Male in breeding plumage

The red-billed quelea (Quelea quelea) is a small, migratory, sparrow-like bird of the weaver family, Ploceidae, native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is approximately 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighs 15 to 26 g (0.53 to 0.92 oz) Non-breeding birds have light underparts, striped brown upper parts, yellow-edged flight feathers and a reddish bill. Breeding females attain a yellowish bill. Breeding males have a black (or rarely white) facial mask, surrounded by a purplish, pinkish, rusty or yellowish wash on the head and breast. The species avoids forests, deserts and colder areas. It constructs oval roofed nests woven from strips of grass hanging from thorny branches, sugar cane or reeds. It breeds in very large colonies. The quelea feeds primarily on seeds of annual grasses, but also causes extensive damage to cereal crops. It is regarded as the most numerous undomesticated bird on earth, with the population sometimes peaking at an estimated 1.5 billion individuals. (Full article...)

Help Mark

• ... that the Help Mark (pictured) is a Japanese accessibility symbol for people with invisible disabilities?
• ... that King Hugh I of Cyprus married his stepsister with a special permission from the pope?
• ... that penicillin was forgotten about for a decade after its initial discovery in 1929?
• ... that there have been attempts to make chess an Olympic sport since at least 1924?
• ... that Charles Bornou once served as a minister of finance and a mayor at the same time?
• ... that the demolition of 61 Molesworth Street in Wellington, New Zealand, revealed the possessions of illegal residents?
• ... that Sunaryanta ran 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) from his home to register for an election, and later ran 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) back home after losing re-election?
• ... that a 1941 jam session was notable for its racial integration?
• ... that Isaac A. Hopper was one of the One Hundred?

Sanae Takaichi

• Sanae Takaichi (pictured) is elected as the first female prime minister of Japan by the National Diet.
• Eric Lu wins the International Chopin Piano Competition.
• Rodrigo Paz Pereira, a member of the Christian Democratic Party, is elected president of Bolivia.
• Pieces of the French Crown Jewels are stolen during a robbery from the Galerie d'Apollon of the Louvre in Paris.

October 24

Dracula by Bram Stoker

• 1885 – The Russian ship Dmitry ran aground in Whitby, an incident that inspired the arrival of Count Dracula to England in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel (cover pictured).
• 1929 – On "Black Thursday", the New York Stock Exchange lost 11 percent of its value at the opening bell on very heavy trading, marking the beginning of the Great Depression.
• 1930 – The Pacification Junta deposed Brazillian president Washington Luís, ending the Brazilian Revolution of 1930.
• 2004 – English football club Manchester United defeated rivals Arsenal 2–0 in the Battle of the Buffet, ending the latter's record-breaking unbeaten run.
• 2015 – Lam Wing-kee, the owner of Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong, known for publishing political books banned in mainland China, was abducted by Chinese authorities.

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Illustration of redshift and blueshift

In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, or equivalently, a decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and increase in frequency and energy, is known as a blueshift. The terms are derive from the colours red and blue, which form the extremes of the visible-light spectrum. Three forms of redshift occur in astronomy and cosmology: Doppler redshifts due to the relative motions of radiation sources, gravitational redshift as radiation escapes from gravitational potentials, and cosmological redshifts caused by the universe expanding. Automated astronomical redshift surveys are an important tool for learning about the large scale structure of the universe. Examples of strong redshifting are a gamma ray perceived as an X-ray, or initially visible light perceived as radio waves. The initial heat from the Big Bang has redshifted far down to become the cosmic microwave background. (Full article...)

Gibraltar Mountain

• ... that Gibraltar Mountain (pictured) is one of a few documented U.S. sites where Okanogan fameflower is native?
• ... that Mohamed Saïl refused prisoner support from International Red Aid in protest against the treatment of Soviet prisoners in the Solovki prison camp?
• ... that the 1939 NIT and the 1939 NCAA tournament determined two different national champions in men's college basketball?
• ... that Jeannette Ng accepted the 2019 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer with a speech in which she called the award's namesake, John W. Campbell, a "fucking fascist"?
• ... that Euclid's Elements has been estimated to be second only to the Bible in its number of published editions?
• ... that John Greenewald Jr. founded a U.S. government transparency website when he was a teenager?
• ... that the modern cinnamon fern has existed since the Cretaceous?
• ... that Linda Anne Hutchison performed as a leading soprano of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, including during its first visit to continental Europe since the 1880s?
• ... that one single tugboat in Greenland is 50% of the navy of the United States Air Force?

Sanae Takaichi

• Sanae Takaichi (pictured) is elected as the first female prime minister of Japan by the National Diet.
• Eric Lu wins the International Chopin Piano Competition.
• Pieces of the French Crown Jewels are stolen during a robbery from the Galerie d'Apollon of the Louvre in Paris.
• Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.

October 23: Mole Day

Jeannette Piccard

• 1641 – Irish Catholic gentry in Ulster tried to seize control of Dublin Castle, the seat of English rule in Ireland, to force concessions to Catholics.
• 1934 – Jeannette Piccard (pictured) piloted a hot-air balloon flight that reached 57,579 feet (17,550 m), becoming the first woman to fly in the stratosphere.
• 1957 – A screening of Mother India, one of the most influential Indian films in history, was held for President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru two days before its release.
• 1995 – The runway show for Alexander McQueen's collection The Hunger was staged at London's Natural History Museum.
• 2018 – An escalator accident in Rome left 24 people injured, mostly fans of the CSKA Moscow football team who were in town for a UEFA Champions League match against Roma.

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Kaniehtiio Horn

"Deer Lady" is the third episode of the third season of the comedy and teen drama television series Reservation Dogs. The twenty-first episode overall, it was written by Sterlin Harjo, the program's showrunner and co-creator, and directed by Danis Goulet. Reservation Dogs tells the story a group of four friends and Indigenous teenagers who live in Oklahoma. They call themselves the "Rez Dogs" and hope to eventually visit California in memory of their friend who committed suicide. Deer Lady, portrayed by Kaniehtiio Horn (pictured), is a recurring character in the show based on the mythological spirit Deer Woman. Inspired by 1970s horror films and 1990s indie films, the story focuses on the history of American Indian boarding schools and makes use of the endangered Kiowa language. The episode was first broadcast in August 2023; it received positive reviews from critics. It won an Art Directors Guild Award and was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy Award and a Gold Derby Television Award. (Full article...)

Sarah Fischer

• ... that soprano Sarah Fischer (pictured) sang excerpts from the title role in Carmen for the very first televised BBC broadcast of opera music?
• ... that Jeff Baena made his characters Jewish in Life After Beth because he thought that Jews would be more likely to come back as zombies?
• ... that Dorothy Sproule received letters from five British monarchs, earning her the title "Canadian Poet-Laureate to Royalty"?
• ... that the publication of the magazine Jiaoyu zazhi was interrupted when the Japanese army bombed its publisher's headquarters?
• ... that Dries Van Langendonck has been called "the great Belgian [Formula One] hope"?
• ... that "Infantino Street", an episode of The Flash, was named after a writer from the Silver Age of Comic Books?
• ... that, after Yoetikno's death, his family had local villagers keep a 24-hour watch over his grave in fear of graverobbers?
• ... that the owner of Pringle House planned on vacating due to the risk of earthquake damage, but an earthquake damaged the building first?
• ... that Albanian prime minister Edi Rama determined that an AI system should become a cabinet minister tasked with ending corruption in public tenders?

