October 1



Events

Up to 1900 
 331 BC  Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.
 959  Edgar the Peaceable becomes King of all England.
 1553  Coronation of Queen Mary I of England.
 1787  Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn. 
 1791  First session of the French Legislative Assembly.
 1795  Belgium is conquered by France.
 1800  Spain cedes Louisiana to France.
 1811  The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans.
 1814  Opening of the Congress of Vienna, intended to re-draw Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte the previous Spring.
 1827  Russo-Persian War: The Russian Army under Ivan Paskevich storms Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination in Armenia.
 1829  The South African College is founded in Cape Town. It will later split into the University of Cape Town and the South African Colleges.
 1843  British tabloid newspaper, the News of the World, begins publication. It ends publication in 2011 due to a major scandal.
 1847  German inventor and industrialist Werner von Siemens founds the Siemens AG and Halske.
 1869  The world's first postcards are issued in Austria.
 1880  John Philip Sousa becomes leader of the US Marine Band.
 1880  The first electric lamp factory is opened by Thomas Edison.
 1884  Denmark's Politiken newspaper is founded.
 1887  Balochistan, in present-day Pakistan, is conquered by the British Empire.
 1889  The Japanese city of Nagoya is founded.
 1890  The Yosemite National Park is established by the United States Congress.
 1891  Stanford University opens in California.

1901  1950 
 1903  Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.
 1908  Ford puts a Model-T car on the market for the first time.
 1910  A bomb destroys The Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles, California, killing 21 people.
 1928  The Soviet Union introduces its first Five-Year Plan.
 1931  The George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey to New York opens.
 1931  Spain gives women the right to vote.
 1936  Francisco Franco becomes head of the Nationalist Government of Spain.
 1937  The Japanese city of Handa is founded in Aichi prefecture.
 1938  Germany takes control of the Sudetenland in the present-day Czech Republic.
 1939  World War II: Nazi forces enter Warsaw, Poland, after a one-month siege.
 1943  World War II: Naples, Italy falls to the Allies.
 1946  The Nuremberg Trials of leading Nazis conclude.
 1946  Mensa International is founded in the UK.
 1949  Mao Zedong and 300,000 others come to Tiananmen Square to celebrate the Sept.21 creation of the People's Republic of China; within a few months, this celebration becomes the basis for a new National Day.

1951  2000 
 1957  First appearance of In God We Trust on US paper currency.
 1958  NASA is created to replace NACA.
 1960  Nigeria becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
 1961  British and French Cameroon (independent since 1960) merge.
 1962  First transmission of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
 1964  Tōkaidō Shinkansen is opened (Tokyo – Shin-Osaka).
 1965  General Suharto rises to power in a coup in Indonesia. Seven military officers are executed in the early hours of the morning.
 1966  West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with 18 fatalities and no survivors near Wemme, Oregon.
 1968  Guyana moves towards independent broadcasting, when its government takes over the British Guiana Broadcasting Service.
 1969  After Tupolev Tu-144, Concorde becomes the second aircraft type to break the sound barrier.
 1971  Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida.
 1975  In the Thrilla in Manila, Muhammad Ali defends his world heavyweight boxing title against Joe Frazier.
 1975  The Seychelles gain self government; The islands become independent on June 29, 1976.
 1975  The Ellice Islands split from the Gilbert Islands (present-day Kiribati) and change their name to Tuvalu.
 1977  Brazilian footballer Pele ends his playing career.
 1978  Tuvalu becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
 1979  Pope John Paul II visits the United States.
 1979  The United States hands over control of the Panama Canal to Panama, though the full transfer of control occurs at the end of 1999.
 1982  Helmut Kohl replaces Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of Germany.
 1985  Israel's Air Force bombs Palestinian Liberation Organization headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia.
 1988  Singles' Tennis: Steffi Graf wins the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, having already won all Grand Slam tournaments of the year, becoming the first, and so far only, winner of a 'Golden Slam' in tennis.
 1989  Denmark introduces the world's first same-sex civil union, or Registered Partnership.
 1991  Balkan War: The Siege of Dubrovnik begins.
 1992  The children's television channel Cartoon Network begins transmission.
 1994  Palau becomes independent from a UN trusteeship administered by the US.
 1995  An earthquake strikes Dinar, Turkey, killing 100 people.
 2000  The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, end.

