On this day in History - Oct. 10
- 0019 - Germanicus dies (b. 15 BC). Roman general.
- 0680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Shi'a Muslims as Aashurah. (See also History Focus)
- 0732 - Battle of Tours: Near Poitiers, France, leader of the Franks Charles Martel and his men, defeat a large army of Moors, stopping the Muslims from spreading into Western Europe. The governor of Cordoba, Abd-ar-Rahman, is killed during the battle.
- 0732 - Abd ar-Rahman dies. Moorish Governor of Andalusia.
- 0833 - al-Ma'mun dies (b. 0786). Abbasid caliph of Baghdad.
- 1344 - Mary Plantagenet was born (d. 1362). English princess.
- 1359 - King Hugh IV of Cyprus dies (b. 1295).
- 1459 - Gianfrancesco Poggio Bracciolini dies (b. 1380). Italian humanist and classicist.
- 1471 - Battle of Brunkeberg in Stockholm: Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by Christian I, King of Denmark.
- 1486 - Bartolomeu Dias receives a Portuguese Royal annuity.
- 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli dies killed in battle (b. 1484). Swiss reformer.
- 1567 - Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain was born (d. 1597).
- 1575 - Battle of Dormans: Catholic forces under Duke Henry of Guise defeated the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.
- 1582 - Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1631 - A Saxon army take over Prague.
- 1659 - Abel Tasman dies (b. 1603). Dutch explorer and navigator. He discovered Tasmania
- 1674 - Thomas Traherne dies. English poet.
- 1678 - John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll was born (d. 1743). Scottish soldier.
- 1684 - Antoine Watteau was born (d. 1721). French rococo painter.
- 1691 - Isaac de Benserade dies (b. 1613). French poet.
- 1700 - Lambert-Sigisbert Adam was born (d. 1759). French sculptor.
- 1708 - David Gregory dies (b. 1659). Scottish astronomer.
- 1714 - Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert dies (b. 1646). French economist.
- 1720 - Antoine Coysevox dies (b. 1640). French sculptor.
- 1723 - William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper dies (b. 1665). Lord Chancellor of England.
- 1725 - Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil dies (b. 1643). Governor-General of New France.
- 1731 - Henry Cavendish was born (d. 1810). British scientist.
- 1733 - France declares war on Austria over the question of Polish succession.
- 1738 - Benjamin West was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania (d. 11 Mar 1820). Painter (Death of General Wolfe).
- 1747 - John Potter dies (b. 1674). Archbishop of Canterbury.
- 1759 - Granville Elliott dies (b. 1713). British military officer.
- 1765 - Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset dies (b. 1688). Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
- 1780 - John Abercrombie was born (d. 1844). Scottish physician and philosopher.
- 1780 - The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000-30,000 in Caribbean.
- 1783 - Henry Brook dies in Dublin (b. 1703). Novelist and dramatist.
- 1794 - William Whiting Boardman was born (d. 1871). American politician.
- 1795 - Francesco Antonio Zaccaria dies (b. 1714). Italian theologian and historian.
- 1806 - Louis Ferdinand of Prussia dies (b. 1772). German prince.
- 1813 - Giuseppe Verdi was born (d. 1901). Italian composer (Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida).
- 1817 - Gertrudis Bocanegra es fusilada en Michoacán (n. 11 Abr 1765). defensora da libertad y luchadora infatigable pela causa da Independencia do Mexico.
- 1819 - Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denzinger was born (d. 1883). German theologian.
- 1824 - Guadalupe Victoria sworn as the first President of Mexican Republic.
- 1825 - Paul Kruger was born (d. 1904). President of the Transvaal Republic.
- 1827 - Rosario Ortiz was born in Concepcion. Chilean journalist, one of the first of Latina America.
- 1827 - Ugo Foscolo dies (b. 1778). Italian writer.
- 1830 - Queen Isabella II was born (d. 1904). Queen of Spain
- 1834 - Aleksis Kivi was born (d. 1872). Finnish author (Seitseman veljesta: Seven Brothers, 1870)
- 1837 - Robert Gould Shaw was born (d. 1863). U.S. Army officer.
