October 11 in History

Soyuz MS-10, launching an intended crew for the ISS, suffers an in-flight abort. The crew lands safely.

A migrant boat sinks in the Channel of Sicily, with at least 359 people drowning.

A bomb attack in a Myyrmanni shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven.

The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.

NASA launches STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission.

Air Botswana pilot Chris Phatswe steals an ATR 42 from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and later crashes it into two other aircraft at the airport, killing himself.

Prof. Anita Hill delivers her televised testimony concerning sexual harassment during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is first displayed during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

Start of Operation Pawan by Indian forces in Sri Lanka. Thousands of civilians, insurgents, soldiers die.

Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland to continue discussions about scaling back IRBM arsenals in Europe.

Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk.

Aeroflot Flight 3352 crashes into maintenance vehicles upon landing in Omsk, Russia, killing 178.

George Washington is posthumously promoted to the grade of General of the Armies.

NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful crewed Apollo mission.

The Second Vatican Council becomes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.

NASA launches Pioneer 1, its first space probe, although it fails to achieve a stable orbit.

In accord with the 1954 Geneva Conference, French troops complete their withdrawal from North Vietnam.

CBS's field-sequential color system for television is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

The Tuvan People's Republic is annexed by the Soviet Union.

World War II: Off Guadalcanal, United States Navy ships intercept and defeat a Japanese force.

Beginning of the National Liberation War of Macedonia.

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor tour Nazi Germany for 12 days and meet Adolf Hitler on 22 October.

The 7.1 Mw San Fermín earthquake shakes Puerto Rico. The quake and resulting tsunami kill up to 116 people.

First Balkan War: The day after the Battle of Sarantaporo, Greek troops liberate the city of Kozani.

Piloted by Arch Hoxsey, Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane.

San Francisco sparks a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Japan by ordering segregated schools for Japanese students.

The Second Boer War erupts in South Africa between the British-ruled Cape Colony, and the Boer-ruled Transvaal and Orange Free State.

In Washington, D.C., the Daughters of the American Revolution is founded.

Hundreds of black men and women march in Jamaica, starting the Morant Bay rebellion.

American Civil War: Confederate troops conduct a raid on Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney.

The Maronite leader Bashir Shihab II surrenders to the Ottoman Empire and later is sent to Malta in exile.

The Juliana begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry in New York harbor.

The Royal Navy decisively defeats the Batavian Navy at Camperdown during the French Revolutionary Wars.

American Revolution: A fleet of American boats on Lake Champlain is defeated by the Royal Navy, but delays the British advance until 1777.

Cromwell's New Model Army sacks Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish Confederate troops and 1,500 civilians.

The Burchardi flood kills around 15,000 in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany.

The New Netherland Company applies to the States General of the Netherlands for exclusive trading rights in what is now the northeastern United States.

The peerage and clergy restrict the authority of English kings with the Ordinances of 1311.

A peace treaty ends the Jin–Song wars.

A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo; it is one of the most destructive earthquakes ever.

Maja Chwalińska, Polish tennis player

Daniel Maldini, Italian footballer

Jacob Preston, Australian rugby league player

Chu Ye-jin, South Korean actress

Leicester Fainga'anuku, New Zealand rugby union player

Keldon Johnson, American basketball player

Rhea Ripley, Australian wrestler

Arman Tsarukyan, Armenian professional mixed martial artist

Nicolás Jarry, Chilean tennis player

Clésio Baúque, Mozambican footballer

Zior Park, South Korean rapper

T. J. Watt, American football player

Brandon Flynn, American actor

Hardik Pandya, Indian cricketer

Cardi B, American rapper

Christian Davis, English cricketer

Riffi Mandanda, Congolese footballer

Ligi Sao, New Zealand rugby league player

Joel Bitonio, American football player

Toby Fox, American video game developer and composer

Gio Urshela, Colombian baseball player

Kika van Es, Dutch footballer

Joo, South Korean singer and actress

Sebastian Rode, German footballer

Michelle Wie, American golfer

Omar Gonzalez, American soccer player

Ricochet, American wrestler

Tony Beltran, American soccer player

Mike Conley Jr., American basketball player

Nathan Coulter-Nile, Australian cricketer

Ikioi Shōta, Japanese sumo wrestler

Nesta Carter, Jamaican sprinter

Yang Cheng, Chinese footballer

Álvaro Fernández, Uruguayan footballer

Peter Ölvecký, Slovak ice hockey player

Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress (died 2025)