Sanae Takaichi

• Sanae Takaichi (pictured) is elected as the first female prime minister of Japan by the National Diet.
• Eric Lu wins the International Chopin Piano Competition.
• Pieces of the French Crown Jewels are stolen during a robbery from the Galerie d'Apollon of the Louvre in Paris.
• Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.

October 22

Scilly naval disaster

• 1707 – In one of the worst maritime disasters in the history of the British Isles, at least 1,400 sailors on four Royal Navy ships were lost in stormy weather (pictured) off the Isles of Scilly.
• 1940 – After evading Vichy French and Francoist Spanish authorities, Belgian prime minister Hubert Pierlot arrived in London, marking the beginning of the Belgian government in exile.
• 1945 – Workers at the Cigar Factory in Charleston, South Carolina, began a labor strike against the American Tobacco Company that lasted more than five months.
• 1964 – The first volume of Ian Fleming's children's novel Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang was published posthumously.
• 2005 – Bellview Airlines Flight 210 crashed in Ogun State, Nigeria, killing all 117 people on board.

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Old Trafford, venue of the match

A Manchester United and Ipswich Town football match was played at Old Trafford (pictured), Manchester, in March 1995 as part of the 1994–95 FA Premier League. It finished in a 9–0 victory for the home team. The result is a joint record for the largest winning margin in the Premier League, later equalled by three other matches with the same scoreline in 2019, in 2021 and in 2022. Manchester United and Ipswich Town went into the match at opposite ends of the table; United were second, while Ipswich were second-last. In the corresponding fixture at Ipswich's Portman Road in September 1994, they beat United 3–2. United were missing Eric Cantona, who was on a nine-month suspension, and their attacking partnership of Andy Cole and Mark Hughes was not well regarded by pundits. Ipswich's victory at Portman Road proved to be the more significant result with regard to the final placings, as United missed out on the title by one point. (Full article...)

Triệu Quân Sự

• ... that Vietnamese prisoner Triệu Quân Sự (pictured) escaped from jail four times, and was twice caught while playing online games at internet cafés?
• ... that while a British school inspired by a circus tent was described as "eclectic and witty", its "plain functional" replacement won an RIBA Award?
• ... that the pianist Panka Pelishek was a Heroine of Socialist Labor?
• ... that China's imperial chancellor committed suicide after he was blamed for the devastation of the 29 BC Yellow River flood?
• ... that a hospitalized Ruth El Saffar had to dictate the introduction of her final book to Diana de Armas Wilson, with whom she had co-edited Quixotic Desire?
• ... that a public service announcement about drunk driving was voted the best television advertisement in New Zealand?
• ... that Denise Stoklos's "essential theatre" involves minimizing her acting methods while maximizing "the power of drama"?
• ... that Donald Trump applies his own makeup each day, according to his former press secretary?
• ... that where NFL player Spencer Reid is from, "There's no McDonald's. There's no nothing"?

Galerie d'Apollon

• Pieces of the French Crown Jewels are stolen during a robbery from the Galerie d'Apollon (pictured) of the Louvre in Paris.
• Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.
• Dallin H. Oaks becomes the 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt are awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on the impacts of technology on economic growth.

October 21

• 1345 – Hundred Years' War: The English victory at the Battle of Auberoche marked a change in the military balance of power in Aquitaine, with the subsequent collapse of the French position.
• 1858 – French composer Jacques Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, featuring the music most associated with the can-can (audio featured), was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris.
• 1910 – HMS Niobe arrived in Halifax Harbour to become the first large ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.
• 1959 – The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City.
• 1994 – North Korea and the United States signed the Agreed Framework to limit the former's nuclear weapons program and to normalize relations between the two countries.

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Chicago police officer using a phone

Illinois Public Access Opinion 16-006 is a binding opinion of the Illinois Attorney General pursuant to the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Issued in 2016 in the aftermath of the police murder of Laquan McDonald on October 20, 2014, the opinion addressed a public records request from CNN for private emails by officers of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) related to the incident. After the CPD denied CNN's request, the Attorney General's office, led by Lisa Madigan, ruled that the police officers' private emails about McDonald's murder were subject to public disclosure, even though those emails were communicated on accounts outside of the police department's email servers. The Attorney General found that the police officers were acting on behalf of the police department, making their messages public records. Nonetheless, CNN never received the emails that it had requested, even after it went to court to enforce the Attorney General's opinion. (Full article...)

Mecodema howittii

• ... that the ground beetle Mecodema howittii (pictured), only known to be found on Banks Peninsula in New Zealand, is in decline?
• ... that prior to becoming prime minister of Canada, Paul Martin frequently searched the basement of Devonshire Lodge for a bootlegging tunnel?
• ... that the world's longest continuous rock climbing route is a horizontal 4,500-metre (14,800 ft) traverse on El Capitan, according to Guinness World Records?
• ... that Olympic wrestler Robert Diouf twice defeated an opponent who was nearly 20 kilograms (44 lb) heavier than him?
• ... that Byrnihat was ranked by an air technology company as the world's most polluted city in 2024?
• ... that the 2013 murder of Mark Carson, a hate crime involving the killing of an openly gay man, took place less than a quarter-mile (400 m) from the Stonewall Inn?
• ... that Fort Duvernette played a role in saving the survivors of a 1795 Carib attack on a British supply convoy?
• ... that a plane crash was watched in real time by a bedridden woman through her mirror?
• ... that the Prince of Ning decided to rebel against the emperor right after his birthday party?

Galerie d'Apollon

• Part of the French Crown Jewels are stolen during a robbery of the Louvre (Galerie d'Apollon pictured).
• Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.
• Dallin H. Oaks becomes the 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt are awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on the impacts of technology on economic growth.

October 20

Mahamat Déby

• 1936 – British woman Mabel Freer was refused entry to Australia after failing a dictation test given in Italian, leading to a debate over Australia's immigration policy.
• 1944 – World War II: Fulfilling a promise he made two years previously, General Douglas MacArthur landed on Leyte to begin the recapture of the Philippines.
• 1973 – Watergate scandal: Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy William Ruckelshaus resigned after refusing to obey President Richard Nixon's order to have Archibald Cox fired.
• 2022 – Protests broke out across Chad after President Mahamat Déby (pictured) declared his intentions to extend his rule by another two years.
• 2024 – Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka were sworn in as president and vice president of Indonesia, becoming the oldest and the youngest person to assume respective offices.

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U.S. Route 34 in Iowa is a United States Highway that runs across the southern third of Iowa. It begins on a bridge over the Missouri River west of Glenwood and travels east where it meets Interstate 29 (I-29) and US 275. Through southwestern Iowa, the highway is, for the most part, a two-lane rural road with at-grade intersections; there are interchanges with US 59 near Emerson and US 71 near Stanton and Villisca. At Osceola, the highway intersects I-35 and US 69. Just east of Ottumwa, where the road meets US 63, the road joins the four-lane Iowa 163 for the remainder of its trek through the state. At Mount Pleasant, it overlaps US 218 and Iowa 27, the Avenue of the Saints Highway. From there, the road heads to the southeast where it crosses the Mississippi River on the Great River Bridge at Burlington. US 34 was one of the original U.S. Highways when the system was created in 1926. Several widenings and improvements have been made to the highway since its original construction. (Full article...)

