EVENTS:
- 1604 – Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way.
- 1771 – The Dutch merchant ship Vrouw Maria sinks near the coast of Finland.
- 1804 – Hobart, capital of Tasmania, is founded.
- 1820 – Guayaquil declares independence from Spain.
- 1824 – Slavery is abolished in Costa Rica.
- 1888 – The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public.
- 1999 – The last flight of the SR-71.
- 2006 – North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device.
- 2009 – First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA‘s Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.
- 2012 – Members of the Pakistani Taliban make a failed attempt to assassinate Malala Yousafzai on her way home from school.
- 2017 – The October 2017 Northern California wildfires ravage the North Bay, resulting in over 40 deaths, and about 8,900 structures destroyed.
- 2019 – Turkey begins its military offensive in north-eastern Syria.
- 2024 – Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, as a category three hurricane, doing over $30 billion in damage only two weeks after Hurricane Helene impacted the state.
BIRTHS:
- 1852 – Hermann Emil Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
- 1879 – Max von Laue, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)
- 1892 – Ivo Andrić, Serbian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1924 – Immanuvel Devendrar, Indian soldier (d. 1957)
- 1930 – Hank Lauricella, American football player and politician (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Peter Mansfield, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1943 – Jimmy Montgomery, English footballer and coach
- 1945 – Amjad Ali Khan, Indian sarod player
- 1958 – Mike Singletary, American football player and coach
- 1965 – Jimbo Fisher, American football player and coach
- 1975 – Mark Viduka, Australian footballer
- 1980 – Kert Kütt, Estonian footballer
- 1993 – Robin Quaison, Swedish footballer
- 2000 – Penei Sewell, American football player
- 2002 – Ben Shelton, American tennis player
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
- Hangul Day (South Korea)
- Independence Day (Uganda), celebrates the independence of Uganda from United Kingdom in 1962.
- Independence of Guayaquil from Spain in 1820 (Guayaquil)
- National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Romania)
- Takayama Autumn Festival (Takayama)
- World Post Day (International)
- Region of Valencia Day (Spain)
