October 18

October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 74 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philosopher, observes an eclipse of the Sun and writes a commentary on The Great Astronomer (Almagest).
• 614 – King Chlothar II promulgates the Edict of Paris (Edictum Chlotacharii), a sort of Frankish Magna Carta that defend the rights of the Frankish nobles while it excludes Jews from all civil employment in the Frankish Kingdom.
• 629 – Dagobert I is crowned King of the Franks.
• 1009 – The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church's foundations down to bedrock.
• 1016 – The Danes defeat the Saxons in the Battle of Assandun.
• 1081 – The Normans defeat the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Dyrrhachium.
• 1210 – Pope Innocent III excommunicates Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1356 – Basel earthquake, the most significant historic seismological event north of the Alps, destroys the town of Basel, Switzerland.
• 1386 – Opening of Heidelberg University.
• 1540 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto's forces destroy the fortified town of Mabila in present-day Alabama, killing Tuskaloosa.
• 1565 – Ships belonging to the Matsura clan of Japan fail to capture the Portuguese trading carrack in the Battle of Fukuda Bay, the first recorded naval battle between Japan and the West.
• 1599 – Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia, defeats the Army of Andrew Báthory in the Battle of Șelimbăr, leading to the first recorded unification of the Romanian people.
• 1648 – Boston Shoemakers form first American labor organization.
• 1748 – Signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession.
• 1775 – African-American poet Phillis Wheatley is freed from slavery.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Burning of Falmouth (now Portland, Maine).
• 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Franco-American Siege of Savannah is lifted.
• 1797 – Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria
• 1851 – Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is first published as The Whale by Richard Bentley of London.
• 1860 – The Second Opium War finally ends at the Convention of Peking with the ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin, an unequal treaty.
• 1867 – United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.
• 1898 – The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain.
• 1912 – First Balkan War: King Peter I of Serbia issues a declaration "To the Serbian People", as his country joins the war.
• 1914 – The Schoenstatt Movement is founded in Germany.
• 1921 – The Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic is formed as part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
• 1922 – The British Broadcasting Company (later Corporation) is founded by a consortium, to establish a nationwide network of radio transmitters to provide a national broadcasting service.
• 1929 – The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council overrules the Supreme Court of Canada in Edwards v. Canada when it declares that women are considered "Persons" under Canadian law.
• 1944 – World War II: Soviet Union begins the liberation of Czechoslovakia from Nazi Germany.
• 1945 – The USSR's nuclear program receives plans for the United States plutonium bomb from Klaus Fuchs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
• 1945 – A group of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, led by Mario Vargas, Marcos Pérez Jiménez and Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, stages a coup d'état against president Isaías Medina Angarita, who is overthrown by the end of the day.
• 1945 – Argentine military officer and politician Juan Perón marries actress Eva "Evita" Duarte.
• 1949 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 78 is adopted.
• 1954 – Texas Instruments announces the first transistor radio.
• 1961 – the initial European Social Charter is adopted.
• 1964 – The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair closes for its first season after a six-month run.
• 1967 – The Soviet probe Venera 4 reaches Venus and becomes the first spacecraft to measure the atmosphere of another planet.
• 1968 – The U.S. Olympic Committee suspends Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving a "Black Power" salute during a victory ceremony at the Mexico City games.
• 1977 – German Autumn: a set of events revolving around the kidnapping of Hanns Martin Schleyer and the hijacking of a Lufthansa flight by the Red Army Faction (RAF) comes to an end when Schleyer is murdered and various RAF members allegedly commit suicide.
• 1991 – The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopts a declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
• 2003 – Bolivian gas conflict: Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, is forced to resign and leave Bolivia.
• 2004 – Myanmar prime minister Khin Nyunt is ousted and placed under house arrest by the State Peace and Development Council on charges of corruption.
• 2007 – Karachi bombing: A suicide attack on a motorcade carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto kills 139 and wounds 450 more. Bhutto herself is uninjured.