From 2001 
 2001  Militants attack the state legislature building in Srinagar, Kashmir, killing 38 people.
 2005  Bali is devastated by a terrorist attack, in which 26 people are killed after bombs explode.
 2009  The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom takes over the judicial functions of the House of Lords.
 2012  A ferry collision in Hong Kong kills 38 people and injures over 100.
 2013  The United States Government temporarily shuts down after failing to agree on a budget.
 2014  Jens Stoltenberg becomes Secretary-General of NATO.
 2017  Same-sex marriages take place in Germany for the first time.
 2017  A ban on face covering in public places enters into force in Austria.
 2017  Catalonia holds a disputed referendum on whether or not to become independent from Spain.
 2017  Las Vegas Strip shooting: Stephen Paddock carries out the deadliest shooting by a single gunman in recent US history in Las Vegas when he fires shots from two windows of his 32nd floor room on the Mandalay Bay Hotel onto a crowd in a country music festival, killing 59 people and wounding more than 500.

Births

Up to 1800 
 86 BC  Sallust, Roman historian (d. 35 BC)
 208  Alexander Severus, Roman Emperor (d. 235)
 1207  King Henry III of England (d. 1272)
 1348  Isabella, Countess of Vertus, French princess (d. 1373)
 1471  King Frederick I of Denmark (d. 1533)
 1507  Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Italian architect (d. 1573)
 1540  Johann Jakob Grynaeus, Swiss Protestant clergyman (d. 1617)
 1541  El Greco, Greek-Spanish painter, sculptor and architect (d. 1614)
 1577  Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Swiss friar and saint (d. 1622)
 1620  Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (d. 1683)
 1644  Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (d. 1682)
 1671  Guido Grandi, Italian mathematician (d. 1742)
 1685  Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1740)
 1691  Arthur Onslow, English politician (d. 1768)
 1724  Giovanni Battista Cirri, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1808)
 1729  Anton Cajetan Adlgasser, German organist and composer (d. 1777)
 1730  Richard Stockton, American attorney, signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1781)
 1754  Tsar Paul I of Russia (d. 1801)
 1760  William Thomas Beckford, English writer and politician (d. 1844)
 1771  Pierre Baillot, French violinist and composer (d. 1842)
 1791  Sergei Aksakov, Russian writer (d. 1859)
 1794  Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt (d. 1871)
 1800  Lars Levi Laestadius, Swedish botanist and Christian missionary to Lapland (d. 1861)

1801  1900 
 1808  Mary Anna Custis Lee, First Lady of the Confederate States of America (d. 1873)
 1821  Benjamin T. Biggs, American politician and Governor of Delaware (d. 1893)
 1832  Caroline Harrison, First Lady of the United States (d. 1892)
 1835  Adam Politzer, Austro-Hungarian physician (d. 1920)
 1842  Charles Clos, French poet and inventor (d. 1888)
 1846  Nectarios de Aegina, Greek saint (d. 1920)
 1847  Annie Besant, English-Indian activist and author (d. 1933)
 1850  David R. Francis, American politician and diplomat, Governor of Missouri and Ambassador to Russia (d. 1927)
 1865  Paul Dukas, French composer (d. 1935)
 1872  Henry H. Blood, Governor of Utah (d. 1942)
 1878  Othmar Spann, Austrian philosopher and economist (d. 1950)
 1881  William Boeing, American engineer (d. 1956)
 1885  Louis Untermeyer, American writer (d. 1977)
 1890  Stanley Holloway, British actor (d. 1982)
 1890  Alice Joyce, American actress (d. 1955)
 1893  Yip Man, Chinese martial artist (d. 1972)
 1894  Edgar Krahn, Estonian mathematician (d. 1961)
 1896  Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1951)
 1896  Ted Healy, American actor and comedian (d. 1937)
 1900  Tom Goddard, English cricketer (d. 1966)

