413 BC – Nicias, Athens politician (Peace of Nicias), killed at about 57
19 – Julius Caesar Germanicus, Roman commandant of Rijnleger, dies at 33
680 – Battle of Karbala: Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Muslims as Aashurah.
1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1760 – In a treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname – descended from escaped slaves – gain territorial autonomy.
1871 – The Great Chicago Fire: Chicago burns after a barn accident. The fire lasts from October 8 to October 10.
1897 – German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovers an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).
1911 – The Wuchang Uprising leads to the demise of the Qing dynasty, the last Imperial court in China, and the founding of the Republic of China.
1911 – Jack Daniel, American businessman, founded Jack Daniel’s (b. 1849) died.
1913 – United States President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal.
1933 – 1933 United Airlines Boeing 247 mid-air explosion: A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation.
1938 – The Munich Agreement cedes the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
1941 – Peter Coyote [Rachmil Pinchus Ben Mosha Cohon], New York City, New York, American actor (ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark) Born
1942 – The Soviet Union establishes diplomatic relations with Australia.
1944 – Holocaust: 800 Gypsy children are murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp.
1948 – Ed Volker, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (The Radiators) was born.
1953 – Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea is concluded in Washington, D.C.
1953 – Midge Ure, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Slik, Rich Kids, Thin Lizzy, Visage, and Ultravox) was born.
1953 – Gus Williams, NBA guard (Golden State, Seattle, Washington) Born
1954 – “Maestro” Jimmy Fearnley, English accordionist (The Pogues) Born
1954 – David Lee Roth, American singer-songwriter and producer (Van Halen and The David Lee Roth Band) was born.
1957 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant.
1958 – Tanya Tucker, Seminole Tx, country singer/actress (Follow that Car)Born
1959 – Chris Lowe, English rock keyboardist (Pet Shop Boys-It’s a Sin)Born
1963 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist (d. 2002) was born.
1964 – The opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite.
1967 – Mike Malinin, American drummer and producer (Goo Goo Dolls) was born.
1969 – Brett Favre, NFL quarterback (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31) Born
1970 – In Montreal, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
1971 – Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
1973 – Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax.
1974 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., American race car driver and actor was born.
1980 – William “Buckwheat” Thomas, actor (Little Rascal), dies at 49
1985 – United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship, and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested.
1985 – Orson Welles, actor/dir (Citizen Kane), dies of heart attack at 70
1985 – Yul Brynner, [Taidje Khan], actor (King & I), dies of cancer at 65
1991 – Redd Foxx, comedian (Sanford & Sons), dies of heart attack at 68
1997 – Brian Connolly, lead singer (Sweet), dies of heart failure at 52
1999 – Thousands assemble to watch a giant Ferris wheel ( One of the UK’s Largest Millennium Projects ) move into position as a new landmark on the London skyline the South Bank of London between Waterloo station and Westminster Bridge. The Millennium Wheel, better known now as the London Eye. ( The London Eye stands 135 meters high and has become one of the most successful Millennium projects attracting an average of 10,000 visitors a day and is the biggest Ferris wheel in the world ).
2004 – Christopher Reeve, famous as the ‘Superman’ actor died of heart failure, he had been a fit and well man until a freak riding accident left him as a quadriplegic due to a spinal cord injury .