- 1837 - Charles Fourier dies (b. 1772). French philosopher.
- 1839 - Francisco Giner de los Rios was born (d. 1915). Spanish educator and philosopher. Founder of "Institución Libre de Enseñanza".
- 1845 - In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors.
- 1856 - Vicente López y Planes dies (b. 1785). Argentine politician and writer who was the author of the lyrics of the National Hymn.
- 1858 - Varnhagen von Ense dies in Berlin (b. 1785). Eminent German writer, poet and historian.
- 1861 - Fridtjof Nansen was born (d. 1930). Norwegian explorer, Nobel laureate in 1922.
- 1863 - Helen Dunbar was born (d. 1933). American actress.
- 1864 - T. Frank Appleby was born (d. 1924). United States Congressman from New Jersey.
- 1868 - Carlos Céspedes issued the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba's independence.
- 1870 - Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin was born (d. 1953). Russian writer.
- 1870 - Louise Mack was born (d. 1935). Australian writer.
- 1872 - William H. Seward dies (b. 1801). United States Secretary of State.
- 1875 - Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy dies (b. 1817). Russian novelist, poet and dramatist.
- 1876 - Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville dies (b. 1814). French geologist.
- 1877 - Lieutenant-Colonel George Armstrong Custer is given a funeral with full military honors.
- 1885 - Walter Anderson was born (d. 1962). German folklorist.
- 1889 - Barnard College is founded.
- 1889 - Han van Meegeren was born (d. 1947). Dutch painter, portraitist and art forgers.
- 1893 - Lip Pike dies (b. 1845). Baseball player.
- 1895 - Lin Yutang was born (d. 1976). Chinese writer.
- 1895 - Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva Gosvami Maharaja was born (d. 1988). Indian religious Guru
- 1895 - Fridolf Rhudin was born (d. 1935). Swedish actor and comedian.
- 1895 - Wolfram von Richthofen was born (d. 1945). German field marshal.
- 1898 - Lilly Daché was born (d. 1989). French-born milliner.
- 1900 - Helen Hayes was born (d. 1993). American actress. Academy Award for Best Actress for her first major role: "The Sin of Madelon Claudet" in 1931, and forty years later for Best Supporting Actress in "Airport" . Her major works includes also "Happy Birthday", "Time Remembered".
- 1901 - Alberto Giacometti was born (d. 1966). Swiss sculptor.
- 1901 - Lorenzo Snow dies (b. 1814). President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- 1903 - Vernon Duke was born (d. 1969). American composer and songwriter
- 1903 - Prince Charles of Belgium was born (d. 1983). Prince Regent of Belgium.
- 1906 - R.K. Narayan was born (d. 2001). Indian novelist.
- 1906 - Paul Creston was born (d. 1985). American composer.
- 1908 - Baseball Writers Association forms.
- 1908 - Johnny Green was born (d. 1989). American songwriter, arranger and conductor.
- 1908 - Mercè Rodoreda was born (d. 1983). Catalan novelist.
- 1909 - Robert F. Boyle was born. American production designer and art director.
- 1911 - Wuchang Uprising which led to the demise of Qing Dynasty, the last emperial court in China, and the founding of the Republic of China.
- 1911 - Comercial Futebol Clube de Ribeirão Preto is founded in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
- 1913 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson triggered the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal.
- 1913 - Claude Simon was born (d. 2005). French writer, Nobel Prize laureate in 1985.
- 1913 - Katsura Taro dies (b. 1848). Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1913 - Adolphus Busch dies (b. 1839). American brewer (Anheuser-Busch).
- 1914 - Tommy Fine was born (d. 2005). Baseball player.
- 1914 - Ivory Joe Hunter was born (d. 1974). American R&B singer.
- 1914 - King Carol I of Romania dies (b. 1839).
- 1915 - Owen Bradley was born (d. 7 Jan 1998). American music producer.
