Famous People, Events, Places & Dates in History

Thursday, October 16 is the 289^th day of 2025.

There are 76 days until the end of the year, and the day's zodiac sign is Libra.

October: Famous People, Events and Dates in History

October was the eighth month of the old 10-month Roman calendar. The name came from Octo, Latin for eight. But October is the 10^th month in the modern Gregorian calendar. The month has 31 days: Six other months also have 31 days, namely January, March, May, July, August and December.

There are two meteor showers during the month of October. These are called the Giacobinids or Draconid meteor shower. October comes with hot weather in Africa, Caribbean, and some parts of Europe and Asia. Some of the best tourist destinations for the month include the Masai Mara in Kenya where visitors can watch the famous wildebeest migration as the animals cross the Mara River on their way back from Tanzania.

Other great places to visit in October include the Azores Islands in Portugal, Thailand and Singapore in Asia, Kruger National Park in South Africa and Sicily in Italy. October 31^st of every year is the date of the Halloween holiday that is popular in many countries.

The 1^st of October is the International Day of Older Persons, a day that was established on 14^th of December 1990 by the United Nations General Assembly. The following are some of the famous events in history that happened in October.

October Historical Events

3rd October 1932: The kingdom of Iraq became an independent country. The Middle-Eastern country was, until then, under the mandate of the United Kingdom. Britain had been mandated by the League of Nations to govern Iraq beginning in 1920.

1st October 1949: Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and the formation of a new Chinese government that would be under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. This marked the end of the long civil war against Nationalist Chinese forces which had begun in the 1920s.

Mao Zedong was also known as Chairman Mao, and was the Chinese communist revolutionary who founded the People's Republic of China. Chairman Mao announced the formation of the new nation and government in an address to a large crowd in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.

2nd October 1963: "I Have A Dream" speech was copyright registered by the King estate. Consequently, the speech and other documents, recordings and writings by Dr. King are the King estate's intellectual property.

The famous speech was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the American civil rights movement and Baptist minister, on August 28, 1963 to thousands of Americans who had gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial and were concerned about the lack of civil rights for minorities, especially black Americans.

20th October 1952: A State of Emergency was declared in Kenya in response to the growing agitation for independence. The Mau Mau rebellion was at its peak (the Mau Mau were Kenyan freedom fighters who fought the British for the East African country's independence).

This State of Emergency was to last until December 1959, and the country finally gained independence from the colonial oppressors on 12^th December 1963.

29th October 1955: "Rebel Without a Cause", the famous American teen drama movie about teenage rebellion and the angst experienced by emotionally confused teenagers was released in the U.S. The cast for the award-winning film included James Dean and Natalie Wood. It is regarded as one of the most important American films of the 20th century.