Harriet Harris

• ... that, as the University of Edinburgh's chaplain, Harriet Harris (pictured) appointed more than 40 honorary chaplains to serve traditions including Daoism, humanism, paganism and mindfulness?
• ... that Badingah became the first female regent of Gunung Kidul after her predecessor died of a heart attack?
• ... that First Nations actor and musician Erroll Kinistino grew up in a two-room, mud-shack cabin?
• ... that impersonations of United States immigration officials have become a chronic crime problem in 2025?
• ... that Gilles of Saumur was given the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tyre as compensation for the loss of the Archdiocese of Damietta during the Seventh Crusade?
• ... that the 71-year-old Jackie Chan performed all his own stunts without using doubles in The Shadow's Edge?
• ... that Angus Watt was a financial advisor, broadcaster, diplomat, and colonel all at the same time?
• ... that the Paraguayan Regional Workers' Federation named and shamed known strikebreakers in its newspaper?
• ... that PETA wrote a letter to the CEO of Nintendo over a Cow?

Andry Rajoelina

• Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina (pictured) flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.
• Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt are awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on the impacts of technology on economic growth.
• Hamas and Israel commence a ceasefire and release hostages and prisoners as part of the Gaza peace plan.
• Flooding and landslides in Mexico leave more than 70 people dead.

October 19

Hurricane Wilma northeast of Honduras

• 1864 – American Civil War: Despite incurring nearly twice as many casualties as the Confederates, the Union army emerged victorious at the Battle of Cedar Creek.
• 1943 – World War II: Allied aircraft sank the German cargo ship Sinfra, killing mostly Italian POWs.
• 1955 – At a meeting of its general assembly, the European Broadcasting Union approved the staging of the first Eurovision Song Contest.
• 1965 – Vietnam War: The Siege of Plei Me began with the first major confrontation between soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army and the U.S. Army.
• 2005 – Hurricane Wilma (pictured) became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 882 mbar (26.05 inHg).

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Page from the Tarikh-i Alfi

• ... that, unusually for contemporary Islamic chronicles, the Tarikh-i Alfi (page pictured) begins with the death of Muhammad, not his birth?
• ... that Albert Gatschet's field notes on the grammar of Atakapa is the only surviving work on the language carried out with native speakers?
• ... that one reviewer criticised The Magician's Daughter for not mentioning its setting's historical context?
• ... that only seven Tubular lifeboats were built, but they remained in service for 83 years?
• ... that Adolfo Rossi was the only journalist to report firsthand on the turmoil in Sicily sparked by the Fasci Siciliani in 1893?
• ... that gallerist and congressional candidate Esther Kim Varet inspired the character Soojin on Girls, according to The Dallas Morning News?
• ... that Malaysia is the most successful delegation at the Olympics without a gold medal?
• ... that Dutch filmmaker Richard Raaphorst claimed that a boss character in Resident Evil Village copied the design of a monster he created for his 2013 film Frankenstein's Army?
• ... that an ongoing U.S. naval buildup in the Caribbean, ostensibly intended to combat drug trafficking, may be actually intended to intimidate Venezuela?

Andry Rajoelina

• Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina (pictured) flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.
• Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt are awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on the impacts of technology on economic growth.
• Hamas and Israel commence a ceasefire and release hostages and prisoners as part of the Gaza peace plan.
• Flooding and landslides in Mexico leave more than 60 people dead.

October 18: Alaska Day (1867)

Brahms in 1889

• 1356 – The most significant earthquake to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history destroyed Basel, Switzerland.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: In an act of retaliation against ports that supported Patriot activities in the early stages of the war, the Royal Navy destroyed what is now Portland, Maine.
• 1887 – Johannes Brahms (pictured) conducted the premiere of his Double Concerto, composed for violinist Joseph Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann.
• 1963 – The first cat in space, later known as Félicette, launched aboard a French Véronique rocket.
• 2019 – Protests in Santiago that started 11 days prior escalated into open battle against the Chilean national police, forcing President Sebastián Piñera to declare a state of emergency.

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Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed by Jeff Mangum in 1989. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psychedelic folk. Mangum wrote surreal and opaque lyrics that covered a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, nostalgia, sex, and loneliness. In 1996, he worked with childhood friend Robert Schneider to record the album On Avery Island. Mangum recruited musicians Julian Koster, Jeremy Barnes, and Scott Spillane for the band's second album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998). While on tour, the band's popularity grew through Internet exposure. This negatively affected Mangum, whose mental health began to deteriorate, and the band went on hiatus shortly after. During their break, they gained a cult following and the critical standing of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea rose. Neutral Milk Hotel reunited in 2013 and undertook a reunion tour before another hiatus in 2015. (Full article...)

Cormocephalus rubriceps

• ... that the giant centipede Cormocephalus rubriceps (pictured) can grow up to 20 centimetres (7.9 inches) in length?
• ... that a Russian spy couple used comments on Cristiano Ronaldo YouTube videos to send coded messages to Moscow?
• ... that racing driver Neil Cunningham was also a stunt double in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace?
• ... that, during the 2012 Weezer Cruise, band members oversaw wedding vow renewals, a shuffleboard contest, a midnight movie screening, and a 1980s-themed prom?
• ... that in 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first in the Indian Premier League to win all away games in a season?
• ... that singer Tomoo was once unhappy with her performance in a singing contest, despite being chosen as one of its finalists?
• ... that more than 50 planned speakers boycotted the Bendigo Writers Festival over its code of conduct?
• ... that the personal website of an actor is used for benchmarking newly released gadgets?
• ... that Mikael Genberg has sent a house to the Moon?

Andry Rajoelina

• Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina (pictured) flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.
• Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt are awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on the impacts of technology on economic growth.
• Hamas and Israel commence a ceasefire and release hostages and prisoners as part of the Gaza peace plan.
• Flooding and landslides in Mexico leave more than 60 people dead.

October 17

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• 1660 – A series of executions of the commissioners who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England concluded; six were hanged, drawn and quartered for treason.
• 1771 – Ascanio in Alba, an opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (pictured) at the age of 15, premiered in Milan.
• 1860 – The Open Championship, the oldest of the four major championships in men's golf, was first played at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland.
• 1992 – Having gone to the wrong house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a Halloween party, Japanese exchange student Yoshihito Hattori was shot and killed by the homeowner.
• 2001 – Rehavam Ze'evi, the Israeli minister of tourism, was assassinated in revenge for the killing of PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa.

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Angela Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American actress, producer, and singer whose career spanned 80 years. To escape the Blitz, she moved to the U.S. in 1940, studying acting in New York City. She received three Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nominations for her roles in Gaslight (1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). On television, she starred as the sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the CBS whodunit series Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996), for which she was nominated for 12 consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Among Lansbury's numerous accolades were five Tony Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, 18 Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1997, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2000, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2013. (Full article...)

Sylvester Espelage

• ... that Sylvester Espelage (pictured), unlike most American clergy, wore a queue and a long beard during his missionary work in Wuhan?
• ... that Erika Kirk forgave her husband's killer at his memorial service?
• ... that the spider Desis marina makes its nest in the intertidal zone of the coast, where it can survive for up to 19 days submerged underwater?
• ... that Hoàng Xuân Vinh won Vietnam's first Olympic gold medal with a record-setting shot at the 2016 Games?
• ... that the crew of Blackwater 61 knew that they were flying down a box canyon for more than fifteen minutes before the plane crashed?
• ... that Texan poet laureate Jenny Lind Porter was described as America's new Emily Dickinson?
• ... that a Michigan TV station was designed to serve a smaller area so it could obtain a network affiliation?
• ... that a grand-nephew of Queen Elizabeth II underwent 200 hours of training in India to become a yoga instructor?
• ... that the architect of 745 Fifth Avenue once dressed up as the building?

