October 8

American politician John Hancock dies (1793); Great Chicago Fire begins, killing about 300 people and destroying most of the city (1871); Actress Sigourney Weaver born (1949); "Cats" debuts on Broadway (1982); Office of Homeland Security is created in the wake of 9/11 attacks (2001).

October 7

Edgar Allan Poe dies (1849); World’s oldest airline still operating, KLM, is founded (1919); American cellist Yo-Yo Ma born (1955); US invasion of Afghanistan begins (2001). 

October 4

Rembrandt dies (1669); Orient Express makes first run from Paris to Romania (1883); Hollywood legend Charlton Heston born (1923); Sputnik 1 is first artificial satellite to orbit Earth (1957); Rocker Janis Joplin dies (1970).

October 5

Harry Truman makes first US presidential television address from the White House (1947); Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson born (1958); Public Broadcasting Service launches (1970); Actress Kate Winslet born (1975); Steve Jobs dies (2011).

October 3

American singer-songwriter Chubby Checker born (1941); Gwen Stefani born (1969); East and West Germany are unified (1990); OJ Simpson acquitted of murdering ex-wife and her friend (1995); "Psycho" actress Janet Leigh dies (2004).

October 2

Mahatma Gandhi born (1869); Fashion designer Donna Karan born (1948); Thurgood Marshall sworn in as first Black Supreme Court justice (1967); Rock Hudson is first major US celebrity to die from AIDS-related complications (1985); Tom Petty dies (2017).

October 1

Yosemite National Park is established (1890); Bonnie Parker, half of the infamous crime duo Bonnie and Clyde, born (1910); President Jimmy Carter born (1924); Actress Dame Julie Andrews born (1935); Walt Disney World opens (1971); 58 killed, 869 injured from mass shooting in Las Vegas (2017).