- 1916 - Mirita Casimiro (ZulmiraCasimiro de Almeida) was born in Viseu (d. Cascais 25 Mar 1970). Portuguese actress (Note: some fonts refer her birthday on 1914).
- 1917 - Thelonious Monk was born (d. 17 Feb. 1982). American jazz pianist and composer.
- 1919 - Richard Strauss' opera Die Frau ohne Schatten receives its debut performance in Vienna.
- 1920 - The Carinthian Plebiscite determined that the larger part of Carinthia became part of Austria.
- 1923 - Nicholas Parsons was born. English actor.
- 1924 - Ludmilla Tchérina was born (d. 2004). Ballet dancer and actress.
- 1924 - Ed Wood was born (d. 1978). American filmmaker.
- 1924 - James Clavell was born (d. 1994). Australian author. His books included "Shogun" and "Noble House."
- 1925 - Great Antonio was born (d. 2001). Croatian-Canadian strongman.
- 1926 - Richard Jaeckel was born (d. 1997). American actor.
- 1927 - Dana Elcar was born (d. 2005). American actor.
- 1927 - Gustave Whitehead dies (b. 1874). German-born inventor.
- 1929 - David Neto dies in S. Paulo (b. 1929). Brazilian actor.
- 1930 - Eugenio Castellotti was born (d. 1957). Italian race car driver.
- 1930 - Mustafa Zaidi was born (d. 1970). Pakistani poet.
- 1930 - Yves Chauvin was born. French chemist, Nobel laureate.
- 1930 - Harold Pinter was born. English playwright, Nobel laureate.
- 1930 - Adolf Engler dies (b. 1844). German botanist.
- 1932 - Harry Smith was born. English football player.
- 1933 - United Airlines Chesterton Crash: A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation.
- 1933 - Jay Sebring was born (d. 1969). American hair stylist.
- 1935 - George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess" opened on Broadway.
- 1935 - A tornado destroys the 160 metre tall wooden radio tower in Langenberg. As a result of this catastrophe, few wooden towers were constructed after this date.
- 1935 - André Bureau was born. French Canadian communications executive.
- 1936 - Gerhard Ertl was born. German surface chemist, Nobel laureate, 2007.
- 1938 - Moriyama Daido was born. Japanese photographer.
- 1939 - Joseph Pitts was born. American politician.
- 1939 - Eleanor Rigby dies (b. 1895). A real person whose name may have suggested the title to The Beatles song.
- 1940 - Berton Churchill dies (b. 1876). Canadian actor.
- 1941 - Peter Coyote was born. American actor.
- 1942 - Radu Vasile was born. Romanian Prime Minister (17 Apr. 1998- 13 Dec. 1999).
- 1943 - Double Tenth Incident in Japanese controlled Singapore.
- 1943 - Chiang Kai-shek took the oath of office as president of China.
- 1943 - Frederick Barthelme was born. American author.
- 1945 - The Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang signed a principle agreement in Chongqing about the future of post-war China. Later, the pact is commonly referred to as the Double-Ten Agreement.
- 1946 - Charles Dance was born. English actor.
- 1946 - John Prine was born. American singer.
- 1946 - Ben Vereen was born. American actor and dancer, entertainer.
- 1946 - Chris Tarrant was born. English TV presenter.
- 1946 - Naoto Ka was born. Japanese politician.
- 1946 - Peter Mahovlich was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
- 1946 - Mildred Grieveson (aka: Anne Mather, Caroline Fleming, Cardine Fleming) was born. English writer.
- 1947 - Prokofiev's Sixth Symphony was premiered in St. Petersburg, called Leningrad at the time.
- 1947 - Martin Ruane was born (d. 1998). English professional wrestler.
- 1948 - Ed Volker was born. American musician.
- 1948 - Séverine was born. French singer.
- 1948 - Cyril Neville was born. Rock singer-musician (The Neville Brothers).
- 1949 - Jessica Harper was born. American actress.
- 1950 - Nora Roberts was born. American novelist.
- 1951 - Epeli Ganilau was born. Fijian statesman.
