Events

• 680 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council commences in Constantinople.

• 1492 – The Ensisheim Meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the earth around noon in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France.

• 1619 – Elizabeth of Scotland and England is crowned Queen of Bohemia.

• 1665 – The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published.

• 1775 – John Murray, the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, starts the first mass emancipation of slaves in North America by issuing Lord Dunmore's Offer of Emancipation, which offers freedom to slaves who abandoned their colonial masters in order to fight with Murray and the British.

• 1786 – The oldest musical organization in the United States is founded as the Stoughton Musical Society.

• 1811 – Tecumseh's War: The Battle of Tippecanoe is fought near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana, United States.

• 1837 – In Alton, Illinois, abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy is shot dead by a mob while attempting to protect his printing shop from being destroyed a third time.

• 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Belmont: In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overrun a Confederate camp but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive.

• 1872 – The ship Marie Celeste sails from New York, eventually to be found deserted

• 1874 – A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the United States Republican Party.

• 1885 – In Craigellachie, British Columbia, construction ends on the Canadian Pacific Railway railway extending across Canada.

• 1893 – Women in the U.S. state of Colorado are granted the right to vote.

• 1900 – Battle of Leliefontein, a battle during which the Royal Canadian Dragoons win three Victoria Crosses.

• 1907 – Delta Sigma Pi is founded at New York University.

• 1907 – Jesús García saves the entire town of Nacozari de Garcia, Sonora by driving a burning train full of dynamite six kilometers away before it can explode.

• 1908 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are reportedly killed in San Vicente, Bolivia.

• 1910 – The first air freight shipment (from Dayton, Ohio, to Columbus, Ohio) is undertaken by the Wright Brothers and department store owner Max Moorehouse.

• 1912 – The Deutsche Opernhaus (now Deutsche Oper Berlin) opens in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg, with a production of Beethoven's Fidelio.

• 1914 – The first issue of The New Republic magazine is published.

• 1914 – The German colony of Kiaochow Bay and its centre at Tsingtao are captured by Japanese forces.

• 1916 – Jeannette Rankin is the first woman elected to the United States Congress.

• 1917 – Russian Revolution: In Petrograd, Russia, Bolshevik leaders Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky lead revolutionaries in overthrowing the Provisional Government (As Russia was still using the Julian Calendar, subsequent period references show the date as October 25).

• 1917 – World War I: Third Battle of Gaza ends: British forces capture Gaza from the Ottoman Empire.

• 1918 – The 1918 influenza epidemic spreads to Western Samoa, killing 7,542 (about 20% of the population) by the end of the year.

• 1918 – Kurt Eisner overthrows the Wittelsbach dynasty in the Kingdom of Bavaria.

• 1920 – Patriarch Tikhon issued a decree that lead to the formation of Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

• 1921 – The Partito Nazionale Fascista (PNF), National Fascist Party, comes into existence.

• 1929 – In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the public.

• 1931 – The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed on the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

• 1933 – Fiorello H. La Guardia is elected the 99th mayor of New York City.

• 1940 – In Tacoma, Washington, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge's completion.

• 1941 – World War II: Soviet hospital ship Armenia is sunk by German planes while evacuating refugees and wounded military and staff of several Crimea’s hospitals. It is estimated that over 5,000 people died in the sinking.

• 1944 – A passenger train derails in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico from excessive speed when descending a hill. 16 people are killed and 50 are injured.

• 1944 – Soviet spy Richard Sorge, a half-Russian, half-German World War I veteran, is hanged by his Japanese captors along with 34 of his ring.

• 1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt elected for a record fourth term as President of the United States of America

• 1956 – Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to immediately withdraw their troops from Egypt.

• 1957 – Cold War: The Gaither Report calls for more American missiles and fallout shelters.

• 1963 – Wunder von Lengede: In Germany, eleven miners are rescued from a collapsed mine after 14 days.

• 1967 – Carl B. Stokes is elected as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major American city.

• 1967 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

• 1973 – The U.S. Congress overrides President Richard M. Nixon's veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval.

• 1983 – 1983 United States Senate bombing: a bomb explodes inside the U.S. Capitol Building.

• 1987 – In Tunisia, president Habib Bourguiba is overthrown and replaced by Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

• 1989 – Douglas Wilder wins the governor's seat in Virginia, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States.

• 1989 – David Dinkins becomes the first African American mayor of New York City.