María Corina Machado

• Hamas and Israel commence a ceasefire and release hostages and prisoners as part of the Gaza peace plan.
• Flooding and landslides in Mexico leave more than 60 people dead.
• María Corina Machado (pictured) is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism in Venezuela.
• José Jerí is sworn in as President of Peru after Dina Boluarte is removed from office by the Congress.

October 16

Jadwiga of Poland

• 1384 – Jadwiga (pictured) was officially crowned as "King of Poland" instead of "Queen" to reflect the fact that she was a sovereign in her own right.
• 1875 – Brigham Young University, the largest religious university in the United States, was founded in Provo, Utah.
• 1905 – Authorities of the British Raj partitioned the Bengal Presidency, separating the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western areas.
• 1950 – The first novel of the The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was released in the United Kingdom.
• 2017 – The Maltese journalist and anti-corruption activist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb attack in Bidnija.

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Holy Trinity Anglican Church

• ... that Winnipeg's historic Holy Trinity Anglican Church (pictured) is at risk of structural failure within the next few years?
• ... that Olympic cyclist Michael Watson was hospitalised because of a dog?
• ... that the Roblox video game Grow a Garden once had more than 20 million simultaneous players?
• ... that Roberta G. Simmons found that an organ transplant was considered by some recipients to be "a burdensome debt"?
• ... that Kōsaku Yamada's Overture in D major has been described as "a kind of challenge by the composer to Japanese traditional music"?
• ... that actress Jennifer Brooke faced heavy rain from Storm Imogen while filming her death scene for Hollyoaks?
• ... that Brunei Shell Petroleum, a joint-venture company, provided insights into oil discoveries that may have influenced Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III's stance on Malaysia?
• ... that Walter Bgoya published a novel by Aniceti Kitereza almost 35 years after it had been written?
• ... that an exiled Sakalava monarch sold Mayotte to the French in exchange for an annual pension?

María Corina Machado

• Hamas and Israel commence a ceasefire and release hostages and prisoners as part of the Gaza peace plan.
• María Corina Machado (pictured) is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism in Venezuela.
• José Jerí is sworn in as President of Peru after Dina Boluarte is removed from office by the Congress.
• An explosion at an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee, United States, kills at least 16 people.

October 15

Coat of arms of Volgograd Oblast

• 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate forces captured Glasgow, Missouri, although it had little long-term benefit as Price's Missouri Expedition was defeated a week later.
• 1967 – The Motherland Calls (depicted in coat of arms), a colossal statue in Volgograd, Russia, which commemorates the casualties of the Battle of Stalingrad, was dedicated, becoming the then-tallest statue in the world.
• 1996: The Irish Criminal Assets Bureau was established following the gangland murders of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe and investigative journalist Veronica Guerin.
• 2007 – New Zealand Police conducted several anti-terrorism raids in relation to the discovery of an alleged paramilitary training camp in the Urewera mountain ranges, arresting 17 people and seizing four guns and 230 rounds of ammunition.
• 2011 – Global demonstrations against economic inequality, corporate influence on government, and other issues, were held in more than 950 cities in 82 countries.

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The British fourpence coin, sometimes known as a groat, is a silver coin valued at 1⁄60 of one pound or 1⁄3 of one shilling. It was struck throughout the 18th century, though by 1800 it had come mostly to be coined to be given as ceremonial alms at the Royal Maundy service. It returned as a circulating coin in 1836, as the Royal Mint sought to fill the gap between the penny and the sixpence. The fourpence was issued at the urging of the politician Joseph Hume, who noted that fourpence was the cab fare for short journeys. The new coin did not endear him to hackney drivers, who had often received sixpence without a request for change, and they gave it the nickname "joey". There was also confusion between it and the sixpence. The threepence, struck for use in Britain from 1845, proved more popular than the fourpence, which was struck only once for circulation after the mid-1850s. This was in 1888 for use in British Guiana, though it continued to be used in Scotland for many years. (Full article...)

Shreen Abdul Saroor

• ... that women's rights activist Shreen Saroor (pictured) was sent to a Catholic convent for her education after her mother became concerned with her tomboy-like behavior?
• ... that four US Army soldiers stole $36 million in valuables from a German castle in late 1945?
• ... that forensic scientist Luke S. May was nicknamed "America's Sherlock Holmes" for his work as an investigator?
• ... that the author of The Space-Time Painter considers the review bombing against it to be reasonable?
• ... that Rita Rusk was employed to style the hair of her former trainee Sharleen Spiteri after Spiteri became the lead singer of Texas?
• ... that architect Geoff Malone was tasked with impressing visitors with a "rocket ship" design for a Singapore movie theatre?
• ... that Sarah Kraning perceives sound as color, texture, and movement?
• ... that the ependytes, originally a Persian male tunic, became a luxury fashion statement in classical Athens, where it was worn by women and children?
• ... that part of the bonus paid to bartender Gary Hoffman after he was selected in the 1984 NFL draft was a round of drinks for his friends?

Dina Boluarte

• José Jerí is sworn in as President of Peru after Dina Boluarte (pictured) is removed from office by the Congress.
• An explosion at an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee, United States, kills at least 16 people.
• María Corina Machado is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism in Venezuela.
• László Krasznahorkai is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

October 14: Shemini Atzeret (Judaism, 2025)

Battle of Hastings, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry

• 1066 – Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror's forces defeated the English army at Hastings and killed Harold Godwinson (depicted), the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England.
• 1805 – War of the Third Coalition: French forces under Marshal Michel Ney defeated Austrian forces in Elchingen, present-day Germany.
• 1913 – The worst mining accident in the United Kingdom's history took place when an explosion resulted in 440 deaths at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, Wales.
• 1943 – The Second Philippine Republic, a Japanese puppet state, was established with Jose P. Laurel as its first president.
• 1964 – Members of the Politburo voted to remove Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and replace him with Leonid Brezhnev.

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Tell es-Sakan is an archaeological site about 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Gaza City in Palestine. It was the site of two separate Early Bronze Age urban settlements. Ancient Egypt expanded its territory into southwestern Palestine in the latter half of the 4th millennium BCE and during this time Tell es-Sakan was founded as an administrative centre for the Egyptian colonies in the region. It was inhabited from about 3300 BCE to 3000 BCE. After a period of abandonment a Canaanite city was established around 2600 BCE and inhabited until about 2250 BCE, after which Tell es-Sakan was permanently abandoned. Tell es-Sakan functioned as a trading post and was positioned along what was probably a dried-up channel of the Wadi Ghazzeh – a watercourse that is dry most of the year but in the Bronze Age would have been navigable. The site covered around 8 to 9 hectares (20 to 22 acres), of which 0.14 hectares (0.35 acres) has undergone archaeological excavation. (Full article...)