1901  1950 
 1903  Vladimir Horowitz, Ukrainian-born pianist (d. 1989)
 1904  Otto Robert Frisch, Austrian-born physicist (d. 1979)
 1904  A. K. Goppalan, Indian politician (d. 1977)
 1905  José Leandro Andrade, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1957)
 1905  Alfons Goppel, German politician, Prime Minister of Bavaria (d. 1991)
 1906  Sachin Dev Burman, Indian composer and singer (d. 1975)
 1907  Maurice Bardèche, French journalist, author and critic (d. 1998)
 1909  Sam Yorty, Mayor of Los Angeles, California (d. 1998)
 1910  Bonnie Parker, American outlaw (Bonnie and Clyde) (d. 1934)
 1911  Heinrich Mark, Estonian politician (d. 2004)
 1912  Kathleen Ollerenshaw, British mathematician and politician (d. 2014)
 1914  Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and Librarian of Congress (d. 2004)
 1914  Marvin Gay, Sr., father of Marvin Gaye (d. 1998)
 1915  Jerome Bruner, American psychologist (d. 2016)
 1917  Cahal Daly, Irish archbishop (d. 2009)
 1920  Walter Matthau, American actor (d. 2000)
 1921  James Whitmore, American actor (d. 2009)
 1922  Chen Ning Yang, Chinese-American physicist
 1922  Kim Ki-young, South Korean movie director (d. 1998)
 1924  Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
 1924  William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 2005)
 1924  Bob Geigel, American wrestling promoter (d. 2014)
 1924  Leonie Kramer, Australian academic (d. 2016)
 1925  Bob Boyd, American baseball player (d. 2004)
 1925  Benno Pludra, German writer (d. 2014)
 1927  Tom Bosley, American actor (d. 2010)
 1927  Sandy Gall, Scottish journalist and writer
 1927  Márta Kurtág, Hungarian pianist (d. 2019)
 1928  Laurence Harvey, Lithuanian-born actor (d. 1973)
 1928  George Peppard, American actor (d. 1994)
 1928  Zhu Rongji, Chinese politician
 1930  Sir Richard Harris, Irish actor (d. 2002)
 1930  Philippe Noiret, French actor (d. 2006)
 1930  Frank Gardner, Australian Formula One driver (d. 2009)
 1930  Naimatullah Khan, Pakistani politician
 1931  Sylvano Bussotti, Italian composer
 1932  Albert Collins, American blues guitarist (d. 1993)
 1932  Manuel Busto, French cyclist (d. 2017)
 1934  Emilio Botín, Spanish businessman (d. 2014)
 1935  Julie Andrews, British actress and singer
 1935  Walter De Maria, American sculptor (d. 2013)
 1935  Julio Jaramillo, Ecuadorean singer (d. 1978)
 1936  Duncan Edwards, English footballer (d. 1958)
 1938  Stella Stevens, American actress
 1938  Mary McFadden, American fashion designer and writer
 1939  George Archer, American golfer (d. 2005)
 1942  Günter Wallraff, German writer and journalist
 1942  David Stancliffe, 77th Bishop of Salisbury, England
 1943  Jean-Jacques Annaud, French director
 1945  Rod Carew, Panamanian baseball player
 1945  Ram Nath Kovind, Indian politician, President of India
 1946  Dave Holland, British jazz musician and composer
 1947  Dave Arneson, American game creator (d. 2009)
 1947  Stephen Collins, American actor
 1947  Aaron Ciechanover, Israeli biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
 1948  Cub Koda, American singer (d. 2000)
 1949  Isaac Bonewits, American writer (d. 2010)
 1949  André Rieu, Dutch violinist, conductor and composer
 1949  Sheila Gilmore, Scottish politician
 1950  Boris Morukov, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2015)
 1950  Randy Quaid, American actor
 1950  Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, English neuroscientist, academic and politician