- 1951 - Ratu Epeli Ganilau was born. Fijian soldier and statesman.
- 1953 - Midge Ure was born. Scottish musician.
- 1953 - Gus Williams was born. American basketball player.
- 1953 - David Lee Roth was born. American singer.
- 1954 - The Communist Party of Honduras is founded.
- 1954 - Mohamed Mounir was born. Egyptian singer and actor.
- 1954 - Rekha was born. Bollywood actress.
- 1955 - David Lee Roth was born. American singer.
- 1956 - Amanda Burton was born. Northern Irish actress.
- 1956 - Mark Gordon was born. American film producer.
- 1956 - Miguel Falabella was born. Brazilian actor.
- 1957 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he was refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant.
- 1957 - The Windscale fire in Cumbria, UK becomes the world's first major nuclear accident.
- 1957 - Rumiko Takahashi was born. Japanese artist.
- 1957 - Karl Genzken dies (b. 1885). Nazi physician.
- 1958 - Tanya Tucker was born. American singer.
- 1959 - Bradley Whitford was born. American actor.
- 1959 - Kirsty MacColl was born (d. 2000). British singer.
- 1960 - Eric Martin was born. American singer.
- 1960 - Ron Flockhart was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
- 1961 - Martin Kemp was born. English actor and former musician (Spandau Ballet).
- 1961 - Jodi Benson was born. American voice actress and singer.
- 1961 - Henrik Jørgensen was born. Danish marathon runner.
- 1961 - Julia Sweeney was born. American actress and comedian.
- 1963 - Daniel Pearl was born (d. 2002). American journalist.
- 1963 - Rebecca Pidgeon was born. American actress, singer, and songwriter.
- 1963 - Jolanda de Rover was born. Dutch swimmer.
- 1963 - Jim_Glennie was born. English rock musician (James).
- 1963 - Anita Mui was born (d. 2003). Hong Kong singer.
- 1963 - Vegard Ulvang was born. Norwegian cross-country skier.
- 1963 - Édith Piaf dies (b. 19 Dec 1915). French singer.
- 1963 - Roy Cazaly dies (b. 1893). Australian rules footballer.
- 1963 - Arturo Umberto Illia becomes President of Argentina.
- 1964 - The 1964 Summer Olympics open in Tokyo, Japan.
- 1964 - Jim Rome was born. Sports talk radio host and host of The Jim Rome Show.
- 1964 - Sarah Lancashire was born. English actress.
- 1964 - Quinton Flynn was born. American voice actor.
- 1964 - Eddie Cantor dies (b. 1892). American singer and vaudeville performer.
- 1964 - Heinrich Neuhaus dies (b. 1888). Soviet pianist.
- 1964 - Jean Paul Sartre refuses The Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1965 - Chris Penn was born (d. 2006). American actor.
- 1965 - Clive Jones was born. British engineer.
- 1965 - Rebecca Pidgeon was born. American actress.
- 1965 - Steve Scalise was born. American politician.
- 1966 - Simon and Garfunkel release the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
- 1966 - Tony Adams was born. English football player.
- 1967 - The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, enters into force.
- 1967 - Jonathan Littell was born. French-American writer.
- 1968 - Bart Brentjens was born. Dutch mountain biker.
- 1969 - King Crimson releases their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, considered by many to be the first progressive rock album.
- 1969 - Brett Favre was born. American football player.
- 1969 - Wendi McLendon-Covey was born. American actress.
- 1970 - Fiji becomes independent.
- 1970 - In Montreal, Quebec, 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.
- 1970 - Maja Tatic was born. Serbian singer.
- 1970 - Corinna May was born. German singer.
- 1970 - Dean Kiely was born. Irish footballer.
- 1970 - Sir Matthew Pinsent was born. English rower.
- 1970 - Bai Ling was born. Chinese American actress.
- 1970 - Mohammed Mourhit was born. Belgian athlete.
- 1970 - Édouard Daladier dies (b. 1884). French politician.
- 1971 - Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, the London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
- 1971 - Ian Bennett was born. English football player.
