Events

• 1519 – Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with a great celebration.

• 1520 – Stockholm Bloodbath begins: A successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces results in the execution of around 100 people.

• 1576 – Eighty Years' War: Pacification of Ghent – The States-General of the Netherlands meet and unite to oppose Spanish occupation.

• 1602 – The Bodleian Library at Oxford University is opened to the public.

• 1620 – The Battle of White Mountain takes place near Prague, ending in a decisive Catholic victory in only two hours.

• 1745 – Charles Edward Stuart invades England with an army of ~5000 that would later participate in the Battle of Culloden.

• 1793 – In Paris, the French Revolutionary government opens the Louvre to the public as a museum.

• 1837 – Mary Lyon founds Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, which later becomes Mount Holyoke College.

• 1861 – American Civil War: The "Trent Affair" – The USS San Jacinto stops the United Kingdom mail ship Trent and arrests two Confederate envoys, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the UK and US.

• 1889 – Montana is admitted as the 41st U.S. state.

• 1892 – The New Orleans general strike begins, uniting black and white American trade unionists in a successful four-day general strike action for the first time.

• 1895 – While experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-ray.

• 1901 – Bloody clashes take place in Athens following the translation of the Gospels into demotic Greek.

• 1917 – The People's Commissars give authority to Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin.

• 1923 – Beer Hall Putsch: In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government.

• 1932 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected the 32d President of the United States defeating Herbert Hoover.

• 1933 – Great Depression: New Deal – US President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveils the Civil Works Administration, an organization designed to create jobs for more than 4 million of the unemployed.

• 1935 – A dozen labor leaders come together to announce the creation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), an organization charged with advancing industrial unionism.

• 1937 – The Nazi exhibition Der ewige Jude ("The Eternal Jew") opens in Munich.

• 1939 – Venlo Incident: Two British agents of SIS are captured by the Germans.

• 1939 – In Munich, Adolf Hitler narrowly escapes the assassination attempt of Georg Elser while celebrating the 16th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch.

• 1941 – The Albanian Communist Party is founded.

• 1942 – World War II: Operation Torch – United States and United Kingdom forces land in French North Africa.

• 1942 – World War II: French resistance coup in Algiers, in which 400 civilian French patriots neutralize Vichyist XIXth Army Corps after 15 hours of fighting, and arrest several Vichyst generals, allowing the immediate success of Operation Torch in Algiers.

• 1950 – Korean War: United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shoots down two North Korean MiG-15s in the first jet aircraft-to-jet aircraft dogfight in history.

• 1957 – Operation Grapple X, Round C1: Britain conducts its first successful hydrogen bomb test over Kiritimati in the Pacific.

• 1965 – The British Indian Ocean Territory is created, consisting of Chagos Archipelago, Aldabra, Farquhar and Des Roches islands.

• 1965 – The Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965 is given Royal Assent, formally abolishing the death penalty in the United Kingdom.

• 1965 – The 173rd Airborne is ambushed by over 1,200 Viet Cong in Operation Hump during the Vietnam War.

• 1966 – Former Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the United States Senate.

• 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law an antitrust exemption allowing the National Football League to merge with the upstart American Football League.

• 1973 – The right ear of John Paul Getty III is delivered to a newspaper together with a ransom note, convincing his father to pay 2.9 million USD.

• 1976 – A series of earthquakes spreads panic in the city of Thessaloniki, which is evacuated.

• 1977 – Manolis Andronikos, a Greek archaeologist and professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, discovers the tomb of Philip II of Macedon at Vergina.

• 1987 – Remembrance Day Bombing: A Provisional IRA bomb explodes in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland during a ceremony honouring those who had died in wars involving British forces. Twelve people are killed and sixty-three wounded.

• 2002 – Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council Resolution 1441 – The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences".