Births

• 1127 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (d. 1192)
• 1405 – Pope Pius II (d. 1464)
• 1517 – Manuel da Nóbrega, Portuguese-Brazilian priest and missionary (d. 1570)
• 1547 – Justus Lipsius, Belgian philologist and scholar (d. 1606)
• 1569 – Giambattista Marino, Italian poet (d. 1625)
• 1634 – Luca Giordano, Italian painter and illustrator (d. 1705)
• 1653 – Abraham van Riebeeck, South African-Dutch merchant and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1713)
• 1662 – Matthew Henry, Welsh minister and scholar (d. 1714)
• 1663 – Prince Eugene of Savoy (d. 1736)
• 1668 – John George IV, Elector of Saxony (d. 1694)
• 1679 – Ann Putnam, Jr., American witness in the Salem witch trials (d. 1716)
• 1701 – Charles le Beau, French historian and author (d. 1778)
• 1706 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian harpsichord player and composer (d. 1785)
• 1741 – Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French general and author (d. 1803)
• 1777 – Heinrich von Kleist, German author and poet (d. 1811)
• 1785 – Thomas Love Peacock, English author and poet (d. 1866)
• 1792 – Lucas Alamán, conservative Mexican politician and historian (d. 1853)
• 1804 – Mongkut, Thai king (d. 1868)
• 1822 – Midhat Pasha, Ottoman civil servant and politician, 238th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1883)
• 1831 – Frederick III, German Emperor (d. 1888)
• 1836 – Frederick August Otto Schwarz, American businessman, founded FAO Schwarz (d. 1911)
• 1850 – Basil Hall Chamberlain, English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (d. 1935)
• 1854 – Billy Murdoch, Australian cricketer (d. 1911)
• 1859 – Henri Bergson, French philosopher and theologian, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
• 1862 – Mehmet Esat Bülkat, Ottoman general (d. 1952)
• 1865 – Arie de Jong, Dutch linguist and author (d. 1957)
• 1865 – Logan Pearsall Smith, American-English author and critic (d. 1946)
• 1868 – Ernst Didring, Swedish author (d. 1931)
• 1870 – D. T. Suzuki, Japanese author and scholar (d. 1966)
• 1872 – Mikhail Kuzmin, Russian poet and author (d. 1936)
• 1873 – Ivanoe Bonomi, Italian lawyer and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1951)
• 1875 – Len Braund, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (d. 1955)
• 1878 – James Truslow Adams, American historian and author (d. 1949)
• 1880 – Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Ukrainian-Russian general, journalist, and theorist (d. 1940)
• 1882 – Lucien Petit-Breton, French cyclist (d. 1917)
• 1885 – Amleto Novelli, Italian actor (d. 1924)
• 1887 – Takashi Sakai, Japanese general and politician, Governor of Hong Kong (d. 1946)
• 1893 – Sidney Holland, New Zealand lieutenant and politician, 25th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1961)
• 1893 – George Ohsawa, Japanese philosopher and academic (d. 1966)
• 1894 – H. L. Davis, American author and poet (d. 1960)
• 1894 – Tibor Déry, Hungarian author and translator (d. 1977)
• 1897 – Isabel Briggs Myers, American theorist and author (d. 1980)
• 1898 – Lotte Lenya, Austrian-American singer and actress (d. 1981)
• 1901 – Annette Hanshaw, American singer (d. 1985)
• 1902 – Miriam Hopkins, American actress and singer (d. 1972)
• 1902 – Pascual Jordan, German physicist and theorist (d. 1980)
• 1903 – Lina Radke, German runner and coach (d. 1983)
• 1904 – A. J. Liebling, American journalist and author (d. 1963)
• 1904 – Haim Shirman, Ukrainian-Israeli scholar and academic (d. 1981)
• 1905 – Jan Gies, Dutch activist (d. 1993)
• 1905 – Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivorian union leader and politician, 1st President of Côte d'Ivoire (d. 1993)
• 1906 – James Brooks, American painter and educator (d. 1992)
• 1909 – Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher and theorist (d. 2004)
• 1914 – Raymond Lambert, Swiss mountaineer (d. 1997)
• 1915 – Victor Sen Yung, American actor (d. 1980)
• 1918 – Molly Geertsema, Dutch lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1991)
• 1918 – Constantine Mitsotakis, Greek lawyer and politician, 178th Prime Minister of Greece