- 1971 - Evgeny Kissin was born. Russian pianist.
- 1971 - John Cawte Beaglehole dies (b. 1901). New Zealand historian.
- 1972 - Jun Lana was born. Filipino playwright and screenwriter.
- 1972 - Ricardo Sá Pinto was born. Portuguese football player.
- 1972 - Alexei Zhitnik was born. Russian ice hockey player.
- 1973 - Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with federal income tax evasion.
- 1973 - Mario López was born. American actor.
- 1973 - Semmy Schilt was born. Dutch kickboxer.
- 1973 - Ludwig von Mises dies (b. 19 Sep 1881). Austrian economist.
- 1974 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. was born. American race car driver.
- 1974 - Julio Ricardo Cruz was born. Argentinian football player.
- 1974 - Chris Pronger was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
- 1974 - Assi Cohen was born. Israeli comedian and actor.
- 1975 - Liz Taylor's 6th marriage (re-marries Richard Burton)
- 1975 - Papua-Nova Guiné joins to United Nations
- 1975 - Plácido Polanco was born. Dominican baseball player.
- 1975 - Ramón Morales was born. Mexican footballer.
- 1976 - Bob Burnquist was born. Brazilian-born skateboarder.
- 1976 - Pat Burrell was born. American baseball player.
- 1976 - Silvana Armenulic dies (b. 1939). Yugoslavian folk singer.
- 1977 - Angelo Muscat dies (b. 1930). Maltese actor.
- 1977 - José Fioravanti dies. Argentine sculptor.
- 1978 - US President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law that authorizes the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
- 1978 - Jodi Lyn O'Keefe was born. American actress.
- 1978 - Ralph Metcalfe dies (b. 1910). American athlete.
- 1978 - Ralph Marterie dies (b. 1914). American big band leader.
- 1979 - The Pac-Man arcade game is released to the Japanese market by Namco.
- 1979 - Mya Harrison was born. American singer.
- 1979 - Ahn Chil Hyun (Kangta) was born. Lead singer of the former South Korean group H.O.T.
- 1979 - Nicolás Massú was born. Chilean tennis player
- 1979 - Wu Chun was born. Brunei born Taiwanese actor.
- 1979 - Christopher Evans dies (b. 1931). British psychologist and computer scientist
- 1979 - Paul Paray dies (b. 1886). French conductor.
- 1980 - Elvis Hammond was born. Ghanaian footballer.
- 1980 - Sherine was born. Egyptian singer.
- 1980 - Tim Maurer was born. American singer (Suburban Legends).
- 1980 - Wu Chun was born. Brunei born Taiwanese actor.
- 1981 - Michael Oliver was born. American actor.
- 1981 - Mya Harrison was born. American singer.
- 1982 - Amon Buchanan was born. Australian rules football (not soccer) player.
- 1982 - Dan Stevens was born. English actor.
- 1982 - Hideki Mutoh was born. Japanese racing driver.
- 1982 - Jean Effel dies (b. 1908). French painter and journalist.
- 1983 - Vusimuzi Sibanda was born. Zimbabwean cricketer.
- 1983 - Ralph Richardson dies (b. 1902). English actor.
- 1984 - Chiaki Kuriyama was born. Japanese actress.
- 1984 - Paul Posluszny was born. American football player.
- 1984 - Rod Benson was born. American basketball player.
- 1984 - Stephanie Cheng was born. Hong Kong singer.
- 1984 - Troy Tulowitzki was born. American baseball player.
- 1985 - United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijackers and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested.
- 1985 - Aaron Himelstein was born. American actor.
- 1985 - Dominique Cornu was born. Belgian professional cyclist.
- 1985 - Yul Brynner dies (b. 1915). Russian-born actor.
- 1985 - Orson Welles dies (b. 1915). American director and actor.
- 1986 - An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people.
- 1986 - Nathan Jawai was born. Australian basketball player.
- 1986 - Gleb Wataghin dies (b. 1899). Ukrainian-Italian physicist.