Sergio Hellings, Dutch footballer

Martha MacIsaac, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter

Zeb Taia, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player

Jane Zhang, Chinese singer-songwriter

Denis Grebeshkov, Russian ice hockey player

Cameron Knowles, New Zealand footballer

Jeff Larish, American baseball player

Terrell Suggs, American football player

Mauricio Victorino, Uruguayan footballer

Nyron Nosworthy, English-born Jamaican footballer

Jamar Beasley, American football player

Andy Douglas, American wrestler

Kim Yong-dae, South Korean footballer

Carl Bussey, American soccer player

Trevor Donovan, American actor

Takuya Kawaguchi, Japanese footballer

Matt Bomer, American actor and producer

Igor Figueiredo, Brazilian snooker player

Jérémie Janot, French footballer and manager

Desmond Mason, American basketball player and sportscaster

Rhett McLaughlin, American YouTuber

Ty Wigginton, American baseball player

Dominic Aitchison, Scottish bass player and songwriter

Emily Deschanel, American actress and producer

Jason Arnott, Canadian ice hockey player

Rachel Barton Pine, American violinist and educator

Brendan B. Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Greg Chalmers, Australian golfer

Steven Pressley, Scottish footballer and manager

Niki Xanthou, Greek long jumper

Dmitri Young, American baseball player and radio host

Marcus Bai, Papua New Guinean rugby league player

Petra Haden, American violinist and singer

Justin Lin, American film director

Oleksandr Pomazun, Ukrainian footballer and manager

Chidi Ahanotu, American football player

Vanessa Harding, American wrestler

MC Lyte, American rapper, DJ, and actress

Andy Marriott, English-Welsh footballer and manager

Shin Tae-yong, South Korean footballer and coach

Constance Zimmer, American actress

Merieme Chadid, Moroccan astronomer and explorer

Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands

Stephen Moyer, English actor

Jane Krakowski, American actress and singer

Claude Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Brett Salisbury, American football player and author

Jay Grdina, American businessman and pornographic actor

Artie Lange, American actor and comedian

David Starr, American race car driver

Peter Thiel, German and American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist

Luke Perry, American actor and producer (died 2019)

Todd Snider, American singer-songwriter

Stephen Williams, Welsh lawyer and politician

Sean Patrick Flanery, American actor and producer

Alexander Hacke, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Orlando Hernández, Cuban baseball player

Volodymyr Horilyi, Ukrainian footballer and coach

Lennie James, English actor

Michael J. Nelson, American actor, director, and screenwriter

Marcus Graham, Australian actor

Brian Rice, Scottish footballer and manager

Ronny Rosenthal, Israeli footballer

Rima Te Wiata, English-New Zealand actress and singer

Joan Cusack, American actress

Andy McCoy, Finnish musician

Neil Buchanan, English guitarist

Steve Young, American football player and sportscaster

Randy Breuer, American basketball player

Nicola Bryant, English actress

Curt Ford, American baseball player and manager

Gábor Pölöskei, Hungarian footballer and manager

Wayne Gardner, Australian motorcycle racer

Allan Little, Scottish journalist and author

Francky Dury, Belgian footballer and manager

Dawn French, Welsh-English actress, comedian and screenwriter

Nicanor Duarte, Paraguayan lawyer and politician, President of Paraguay

Doug Lawrence, American jazz saxophonist

Derek Ringer, Scottish race car driver

Stephen Spinella, American actor

Norm Nixon, American basketball player and sportscaster

David Michaels, American epidemiologist and politician

Vojislav Šešelj, Serbian lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia

David Morse, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Paulette Carlson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Bruce Bartlett, American economist, historian, and author

Miroslav Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player (died 2008)

Jean-Jacques Goldman, French singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jon Miller, American sportscaster

Louise Rennison, English author and comedian (died 2016)

Charles Shyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2024)

Catlin Adams, American actress

William R. Forstchen, American historian and author

Amos Gitai, Israeli director, producer, and author

Patty Murray, American educator and politician

Henry Luke Orombi, Ugandan archbishop

Lawrence Tanter, American basketball player and sportscaster

David Rendall, English tenor and actor

Peter Turkson, Ghanaian cardinal

Thomas Boswell, American journalist and author

Lucas Papademos, Greek economist and politician, 183rd Prime Minister of Greece

Alan Pascoe, English hurdler

Elinor Goodman, English journalist

Daryl Hall, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Sawao Katō, Japanese gymnast

Andrew Logan, English sculptor and painter

Rodney Marsh, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster

Keith Boyce, Barbadian cricketer (died 1996)

Michael Harloe, English sociologist and academic

John Nettles, English actor and writer

Ilmar Reepalu, Swedish lawyer and politician

Gene Watson, American singer-songwriter and producer

Richard Wilson, Baron Wilson of Dinton, Welsh academic and politician

Amitabh Bachchan, Indian film actor, producer, television host, and former politician

Lester Bowie, American trumpet player and composer (died 1999)

Lucy Morgan, American newspaper reporter (died 2023)

Maria Bueno, Brazilian tennis player (died 2018)

Austin Currie, Northern Irish lawyer and SDLP politician (died 2021)

Darrall Imhoff, American basketball player (died 2017)

Michael Stear, English air marshal (died 2020)

Bobby Charlton, English footballer and manager (died 2023)

R. H. W. Dillard, American poet, author, and critic (died 2023)

Ron Leibman, American actor and screenwriter (died 2019)

C. Gordon Fullerton, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (died 2013)

Billy Higgins, American drummer and educator (died 2001)

James M. McPherson, American historian and author

Dan Evins, American businessman, founded Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (died 2012)

Daniel Quinn, American author and environmentalist (died 2018)

Saul Friedländer, Israeli historian and author

Barry Jones, Australian lawyer and politician

Dottie West, American singer-songwriter and actress (died 1991)

Michael Edwardes, South African-English businessman (died 2019)

LaVell Edwards, American football player and coach (died 2016)

Sam Johnson, American colonel and politician (died 2020)

Curtis Amy, American saxophonist and clarinetist (died 2002)

Alfonso de Portago, Spanish race car driver and bobsledder (died 1957)

Roscoe Robinson Jr., American general (died 1993)

Geoffrey Tordoff, Baron Tordoff, English businessman and politician (died 2019)

Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (died 2005)

Jim Prior, Baron Prior, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 2016)

Jean Alexander, English actress (died 2016)

Yvon Dupuis, Canadian politician (died 2017)

Thích Nhất Hạnh, Vietnamese monk, author, and poet (died 2022)

Earle Hyman, American actor (died 2017)

Neville Wran, Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Premier of New South Wales (died 2014)

Elmore Leonard, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter (died 2013)

André Emmerich, German-American art dealer (died 2007)

Sammy McCrory, Northern Irish footballer (died 2011)

Mal Whitfield, American athlete (died 2015)

G. C. Edmondson, American soldier and author (died 1995)

Art Blakey, American drummer and bandleader (died 1990)

Douglas Albert Munro, United States Coast Guard signalman, posthumously awarded Medal of Honor (died 1942)

Fred Bodsworth, Canadian journalist and author (died 2012)

Jerome Robbins, American director, producer, and choreographer (died 1998)

Nanaji Deshmukh, Indian educator and activist (died 2010)

Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur Attar, Saudi Arabian writer and journalist (died 1991)

T. Llew Jones, Welsh author and poet (died 2009)

Joe Simon, American author and illustrator (died 2011)

Nello Pagani, Italian motorcycle racer and race car driver (died 2003)