Shreen Abdul Saroor

• ... that women's rights activist Shreen Saroor (pictured) was sent to a Catholic convent for her education after her mother became concerned with her tomboy-like behavior?
• ... that four US Army soldiers stole $36 million in valuables from a German castle in late 1945?
• ... that forensic scientist Luke S. May was nicknamed "America's Sherlock Holmes" for his work as an investigator?
• ... that the author of The Space-Time Painter considers the review bombing against it to be reasonable?
• ... that Rita Rusk was employed to style the hair of her former trainee Sharleen Spiteri after Spiteri became the lead singer of Texas?
• ... that architect Geoff Malone was tasked with impressing visitors with a "rocket ship" design for a Singapore movie theatre?
• ... that Sarah Kraning perceives sound as color, texture, and movement?
• ... that the ependytes, originally a Persian male tunic, became a luxury fashion statement in classical Athens, where it was worn by women and children?
• ... that part of the bonus paid to bartender Gary Hoffman after he was selected in the 1984 NFL draft was a round of drinks for his friends?

José Jerí

• José Jerí (pictured) is sworn in as President of Peru after Dina Boluarte is removed from office by the Congress.
• An explosion at an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee kills at least 16 people.
• María Corina Machado is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism in Venezuela.
• László Krasznahorkai is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

October 13: Thanksgiving in Canada (2025), Indigenous Peoples' Day in the United States (2025)

Brigid Kosgei

• 1710 – Queen Anne's War: French and Wabanaki forces surrendered to end the Siege of Port Royal, giving the British permanent possession of Nova Scotia.
• 1812 – War of 1812: British troops and Mohawk warriors repelled an American invasion from across the Niagara River at the Battle of Queenston Heights near Queenston, Ontario.
• 1908 – British suffragette Margaret Travers Symons became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons when she escaped from her escort into the chamber and shouted at the assembly.
• 1994 – The Troubles: In a meeting at Fernhill House, Belfast, loyalist leader Gusty Spence announced that the Combined Loyalist Military Command would observe a ceasefire.
• 2019 – At the Chicago Marathon, Kenyan runner Brigid Kosgei (pictured) set the current marathon world record for women running in a mixed-sex race.

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Nathan Chen, winner of the men's event

The 2021 World Figure Skating Championships were held from March 22 to 28, 2021, at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. Sanctioned by the International Skating Union, the World Championships are considered the most prestigious event in figure skating. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The competition determined the entry quotas for each skating federation at the 2022 World Championships and was the first qualifying event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The World Championships were the only ISU Championship event held during the 2020–21 season, while other competitions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was held without spectators. Nathan Chen (pictured) of the United States won the men's event, Anna Shcherbakova of Russia won the women's event, Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov of Russia won the pairs event, and Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia won the ice dance event. (Full article...)

The Accidental Burning of the USS Missouri in Gibraltar

• ... that the only casualty of USS Missouri's destruction (pictured) was a pet bear?
• ... that Lourdes Ambriz, singing voice of Belle in the Spanish version of Beauty and the Beast, became the artistic director of the Mexican national opera?
• ... that numerous historians and academics have argued that Israel has used the Holocaust to justify its treatment of Palestinians?
• ... that Riho Furui wrote her debut song after struggling with life in Canada?
• ... that professional sumo fighting stables are often housed in Shinto shrines when they travel outside of Tokyo?
• ... that the son of Mary Fortune – one of the earliest female writers of detective fiction – was a career criminal?
• ... that Diane Orr and C. Larry Roberts were once said to "epitomize the regional, independent filmmaker"?
• ... that in 2010 journalist Jonathan Capehart fell for a satirical tweet made by a fictional U.S. congressman, then wrote a lengthy response in The Washington Post?
• ... that the musical duo Braxe + Falcon formed a supergroup with the band Phoenix to make music about UFOs?

José Jerí

• José Jerí (pictured) is sworn in as President of Peru after Dina Boluarte is removed from office by the Congress.
• María Corina Machado is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism in Venezuela.
• László Krasznahorkai is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John M. Martinis for their work on macroscopic quantum phenomena.

October 12

Inejirō Asanuma

• 1406 – Chen Yanxiang, the only person from Indonesia known to have visited dynastic Korea, reached Seoul after having set out from Java four months before.
• 1798 – The Peasants' War began in Overmere, Southern Netherlands, with peasants taking up arms against the French occupiers.
• 1917 – First World War: New Zealand troops suffered more than 2,000 casualties, including more than 800 deaths, in the First Battle of Passchendaele, making it the nation's largest loss of life in one day.
• 1960 – Japan Socialist Party leader Inejirō Asanuma (pictured) was assassinated during a live television recording by a far-right ultra-nationalist using a short sword.
• 1979 – Typhoon Tip, the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded, reached a worldwide record-low sea-level pressure of 870 mbar (25.69 inHg) in the western Pacific Ocean.

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Sappho Fresco

• ... that the Sappho Fresco (pictured) from Pompeii is not a portrait of Sappho?
• ... that Thames lightermen would pull their barges up to the Leaning Tower of Rotherhithe to collect their wages?
• ... that Christophe de Menil had "a long history of supporting 'difficult' art projects", according to The New York Times?
• ... that the Dutch colonial Amfioen Society was designed to maintain a legal monopoly over raw opium?
• ... that gymnast Mikhail Koudinov, at 14 years old, was New Zealand's youngest competitor at the 2006 Commonwealth Games?
• ... that Malpas's debut album was composed over email?
• ... that Solanum baretiae was named after Jeanne Baret, who circumnavigated the world disguised as a man?
• ... that Carolina Contreras founded one of the first all-natural hair salons in the Dominican Republic?
• ... that "Soda Pop" was originally "Ice Cream"?

María Corina Machado

• María Corina Machado (pictured) is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism in Venezuela.
• José Jerí is sworn in as President of Peru after Dina Boluarte is removed from office by the Congress.
• The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John M. Martinis for their work on macroscopic quantum phenomena.
• The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their work on peripheral immune tolerance.

October 11: Feast day of Saint James the Deacon (Anglicanism); National Coming Out Day

Bashir Shihab II

• 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: The Royal Navy captured eleven Dutch Navy ships without any losses at the Battle of Camperdown.
• 1840 – Bashir Shihab II (pictured) surrendered to the Ottoman Empire and was removed as Emir of Mount Lebanon after an imperial decree by Sultan Abdülmecid I.
• 1942 – World War II: At the Battle of Cape Esperance on the northwest coast of Guadalcanal, American ships intercepted and defeated a Japanese fleet sent to attack Henderson Field.
• 1950 – A field-sequential color system developed by Hungarian-American engineer Peter Goldmark became the first color television system to be adopted for commercial use, only for it to be abandoned a year later.
• 1973 – Typhoon Nora, the fourth-most intense tropical cyclone on record, dissipated after killing 40 people and leaving more than a million homeless across Taiwan and the Philippines.

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No Doubt in 2009

Tragic Kingdom is the third studio album by American band No Doubt (pictured), released on October 10, 1995, by Trauma Records and Interscope Records. Produced by Matthew Wilder, it was the last No Doubt album to feature Eric Stefani. The album spawned seven singles, including "Just a Girl", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK singles chart, and "Don't Speak", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and reached the top five of many international charts. It reached number one on the Billboard 200, as well as topping the charts in Canada and in New Zealand, selling more than 16 million copies worldwide. The album was certified diamond by the RIAA in the United States and Canada, platinum in the United Kingdom, and triple platinum in Australia. At the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, No Doubt earned nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Album. Tragic Kingdom helped facilitate the ska revival of the 1990s and was ranked number 441 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. (Full article...)

