October 1

Historic Events

2024

Israel invaded Southern Lebanon, marking the fifth Israeli invasion of Lebanon since 1978. ›

2022

One hundred and thirty-five are killed in a human crush following a football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in East Java, Indonesia. ›

2021

The 2020 World Expo in Dubai begins. Its opening was originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ›

2019

Kuopio school stabbing: One dies and ten are injured when Joel Marin, armed with a sabre, attacks a school class at Savo Vocational College in Kuopio, Finland. ›

2018

The International Court of Justice rules that Chile is not obliged to negotiate access to the Pacific Ocean with Bolivia. ›

2017

An independence referendum, later declared illegal by the Constitutional Court of Spain, takes place in Catalonia. ›

2017

Sixty people are killed and 867 others injured in a mass shooting at a country music festival at the Las Vegas Strip in the United States; the gunman, Stephen Paddock, later commits suicide. ›

2016

The leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, Pedro Sánchez, resigns. He would return to the position a year later. ›

2015

A gunman kills nine people at a community college in Oregon. ›

2015

Heavy rains trigger a major landslide in Guatemala, killing 280 people. ›

2015

The American cargo vessel SS El Faro sinks with all of its 33 crew after steaming into the eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin. ›

2014

A series of explosions at a gunpowder plant in Bulgaria completely destroys the factory, killing 15 people. ›

2014

A double bombing of an elementary school in Homs, Syria kills over 50 people. ›

2012

A ferry collision off the coast of Hong Kong kills 38 people and injures 102 others. ›

2009

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom takes over the judicial functions of the House of Lords. ›

2003

The popular and controversial English-language imageboard 4chan is launched. ›

2001

Militants attack the state legislature building in Kashmir, killing 38. ›

2001

3G wireless technology first becomes available when it is adopted by Japanese telecommunications company NTT Docomo. ›

2000

Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Palestinians protest the killing of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah by Israeli police in northern Israel, beginning the "October 2000 events". ›

1994

Palau enters a Compact of Free Association with the United States. ›

1991

Croatian War of Independence: The Siege of Dubrovnik begins. ›

1989

Denmark introduces the world's first legal same-sex registered partnerships. ›

1987

The 5.9 Mw Whittier Narrows earthquake shakes the San Gabriel Valley with a Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing eight and injuring 200. ›

1985

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Israel attacks the Palestine Liberation Organization's Tunisia headquarters during Operation Wooden Leg. ›

1982

Helmut Kohl replaces Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of Germany through a constructive vote of no confidence. ›

1982

EPCOT Center (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) opens at Walt Disney World in Florida. ›

1982

Sony and Phillips launch the compact disc in Japan; on the same day, Sony releases the model CDP-101 compact disc player, the first player of its kind. ›

1979

Pope John Paul II begins his first pastoral visit to the United States. ›

1979

The MTR, Hong Kong's rapid transit railway system, opens. ›

1978

Tuvalu gains independence from the United Kingdom. ›

1975

Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines. ›

1971

Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida. ›

1971

The first practical CT scanner is used to diagnose a patient. ›

1969

Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time. ›

1968

Guyana nationalizes the British Guiana Broadcasting Service, which would eventually become part of the National Communications Network, Guyana. ›

1966

West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with no survivors in Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9. ›

1965

At dawn, seven Indonesian Army officers and a police inspector were assassinated by the September 30 Movement at Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta. In addition, two more officers were killed in Yogyakarta. The Army pinned the murders to the Communist Party of Indonesia, resulting in mass killings of suspected leftists. ›

1964

The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. ›

1964

Japanese Shinkansen ("bullet trains") begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka. ›

1963

On its third anniversary as an independent nation, Nigeria became a republic. ›

1962

James Meredith becomes the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. ›

1961

The United States Defense Intelligence Agency is formed, becoming the country's first centralized military intelligence organization. ›

1961

East and West Cameroon merge to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. ›

1961

The CTV Television Network, Canada's first private television network, is launched. ›

1960

Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom. ›

1958

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is replaced by NASA. ›

1957

The motto In God We Trust first appears on U.S. paper currency. ›

1955

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is established. ›

1953

Andhra State is formed, consisting of a Telugu-speaking area carved out of India's Madras State. ›

1953

A United States-South Korea mutual defense treaty is concluded in Washington, D.C. ›

1949

The People's Republic of China is established. ›

1947

The North American F-86 Sabre flies for the first time. ›

1946

Nazi leaders are sentenced at the Nuremberg trials. ›

1946

The Daegu October incident occurs in Allied-occupied Korea. ›

1943

World War II: After the Four Days of Naples, Allied troops enter the city. ›

1942

World War II: USS Grouper torpedoes Lisbon Maru, not knowing that she is carrying British prisoners of war from Hong Kong. ›

1940

The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic. ›

1939

World War II: After a one-month siege, German troops occupy Warsaw. ›

1938

Pursuant to the Munich Agreement signed the day before, Nazi Germany begins the military occupation and annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. ›

1936

Spanish Civil War: Francisco Franco is named head of the Nationalist government of Spain. ›

1936

Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia dissolves itself, handing control of Catalan defence militias over to the Generalitat. ›

1931

The George Washington Bridge in the United States is opened, linking New Jersey and New York. ›

1931

Clara Campoamor persuades the Constituent Cortes to enfranchise women in Spain's new constitution. ›

1928

The Soviet Union introduces its first five-year plan. ›

1928

Newark Liberty International Airport opens, becoming the first airport in the New York City metro area. ›

1923

The 1923 Imperial Conference opened in London. ›

1923

Georges Carpentier knocked out former British heavyweight champion Joe Beckett a mere twenty seconds into the first round of their boxing match at Olympia in London. ›

1918

World War I: The Egyptian Expeditionary Force captures Damascus. ›

1918

Sayid Abdullah becomes the last Khan of Khiva. ›

1915

The Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka is published in the German journal Die Weißen Blätter ›

1910

A large bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building, killing 21. ›

1908

Ford Model T automobiles are offered for sale at a price of US$825. ›

1903

Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series. ›

1898

The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration is founded under the name k.u.k. Exportakademie. ›

1891

Stanford University opens its doors in California, United States. ›

1890

Yosemite National Park is established by the U.S. Congress. ›

1887

Balochistan is conquered by the British Empire. ›

1861

Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management is published, going on to sell 60,000 copies in its first year and remaining in print until the present day. ›

1832

Texian political delegates convene at San Felipe de Austin to petition for changes in the governance of Mexican Texas. ›

1829

The South African College is founded in Cape Town, later separating into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools. ›

1827

Russo-Persian War: The Russian army under Ivan Paskevich captures Yerevan. ›

1814

The Congress of Vienna opens with the intention of redrawing Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoleon in the previous spring. ›

1800

Via the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain cedes Louisiana to France, which would sell the land to the United States thirty months later. ›

1795

More than a year after the Battle of Sprimont, the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium) are officially annexed by Revolutionary France. ›

1791

First session of the French Legislative Assembly. ›

1787

Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn. ›

1779

The city of Tampere, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden. ›

1730

Ahmed III is forced to abdicate as the Ottoman sultan. ›

1588

The coronation of Shah Abbas I of Persia occurs. ›

1553

The coronation of Queen Mary I of England is held at Westminster Abbey. ›

965

Pope John XIII is consecrated. ›

959

Edgar the Peaceful becomes king of all England, in succession to Eadwig. ›

366

Pope Damasus I is consecrated. ›

331 BC

Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. ›