- October 1, 0331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.
- October 1, 0911 “During a siege in Constantinople, the Theotokos appeared at the church in Blachernae holding her veil over the praying faithful, among them St. Andrew of Constantinople.”
- October 1, 0959 Edgar the Peaceable becomes king of all England.
- October 1, 1189 “Gerard de Ridefort, grandmaster of the Knights Templar since 1184, is killed in the Siege of Acre.”
- October 1, 1661 Yachting begins in England; King Charles II beats his brother James
- October 1, 1787 Russians under Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn.
- October 1, 1788 Nguyen Hue declares himself emperor of Vietnam.
- October 1, 1791 First session of the French Legislative Assembly.
- October 1, 1791 The first session of the new French legislative assembly
- October 1, 1795 Belgium is conquered by France.
- October 1, 1800 Spain cedes Louisiana to France in a secret treaty
- October 1, 1800 U.S. Schooner Experiment captures French Schooner Diana.
- October 1, 1814 “Opening of the Congress of Vienna, intended to redraw the Europe’s political map after the defeat of Napolon the previous spring.”
- October 1, 1827 “The Russian army under Ivan Paskevich storms Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination in Armenia.”
- October 1, 1829 “South African College is founded in Cape Town, South Africa; later to separate into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools.”
- October 1, 1837 “””Racer’s”” Hurricane (Gulf of Mexico)”
- October 1, 1837 Treaty with Winnebago Indians
- October 1, 1843 News of the World began publication in London.
- October 1, 1844 Naval Observatory headed by LT Matthew Fontaine Maury occupies first permanent quarters.
- October 1, 1847 German inventor and industrialist Werner von Siemens founds Siemens AG & Halske.
- October 1, 1847 Maria Mitchell discovers a non-naked-eye comet
- October 1, 1851 The first Hawaiian stamps issued
- October 1, 1854 “The watch company founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison relocates to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American System of Watch Manufacturing.”
- October 1, 1869 Austria issues the world’s first postcards.
- October 1, 1869 The first postcards are issued (Vienna)
- October 1, 1874 “Supply Corps purser, LT J. Q. Barton, given leave to enter service of new Japanese Navy to organize a Pay Department and instruct Japanese about accounts. He served until 1 October 1877 when he again became a purser in the U.S. Navy. In 1878, the Emperor of Japan conferred on him the Fourth Class of Rising Sun for his service.”
- October 1, 1880 First electric lamp factory opened by Thomas Edison.
- October 1, 1880 John Philip Sousa becomes leader of the United States Marine Corps Band.
- October 1, 1880 John Phillip Sousa becomes leader of Marine Corps Band
- October 1, 1885 Special delivery mail service begins in US
- October 1, 1885 United States begins special-delivery mail service.
- October 1, 1886 “The U.S. mint in Carson City, Nevada, closes.”
- October 1, 1887 Balochistan conquered by the British Empire.
- October 1, 1888 “A new Chinese Exclusion Act voted by Congress, forbids Chinese workers who have left the United States to return”
- October 1, 1889 Washington voters adopt state constitution in referendum
- October 1, 1890 The McKinley Tariff Act passed by Congress October 1 increases the average U.S. import duty
- October 1, 1890 The Yosemite National Park and the Yellowstone National Park are established by the U.S. Congress.
- October 1, 1890 Yosemite National Park established
- October 1, 1891 “In the U.S. state of California, Stanford University opens its doors.”
- October 1, 1893 “3rd worst hurricane in US history kills 1,800 (Mississippi)”