• 1918 – Bobby Troup, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Ric Nordman, Canadian captain and politician (d. 1996)
• 1919 – Anita O'Day, American singer (d. 2006)
• 1919 – Pierre Trudeau, Canadian lawyer, academic, and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2000)
• 1919 – Camilla Williams, American soprano and educator (d. 2012)
• 1920 – Melina Mercouri, Greek actress, singer, and politician, 9th Greek Minister of Culture (d. 1994)
• 1921 – Jerry Cooke, Ukrainian-American photographer and journalist (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Jesse Helms, American soldier, journalist, and politician (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Beatrice Helen Worsley, Mexican-Canadian computer scientist and academic (d. 1972)
• 1923 – Jessie Mae Hemphill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
• 1924 – Buddy MacMaster, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2014)
• 1925 – Ramiz Alia, Albanian politician, 1st President of Albania (d. 2011)
• 1926 – Chuck Berry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1926 – Klaus Kinski, German-American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
• 1927 – Marv Rotblatt, American baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1927 – George C. Scott, American actor and director (d. 1999)
• 1928 – Keith Jackson, American sportscaster and actor
• 1928 – Maurice El Mediouni, Algerian pianist and composer
• 1928 – Dick Taverne, English lawyer and politician
• 1929 – Violeta Chamorro, Nicaraguan publisher and politician, President of Nicaragua
• 1929 – Hillard Elkins, American producer and manager (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Kees Fens, Dutch author and critic (d. 2008)
• 1930 – Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun, Scottish politician
• 1930 – Esther Hautzig, Lithuanian-American author (d. 2009)
• 1931 – Chris Albertson, Icelandic-American historian, journalist, and producer
• 1931 – Roger Climpson, English-Australian journalist
• 1931 – Ien Dales, Dutch civil servant and politician, Dutch Minister of the Interior (d. 1994)
• 1932 – Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuanian musicologist and politician
• 1933 – Forrest Gregg, American football player and coach
• 1933 – Ludovico Scarfiotti, Italian race car driver (d. 1968)
• 1934 – Calvin Lockhart, Bahamian-American actor (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Inger Stevens, Swedish-American actress (d. 1970)
• 1934 – Chuck Swindoll, American pastor, author, and educator
• 1935 – Peter Boyle, American actor and singer (d. 2006)
• 1936 – Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Cuban cardinal
• 1938 – Robert Dove, American lawyer and politician
• 1938 – Dawn Wells, American model and actress, Miss Nevada 1959
• 1939 – Earl Jolly Brown, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1939 – Flavio Cotti, Swiss lawyer and politician, 82nd President of the Swiss Confederation
• 1939 – Mike Ditka, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1939 – Ted Boy Marino, Italian-Brazilian wrestler and actor (d. 2012)
• 1939 – Lee Harvey Oswald, American assassin of John F. Kennedy (d. 1963)
• 1939 – Jan Erik Vold, Norwegian poet, author, and translator
• 1940 – Cynthia Weil, American songwriter
• 1941 – Timothy Bell, Baron Bell, English businessman
• 1941 – Martha Burk, American psychologist and author
• 1942 – Gianfranco Ravasi, Italian cardinal and scholar
• 1943 – Christine Charbonneau, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
• 1943 – Birthe Rønn Hornbech, Danish police officer and politician, Danish Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs
• 1945 – Yıldo, Turkish footballer, volleyball player, actor and showman
• 1945 – Huell Howser, American television host and actor (d. 2013)
• 1945 – Chris Shays, American politician
• 1945 – Norio Wakamoto, Japanese voice actor
• 1946 – James Robert Baker, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
• 1946 – Frank Beamer, American football player and coach
• 1946 – Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Welsh academic and politician
