680 – Battle of Karbala: Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Muslims as Aashurah.
1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000-30,000 in the Caribbean.
1846 – Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell.
1871 – Chicago burns after a barn accident. The fire lasts from October 8 to October 10.
1897 – German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovers an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).
1928 – Chiang Kai-shek becomes chairman of the Republic of China.
1953 – A Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea is concluded in Washington, D.C.
1957 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant.
1973 – Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax.
Giacometti’s The Cat 1954
Births
AD 19 – Tiberius Gemellus, Roman son of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla (d. 38)
786 – Saga, emperor of Japan (d. 842)
1731 – Henry Cavendish, chemist, physicist, and philosopher (d. 1810)
1813 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer and philanthropist (d. 1901)
1901 – Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
1917 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (d. 1982)
1924 – James Clavell, Australian-American director, producer, screenwriter, and author (d. 1994)
1930 – Harold Pinter, English playwright, screenwriter, director Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
1940 – Winston Churchill, English journalist and politician (d. 2010)
Deaths
827 – Pope Valentine (b. 800)
1708 – David Gregory, Scottish mathematician and astronomer (b. 1659)
1872 – William H. Seward, 24th United States Secretary of State (b. 1801)
1911 – Jack Daniel, American businessman, founded Jack Daniel’s (b. 1849)
1913 – Adolphus Busch, German-American brewer and businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1839)
1963 – Édith Piaf, French singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1915)
1985 – Yul Brynner, Russian actor (b. 1920)
1985 – Orson Welles, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
1998 – Clark Clifford, American captain, lawyer, and politician 9th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1906)