• 1989 – East German Prime Minister Willi Stoph, along with his entire cabinet, is forced to resign after huge anti-government protests.

• 1990 – Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland.

• 1991 – Magic Johnson announces that he is infected with HIV and retires from the NBA.

• 1994 – WXYC, the student radio station of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provided the world's first internet radio broadcast.

• 1996 – NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor.

• 1996 – A Nigerian Boeing 727 crashes into a lagoon 40 miles southeast of Lagos, killing 143.

• 2000 – Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first former First Lady to win public office in the United States, although actually she still was the First Lady.

• 2000 – Controversial US presidential election that is later resolved in the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court Case.

• 2000 – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration discovers one of the country's largest LSD labs inside a converted military missile silo in Wamego, Kansas.

• 2001 – The supersonic commercial aircraft Concorde resumes flying after a 15-month hiatus.

• 2002 – Iran bans advertising of United States products.

• 2004 – War in Iraq: The interim government of Iraq calls for a 60-day "state of emergency" as U.S. forces storm the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

• 2007 – Jokela school shooting in Tuusula, Finland, resulting in the death of nine people.

Births

• 630 – Constans II, Byzantine emperor (d. 668)

• 994 – Ibn Hazm, Arab philosopher (d. 1069)

• 1598 – Francisco Zurbarán, Spanish painter (d. 1664)

• 1619 – Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux, French writer (d. 1692)

• 1650 – John Robinson, English diplomat (d. 1723)

• 1687 – William Stukeley, English archaeologist (d. 1765)

• 1728 – Captain James Cook, British naval officer, explorer, and cartographer

• 1750 – Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg, German poet (d. 1819)

• 1805 – Thomas Brassey, English civil engineering contractor (d. 1870)

• 1818 – Emil du Bois-Reymond, German physician (d. 1896)

• 1832 – Andrew Dickson White, American educator (d. 1918)

• 1838 – Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, French writer (d. 1889)

• 1846 – Ignaz Brüll, Austrian pianist (d. 1907)

• 1851 – Chris von der Ahe, German born entrepreneur (d. 1913)

• 1858 – Bipin Chandra Pal, Indian political activist (d. 1932)

• 1860 – Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (d. 1936)

• 1861 – Jeff Milton, American lawman (d. 1947)

• 1867 – Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Polish chemist and physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics and in chemistry (d. 1934)

• 1875 – Mikhail Kalinin, Soviet politician (d. 1946)

• 1876 – Charlie Townsend, English cricketer (d. 1958)

• 1879 – King Baggot, American actor (d. 1948)

• 1879 – Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary (d. 1940)

• 1886 – Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-born chess player (d. 1935)

• 1888 – Sir C. V. Raman, Indian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)

• 1890 – Jan Matulka American painter (d. 1972)

• 1893 – Leatrice Joy, American actress (d. 1985)

• 1896 – Esdras Minville, Quebec writer, economist and sociologist (d. 1975)

• 1897 – Herman J. Mankiewicz, American writer, director, and producer (d. 1953)

• 1898 – Raphaël Salem, Greek mathematician (d. 1963)

• 1901 – Norah McGuinness, Northern Irish painter and illustrator (d. 1980)

• 1903 – Dean Jagger, American actor (d. 1991)

• 1903 – Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1989)

• 1903 – Grace Stafford, American actress (d. 1992)

• 1905 – William Alwyn, English composer (d. 1985)

• 1913 – Albert Camus, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)

• 1914 – Archie Campbell, American comedian, writer (d. 1987)

• 1915 – Philip Morrison, American scientist (d. 2005)

• 1918 – Billy Graham, American evangelist

• 1918 – Maria Teresa de Noronha, Portuguese Fado singer (d. 1993)

• 1918 – Paul Aussaresses, French general

• 1922 – Al Hirt, American trumpeter (d. 1999)

• 1923 – Gene Callahan, American film art and production designer (d. 1990)

• 1926 – Dame Joan Sutherland, Australian operatic soprano

• 1927 – Hiroshi Yamauchi, Japanese computer game executive

• 1927 – Ivor Emmanuel, Welsh singer and actor (d. 2007)

• 1928 – Richard G. Scott, American religious leader

• 1929 – Eric R. Kandel, Austrian neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

• 1929 – Jesús de Polanco, Spanish businessman and media tycoon (d. 2007)