1951  1975 
 1952  Jacques Martin, Canadian ice hockey coach
 1953  Klaus Wowereit, German politician, former Governing Mayor of Berlin
 1953  Grete Waitz, Norwegian marathon runner (d. 2011)
 1954  Martin Strel, Slovenian swimmer
 1955  Jeff Reardon, American baseball player
 1955  Morten Gunnar Larsen, Norwegian pianist
 1956  Andrus Ansip, former Prime Minister of Estonia
 1956  Theresa May, British politician, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
 1959  Youssou N'Dour, Senegalese singer, musician, composer and politician
 1961  Walter Mazzarri, Italian footballer
 1961  Gary Ablett, Sr., Australian footballer
 1962  Attaphol Buspakom, Thai footballer and coach (d. 2015)
 1962  Nico Claesen, Belgian footballer
 1962  Esai Morales, American actor
 1963  Mark McGwire, American baseball player
 1964  Harry Hill, British comedian
 1964  Max Matsuura, Japanese singer-songwriter
 1964  Jonathan Sarfati, Australian-born chess player, scientist, and writer
 1964  Christopher Titus, American actor, producer and screenwriter
 1965  Andreas Keller, German field hockey player
 1966  George Weah, Liberian footballer and politician, President of Liberia
 1967  Scott Young, American ice hockey player
 1968  Jon Guenther, American writer
 1968  Phil de Glanville, English rugby player
 1969  Marcus Stephen, Nauruan weightlifter and politician, former President of Nauru
 1969  Igor Ulanov, Russian ice hockey player
 1969  Zach Galifianakis, American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter
 1969  Simone Stelzer, Austrian singer
 1974  Mats Lindgren, Swedish ice hockey player
 1974  Keith Duffy, Irish singer (Boyzone) and actor
 1975  Chulpan Khamatova, Russian actress

From 1976 
 1976  Umit Karan, Turkish footballer
 1977  Jeffrey van Hooydonk, Belgian racing driver
 1979  Rudi Johnson, American football player
 1981  Júlio Baptista, Brazilian footballer
 1981  Rupert Friend, English actor, producer and screenwriter
 1982  Haruna Babangida, Nigerian footballer
 1983  Mohamed Abdelwahab, Egyptian footballer (d. 2006)
 1983  Mirko Vucinic, Montenegrin footballer
 1984  Daniel Guillén, Spanish footballer
 1984  Mónica Spear, Venezuelan model (d. 2014)
 1985  Nazimuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi cricketer
 1986  Ricardo Vaz Te, Portuguese footballer
 1986  Matthew Gonzalez, American figure skater
 1986  Daniela Katzenberger, German model and television personality
 1986  Sayaka Kanda, Japanese actress and singer
 1987  Hiroki Aiba, Japanese actor and singer
 1988  Cariba Heine, South African-Australian actress
 1989  Brie Larson, American actress and singer
 1990  Charlie McDonnell, English blogger
 1998  Danika Yarosh, American actress

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 686  Emperor Temmu of Japan (b. 631)
 959  King Edwy of England (b. 941)
 1040  Alan III, Duke of Brittany (b. 997)
 1310  Beatrice of Burgundy, Lady of Bourbon (b. 1257)
 1404  Pope Boniface IX (b. 1356)
 1499  Marsilio Ficino, Italian philosopher (b. 1433)
 1567  Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (b. 1508)
 1578  John of Austria (b. 1547)
 1588  Edward James, English priest and martyr (b. 1557)
 1609  Giammatteo Asola, Italian composer (b. 1532)
 1684  Pierre Corneille, French dramatist (b. 1606)
 1708  John Blow, English composer (b. 1649)
 1768  Robert Simson, Scottish mathematician (b. 1687)
 1837  Robert Clark, American politician (b. 1777)
 1864  Juan José Flores, 1st President of Ecuador (b. 1800)
 1868  Mongkut, King of Siam, present-day Thailand (b. 1804)
 1878  Midon Min, King of Burma (b. 1808)
 1895  John Light Atlee, American physician and surgeon (b. 1799)

1901  2000 
 1901  Abdur Rahman Khan, Afghan amir (b. 1844)
 1913  Eugene O'Keefe, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1827)
 1919  Princess Charlotte of Prussia (b. 1860)
 1929  Antoine Bourdelle, French sculptor and painter (b. 1861)
 1942  Ants Piip, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1884)
 1950  Faik Ali Ozansoy, Turkish politician, poet and critic (b. 1876)
 1952  John Langenus, Belgian football referee (b. 1891)
 1955  Charles Christie, American movie producer (b. 1880)
 1957  Abdülhalik Renda, Turkish civil servant and politician (b. 1881)
 1959  Enrico de Nicola, first President of Italy (b. 1877)
 1960  Giuseppe Fietta, Italian cardinal (b. 1883)
 1968  Romano Guardini, Italian priest, theologian and philosopher (b. 1885)
 1972  Louis Leakey, British-Kenyan palaeontologist (b. 1903)
 1985  E. B. White, American writer (b. 1899)
 1992  Petra Kelly, German politician (b. 1947)
 1992  Gert Bastian, German politician (b. 1923)
 1994  Paul Lorenzen, German philosopher and mathematician (b. 1915)
 1996  Pat McGeown, Provisional IRA member (b. 1956)
 1999  Lena Zavaroni, Scottish singer (b. 1963)
 2000  Reginald Cray, English gangster (b. 1933)

