Browse Historical Events by Month:
Explorations, great battles, and crowned leaders. Discover meaningful events and milestones from October throughout history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
Note: Sources for the historical content shown, include research and reviews of relevant Online History Resources or printed material. When possible, we show a link to a source which provides additional or unique perspective about the event.
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Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to successfully take the plunge over Niagara Falls inside an oak barrel. She was a 63-year-old at the time. Seventy one years earlier, on October 17,1829, Sam Patch, had survived jumping down the Horseshoe Falls of the Niagara River, on the Canadian side of the border. More
Anarchist Leon Czolgosz was executed for the assassination of U.S. President William McKinley, forty five days after McKinley's death. More
The first modern World Series in baseball begins between the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Bank of Italy opens its doors in San Francisco. Founded by Amadeo Pietro Giannini, the bank changed its name to Bank of America on November 1,1930. It eventually merged with other institutions becoming a major banking force. More
The New York City Subway Opens. More
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Facing a general strike that paralyzed the country, Tsar Nicholas II issues the October Manifesto on October 30, 1905. The declaration promised significant, albeit limited, reforms and the creation of the Duma, a legislative body; moving the government toward a Constitutional Monarchy.
However, the changes did not last, as future changes limited the power of the Duma. and increased Nicolas autocratic control.
Guglielmo Marconi's company launched the first commercial transatlantic wireless service making long-distance communication faster and more accessible and breaking the monopoly of the undersea cable companies. The service connected Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, and Clifden, Ireland and transmitted messages as "Marconigrams" using Morse code.
The service connected Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, and Clifden, Ireland and transmitted messages as "Marconigrams" using Morse code. The messages were sent as radio waves, which were transmitted by a spark-gap transmitter and received as a series of "beeps" by a receiving operator who translated them back into text. The new service was an instant success, increasing the speed and decreasing the cost of transatlantic communication and laying the foundation for modern wireless technologies. On April, 1912 when the RMS Titanic sank four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. Marconi's Wireless service proved to be instrumental in helping with the rescue; Herbert Samuel, Britain’s postmaster-general, was quoted to have said during a court of inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic, “Those who have been saved, have been saved through one man, Mr. Marconi…and his marvelous invention.”
Henry Ford introduces the Model T automobile to the market, revolutionizing the automotive industry. More
The dual Kingdome of Austria - Hungary announces the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina provinces in the Balkan region of Europe formerly under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Intended as a catalyst for domestic policy, it proved to be a fateful move. More
Theodore Roosevelt is shot at a hotel in Milwaukee as he was about to start a campaign speech for a third term. The bullet penetrated Roosevelt’s heavy overcoat and ripped through the right side of his chest. Inside the breast pocket were two items that absorbed the impact and undoubtedly saved Roosevelt’s life.
The first was a thick fifty-page speech manuscript folded in half. Behind that was a metal eyeglass case in which Roosevelt kept his spectacles. Roosevelt was wounded, finished the speech and was then taken to the hospital. He survived the attack but loss the election for a third term. More
The First Balkan War breaks out as Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece declare war on the Ottoman Empire, following Montenegro which had declared war on the Ottoman Empire on October 12, 1912. More
Bulgaria's Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov issues a statement announcing Bulgaria's entrance into the First World War on the side of the Central Powers. More
The War Revenue Act of 1917 is enacted to fund the US participation in World War I. It dramatically increased federal income tax rates and significantly expanded the number of Americans paying income tax by lowering tax exemptions and increasing tax rates.
The act also introduced a wartime excess-profits tax on corporations, raising their tax rates from 1% to 12%. Overall, the act increased the federal tax revenue tenfold and marked a fundamental shift by making income the primary source of federal revenue replacing tariffs and excise taxes; expanding government power and foreshadowing the modern tax system. More
Mata Hari is executed by the French on charges of spying for Germany during World War I. She was a dancer and courtesan whose name has become a synonym for the seductive female spy. She performed all over Europe telling the story that she was born in a sacred Indian temple and taught ancient dances by a priestess who gave her the name Mata Hari. Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, née Zelle was actually born in the Netherlands. The nature and extent of her espionage activities remain uncertain, and her guilt widely contested. More
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The October Revolution in Russia begins as the Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, seizes power in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) where the Bolsheviks launched a nearly bloodless coup against the Provisional Government and eventually formed a new government with Lenin at its head.
Brazil declares war on the German Empire. Brazil had pursued a policy of neutrality in the initial years of the war . In the course of the war, public opinion was on the side of the Allies. Only a few intellectuals declared their solidarity with the German Empire along with the majority of the descendants of German immigrants. On April of 1917 the Brazilian freighter Paraná was sank by Germany followed by three other Brazilian ships being torpedoed. More
German Chancellor Max von Baden, sends a telegraph message to President Woodrow Wilson requesting an armistice between Germany and the Allied powers in World War I. a few days later, Wilson responded to Baden’s armistice request (and a subsequent German communiqué on October 12) with a note that quickly deflated German expectations.
Minnesota's Moose Lake and Cloquet Fires. Originally started miles away a couple of days earlier by a spark from a passing train during an extreme dry season. Over 1000 people lost their lives, thirty-eight communities were destroyed, 250,000 acres were burned, causing and economic loss of $73 million (over a billion in today's economy). More
The Cech Republic Independence Day. Commemorates the Independence declaration by the Czechoslovak National Council.
The Armistice of Mudros is signed on the British battleship HMS Agamemnon in the port of Mudros on the Aegean island of Lemnos. The armistice, between the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain, representing the Allied powers, brought an end to the Turkish Army’s participation in the war. More