• 1936 – Dame Gwyneth Jones, Welsh soprano

• 1937 – Mary Travers, American folk singer (Peter, Paul & Mary)

• 1938 – Jim Kaat, American baseball player

• 1938 – Dee Clark, American singer (d. 1990)

• 1942 – Johnny Rivers, American singer and composer

• 1942 – Jean Shrimpton, British supermodel and actress

• 1943 – Michael Byrne, English actor

• 1943 – Stephen Greenblatt, American literary critic

• 1943 – Boris Gromov, Russian general

• 1943 – Joni Mitchell, Canadian musician

• 1943 – Michael Spence, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate

• 1944 – Joe Niekro, American baseball player (d. 2006)

• 1944 – Luigi Riva, Italian footballer

• 1944 – Ken Patera, American professional wrestler

• 1945 – Earl Boen, American actor

• 1947 – Bob Anderson, English darts player

• 1947 – Yutaka Fukumoto, Japanese professional baseball player

• 1947 – Sondhi Limthongkul, Thai journalist

• 1948 – Alex Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver

• 1949 – Steven Stucky, American composer

• 1949 – Judy Tenuta, American comedian

• 1952 – David Petraeus, American military commander

• 1953 – Lucinda Green, British equestrian

• 1954 – Kamal Haasan, Indian actor

• 1955 – Detlef Ultsch, German judoka

• 1956 – Jonathan Palmer, British Formula One racer

• 1957 – Christopher Knight, American actor

• 1957 – Tony Schiavone, American wrestling announcer

• 1957 – King Kong Bundy, American professional wrestler

• 1958 – Lori Saldaña, American politician

• 1959 – Billy Gillispie, American basketball coach

• 1959 – Alexandre Guimarães, Costa Rican football manager

• 1960 – Tommy Thayer, American guitarist (Kiss)

• 1962 – Tracie Savage, American actress and journalist

• 1963 – John Barnes, English footballer

• 1964 – Dana Plato, American actress and child actor (d. 1999)

• 1964 – Gill Holland, American producer

• 1965 – Sigrun Wodars, German athlete

• 1967 – Sharleen Spiteri Scottish singer and songwriter (Texas)

• 1967 – Steve Digiorgio, American musician

• 1967 – David Guetta, French DJ

• 1968 – Greg Tribbett, American musician (Mudvayne)

• 1968 – Mark Preston, Australian engineer

• 1969 – Hélène Grimaud, French pianist

• 1970 – Neil Hannon, Northern Irish musician (The Divine Comedy)

• 1970 – Andy Houston, American NASCAR driver

• 1970 – Marc Rosset, Swiss tennis player

• 1970 – Morgan Spurlock, American director and producer

• 1971 – Jamie Drummond, Scottish/Canadian Sommelier

• 1971 – Robin Finck, American musician

• 1971 – Aaron G. Lindgren, United States Marine

• 1972 – Jason London and Jeremy London, American actors

• 1972 – Danny Grewcock, English rugby union player

• 1972 – Christopher Daniel Barnes, American actor

• 1972 – Mike Goldman, Australian media personality

• 1972 – Marcus Stewart, English football player

• 1973 – Yunjin Kim, South Korean actress

• 1973 – Martín Palermo, Argentine footballer

• 1974 – Kris Benson, American baseball player

• 1974 – Chris Summers, Norwegian drummer (Turbonegro)

• 1976 – Melyssa Ford, Canadian model and actress

• 1976 – One Be Lo, American hip-hop artist

• 1976 – Mark Philippoussis, Australian tennis player

• 1978 – Mohamed Aboutrika, Egyptian footballer

• 1978 – Rio Ferdinand, English footballer

• 1978 – Tomoya Nagase, Japanese actor and singer (TOKIO)

• 1978 – Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Dutch footballer

• 1979 – Mike Commodore, American hockey player

• 1979 – Will Demps, American football player

• 1979 – Danny Fonseca, Costa Rican footballer

• 1979 – Barney Harwood, English television presenter

• 1979 – Jon Peter Lewis, American singer

• 1979 – Joey Ryan, American professional wrestler

• 1980 – Gervasio Deferr, Spanish gymnast

• 1980 – James Franklin, New Zealand cricketer

• 1980 – Luciana Salazar, Argentine model and actress

• 1981 – Mark Copani, Jordanian/American professional wrestler

• 1981 – Anthony Moffat, Scottish musician and film-maker

• 1981 – Anushka Shetty, Indian actress

• 1986 – Sol Aranza, Mexican voice actress

• 1990 – Matt Corby, Australian singer

Deaths

• 644 – Umar ibn al-Khattāb, Second caliph of Islam

• 1225 – Engelbert II of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne

• 1550 – Jon Arason, the last Roman Catholic bishop of Iceland (b. 1484)