Cahit Arf, Turkish mathematician and academic (died 1997)

Sir Ken Anderson, Australian politician (died 1985)

Fred Trump, American real estate entrepreneur (died 1999)

Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian activist and politician (died 1979)

Masanobu Tsuji, Japanese colonel and politician (died 1961)

Eddie Dyer, American baseball player and manager (died 1964)

Nathan Farragut Twining, American general (died 1982)

Roman Jakobson, Russian-American linguist and theorist (died 1982)

Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian educator and lieutenant (died 1919)

A. V. Kulasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, lawyer, and politician (died 1978)

François Mauriac, French novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)

Friedrich Bergius, German-Argentinian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1949)

Eleanor Roosevelt, American humanitarian and politician, 32nd First Lady of the United States (died 1962)

Sig Ruman, German-American actor (died 1967)

Kristian Welhaven, Norwegian police officer (died 1975)

Hans Kelsen, Czech-American jurist and philosopher (died 1973)

Ernst Mally, Austrian philosopher and academic (died 1944)

Emily Davison, English educator and activist (died 1913)

Harlan F. Stone, American lawyer and jurist, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (died 1946)

Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian evangelist, founded the Brunstad Christian Church (died 1943)

Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian philologist and author (died 1926)

Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (died 1919)

Ernst Sars, Norwegian historian (died 1917)

Theodore Thomas, American conductor, founded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (died 1905)

Afzal-ud-Daulah, Asaf Jah V, 5th Nizam of Hyderabad

George Williams, English philanthropist, founded the YMCA (died 1905)

Pierre Napoléon Bonaparte, Italian-French politician (died 1881)

Jean-Baptiste Lamy, French-American archbishop (died 1888)

Gregor von Helmersen, Estonian-Russian general and geologist (died 1885)

Maria James, Welsh-born American poet, domestic servant (died 1868)

Simon Sechter, Austrian organist, composer, and conductor (died 1867)

Stevenson Archer, American judge and politician (died 1848)

Steen Steensen Blicher, Danish author and poet (died 1848)

George Bridgetower, British musician and composer (died 1860)

Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, German physician and astronomer (died 1840)

Grigory Potemkin, Russian general and politician (died 1791)

Arthur Phillip, English admiral and politician, 1st Governor of New South Wales (died 1814)

Samuel Clarke, English minister and philosopher (died 1729)

Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian-Romanian diplomat (died 1742)

Frederick IV of Denmark (died 1730)

Melchior de Polignac, French cardinal and poet (died 1742)

Andreas Gryphius, German poet and playwright (died 1664)

Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia, Grand Prince of Moscow (died 1553)

Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France, French noble (died 1495)

Diane Keaton, American actress (born 1946)

Jamaluddin Hossain, Bangladeshi actor (born 1943)

Angela Lansbury, English-American actress, singer, and producer (born 1925)

Alexei Leonov, Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and first human to conduct a spacewalk (born 1934)

Clifford Husbands, Barbadian politician (born 1926)

Dean Chance, American baseball player and manager (born 1941)

Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (born 1931)

Carmelo Simeone, Argentinian footballer (born 1933)

Bob Such, Australian educator and politician (born 1944)

María de Villota, Spanish race car driver (born 1980)

Erich Priebke, German captain (born 1913)

Avrohom Genachowsky, Israeli rabbi (born 1936)

Helmut Haller, German footballer and coach (born 1939)

Edward Kossoy, Polish lawyer, publicist, and activist (born 1913)

Édgar Negret, Colombian sculptor (born 1920)

Champ Summers, American baseball player and coach (born 1946)

Angelo DiGeorge, American physician and endocrinologist (born 1922)

Halit Refiğ, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1934)

Marjorie Fletcher, English Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service (born 1932)

Jörg Haider, Austrian lawyer and politician, Governor of Carinthia (born 1950)

Ernst-Paul Hasselbach, Surinamese-Dutch television host and producer (born 1966)

Neal Hefti, American trumpet player and composer (born 1922)

David Lee "Tex" Hill, South Korean-American general and pilot (born 1915)