• 1946 – Howard Shore, Canadian composer, conductor, and producer
• 1947 – Paul Chuckle, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Job Cohen, Dutch scholar and politician, Mayor of Amsterdam
• 1947 – Joe Morton, American actor and director
• 1947 – Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1997)
• 1948 – Hans Köchler, Austrian philosopher, author, and academic
• 1948 – Ntozake Shange, American author, poet, and playwright
• 1949 – Joe Egan, Scottish singer-songwriter (Stealers Wheel)
• 1949 – George Hendrick, American baseball player and coach
• 1949 – Gary Richrath, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (REO Speedwagon) (d. 2015)
• 1950 – Om Puri, Indian actor and singer
• 1950 – Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright and author (d. 2006)
• 1950 – Sheila White, English actress and singer
• 1951 – Mike Antonovich, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1951 – Pam Dawber, American actress and singer
• 1951 – Terry McMillan, American author and screenwriter
• 1951 – David Normington, English civil servant and politician
• 1951 – Nic Potter, English bass player and songwriter (Van der Graaf Generator and The Misunderstood) (d. 2013)
• 1952 – Roy Dias, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
• 1952 – Paul Geroski, American-English economist and academic (d. 2005)
• 1952 – Chuck Lorre, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1952 – Patrick Morrow, Canadian mountaineer and photographer
• 1952 – Bảo Ninh, Vietnamese soldier and author
• 1952 – Allen Ripley, American baseball player (d. 2014)
• 1952 – Jerry Royster, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1953 – Loes Luca, Dutch actress and singer
• 1954 – Liz Burch, Australian actress
• 1954 – Nick Houghton, English general
• 1954 – Arliss Howard, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Yūji Mitsuya, Japanese actor
• 1955 – Hiromi Go, Japanese singer
• 1955 – Jean-Pierre Hautier, Belgian journalist and television host (d. 2012)
• 1955 – Vanessa Briscoe Hay, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Pylon and Supercluster)
• 1955 – Timmy Mallett, English radio and television host
• 1955 – Stu Mead, American painter and illustrator
• 1955 – David Twohy, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1955 – Rita Verdonk, Dutch journalist and politician, Dutch Minister of Justice
• 1955 – Denis Watson, Zimbabwean golfer
• 1955 – Mark Welland, English physicist and academic
• 1956 – Craig Bartlett, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
• 1956 – Martina Navratilova, Czech-American tennis player and coach
• 1956 – Alkistis Protopsalti, Egyptian-Greek singer
• 1956 – Jim Talent, American lawyer and politician
• 1957 – Jon Lindstrom, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1957 – Catherine Ringer, French singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (Les Rita Mitsouko)
• 1958 – Corinne Bohrer, American actress
• 1958 – Thomas Hearns, American boxer
• 1958 – Megumi Ishii, Japanese actress and politician
• 1958 – Kjell Samuelsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
• 1959 – Kirby Chambliss, American pilot
• 1959 – Tatyana Kolpakova, Kyrgyzstani long jumper and coach
• 1959 – Milcho Manchevski, Macedonian-American director and screenwriter
• 1959 – John Nord, American wrestler
• 1959 – Chris Russo, American radio host
• 1960 – Erin Moran, American actress and singer
• 1960 – Jean-Claude Van Damme, Belgian martial artist, actor, and producer, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Wynton Marsalis, American trumpet player, composer, and educator
• 1961 – Rick Moody, American author and composer
• 1961 – Gladstone Small, Barbadian-English cricketer
• 1962 – Min Ko Naing, Burmese activist
• 1962 – Vincent Spano, American actor, director, and producer
• 1964 – Dan Lilker, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Anthrax, Stormtroopers of Death, Nuclear Assault, Exit-13, and Brutal Truth)
• 1964 – Charles Stross, English journalist, author, and programmer
• 1965 – Curtis Stigers, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1966 – Dave Price, American journalist and game show host