S. R. Crown Hall

• ... that architect Dirk Lohan paid $2,705 for the right to smash a window at a building his grandfather designed (pictured)?
• ... that Bernardo Zapater, a founding member of Spain's oldest private scientific society, is the namesake of a "totally underrated" flower?
• ... that the Sentachan Mine was listed as the second-coldest mine in the world by Mining.com?
• ... that Patricia Arquette researched cults and armies to prepare for her role as Harmony Cobel in the television series Severance?
• ... that Rockefeller University sold a version of Joan Mitchell's City Landscape for $17 million in 2024 to fund research?
• ... that Filipino police chief Guillermo Eleazar rose to prominence after publicly shaming another officer?
• ... that the urban environment around Glasgow's Argyle Street ash tree may have helped it to survive ash dieback disease?
• ... that Cal Clemens "tackled like a sledge hammer"?
• ... that a Japanese porn actor opened a restaurant that served poo-flavored curry?

Michel Devoret

• The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret (pictured), and John M. Martinis for their work on macroscopic quantum phenomena.
• The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their work on peripheral immune tolerance.
• The ANO party, led by Andrej Babiš, wins the most seats in the Czech parliamentary election.
• Sarah Mullally is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.

October 10

Battle of Karbala

• 680 – Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of Muhammad, was killed at the Battle of Karbala (depicted) by the forces of Yazid I, whom Husayn had refused to recognize as caliph.
• 1760 – In a treaty with Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname gained territorial autonomy.
• 1911 – The Xinhai Revolution began with the Wuchang Uprising, marking the beginning of the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China.
• 1943 – World War II: The Kempeitai, the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army, arrested and tortured fifty-seven civilians and civilian internees on suspicion of their involvement in a raid on Singapore Harbour.
• 2004 – Eight-year-old Huang Na was abducted and murdered; her body was found three weeks later after a search across Singapore and Malaysia.

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Chris Pratt (born 1979) is an American actor. Born in Minnesota, he gained recognition by playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation from 2009 to 2015. Pratt achieved international stardom as Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise (2014–2023), a role he reprises across multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Pratt's popularity grew with his lead role as Owen Grady in the Jurassic World franchise (2015–2022). He has ventured into voice acting, voicing Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)—the highest-grossing film based on a video game in history—and Emmet Brickowski in the Lego Movie franchise (2014–2019). Known for repeatedly portraying similar characters across multiple films, which some critics have taken issue with, Pratt is one of the most commercially successful actors in Hollywood. From 2015 to 2017, he ranked amongst the world's highest-paid film stars and was included in the Time 100 (2015) and Forbes Celebrity 100 (2016). (Full article...)

Ángel Salas Larrazábal

• ... that flying ace Ángel Salas Larrazábal (pictured) was a co-leader of Spain for two days between the death of Francisco Franco and the ascension of King Juan Carlos I?
• ... that the architect of Chicago's 860–880 Lake Shore Drive nearly quit the project after his original floor plans were rejected?
• ... that author Jilly Cooper used Sue Macartney-Snape's illustrations to create the satirical novel Araminta's Wedding?
• ... that the process of lysine malonylation has been linked to diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes?
• ... that Ana Aguayo has won gold medals for Mexico in basketball and flag football?
• ... that political philosophers focus on desirable norms, while political scientists concentrate on empirical descriptions?
• ... that King Baldwin III was 13 or 14 when he won his first military success—after which his mother took steps to prevent a second?
• ... that a hoard of valuable artwork was hidden within the Morozova Mansion in 1917?
• ... that ten dancers dressed as furry monkeys featured in the television premiere of Through the Crystal Ball?

Andrej Babiš

• The ANO party, led by Andrej Babiš (pictured), wins the most seats in the Czech parliamentary election.
• Sarah Mullally is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.
• Guillaume V succeeds his father Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after the latter's abdication.
• English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall dies at the age of 91.

October 9: Leif Erikson Day in the United States, parts of Canada, and communities in the Nordic countries

Massacre of Chinese-descent people

• 1708 – Great Northern War: Russia defeated Sweden at the Battle of Lesnaya on the Russian–Polish border, in present-day Belarus.
• 1740 – European soldiers and Javanese collaborators started massacring Chinese Indonesians (depicted) in the port city of Batavia, modern-day Jakarta, with at least 10,000 people killed.
• 1793 – French Revolution: After a month-long siege, the leaders of Lyon surrendered, ending their revolt against the National Convention.
• 1912 – Following a reduction in pay, textile workers in Little Falls, New York, walked out of their mill, starting a three-month strike.
• 1952 – A footman shot and killed two colleagues and wounded the lady of the house at Knowsley Hall, England.

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Ivatan woman wearing a vakul

• ... that Ivatan women wear waterproof headdresses made of leaves (example pictured)?
• ... that John Stonebraker moved 300-pound (140 kg) ice blocks to prepare for the 1939 college football season?
• ... that the rulers of the 14th-century Emirate of Erzincan were Muslims, but its major cities were primarily Christian?
• ... that Barbara Wilk once hand-painted two thousand frames for her animated film?
• ... that Hano Qritho is rooted in an ancient biblical story and continues to be celebrated by Assyrians in Tur Abdin?
• ... that Takuya Kawamura announced his marriage through a card game?
• ... that the South Rim Fire destroyed seven toilets in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park?
• ... that the release of Tyla's 2025 EP was interpreted as both a failure and a success depending on the measurements used?
• ... that circus performer Ferry Torrez lived next door to his crocodiles?

Andrej Babiš

• The ANO party, led by Andrej Babiš (pictured), wins the most seats in the Czech parliamentary election.
• Sarah Mullally is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.
• Guillaume V succeeds his father Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after the latter's abdication.
• English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall dies at the age of 91.

October 8

Wreckage from the Harrow and Wealdstone train crash

• 1862 – The Battle of Perryville, one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War, was fought west of Perryville, Kentucky.
• 1952 – Three trains collided (aftermath pictured) at Harrow & Wealdstone station in London, killing 112 people and injuring 340 others.
• 1969 – Demonstrations organized by the Weather Underground known as the Days of Rage began in Chicago, aimed at ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
• 1990 – The Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council launched Operation Southern Move, their last offensive in the Bosnian War.
• 2019 – Anti-government protests calling for free and fair elections began in Baku, Azerbaijan.

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Licancabur is a prominent, 5,916-metre-high (19,409 ft) stratovolcano on the Bolivia–Chile border in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes. It is capped by a 400–500-metre (1,300–1,600 ft) wide summit crater which contains Licancabur Lake, a crater lake that is among the highest lakes in the world. There are no glaciers owing to the arid climate. Numerous plant and animal species live on the mountain. The volcanoes Sairecabur and Juriques are north and east of Licancabur, respectively. Licancabur formed on top of ignimbrites produced by other volcanoes and was active during the Holocene. Although no historical eruptions of the volcano are known, lava flows extending into Laguna Verde have been dated to 13,240 ± 100 before present and there may be residual heat in the mountain. The volcano has primarily erupted andesite, with small amounts of dacite and basaltic andesite. Several archaeological sites have been found on the mountain, possibly constructed by the Inca or Atacama people. (Full article...)

