1483 – Rabbi Issac Abarbanel starts his exegesis on Bible
1652 – Prince of Condé flees Paris
1941 – Nazis kill 11,000 Jewish children and old people, in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine; additional murders continue on the 14th
1969 – Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 8 is launched
1973 – “Badlands” directed by Terrence Malick and starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek premieres at the New York Film Festival
1973 – Jordan enters Yom Kippur war
1978 – Swaziland’s new constitution promulgated bans political parties
2013 – 109 people are killed in a stampede on a bridge in Datia district, Madhya Pradesh, India
Author: gil7
Today in History for 13th October 2026
Historical Events
1890 – The Delta Chi fraternity is founded by 11 law students at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
1972 – Uruguay to Chile plane crashes in Andes Mountains, (passengers eat crash victims to survive, 16 of 45 rescued 2 months later)
1999 – Canadian Robert Mundell is named the winner of the 1999 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
2012 – “I Won’t Give Up,” a single by Jason Mraz, is certified 4x multi-platinum
2012 – Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild sells for $34 million, the highest-selling artwork by a living artist
Famous Birthdays
1878 – Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian Roman Catholic priest, born in O’Connell Town, Yass, New South Wales (d. 1952)
1933 – Raynald Fréchette, Quebec politician and judge, born in Asbestos, Quebec (d. 2007)
1955 – Frans van Oostrom, Dutch jazz and blues guitarist, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1956 – Anura Ranasinghe, Sri Lankan cricketer (Sri Lankan batsman in 3 Tests 1982), born in Kalatura, Sri Lanka
1980 – Magne Hoseth, Norwegian soccer midfielder (22 caps; Molde FK 284 games), born in Averøy, Norway
Famous Deaths
1673 – Kristoffer Gabel, Danish statesman (b. 1617)
1987 – Kishore Kumar, Indian singer and actor, dies at 58
1995 – Golfredo Corradetti, Canadian conductor, dies at 79
2003 – Anne Ziegler [Irené Eastwood], British singer of light opera, known with husband Webster Booth as the “Sweethearts in Song”, dies at 93
2025 – Tony Caunter, British actor (Roy Evans in “EastEnders”), dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 12th October 2026
1576 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (1564-76), dies at 49
1794 – James Lyon, American composer, dies at 59
1954 – George Welch, American World War II flying ace (Medal of Honor nominee) and test pilot, dies in a plane crash of his experiential F-100 Super Sabre at 36
1987 – Alf Landon, American Republican party politician (Governor of Kansas, 1933-37) and presidential nominee in 1936, bdies at his Topeka home at 100
1996 – David Gilroy Bevan, British politician and conservative MP for Birmingham, Yardley (1979-92), dies at 68
2001 – Quintin Hogg, British politician, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, dies at 94 (b. 1907)
2011 – Joel “Taz” DiGregorio, American country-rock keyboardist (Charlie Daniels Band), killed in a car accident at 67
2019 – George Chambers, American rock bassist and vocalist (Chambers Brothers – “Time Has Come Today”), dies at 88
2021 – Raúl Coloma, Chilean soccer goalkeeper (13 caps; Ferrobádminton, Municipal Santiago, Ferroviaros), dies at 93
2025 – Jackie Burch, American casting director (Die Hard, The Breakfast Club), dies of cancer at 74
Historical Events for 12th October 2026
1492 – Flemish rebel leader Philip of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein, surrenders his last stronghold, Sluis
1853 – John Morrissey wins the American bare-knuckle heavyweight title, when Yankee Sullivan leaves ring after 36th round to slug Morrissey’s fans
1862 – Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart completes his “second ride around McClellan” during the Raid on Chambersburg
1872 – Montreal Foot Ball Club plays its first-ever game against Quebec City, 0-0 tie
1958 – Christian Social Party win the Municipal elections in Belgium
1978 – Representatives of Israel and Egypt open peace talks in Washington, D.C.
1990 – MLB National League Championship: Cincinnati Reds beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 4 games to 2
2023 – Roman scrolls burned in Mt. Vesuvius eruption at Herculaneum are read for the first time after a computer science student develops a machine-learning algorithm; the first word deciphered is “purple”
Today in History for 12th October 2026
Historical Events
1798 – Peasants’ War begins in the Southern Netherlands against French Republican occupation
1961 – USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
1976 – MLB National League Championship: Cincinnati Reds beat Philadelphia Phillies, 3 games to 0
1992 – Arecibo radio telescope begins Microwave Observing Project search for occupied planets
2023 – Roman scrolls burned in Mt. Vesuvius eruption at Herculaneum are read for the first time after a computer science student develops a machine-learning algorithm; the first word deciphered is “purple”
Famous Birthdays
1903 – Josephine Hutchinson, American actress (Story of Louis Pasteur), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 1998)
1928 – Al Held, American painter and sculptor (hard edge-style), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2005)
1934 – Albert Shiryaev, Russian mathematician, known for his work in probability theory, statistics and financial mathematics, born in Shchyolkovo, Russia
1950 – Kaga Takeshi [Shigekatsu Katsuta], Japanese actor, born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
1983 – Alex Brosque, Australian footballer (Sydney FC), born in Sydney, Australia
Famous Deaths
1320 – Michael IX Palaeologus, co-ruling Byzantine Emperor (1295-1320), eldest son of Andronikos II Palaiologos and Anna of Hungary, dies at 43
1590 – Kano Eitoku, Japanese painter during the Azuchi–Momoyama period (Views in and around Kyoto), dies at 47
1915 – Edith Cavell, British nurse, executed by German firing squad in Belgium during World War I at 49
1945 – Jesse James Payne, a sharecropper, lynched in Madison County, Florida