• 1966 – Slavi Trifonov, Bulgarian actor and singer
• 1966 – Angela Visser, Dutch model and actress, Miss Universe 1989
• 1967 – Eric Stuart, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and voice actor
• 1968 – Lisa Chappell, New Zealand actress and singer
• 1968 – Narendra Hirwani, Indian cricketer
• 1968 – Stuart Law, Australian cricketer and coach
• 1968 – Michael Stich, German tennis player and sportscaster
• 1969 – Volker Neumüller, German talent manager
• 1969 – Nelson Vivas, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
• 1970 – Doug Mirabelli, American baseball player and coach
• 1970 – Michihiro Morita, Japanese Go player
• 1970 – Mike Starink, Dutch television host and actor
• 1971 – Nick O'Hern, Australian golfer
• 1971 – Koshalendraprasad Pande, Indian guru
• 1972 – Mika Ninagawa, Japanese photographer and director
• 1972 – Alex Tagliani, Canadian race car driver
• 1973 – Stephen Allan, Australian golfer
• 1973 – James Foley, American photographer and journalist (d. 2014)
• 1973 – Michalis Kapsis, Greek footballer
• 1973 – Rachel Nichols, American journalist and sportscaster
• 1973 – Brian Scolaro, American comedian, actor, and producer
• 1973 – Sarah Winckless, English rower
• 1974 – Noboru Kaneko, Japanese actor
• 1974 – Candy Lo, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
• 1974 – Robbie Savage, Welsh footballer and sportscaster
• 1974 – Peter Svensson, Swedish guitarist and songwriter (The Cardigans)
• 1975 – Baby Bash, American rapper
• 1975 – Alex Cora, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1976 – Zhou Xun, Chinese actress and singer
• 1977 – Gloc-9, Filipino rapper (Death Threat)
• 1977 – Flavia Colgan, Brazilian-American journalist
• 1977 – Kunal Kapoor, Indian actor
• 1977 – Ryan Nelsen, New Zealand-American soccer player and coach
• 1977 – David Vuillemin, French motorcycle racer
• 1978 – Jyothika, Indian actress
• 1978 – Wesley Jonathan, American actor
• 1978 – Jaime Koeppe, Canadian model and wrestler
• 1978 – Mike Tindall, English rugby player
• 1978 – Kenji Wu, Taiwanese singer-songwriter and actor
• 1979 – Jaroslav Drobný, Czech footballer
• 1979 – Hikaru Kawamura, Japanese model
• 1979 – 'Ana Po'uhila, Tongan shot putter, hammer, and discus thrower
• 1980 – Josh Gracin, American soldier and singer
• 1980 – Rebecca Watson, American blogger
• 1980 – Birsen Yavuz, Turkish sprinter and hurdler
• 1981 – Tina Hergold, Slovenian tennis player
• 1981 – Greg Warren, American football player
• 1982 – Ne-Yo, American singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
• 1982 – Thierry Amiel, French singer-songwriter
• 1982 – Michael Dingsdag, Dutch footballer
• 1982 – Mark Sampson, Welsh footballer and manager
• 1983 – Dante, Brazilian footballer
• 1984 – Robert Harting, German discus thrower
• 1984 – Freida Pinto, Indian actress and model
• 1984 – Esperanza Spalding, American singer-songwriter and bassist
• 1984 – Lindsey Vonn, American skier
• 1985 – Yoenis Céspedes, Cuban baseball player
• 1985 – Andrew Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1985 – Iori Nomizu, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1986 – Wilma Elles, German actress and fashion designer
• 1987 – Zac Efron, American actor and singer
• 1987 – Freja Beha Erichsen, Danish model
• 1989 – Joy Lauren, American actress
• 1989 – Riisa Naka, Japanese model and actress
• 1990 – Bristol Palin, American author
• 1990 – Carly Schroeder, American actress
• 1991 – Roly Bonevacia, Dutch footballer
• 1991 – Tyler Posey, American actor and producer
• 1992 – John John Florence, American surfer

Deaths

• 325 – Emperor Ming of Jin (b. 299)
• 707 – Pope John VII (b. 650)
• 1035 – Sancho III of Pamplona (b. 992)
• 1101 – Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (b. 1053)
• 1141 – Leopold, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1108)
• 1382 – James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond, Irish politician, Lord Justice of Ireland (b. 1331)
• 1417 – Pope Gregory XII (b. 1326)
• 1480 – Uhwudong, Korean dancer and poet (b. 1440)
• 1503 – Pope Pius III (b. 1439)
• 1541 – Margaret Tudor, English wife of James IV of Scotland (b. 1489)