Werner von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (born 1915)

Cory Lidle, American baseball player (born 1972)

Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Pakistani-Canadian linguist, journalist, and poet (born 1917)

Attilâ İlhan, Turkish poet, author, and journalist (born 1925)

Edward Szczepanik, Polish economist and politician, Prime Minister of Poland (born 1915)

Keith Miller, Australian cricketer and pilot (born 1919)

Beni Montresor, Italian director, set designer, and illustrator (born 1926)

Luc-Marie Bayle, French historian, photographer, and painter (born 1914)

Donald Dewar, Scottish politician, 1st First Minister of Scotland (born 1937)

Leo Lionni, Dutch-American author and illustrator (born 1910)

Richard Denning, American actor (born 1914)

Keith Boyce, Barbadian cricketer (born 1943)

Eleanor Cameron, Canadian-American author and critic (born 1912)

Renato Russo, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1960)

Joe Morris, English-Canadian lieutenant and trade union leader (born 1913)

Andy Stewart, Scottish singer and entertainer (born 1933)

Redd Foxx, American actor and comedian (born 1922)

M. King Hubbert, American geologist and academic (born 1904)

Bonita Granville, American actress (born 1923)

Norm Cash, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1934)

Benno Schotz, Scottish sculptor and engineer (born 1891)

R. Fraser Armstrong, Canadian administrator and engineer (born 1889)

MacKinlay Kantor, American journalist, author, and screenwriter (born 1904)

Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author, screenwriter, and songwriter (born 1897)

Tamanoumi Masahiro, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 51st Yokozuna (born 1944)

Chesty Puller, American general (born 1898)

Selim Sarper, Turkish educator and politician, 13th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1899)

Stanley Morison, typographer, known for work on Times New Roman font (born 1889)

Dorothea Lange, American photographer and journalist (born 1895)

Walther Stampfli, Swiss lawyer and politician, 50th President of the Swiss Confederation (born 1884)

Jean Cocteau, French author, poet, and playwright (born 1889)

Chico Marx, American comedian (born 1887)

Richard Cromwell, American actor (born 1910)

Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter (born 1876)

Heinrich Gutkin, Estonian businessman and politician (born 1879)

Mihkel Pung, Estonian politician, 11th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1876)

Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist (born 1860)

Steele Rudd, Australian author (born 1868)

William Alden Smith, American lawyer and politician (born 1859)

Rita Cetina Gutiérrez, Mexican poet, educator, and activist (born 1846)

Mary Tenney Gray, American editorial writer, club-woman, philanthropist, and suffragette (born 1833)

Léon Boëllmann, French organist and composer (born 1862)

Edward Benson, English archbishop (born 1829)

Anton Bruckner, Austrian organist, composer, and educator (born 1824)

James Prescott Joule, English physicist and brewer (born 1818)

Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician and academic (born 1823)

Samuel Wesley, English organist and composer (born 1766)

José de La Mar, Peruvian military leader, President of Peru (born 1776)

John Ross Key, American lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (born 1754)

Meriwether Lewis, American captain, explorer, and politician, 2nd Governor of Louisiana Territory (born 1774)

Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (born 1745)

Hans Herr, Swiss-American bishop (born 1639)

Edward Colston, English merchant and politician (born 1636)

Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician, physicist, physician, and philosopher (born 1651)

Guillaume Amontons, French physicist and instrument maker (born 1663)

William Molyneux, Irish philosopher and writer (born 1656)

James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven (born c. 1617)

Mattias de' Medici, Italian noble (born 1613)

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, Ottoman politician, 43rd Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1506)

Thomas Wyatt, English poet and diplomat (born 1503)

Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss pastor and theologian (born 1484)

Jan Žižka, Czech general and Hussite leader

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1282)

Pope Boniface VIII (born 1235)

Robert I, Count of Dreux (born 1123)

William of Blois, Count of Boulogne and Earl of Surrey (born c. 1137)

Sima Guang, Chinese historian and statesman (born 1019)

Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne (born 925)