- 1987 - Eric B. and Rakim release Paid in Full, their debut album.
- 1988 - Em Portugal, assinatura do acordo relativo à revisão constitucional por Aníbal Cavaco Silva, do PSD, e Vítor Constâncio, do PS.
- 1991 - Gabriella Cilmi was born. Australian singer.
- 1991 - Mariana Espósito was born. Argentine actress, singer and model.
- 1993 - In Greece, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, led by Andreas Papandreou, won a solid majority of seats in parliamentary elections.
- 1994 - Americans Alfred G. Gilman and Martin Rodbell won the Nobel Prize in medicine.
- 1995 - University of Chicago professor Robert E. Lucas won the Nobel Prize in economics for demonstrating how people's fears and expectations can frustrate policy-makers' efforts to shape the economy.
- 1995 - World chess champion Gary Kasparov won a month-long championship match against Viswanathan Anand.
- 1995 - South African President Nelson Mandela attends Genadendal.
- 1997 - The NHL's Carolina Hurricanes win their first-ever regular season game by defeating the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
- 1997 - The International Campaign to Ban Landmines and its coordinator, Jody Williams, were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1998 - Clark Clifford dies (b. 1906). United States Secretary of Defense.
- 1999 - Portugal's governing Socialist Party was returned to power by a comfortable margin in a general election.
- 2000 - Sirimavo Bandaranaike dies (b. 1916). Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
- 2001 - US President George W. Bush presents a list of 22 most wanted terrorists.
- 2001 - Eddie Futch dies (b. 1911). American boxing trainer.
- 2001 - Vasily Mishin was born (d. 1917). Soviet rocket designer.
- 2002 - Teresa Graves dies (b. 1948). American actress and singer.
- 2003 - Europe's Largest Water Bridge Opens in Germany.
- 2003 - Eugene Istomin dies (b. 1925). American pianist.
- 2003 - Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer and activist, wins the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize ( See Shirin Ebadi related article in this blog).
- 2004 - Ken Caminiti dies (b. 1963). American baseball player.
- 2004 - Christopher Reeve dies (b. 1952). American actor who became a quadriplegic after a May 1995 horse riding accident.
- 2004 - Arthur H. Robinson dies (b. 1915). American cartographer.
- 2004 - Maurice Shadbolt dies (b. 1932). New Zealand writer.
- 2005 - Channel 4's new documentary channel More4 starts broadcasting on ntl, Sky Digital and Freeview in the UK.
- 2005 - Negotiations between the CDU/CSU and SPD in Germany had concluded that both parties would form a grand coaltion with Angela Merkel of the CDU as chancellor after both parties lost seats in the 2005 German federal election. She was subsequently elected in the Bundestag as chancellor on November 22 of the same year.
- 2005 - Wayne Booth dies (b. 1921). American literary critic.
- 2005 - Milton Obote dies (b. 1925). President of Uganda.
- 2006 - Google Inc. announced it was snapping up YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in a stock deal.
- 2006 - Michael John Rogers dies (b. 1932). English ornithologist.
- 2006 - Ian Scott dies (b. 1934). Canadian politician.
- 2007 - Mehmed Uzun dies (b. 1953). Contemporary Kurdish writer and novelist.
- Republic of China (on Taiwan) - National Day (Double Tenth Day 雙十國慶)
- World Mental Health Day / Dia Mundial da Saúde Mental
- North Korea - Foundation of the Korean Workers Party
- World Day against the death penalty / Dia Mundial contra a pena de morte
- RC Saints - Saint Thomas of Villanueva ; Saint Paulinus of York (in England); Viktor of Xanten; Saint Cerbonius, Saint Francis Borgia
- Japan - National Health-Sports Day
- Japan - Tom Cruise Day: awarded to the actor Tom Cruise by the Japan Memorial Day Association for his "love" and "close association with" the nation of Japan. He is the first Hollywood star to receive such an honor. First observed October 6, 2006.
- Old Michelmas - Celtic holiday
- Finland - The Day of Finnish literature
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