• 2004 – War in Iraq: More than 10,000 U.S. troops and a small number of Iraqi army units participate in a siege on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

Births

• 30 – Nerva, Roman Emperor (d. 98)

• 1342 – Julian of Norwich, English saint (d. 1416)

• 1491 – Teofilo Folengo, Italian poet (d. 1544)

• 1622 – King Charles X of Sweden (d. 1660)

• 1656 – Edmond Halley, British astronomer and mathematician (d. 1742)

• 1706 – Johann Ulrich von Cramer, German judge and philosopher (d. 1772)

• 1710 – Sarah Fielding, English writer (d. 1768)

• 1715 – Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern, wife of Frederick II of Prussia (d. 1797)

• 1723 – John Byron, British naval officer (d. 1786)

• 1768 – Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom, (d. 1840)

• 1777 – Désirée Clary, queen of Sweden (d. 1860)

• 1836 – Milton Bradley, American game manufacturer (d. 1911)

• 1847 – Jean Casimir-Perier, French politician (d. 1907)

• 1847 – Bram Stoker, Irish novelist (d. 1912)

• 1848 – Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and logician (d. 1925)

• 1854 – Johannes Rydberg, Swedish physicist (d. 1919)

• 1866 – Herbert Austin, English automobile pioneer (d. 1941)

• 1868 – Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (d. 1942)

• 1869 – Zinaida Gippius, Russian woman-poet in exile in France (d. 1945)

• 1883 – Arnold Bax, English composer (d. 1953)

• 1884 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1922)

• 1885 – Hans Cloos, German geologist (d. 1951)

• 1885 – Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (d. 1946)

• 1885 – Emil Fahrenkamp, German architect (d. 1966)

• 1888 – David Monrad Johansen, Norwegian composer (d. 1974)

• 1893 – Clarence Williams, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)

• 1893 – Prajadhipok, Rama VII, king of Thailand (d. 1941)

• 1895 – Photios Kontoglou, Greek writer, painter and iconographer (d. 1965)

• 1896 – Bucky Harris, baseball player (d. 1977)

• 1897 – Dorothy Day, social activist (d. 1980)

• 1898 – Marie Prevost, Canadian actress (d. 1937)

• 1900 – Margaret Mitchell, American author (d. 1949)

• 1900 – Charlie Paddock, American athlete (d. 1943)

• 1904 – Cedric Belfrage English-born writer (d. 1990)

• 1908 – Martha Gellhorn, American writer (d. 1998)

• 1913 – June Havoc, American actress

• 1918 – Hermann Zapf, German designer

• 1919 – P. L. Deshpande, Indian author (d. 2000)

• 1920 – Esther Rolle, American actress (d. 1998)

• 1920 – Eugênio de Araújo Sales, Brazilian cardinal

• 1922 – Christiaan Barnard, South African heart surgeon (d. 2001)

• 1922 – Ademir Marques de Menezes, Brazilian footballer (d. 1996)

• 1923 – Jack Kilby, American electrical engineer, Nobel laureate (d. 2005)

• 1924 – Joe Flynn, American actor (d. 1974)

• 1927 – Ken Dodd, English comedian

• 1927 – Nguyen Khanh, Prime Minister of South Vietnam

• 1927 – Patti Page, American singer

• 1929 – António Castanheira Neves, Portuguese philosopher

• 1929 – Bobby Bowden, American football coach

• 1931 – Darla Hood, American actress (d. 1979)

• 1931 – Morley Safer, Canadian journalist

• 1933 – Peter Arundell, British racing driver

• 1935 – Alain Delon, French actor

• 1935 – Alfonso López Trujillo, Colombian Cardinal Bishop (d.2008)

• 1938 – Driss Basri, Moroccan Interior Minister (d. 2007)

• 1942 – Angel Cordero Jr., Puerto Rican jockey

• 1943 – Martin Peters, English footballer

• 1944 – Bonnie Bramlett, American singer (Delaney, Bonnie & Friends)

• 1946 – Guus Hiddink, Dutch football coach

• 1946 – Roy Wood, English songwriter and musician (Electric Light Orchestra, The Move, Wizzard)

• 1947 – Minnie Riperton, American singer (d. 1979)

• 1949 – Bonnie Raitt, American singer

• 1949 – Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association.

