What Happened in October?

The Treaty of Ryswick is signed, ending the Nine Years' War and restoring the status quo in Europe.

The Treaty of Karlowitz is signed, marking the end of the Great Turkish War and resulting in territorial changes in southeastern Europe.

The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later Yale University) is founded in New Haven, Connecticut.

The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later Yale University) is founded in New Haven, Connecticut.

The Eddystone Lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall, England, is completely destroyed by a storm.

The Hōei earthquake strikes Japan, causing widespread damage and loss of life.

The Siege of Lille during the War of the Spanish Succession concludes with the city's surrender to Allied forces.

The South Sea Bubble, a financial crisis in England, reaches its peak, leading to economic turmoil.

Maria Theresa , at 23 yeas of age, becomes the ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy following the death of her father, Emperor Charles VI. A number of European powers, including Frederick the Great of Prussia, challenged her claim, initiating the War of the Austrian Succession. Despite the initial challenges, she proved to be a formidable ruler, strengthening the monarchy and moving towards a more modern state.

The Battle of Rocoux occurs during the War of the Austrian Succession, with French forces defeating an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army.

A major earthquake of an estimated 9.2 magnitude and a following tsunami, demolish the Peruvian city of Lima and the port city of Callao, killing 18,000 persons. Most of the 3000 homes in Lima were destroyed with only two dozen remaining standing. All offices and all 74 churches were destroyed or damaged.  Expand +

The St. Petersburg State University is founded by Empress Elizabeth of Russia.

The Lisbon earthquake and tsunami strike Portugal, resulting in massive destruction and loss of life.

The Siege of Louisbourg during the French and Indian War ends with British forces capturing the fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia.

George III becomes King of Great Britain at the age of 22, following the death of his grandfather, George II. He experienced behavioral changes after a fever around age 25 but he recovered. He suffered from other "mania" episodes in 1788, leading on to his final, permanent decline beginning in 1810, at the age of 72. He remained mentally unfit to rule for the last decade of his life.

Abigail Smith married a young lawyer from Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, by the name of John Adams, who would become, some thirty years later, the second president of the United States. Abigail Adams who was both the wife and the mother of a president shares that distinction with Barbara Bush.

The Mason-Dixon Line survey is officially completed. The historic border survey was undertaken by surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon between 1763 and 1767 to resolve a land dispute between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland and Delaware. This line also became a symbolic boundary between the Northern and Southern states in the era before the American Civil War.  Expand +

The Second Continental Congress authorizes the Continental Navy on October 13, 1775. The initial authorization was to procure, fit out, and man two armed vessels to intercept British supply ships. The authorization was triggered by Rhode Island, instructing its Congress delegates on August 26, 1775 to propose the creation of a continental fleet.

The British forces, led by General John Burgoyne, surrender to the American Continental Army at the Battle of Saratoga, a turning point in the American Revolutionary War.

The Siege of Yorktown concludes with the surrender of British General Cornwallis to American and French forces, effectively ending major combat in the American Revolutionary leading to the end of British rule in the colonies and the birth of a new nation — the United States of America. More