Launch of Apollo 11 on a Saturn V

• ... that the force developed by the engines of the Saturn V (pictured) during testing shattered the windows of nearby houses?
• ... that voice actress Niina Hanamiya taught herself to read and write Egyptian hieroglyphs?
• ... that the editors of The Eastern Miscellany refused to cooperate with a British-imposed media blackout following the 1925 Shanghai massacre?
• ... that the Ibnu duo, Ibnu Said and Ibnu Wahyutomo, were two diplomats who carried out bureaucratic reforms within Indonesia's foreign ministry?
• ... that Lynch Fragments sculptures are made with metal scraps and objects like axes, barbed wire, chains, nails, padlocks, spikes, and wrenches?
• ... that Queen Eschiva and her children were kidnapped by the pirate Kanakes after her husband put a bounty on him?
• ... that the Holden Special Vehicles Maloo set the Guinness World Record for the fastest production utility or pickup truck in 2006?
• ... that Gorillaz's upcoming album is scheduled to feature at least six dead musicians?
• ... that Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu said he had "completed football" after the 2023 EFL Championship play-off?

Sarah Mullally

• Sarah Mullally (pictured) is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.
• Guillaume V succeeds his father Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after the latter's abdication.
• English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall dies at the age of 91.
• A magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu, Philippines, leaves at least 72 people dead.

October 7: First day of Sukkot (Judaism, 2025)

Landslide in Mameyes, Puerto Rico

• 1513 – War of the League of Cambrai: A Venetian army under Bartolomeo d'Alviano was decisively defeated by the Spanish army commanded by Ramón de Cardona and Fernando d'Ávalos.
• 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Patriots and Loyalist militias engaged each other at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina.
• 1868 – Ōdate, the last castle of the Satake clan in Japan's Tōhoku region, was captured during the Boshin War.
• 1985 – During severe floods in Puerto Rico, about 130 people died as a result of the deadliest single landslide (pictured) on record in North America.
• 2023 – The military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Islamist political organization Hamas massacred people attending an open-air music festival in the Eshkol Regional Council, Israel.

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70 Pine Street is a 67-story, 952-foot (290 m) residential skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. Designed by the architectural firm of Clinton & Russell, Holton & George in the Art Deco style, 70 Pine Street was constructed between 1930 and 1932 as an office building. The structure was originally named for the energy conglomerate Cities Service Company, its first tenant. Upon its completion, it was Lower Manhattan's tallest building and the world's third-tallest building. It features a brick, limestone, and gneiss façade with numerous setbacks and an extensive program of ornamentation. Despite having been built during the Great Depression, the building was profitable enough to break even by 1936, and ninety percent of its space was occupied five years later. The building and its first-floor interior were designated as official New York City landmarks in June 2011, and the structure was converted to residential use in 2016. (Full article...)

Inland Steel Building

• ... that a window-washing railroad track ran atop Chicago's Inland Steel Building (pictured)?
• ... that Ted Aber created a series of alphabetized files on 1,600 family names while researching the history of Hamilton County, New York?
• ... that the 2022 German presidential election was held at Paul Löbe House instead of the Reichstag due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
• ... that Béatrice Uria-Monzon, in the title role of Bizet's Carmen, preferred a "meditative" and "dreamy" performance over a "sexy" one?
• ... that Sonangol Sinopec International once outbid both ExxonMobil and British Petroleum for two oil sites in Angola?
• ... that the Armenians were enraged when their 60-year-old king married the 12-year-old Sibylla of Cyprus?
• ... that Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church has hosted a speech by US president Jimmy Carter and the funeral of his attorney general?
• ... that Alexander McQueen's second runway show featured a pregnant woman with a shaved head, a model in a plaster corset, and a woman pretending to put her finger in her vagina?
• ... that Tyler Neville overcame being born deaf, a sunken chest, a fractured back, more than 20 surgeries, and cancer to sign with an NFL team?

Guillaume V

• Guillaume V (pictured) succeeds his father Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after the latter's abdication.
• Sarah Mullally is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.
• English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall dies at the age of 91.
• A magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu, Philippines, leaves at least 70 people dead.

October 6: German-American Day in the United States, Mid-Autumn Festival (2025) in China, Taiwan, and Korea

An artist's impression of 51 Pegasi b (center) and its star (right)

• 1762 – Seven Years' War: The Battle of Manila concluded with a British victory over Spain, leading to a twenty-month occupation.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery were captured by British forces under Sir Henry Clinton, dismantling the Hudson River Chains.
• 1985 – Police constable Keith Blakelock was killed during rioting in the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham, London.
• 1995 – Astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz reported the discovery of a planet orbiting 51 Pegasi (depicted) as the first known exoplanet around a main-sequence star.
• 2000 – Denouncing corruption in Argentine president Fernando de la Rúa's administration and the Senate, Vice President Carlos Álvarez resigned.

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Otto Hahn (1879–1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the field of radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry. Working with Lise Meitner at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in the building that now bears their names, they discovered isotopes of the radioactive elements radium, thorium, protactinium and uranium. He also discovered the phenomena of atomic recoil and nuclear isomerism, and pioneered rubidium–strontium dating. In 1938, Hahn, Meitner, Otto Robert Frisch and Fritz Strassmann discovered nuclear fission, for which Hahn alone was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He worked on the German nuclear program during World War II and at the end of the war he was arrested by the Allied forces and detained in Farm Hall. After the war, he became the founding president of the Max Planck Society and one of the most influential and respected citizens of post-war West Germany. (Full article...)

Mitchell Sabattis

• ... that Abenaki guide Mitchell Sabattis (pictured) co-invented the Adirondack guideboat?
• ... that President Maximiliano Hernández Martínez resigned prior to the 1935 Salvadoran presidential election so that he could circumvent a constitutional ban on re-election?
• ... that Hyde Park Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, was disassembled and moved in order to drive a saloon out of the neighborhood?
• ... that most cocoa in Samoa is consumed locally as a drink known as koko Samoa?
• ... that Chris Samuels, on the last play of his NFL career, caught a pass that set up a game-winning score – and broke his leg?
• ... that a dream of a concert inspired the creation of the band behind Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator?
• ... that Xymmer phungi was named after the revolutionary leader Phan Đình Phùng?
• ... that there was a baseball match between the two most common surnames in Japan?
• ... that Bootles' Baby's author's baby was Bootles?

Guillaume V

• Guillaume V (pictured) succeeds his father Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after the latter's abdication.
• Sarah Mullally is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.
• English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall dies at the age of 91.
• A magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu, Philippines, leaves at least 70 people dead.

October 5: World Teachers' Day

Samuel Griffith

• 1838 – A band of Cherokee people attacked settlers near Larissa, Texas, killing or abducting 18 people.
• 1903 – Samuel Griffith (pictured) became the first Chief Justice of Australia, while Edmund Barton and Richard O'Connor became the first Puisne Justices of the High Court of Australia.
• 1962 – Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released.
• 2000 – Colour revolutions: During protests over irregularities in the Yugoslavian general election, a wheel-loader was driven into the Radio Television of Serbia building, giving the protests the nickname "Bulldozer Revolution".
• 2014 – Formula One racing driver Jules Bianchi sustained fatal head injuries in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, dying the following year.

