The U.S. Congress approves the Louisiana Purchase by a vote of 24 to 7.. More
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What Happened in October?
Explorations, great battles, and crowned leaders. Discover meaningful events and milestones from October throughout history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The Battle of Trafalgar takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a decisive naval engagement between the British Royal Navy led by Admiral Lord Nelson and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish navies under Admiral Pierre Villeneuve and Federico Gravina.
The British achieved a resounding victory, although Admiral Nelson was fatally wounded during the battle. More
The birth of Oktoberfest - Kronprinz Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) marries Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and the citizens of Munich were invited to attend the royal festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates. The fields were named "Theresienwiese" ("Theresa's Meadow") in honor of the Crown Princess. Locals have abbreviated the name simply to Wiesn.
The precise origins of the festival and horse races remain a matter of controversy. However, the decision to repeat the horse races, spectacle, and celebrations in 1811 launched what is now the annual Oktoberfest tradition. More
American forces under General William Henry Harrison defeat the British and Native American forces at the Battle of the Thames during the War of 1812.
Napoleon begins his retreat from Moscow. It is estimated that of the 612,000 combatants who entered Russia only 112,000 returned to the frontier; 100,000 are thought to have been killed in action, 200,000 died from other causes, 50,000 were left sick in hospitals, 50,000 deserted, and 100,000 were been taken as prisoners of war. Russian casualties have been estimated at 200,000 killed. More
The Battle of the Thames is fought on October 5, 1813 in present-day Ontario, Canada during the War of 1812. It was a decisive victory for the American forces under Major General William Henry Harrison defeating the British regulars and Native American warriors led by Major General Henry Procter and Shawnee Chief Tecumseh.
The loss was a major setback for the British, with hundreds of troops captured. The British lines, were already weakened by a lack of supplies and low morale after the naval loss at Lake Erie. Chief Tecumseh died in the battle leading to the disintegration of his Native American confederacy. The battle is also known as the Battle of Moraviantown.
The three- day Battle of Leipzig fought at Leipzig, Saxony from from October 16 to October 19, 1813 begins. The Grande Armée of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was decisively defeated by the Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia.
It was the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, involving over 550,000 soldiers. Napoleon, was forced to return to France as the Coalition forces continue their advance and invade France early the following year. Napoleon was forced to abdicate, as the treaty of Fontainebleau is signed on April 11, 1814. Napoleon arrived on Elba on May 4, 1814 to start his exile3 and remained there for about nine months before escaping in February 1815 to return to France for the "Hundred Days".
Mexico officially becomes a republic as the Plan of Iguala is accepted, ending Spanish rule and establishing Mexican independence.
The Erie Canal opens providing overland water transportation between the Hudson River on the east and Lake Erie at the western end. Popularly known as “Clinton’s Folly,” the eight-year construction project was the vision of New York Governor DeWitt Clinton. More
The first commercial freight train, the "Granite Railway", begins operation in the United States on October 7, 1826 in Quincy, Massachusetts. The train had horse-drawn wagons on wooden rails to haul granite from quarries for the Bunker Hill Monument.
The Naval Battle of Navarino takes place, during which combined British, French, and Russian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire's fleet during the Greek War of Independence. The decisive battle effectively ended Ottoman naval power, leading to the independence of Greece and the rise of European nationalism.
The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales, a confrontation between Texian settlers and Mexican soldiers.
Sir James Young Simpson discovers the anesthetic properties of chloroform, revolutionizing surgery and pain management.
The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead, England, destroys a large portion of both towns. More
The Charge of the Light Brigade takes place during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, resulting in the loss of the Light Brigade, one of Britain’s most spectacular military disasters. It was memorialized by Alfred Lord Tennyson’s popular poem ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, written just a few weeks after the battle. More
The Second Opium War between Britain and France against China begins with the Battle of Canton.
John Brown, a staunch abolitionist, and a group of his supporters start their march toward the town of Harpers Ferry. In the early hours of October 17, they capture local residents and seized the federal armory and arsenal. Brown was captured two days later and quickly placed on trial and charged with treason against the state of Virginia, murder, and slave insurrection. Brown was sentenced to death for his crimes and hanged on December 2, 1859. More
During the Second Opium War, The British High Commissioner to China, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, orders the complete destruction of the Old Summer Palace in retaliation for the imprisonment and torture of several Anglo-French delegation members by the Qing government, with several of them being killed.
The French and British troops had captured the palace days earlier and had looted and destroyed the imperial collections. The destruction of the Peking’s Summer Palace has been considered criminal and barbaric by many Chinese and remains a a very sensitive issue in China today. More
The Second Opium War ends with the signing of the Convention of Peking. The Beijing Convention consists of three individual treaties signed by China, with Great Britain (October 24), France (October 25), and Russia (November 14). More
The first transcontinental telegraph system is completed by Western Union, making it possible to transmit messages rapidly from coast to coast. This technological advance, pioneered by inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, heralded the end of the Pony Express. More