer (d. 2006)
1948 – Cub Koda, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
1949 – Isaac Bonewits, American singer-songwriter, liturgist, and author (d. 2010)
1949 – Sheila Gilmore, Scottish lawyer and politician
1949 – André Rieu, Dutch violinist, composer, and conductor
1950 – Elpida, Greek singer-songwriter
1950 – Yvette Freeman, American actress
1950 – Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, English neuroscientist, academic, and politician
1950 – Mark Helias, American bassist and composer
1950 – Sigbjørn Johnsen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Finance
1950 – Boris Morukov, Russian physician and astronaut (d. 2015)
1950 – Randy Quaid, American actor
1951 – Brian Greenway, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – Jacques Martin, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
1952 – Bob Myrick, American baseball player (d. 2012)
1952 – Ivan Sekyra, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
1952 – Earl Slick, American rock guitarist and songwriter
1953 – Pete Falcone, American baseball player
1953 – Viljar Loor, Estonian volleyball player (d. 2011)
1953 – Miguel Lopez, Salvadorian-American soccer player
1953 – Grete Waitz, Norwegian runner and coach (d. 2011)
1953 – Klaus Wowereit, German civil servant and politician, Governing Mayor of Berlin
1955 – Howard Hewett, American singer-songwriter
1955 – Morten Gunnar Larsen, Norwegian pianist and composer
1955 – Jeff Reardon, American baseball player
1956 – Andrus Ansip, Estonian engineer and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Estonia
1956 – Theresa May, English politician, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1957 – Kang Seok-woo, South Korean actor
1957 – Éva Tardos, Hungarian mathematician and educator
1958 – Martin Cooper, English saxophonist, composer, and painter
1958 – Masato Nakamura, Japanese bass player and producer
1959 – Mark Aizlewood, Welsh footballer and manager
1959 – Brian P. Cleary, American author and poet
1959 – Youssou N'Dour, Senegalese singer-songwriter, musician, and politician
1960 – Joshua Wurman, American scientist, Doppler on Wheels inventor, and storm chaser
1961 – Gary Ablett Sr., Australian footballer
1961 – Rico Constantino, American wrestler and manager
1961 – Corrie van Zyl, South African cricketer and coach
1962 – Attaphol Buspakom, Thai footballer and manager (d. 2015)
1962 – Nico Claesen, Belgian footballer and coach
1962 – Esai Morales, American actor
1962 – Paul Walsh, English footballer and sportscaster
1963 – Jean-Denis Delétraz, Swiss race car driver
1963 – Mark McGwire, American baseball player and coach
1964 – Harry Hill, English comedian and author
1964 – Max Matsuura, Japanese songwriter, producer, and manager
1964 – Jonathan Sarfati, Australian-New Zealand chess player and author
1965 – Andreas Keller, German field hockey player
1965 – Cindy Margolis, American actress and model
1965 – Mia Mottley, Barbadian prime minister
1965 – Chris Reason, Australian journalist
1965 – Cliff Ronning, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1966 – George Weah, Liberian footballer and politician, 25th President of Liberia
1966 – José Ángel Ziganda, Spanish footballer and manager
1967 – Mike Pringle, American-Canadian football player
1967 – Scott Young, American ice hockey player and coach
1968 – Rob Collard, English race car driver
1968 – Phil de Glanville, English rugby player
1968 – Mark Durden-Smith, British television presenter
1968 – Kevin Griffin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1968 – Jon Guenther, American author and engineer
1968 – Jay Underwood, American actor and pastor
1969 – Zach Galifianakis, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Joseph Patrick Moore, American musician, composer, and producer
1969 – Ori Kaplan, Israeli-American saxophonist and producer
1969 – Marcus Stephen, Nauruan weightlifter and politician, 27th President of Nauru
1969 – Igor Ulanov, Russian ice hockey player
1970 – Simon Davey, Welsh footballer and manager
1970 – Alexei Zhamnov, Russian ice hockey player and manager
1971 – Yvette Hermundstad, Swedish journalist
1971 – Andrew O'Keefe, Australian lawyer and television host
1971 – Jim Serdaris, Australian rugby league player
1972 – Ronen Altman Kaydar, Israeli author and poet
1972 – Esa Holopainen, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Jean, Brazilian footballer
1972 – Nicky Morgan, British politician
1973 – Christian Borle, American actor and singer
1973 – Rachid Chékhémani, French runner
1973 – Jana Henke, German swimmer
1973 – John Mackey, American composer
1973 – John Thomson, American baseball player and coach
1974 – Keith Duffy, Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
1974 – Nick Graham, Australian rugby player
1974 – Mats Lindgren, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
1974 – Sherri Saum, American actress
1975 – Justin Leppitsch, Australian rules footballer
1975 – Zoltán Sebescen, German footballer and coach
1976 – Denis Gauthier, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 – Ümit Karan, Turkish footballer
1976 – Richard Oakes, English guitarist and songwriter
1976 – Antonio Roybal, American painter and sculptor