2009 – Ian Wallace, British buffo bass-baritone opera and concert singer (“Gendarmes’ Duet”), and broadcaster (BBC’s My Music, 1964-97), dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 11th October 2026
1424 – Jan Zizka, Czech (army)leader (Hussieten), dies of plague at 46
1531 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Swiss Protestant Reformation, dies at 47
1666 – Henry de Fleury dee Coulan, mister of Buat/ritmeester, dies
1994 – Maja Bulgakova, Ukrainian actress (Krylja), dies in auto-accident at 62
2007 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian singer (Trapp Family Singers), dies at 91
2015 – Dean Chance, American MLB baseball pitcher (All-Star 1964, 1967; Cy Young Award 1964; no-hitter 1967; LA/California Angels, Minnesota Twins), dies at 74
2017 – Arthur Cinader, American businessman and founder of J. Crew, dies of complications of a fall at 90
2018 – Doug Ellis, British entrepreneur (Chairman of Aston Villa), dies at 94
2020 – Jon Gibson, American flute and saxophone player (Philip Glass Ensemble, 1968-2019), and composer (The Voyage of The Beagle), dies at 80
2025 – Ian Watkins, Welsh rock singer-songwriter (Lostprophets), and convicted sex offender, murdered in prison at 48
Historical Events for 11th October 2026
1573 – Battle of the South Seas: Dutch rebels defeat the Spanish navy
1915 – Bulgarian Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov announces the country’s entrance into the First World War on the side of the Central Powers
1939 – US President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets with economic advisor Alexander Sachs to discuss Albert Einstein’s letter warning about the possibilities of an atomic bomb
1942 – Battle of Cape Esperance: naval battle between the Imperial Japanese navy and US navy begins
1967 – “Yoko Plus Me” art exhibition by Yoko Ono opens in London (the “Me” is John Lennon)
2006 – US sitcom “30 Rock,” created by and starring Tina Fey alongside Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan, first premieres on NBC in the US
2022 – Ringo Starr resumes his All-Starr Band tour with a show in Seattle, Washington, after his testing positive for COVID-19
2023 – Wild beavers are reintroduced to Ealing, London, from Scotland after being absent from the city for 400 years
Today in History for 11th October 2026
Historical Events
1531 – Battle of Kappel: Swiss Roman Catholic cantons beat protestant forces of Zurich; Huldrych Zwingli Swiss reformation leader is killed
1634 – Burchardi flood, known as the second “Grote Mandrenke,” kills about 15,000 people in North Friesland, Denmark, and Germany
1958 – Musical “Goldilocks” opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in NYC for 161 performances
1969 – Soyuz 6 launches; Soyuz 7 and 8 follow in the next two days as part of a triple spacecraft missile
1979 – East Germany frees political dissidents Rudolf Bahro and Nico Hübner
Famous Birthdays
1821 – Angelo Mariani, Italian composer, born in Ravenna, Papal States (d. 1873)
1844 – Henry John Heinz, German-American entrepreneur who founded prepared-foods company (H.J. Heinz Company-57 varieties), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1919)
1903 – Charles P. Cabell, American military and intelligence officer (US Air Force general; Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1953–1962), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 1971)
1956 – Nicanor Frutos, Paraguayan politician (47th President of Paragua, 2003-08), born in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay
1966 – Rikishi [Solofa F. Fatu Jr.], Samoan American professional wrestler, born in San Francisco, California
Famous Deaths
1303 – Boniface VIII [Benedetto Gaetani], Italian pope and ruler of the Papal States (1294-1303), dies at 72 or 73
1811 – Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician, naturalist, and instructor of non-verbal deaf persons, dies at 86
1970 – Anis Fuleihan, Lebanese-American classical pianist, composer (Theremin Concerto), conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 70
2007 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian singer (Trapp Family Singers), dies at 91
2008 – Neal Hefti, American jazz trumpeter, arranger (Woody Herman; Count Basie); bandleader (Kate Smith Show) and composer (“Li’l Darlin”; The Odd Couple; Batman theme), dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 10th October 2026
1791 – C F D Schubart, writer, dies
1881 – Daniele Comboni, Italian Catholic missionary and Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa (1877-81), dies at 50
1901 – Lorenzo Snow, 5th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), dies at 87
1948 – Ted Horn, American auto racer (first to win AAA National C’ship 3 times consecutively 1946, 47, 48), dies in race accident at 38
1957 – Karl Genzken, Nazi physician, Chief of the Medical Office of the Waffen-SS, dies at 72
1966 – Charlotte Cooper, British tennis player (1st female Olympic champion 1900; Wimbledon 1895-96, 98, 1901, 08), dies at 96
1977 – Angelo Muscat, Maltese-born British actor (The Prisoner, Doctor Who), dies at 47
1996 – Dick Pickering, British trade unionist, dies of a heart attack at 54
1996 – John Hillaby, English writer and traveller, dies at 79
2005 – Milton Obote, first Prime Minister (1962-66) and two-time President of Uganda (1966-71, 1980-85), dies at 80
Historical Events for 10th October 2026
1845 – Naval School (now called the US Naval Academy) opens in Annapolis
1957 – US President Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, after he is refused service in a restaurant in Dover, Delaware
1973 – MLB National League Championship: New York Mets beat Cincinnati Reds 3-2
1994 – MPAA chief Jack Valenti holds a meeting to determine new movie ratings
1994 – NY Giants retire Lawrence Taylor’s #56
2002 – Hungarian writer and Holocaust survivor Imre Kertész is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
2003 – Shirin Ebadi is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, becoming the first Iranian Muslim woman to receive the prize
2019 – 3,500 women are allowed to attend a football match in Iran for a World Cup qualifier in Tehran for the first time since the Islamic Revolution