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Ocellaris clownfish

Clownfishes are saltwater fishes found in the warm and tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. They mainly inhabit coral reefs and have a distinctive colouration typically consisting of white vertical bars on a red, orange, yellow, brown or black background. Clownfishes developed a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship with sea anemones, which they rely on for shelter and protection, while they in turn, clean, fan and protect them. Clownfishes live in groups consisting of a breeding female and male, along with some non-breeding individuals. The female ranks at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the breeding male. The recognisable colour patterns and social nature of clownfishes have contributed to their popularity, having appeared in the film Finding Nemo. They are highly sought after in the aquarium trade and are often taken from the wild, which has led to their decline. (Full article...)

Shaktikanta Das

• ... that Shaktikanta Das (pictured) qualified with a degree in history, yet rose to lead India's central bank?
• ... that to compete as Timor-Leste's first Winter Olympian at the 2014 Games, Yohan Goutt Gonçalves had to raise US$75,000, most of which came from himself and his family?
• ... that Zinaida Nevzorova entered into a marriage of convenience with Gleb Krzhizhanovsky to keep their activist group together, but they later developed a genuine romantic relationship?
• ... that destruction layers at the Byzantine Church of Khirbet et-Tireh in Palestine were probably caused by the 749 Galilee earthquake?
• ... that a judicial decision urged Kenya to recognize the land of the Endorois people, but it still had not done so more than a decade later?
• ... that the 2025 Leagues Cup final set an attendance record for the tournament and for any sporting event at its host stadium?
• ... that Celine Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 for Switzerland by a single point?
• ... that Indonesia's ambassador to Serbia, Andreano Erwin, joined the foreign ministry because his trading company went bankrupt?
• ... that sabotage in World War II involved delaying the Nazi nuclear program, derailing trains, freeing Jews – and explosive rats?

Guillaume V

• Guillaume V (pictured) succeeds his father Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after the latter's abdication.
• English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall dies at the age of 91.
• A magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu, Philippines, leaves at least 68 people dead.
• In Madagascar, Prime Minister Christian Ntsay's government is dissolved amid protests against water and power cuts.

October 4: Cinnamon Roll Day in Sweden and Finland

Engraving of the Siege of Smolensk

• 1448 – Skanderbeg and Gjergj Arianiti signed a peace treaty to end the Albanian–Venetian War.
• 1633 – Smolensk War: Forces from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth broke the Russian siege of Smolensk (depicted).
• 1862 – American Civil War: After a naval battle in Galveston Harbor, Texas, Confederate commanders negotiated the surrender of the city to Union forces.
• 1925 – Great Syrian Revolt: Rebels led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji captured the city of Hama from the French Mandate of Syria.
• 1927 – Gutzon Borglum and approximately 400 workers began sculpting Mount Rushmore.

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Anne

• ... that Anne (pictured) was the last circus elephant in the United Kingdom?
• ... that priest Suitbert Mollinger served five years for fraud in a Dutch prison before founding one of the world's largest relic chapels in the United States?
• ... that agate gemstones have been found on every continent, including Antarctica?
• ... that Jackson Findlay is a fourth-generation Canadian Football League player?
• ... that people used Toontown Rewritten for virtual Black Lives Matter protests in 2020?
• ... that Walter of Montbéliard ruled Cyprus because his wife, Burgundia, was heir presumptive to the throne?
• ... that the Houaiss Dictionary of the Portuguese Language was so large that it had to be printed in Italy?
• ... that Shel Hershorn lost interest in photojournalism after the assassination of John F. Kennedy?
• ... that North Korea built the 72-Hour Bridge after its troops killed two US soldiers for trimming a tree?

Jane Goodall

• English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall (pictured) dies at the age of 91.
• A magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu, Philippines, leaves more than 70 people dead.
• In Madagascar, Prime Minister Christian Ntsay's government is dissolved amid protests against water and power cuts.
• The ruling Party of Action and Solidarity retains its majority in the Moldovan parliamentary election.

October 3

Siegfried & Roy with a white lion

• 1792 – Spanish forces departed Valdivia to suppress the indigenous Huilliche uprising in southern Chile.
• 1953 – Vancouver's Holy Rosary Cathedral was dedicated by Archbishop William Mark Duke, fifty-three years after it first opened.
• 1963 – Oswaldo López Arellano replaced Honduran president Ramón Villeda Morales in a violent coup, initiating two decades of military rule.
• 1992 – Sinéad O'Connor tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on live television.
• 2003 – Roy Horn of the American entertainment duo Siegfried & Roy (both pictured) was mauled by a tiger during a performance at the Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip.

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Ko Ping-chung, the tournament winner

The 2019 WPA World Ten-ball Championship was a professional pool tournament for the discipline of ten-ball organised by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and CueSports International. It was the fifth WPA World Ten-ball Championship; the previous championship was held in 2015. After plans for an event in both 2016 and 2018 to be held in Manila fell through, a 2019 event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas as part of a three-year deal for the event to be played in the United States was agreed. The event was held concurrently with the Billiard Congress of America's National Ten-ball event from July 22 to 26. The event was sponsored by cue manufacturer Predator Group. The competition featured 64 participants, selected according to world and continental pool rankings as well as qualifying events. Ko Ping-chung (pictured), representing Taiwan, won the event, defeating German player Joshua Filler 10–7 in the final. (Full article...)

Ferber House

• ... that the Ferber House (pictured) was rumoured to be haunted after the family who owned it went extinct?
• ... that voice actress Azusa Tachibana shares a name with a character from the anime K-On!, and so her mother pushed her to join her high school band?
• ... that a Maryland TV station's facilities originally housed a drug store and restaurant?
• ... that Japanese governor Takashi Kimura grew up admiring American baseball player Jim Abbott because both of them were missing a hand?
• ... that the Crystal Springs Dam survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake despite being built just 1,000 feet (300 m) from the San Andreas Fault?
• ... that Harold Putnam was the 59th member of his family to serve in the Massachusetts legislature?
• ... that the editor-in-chief of The Ladies' Journal was removed in 1925 after he advocated for polyamory?
• ... that Anne Bayley's clinical research in Zambia showed that, contrary to widespread opinion in the early 1980s, HIV could be spread through heterosexual sex?
• ... that in the Zootopia abortion comic, Nick and Judy's apartment is modeled after Seinfeld?

Jane Goodall

• English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall (pictured) dies at the age of 91.
• A magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu, Philippines, leaves more than 70 people dead.
• The ruling Party of Action and Solidarity retains its majority in the Moldovan parliamentary election.
• In golf, the Ryder Cup concludes with Europe defeating the United States.
• In Australian rules football, the Brisbane Lions defeat Geelong in the AFL Grand Final.

October 2: International Day of Non-Violence; Gandhi Jayanti in India; Yom Kippur (Judaism, 2025)

HMS Curacoa

• 1470 – With King Edward IV of England forced to flee to the Burgundian Netherlands after a rebellion organised by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, Henry VI was restored to the throne of England.
• 1835 – Mexican dragoons dispatched to disarm settlers at Gonzales in Mexican Texas encountered stiff resistance from a Texian militia at the Battle of Gonzales, the first armed engagement of the Texas Revolution.
• 1942 – Second World War: HMS Curacoa (pictured) was accidentally rammed and sunk by RMS Queen Mary while escorting the liner to provide protection from submarine attacks.
• 1990 – A hijacked airliner collided with two other planes while attempting to land at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China, killing 128 and injuring 71.
• 2018 – The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

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