• 1574 – Solomon Luria, Maharshal (b. 1510)

• 1581 – Richard Davies, Welsh bishop and scholar

• 1599 – Gasparo Tagliacozzi, Italian surgeon (b. 1546)

• 1620 – Hetman Stanisław Żólkiewski polish commander in the Battle of Ţuţora (1620) (b. 1547)

• 1633 – Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel, Dutch inventor (b. 1572)

• 1639 – Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour, English politician

• 1642 – Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester, English politician

• 1713 – Elizabeth Barry, English actress (b. 1658)

• 1837 – Elijah P. Lovejoy, American abolitionist (b. 1809)

• 1872 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician (b. 1833)

• 1881 – John MacHale, Irish Archbishop (Tuam) and writer (b. 1791)

• 1906 – Heinrich Seidel, German engineer, poet and writer (b. 1842)

• 1913 – Alfred Russel Wallace, British naturalist and biologist (b. 1823)

• 1919 – Hugo Haase, German politician and jurist (b. 1863)

• 1922 – Sam Thompson, baseball player (b. 1860)

• 1943 – Dwight Frye, American actor (b. 1899)

• 1944 – Richard Sorge, Soviet spy (b. 1895)

• 1944 – Hannah Szenes, Jewish woman who parachuted into Yugoslavia during World War II to help save the Jews of Hungary (b. 1921)

• 1959 – Victor McLaglen, British-born actor (b. 1883)

• 1962 – Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (b. 1884)

• 1966 – Rube Bressler, Baseball player (b. 1894)

• 1967 – John Nance Garner, U.S. Congressman and Vice President (b. 1868)

• 1968 – Alexander Gelfond, Russian mathematician (b. 1906)

• 1968 – Gordon Coventry, Australian rules footballer (b. 1901)

• 1974 – Eric Linklater, British author (b. 1899)

• 1978 – Gene Tunney, heavyweight boxing champion (b. 1897)

• 1980 – Steve McQueen, American actor (b. 1930)

• 1983 – Germaine Tailleferre, French composer (b. 1892)

• 1986 – Tracy Pew, Australian musician (The Birthday Party) (b. 1957)

• 1991 – Carter Cornelius, American R&B musician (Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose) (b. 1948)

• 1991 – Tom of Finland, Finnish fetish artist (b. 1920)

• 1992 – Alexander Dubček, Slovakian politician (b. 1921)

• 1992 – Jack Kelly, American actor (b. 1927)

• 1994 – Shorty Rogers, American jazz musician (b. 1924)

• 1996 – Jaja Wachuku, Nigerian Lawyer and First Foreign Affairs Minister (b. 1918)

• 1996 – Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist (b. 1939)

• 2000 – Chidambaram Subramaniam, Indian politician (b. 1910)

• 2000 – Queen Ingrid, Queen Dowager of Denmark (b. 1910)

• 2001 – Nida Blanca, Filipino actress (b. 1936)

• 2002 – Rudolf Augstein, German publisher (b. 1923)

• 2004 – Howard Keel, American actor (b. 1919)

• 2005 – Anthony Sawoniuk, Belarusian-born Nazi war criminal (b. 1921)

• 2005 – Harry Thompson, English-born comedian and novelist (b. 1960)

• 2006 – Bryan Pata, American football defensive tackle (University of Miami) (murdered) (b. 1984)

• 2006 – Johnny Sain, American baseball pitcher (b. 1917)

• 2006 – Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist (b. 1924)

• 2007 – Earl Dodge, American politician (Prohibition Party) (b. 1932)

• 2007 – George W. George, American theater, Broadway and film producer (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

• Christianity – Saint Willibrord, Prosdocimus, Herculanus of Perugia, Vicente Liem de la Paz

• Also see November 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Northern Catalonia – National Day, after Treaty of Pyrenees.

• Belarus — Day of the October Revolution (1917) in the Gregorian Calendar. Formerly an official holiday in the Soviet Union; unofficially commemorated in modern Russia.