• 1545 – John Taverner, English organist and composer (b. 1490)
• 1558 – Mary of Hungary (b. 1505)
• 1561 – Yamamoto Kansuke, Japanese samurai (b. 1501)
• 1564 – Johannes Acronius Frisius, German physician and mathematician (b. 1520)
• 1570 – Manuel da Nóbrega, Portuguese-Brazilian priest and missionary (b. 1517)
• 1604 – Igram van Achelen, Dutch lawyer and politician (b. 1528)
• 1646 – Isaac Jogues, French priest, missionary, and martyr (b. 1607)
• 1667 – Fasilides, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1603)
• 1678 – Jacob Jordaens, Belgian painter illustrator (b. 1593)
• 1739 – António José da Silva, Brazilian-Portuguese playwright (b. 1705)
• 1744 – Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (b. 1660)
• 1770 – John Manners, Marquess of Granby, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire (b. 1721)
• 1775 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1715)
• 1817 – Etienne Nicolas Méhul, French pianist and composer (b. 1763)
• 1865 – Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1784)
• 1871 – Charles Babbage, English mathematician and engineer, invented the mechanical computer (b. 1791)
• 1886 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician and botanist (b. 1796)
• 1889 – Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (b. 1808)
• 1892 – William W. Chapman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1808)
• 1893 – Charles Gounod, French composer and educator (b. 1818)
• 1908 – Nozu Michitsura, Japanese field marshal (b. 1840)
• 1911 – Alfred Binet, French psychologist and author (b. 1857)
• 1921 – Ludwig III of Bavaria (b. 1845)
• 1931 – Thomas Edison, American engineer and businessman, invented the light bulb and phonograph (b. 1847)
• 1934 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish pathologist, histologist, and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
• 1935 – Gaston Lachaise, French-American sculptor (b. 1882)
• 1941 – Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Portugal (b. 1860)
• 1942 – Mikhail Nesterov, Russian painter (b. 1862)
• 1947 – Michiaki Kamada, Japanese admiral (b. 1890)
• 1948 – Walther von Brauchitsch, German field marshal (b. 1881)
• 1956 – Yoshio Markino, Japanese painter and author (b. 1869)
• 1959 – Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian-French runner (b. 1898)
• 1961 – Tsuru Aoki, Japanese-American actress (b. 1892)
• 1962 – Iván Petrovich, Serbian-German actor and singer (b. 1894)
• 1965 – Dezső Kertész, Hungarian actor and film director (b. 1892)
• 1965 – Lauri Törni, Finnish-American captain (b. 1919)
• 1965 – Henry Travers, English-American actor (b. 1874)
• 1966 – Elizabeth Arden, Canadian-American businesswoman, founded Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (b. 1878)
• 1966 – S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (b. 1867)
• 1973 – Margaret Caroline Anderson, American publisher, founded The Little Review (b. 1886)
• 1973 – Walt Kelly, American illustrator and animator (b. 1913)
• 1973 – Leo Strauss, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1899)
• 1975 – Al Lettieri, American actor (b. 1928)
• 1976 – Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Indian poet and author (b. 1895)
• 1977 – Andreas Baader, German militant (b. 1943)
• 1977 – Gudrun Ensslin, German militant leader, founded the Red Army Faction (b. 1940)
• 1977 – Jan-Carl Raspe, Austrian-German militant (b. 1944)
• 1978 – Ramón Mercader, Spanish journalist, assassin of Leon Trotsky (b. 1914)
• 1980 – Edwin Way Teale, American photographer and author (b. 1899)
• 1982 – Dwain Esper, American director and producer (b. 1892)
• 1982 – Pierre Mendès France, French lawyer and politician, 143rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1907)
• 1982 – John Robarts, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Ontario (b. 1917)
• 1982 – Bess Truman, American wife of Harry S. Truman, 40th First Lady of the United States (b. 1885)
• 1983 – Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish economist and author (b. 1897)
• 1983 – Willie Jones, American baseball player (b. 1925)