From 2001 
 2002  Walter Annenberg, American publisher and philanthropist (b. 1908)
 2004  Richard Avedon, American photographer (b. 1923)
 2007  Ronnie Hazlehurst, English conductor and theme song composer (b. 1928)
 2007  Al Oerter, American athlete (b. 1936)
 2009  Kazumi Takada, Japanese footballer (b. 1951)
 2011  Sven Tumba, Swedish ice hockey player, golfer and footballer (b. 1931)
 2011  David Bedford, British composer (b. 1937)
 2012  Eric Hobsbawm, British historian and writer (b. 1917)
 2012  Dirk Bach, German actor, television presenter and comedian (b. 1961)
 2012  Moshe Sanbar, Israeli economist (b. 1926)
 2013  Peter Broadbent, English footballer (b. 1933)
 2013  Giuliano Gemma, Italian actor (b. 1938)
 2013  Tom Clancy, American writer (b. 1947)
 2013  Israel Gutman, Israeli historian (b. 1923)
 2014  Shlomo Lahat, Israeli general and politician (b. 1927)
 2014  Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
 2015  Hadi Norouzi, Iranian footballer (b. 1985)
 2015  Don Edwards, American politician (b. 1915)
 2015  Jacob Pressman, American rabbi (b. 1919)
 2015  Joe Wark, Scottish footballer (b. 1947)
 2015  Max Keeping, Canadian broadcaster (b. 1942)
 2017  Hansje Bunschoten, Dutch swimmer and television presenter (b. 1958)
 2017  Robert D. Hales, American religious leader (b. 1932)
 2017  Arthur Janov, American psychologist and author (b. 1924)
 2017  Edmond Maire, French labour union leader and activist (b. 1931)
 2017  Larissa Volpert, Russian-Estonian philologist and chess player (b. 1926)
 2017  Edward B. Giller, American Major General (b. 1918)
 2017  Andy Hopkins, American football player (b. 1941)
 2017  Philippe Rahmy, Swiss poet and writer (b. 1965)
 2017  Stephen Paddock, American accountant and mass murderer (b. 1953)
 2018  Charles Aznavour, French-Armenian singer, actor and diplomat (b. 1924)
 2018  Stelvio Cipriani, Italian composer (b. 1937)
 2018  Carlos Ezquerra, Spanish comic artist (b. 1947)
 2018  Jerry González, American bandleader and trumpeter (b. 1949)
 2018  Do Muoi, Vietnamese politician (b. 1917)
 2018  Graciano Rocchigiani, German boxer (b. 1963)
 2018  Franco Sar, Italian decathlete (b. 1933)
 2018  Antoine Sfeir, Lebanese journalist and professor (b. 1948)
 2019  Joseph Bismuth, Tunisian businessman (b. 1926)
 2019  Cain Hope Felder, American theologian and writer (b. 1943)
 2019  Karel Gott, Czech singer (b. 1939)
 2019  Miguel León-Portilla, Mexican anthropologist and historian (b. 1926)
 2019  C. K. Menon, Indian businessman and politician (b. 1949)
 2019  Eric Pleskow, Austrian-born American film producer (b. 1924)
 2019  Peter Sissons, English journalist and broadcaster (b. 1942)
 2019  Arto Tchakmaktchian, Egyptian-born Armenian-Canadian sculptor and painter (b. 1933)

Observances 
 National Day (China, Cyprus, Tuvalu, and Palau)
 Independence Day (Nigeria)
 Unification Day (Cameroon)
 Teacher's Day (Uzbekistan)
 Armed Forces Day (South Korea)
 International Day of Older Persons

October 01