• 1950 – Mary Hart, American television personality

• 1951 – Alfredo Astiz, Argentine general

• 1952 – Jan Raas, Dutch cyclist

• 1952 – Jerry Remy, American baseball player, color commentator

• 1952 – Christie Hefner, CEO of Playboy Enterprises

• 1952 – John Denny, American baseball player

• 1952 – Alfre Woodard, American actress

• 1953 – John Musker, American animation director

• 1954 – David Bret, Anglo-French biographer and broadcaster

• 1954 – Michael D. Brown, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency director

• 1954 – Kazuo Ishiguro, British author

• 1954 – Rickie Lee Jones, American singer

• 1954 – Jeanette McGruder, American musician (P Funk)

• 1956 – Steven Miller, American record producer

• 1956 – Richard Curtis, British screenwriter

• 1957 – Porl Thompson, British musician (The Cure)

• 1957 – Alan Curbishley, English football manager

• 1958 – Don Byron, American clarinetist

• 1960 – Oleg Menshikov, Russian actor

• 1960 – Michael Nyqvist, Swedish actor

• 1961 – Micky Adams, English football manager

• 1961 – Leif Garrett, American singer

• 1965 – Jeff Blauser, American baseball player

• 1965 – Craig Chester, American actor and screenwriter

• 1966 – Gordon Ramsay, British chef and reality television personality

• 1967 – Courtney Thorne-Smith, American actress

• 1967 – Kamar de los Reyes, American actor

• 1967 – Henry Rodriguez, Dominican Republic baseball player

• 1968 – Parker Posey, American actress

• 1968 – Zara Whites, Dutch actress

• 1968 – Sergio Porrini, Italian footballer

• 1968 – Jose Offerman, Dominican baseball player

• 1969 – Roxana Zal, American actress

• 1970 – Tom Anderson, co-founder of MySpace

• 1970 – José Francisco Porras, Costa Rican footballer

• 1970 – Diana King, Jamaican singer

• 1971 – Carlos Atanes, Spanish film director

• 1971 – Aaron Yates (Tech N9NE), American rapper

• 1972 – Gretchen Mol, American actress

• 1973 – Vanesa Littlecrow, Puerto Rican cartoonist, dancer, writer and model

• 1974 – Matthew Rhys, Welsh actor

• 1974 – Masashi Kishimoto, Japanese manga author

• 1974 – Seishi Kishimoto, Japanese manga author

• 1975 – Brevin Knight, American basketball player

• 1975 – José Pinto, Spanish footballer

• 1975 – Tara Reid, American actress

• 1976 – Brett Lee, Australian cricketer

• 1976 – Colin Strause, American director

• 1977 – Bucky Covington, American entertainer

• 1977 – Jully Black, Canadian R&B singer

• 1977 – Nick Punto, American baseball player

• 1978 – Ali Karimi, Iranian footballer

• 1978 – Júlio Sérgio Bertagnoli, Brazilian footballer

• 1978 – Tim de Cler, Dutch footballer

• 1978 – Maurice Evans, American basketball player

• 1978 – Spyros Gogolos, Greek footballer

• 1978 – Shyne (Moses Michael Leviy), Belizean born rapper

• 1979 – Aaron Hughes, Northern Irish footballer

• 1979 – Dania Ramírez, Dominican actress

• 1980 – Ana Vidovic, classical guitarist

• 1980 – Luis Fabiano, Brazilian footballer

• 1981 – Joe Cole, English footballer

• 1982 – Mika Kallio, Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer

• 1982 – Lynndie England, former U.S. Army reservist, associated with Abu Ghraib

• 1982 – Sam Sparro, Australian producer, songwriter, performer, former child actor

• 1982 – Ted DiBiase Jr., Professional wrestler in WWE

• 1983 – Kat Shoob, British television presenter

• 1983 – Blanka Vlašić, Croatian high jumper

• 1983 – Remko Pasveer, Dutch footballer

• 1985 – Jack Osbourne, English television star

• 1986 – Jamie Roberts, Welsh and British & Irish Lions Rugby Player

• 1987 – Sam Bradford, American football player and winner of the 2008 Heisman Trophy

• 2003 – Lady Louise Windsor, British royal

Deaths

• 911 – Louis the Child, last Carolingian ruler of the East Franks (b. 893)

• 955 – Pope Agapetus II

• 1115 – Godfrey of Amiens (b. 1066)

• 1171 – Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut (b. 1108)

• 1195 – Conrad of Hohenstaufen

• 1226 – King Louis VIII of France (b. 1187)

• 1246 – Berenguela of Castile, wife of Alfonso IX of Castile (b. 1180)

• 1308 – Duns Scotus, Scottish philosopher

• 1517 – Francisco Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros, Spanish statesman (b. 1436)

• 1527 – Jerome Emser, German theologian (b. 1477)