• 1984 – Jon-Erik Hexum, American model and actor (b. 1957)
• 1984 – Henri Michaux, French painter and poet (b. 1899)
• 1987 – Adriaan Ditvoorst, Dutch director and screenwriter (b. 1940)
• 1988 – Frederick Ashton, Ecuadorian dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)
• 1999 – Paddi Edwards, English-American actress (b. 1931)
• 2000 – Julie London, American singer and actress (b. 1926)
• 2000 – Gwen Verdon, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1925)
• 2002 – Roman Tam, Hong Kong singer and actor (Roman and the Four Steps) (b. 1950)
• 2003 – Preston Smith, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Texas (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Spanish journalist, author, and critic (b. 1939)
• 2004 – Veerappan, Indian murderer (b. 1952)
• 2005 – John Hollis, English actor (b. 1927)
• 2005 – Johnny Haynes, English-Scottish footballer (b. 1934)
• 2005 – Bill King, American sportscaster (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Mario Francesco Pompedda, Italian cardinal (b. 1929)
• 2006 – Anna Russell, English-Canadian singer and actress (b. 1911)
• 2006 – Laurie Taitt, Guyanese-English hurdler (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Alan Coren, English journalist and author (b. 1938)
• 2007 – William J. Crowe, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
• 2007 – Vincent DeDomenico, American businessman, founded the Napa Valley Wine Train (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Lucky Dube, South African singer-songwriter and keyboard player (b. 1964)
• 2008 – Dee Dee Warwick, American singer (b. 1945)
• 2009 – Adriaan Kortlandt, Dutch ethologist and biologist (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Nancy Spero, American painter and academic (b. 1926)
• 2010 – Marion Brown, American saxophonist and musicologist (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Brain Damage, American wrestler (b. 1977)
• 2012 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch model, actress, and singer (b. 1952)
• 2012 – Slater Martin, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925)
• 2012 – George Mattos, American pole vaulter (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Albert Lee Ueltschi, American pilot and businessman, founded FlightSafety International (b. 1917)
• 2012 – David S. Ware, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1949)
• 2013 – Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix, Mexican drug lord (b. 1949)
• 2013 – Felix Dexter, Caribbean-English comedian and actor (b. 1961)
• 2013 – Tom Foley, American lawyer and politician, 57th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Bum Phillips, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Allan Stanley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Bill Young, American sergeant and politician (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Joanne Borgella, American singer and model (b. 1982)
• 2014 – Paul Craft, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Mariano Lebrón Saviñón, Dominican author and academic (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Edward Regan, American academic and politician (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Sidney Shapiro, American-Chinese author and translator (b. 1915)
• 2015 – Robert Dickerson, Australian painter (b. 1924)
• 2015 – Gamal El-Ghitani, Egyptian journalist and author (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Robert W. Farquhar, American engineer (b. 1932)
• 2015 – Frank Watkins, American bass player (Obituary and Gorgoroth) (b. 1968)
• 2015 – Paul West, English-American author, poet, and academic (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

• Alaska Day (Alaska)
• Christian feast day:
  • Justus of Beauvais
  • Luke the Evangelist
  • Peter of Alcantara, can also be celebrated on October 19.
  • October 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Independence Day (Azerbaijan), celebrates the independence of (Azerbaijan) from Soviet Union in 1991.
• Necktie Day (Croatia, and others)
• Persons Day (Canada)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada
• The New York Times: On This Day