• 1599 – Francisco Guerrero, Spanish composer (b. 1528)

• 1600 – Natsuka Masaie, Japanese warlord (b. 1562)

• 1605 – Robert Catesby, English conspirator (b. 1573)

• 1658 – Witte Corneliszoon de With, Dutch naval officer (b. 1599)

• 1674 – John Milton, English poet (b. 1608)

• 1719 – Michel Rolle, French mathematician (b. 1652)

• 1817 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (b. 1754)

• 1830 – King Francis I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1777)

• 1873 – Breton de los Herreros, Spanish playwright (b. 1796)

• 1887 – John Henry "Doc" Holliday, American gambler and gunfighter (b. 1851)

• 1890 – César Franck, Belgian composer and organist (b. 1822)

• 1905 – Victor Borisov-Musatov, Russian painter (b. 1870)

• 1917 – Colin Blythe, English cricketer (b. 1879)

• 1921 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet (b. 1849)

• 1934 – Carlos Chagas, Brazilian physician (b. 1879)

• 1944 – Walter Nowotny, Austrian/German fighter pilot (b. 1920)

• 1945 – August von Mackensen, German field marshal (b. 1849)

• 1949 – Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish clergyman (b. 1874)

• 1953 – Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)

• 1953 – John van Melle, South African author (b. 1887)

• 1959 – Frank Sherman Land, founder of DeMolay International (b. 1890)

• 1965 – Dorothy Kilgallen, American newspaper columnist (b. 1913)

• 1968 – Wendell Corey, American actor (b. 1914)

• 1970 – Huw Thomas Edwards, Welsh trade unionist and politician (b. 1892)

• 1974 – Ivory Joe Hunter, American R&B singer, pianist and songwriter (b. 1914)

• 1977 – Bucky Harris, American baseball player (b. 1896)

• 1978 – Norman Rockwell, American illustrator (b. 1894)

• 1979 – Yvonne de Gaulle, wife of Charles de Gaulle (b. 1900)

• 1983 – Mordecai Kaplan, Rabbi, founded Reconstructionist Judaism (b. 1881)

• 1983 – James Booker, American jazz singer (b. 1939)

• 1983 – James Hayden, American actor (b. 1953)

• 1985 – Nicolas Frantz, Luxembourgish cyclist (b. 1899)

• 1985 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, sculptor, ex libris designer, book illustrator (b. 1915)

• 1986 – Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician (b. 1890)

• 1993 – Andrey Nikolayevich Tychonoff, Russian mathematician (b. 1906)

• 1994 – Michael O'Donoghue, American writer (b. 1940)

• 1998 – John Hunt, Baron Hunt, British expedition leader of the first successful ascent of Everest (b. 1910)

• 1998 – Jean Marais, French actor (b. 1913)

• 1998 – Rumer Godden, British writer (b. 1907)

• 1999 – Lester Bowie, American jazz trumpet player (b. 1941)

• 1999 – Leon Štukelj, Slovenian gymnast (b. 1898)

• 2002 – Jon Elia, Pakistani scholar, poet and philosopher (b. 1931)

• 2003 – Bob Grant, English actor (b. 1932)

• 2003 – C. Z. Guest, American socialite (b. 1920)

• 2003 – Guy Speranza, American singer, original Riot frontman (b. 1956)

• 2004 – Peter Mathers, English-born Australian novelist (b. 1931)

• 2005 – David Westheimer, American novelist (b. 1917)

• 2005 – Alekos Alexandrakis, Greek actor (b. 1928)

• 2006 – Basil Poledouris, American film score composer (b. 1945)

• 2006 – Hannspeter Winter, Austrian plasma physicist (b. 1941)

• 2007 – Dulce Saguisag, Filipino politician and former DSWD Secretary. (b. 1943)

• 2007 – Chad Varah, English founder of charity The Samaritans (b. 1911)

• 2009 – Vitaly Ginzburg, Russian physicist (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances

• Roman calendar

• Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the other Bodiless Powers of Heaven in Greece, Cyprus and all other Eastern Orthodox Churches worldwide

• Julian calendar: October 26 - Saint Demetrius Day celebrated by the Orthodox Churches that follow the old calendar (in Russia, Serbia etc.)

• Feast of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity in the Catholic Church and Godfrey of Amiens

• 2009's Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom.