October 1
1730 – Ahmed III is forced to abdicate as the Ottoman sultan.
1779 – The city of Tampere, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time), is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.
1787 – Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn.
1791 – First session of the French Legislative Assembly.
1795 – More than a year after Revolutionary France officially annexed the Battle of Sprimont, the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium).
1800 – Via the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain cedes Louisiana to France, which would sell the land to the United States thirty months later.
1814 – The Congress of Vienna opens with the intention of redrawing Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoleon in the previous spring.
1827 – Russo-Persian War: The Russian army under Ivan Paskevich storms Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination of Armenia.
October 2
1766 - The Nottingham Cheese Riot breaks out at the Goose Fair in Nottingham, UK, in response to the high cost of cheese.
1780 – American Revolutionary War: John André, a British Army officer, is hanged as a spy by the Continental Army.
1789 – The United States Bill of Rights is sent to the various States for ratification.
October 3
1712 – The Duke of Montrose issues a warrant for the arrest of Rob Roy MacGregor.
1739 – The Treaty of Niš is signed by the Ottoman Empire and Russia, ending the Russian–Turkish War.
1789 – George Washington proclaims Thursday, November 26, 178,9, as Thanksgiving Day.
1792 – A militia departs from the Spanish stronghold of Valdivia to quell a Huilliche uprising in southern Chile.
October 4
1693 – Nine Years' War: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: During the Battle of Germantown, the troops under George Washington were repelled by British troops under William Howe.
1795 – Napoleon first rises to prominence by suppressing counter-revolutionary rioters threatening the National Convention.
1824 – Mexico adopts a new constitution and becomes a federal republic.
1830 – The Belgian Revolution takes legal form when the provisional government secedes from the Netherlands.
October 5
1789 – French Revolution: The Women's March on Versailles effectively terminates royal authority.
1813 – War of 1812: The Army of the Northwest defeats a British and Native Canadian force threatening Detroit.
October 6
1762 – Seven Years' War: The British capture Manila from Spain and occupy it.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: British forces capture Forts Clinton and Montgomery on the Hudson River.
1789 – French Revolution: King Louis XVI is forced to change his residence from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace.
1810 – A large fire destroys a third of all the buildings in the town of Raahe in the Grand Duchy of Finland.
October 7
1691 – The charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay is issued.
1763 – King George III issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763, closing Indigenous lands in North America north and west of the Alleghenies to white settlements.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Americans defeat British forces under General John Burgoyne in the Second Battle of Saratoga, also known as the Battle of Bemis Heights, compelling Burgoyne's eventual surrender.
1780 – American Revolutionary War: American militia defeat royalist irregulars led by British major Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina, often regarded as the turning point in the war's Southern theater.
1800 – French corsair Robert Surcouf, commander of the 18-gun ship La Confiance, captures the British 38-gun Kent.
1826 – The Granite Railway begins operations as the first chartered railway in the U.S.
1828 – Morea expedition: The city of Patras, Greece, is liberated by the French expeditionary force.
October 8
1813 – The Treaty of Ried is signed between Bavaria and Austria.
1821 – The Peruvian Navy is established during the War of Independence.
1829 – Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill Trials.
October 9
1701 – The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook.
1708 – Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya.
1740 – Dutch colonists and Javanese natives begin a massacre of the ethnic Chinese population in Batavia, eventually killing at least 10,000.
1760 – Seven Years' War: Russian and Austrian troops briefly occupy Berlin.
1779 – American Revolutionary War: A combined Franco-American assault on British defenses during the Siege of Savannah is repulsed with heavy casualties.
1790 – A severe earthquake in northern Algeria causes severe damage and a tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea and kills three thousand.
1799 – HMS Lutine sinks with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000.
1804 – Hobart, capital of Tasmania, is founded.
1806 – Prussia begins the War of the Fourth Coalition against France.
1812 – War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia.
1820 – Guayaquil declares independence from Spain.
October 10
1760 – In a treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname, descended from escaped slaves, gained territorial autonomy.
1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean.
1814 – War of 1812: The United States Revenue Marine attempts to defend the cutter Eagle from the Royal Navy.
October 11
1776 – American Revolution, Battle of Valcour Island: A fleet of American boats on Lake Champlain is defeated by the Royal Navy, but delays the British advance until 1777.
1797 – The Royal Navy decisively defeats the Batavian Navy at Camperdown during the French Revolutionary Wars.
1811 – The Juliana begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry in New York Harbor.
October 12
1692 – The Salem witch trials ended with a letter from the Province of Massachusetts Bay Governor William Phips.
1748 – War of Jenkins' Ear: A British squadron wins a tactical victory over a Spanish squadron off Havana.
1773 – America's first insane asylum, Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia, opens.
1792 – The first celebration of Columbus Day is held in New York City.
1793 – The cornerstone of Old East, the oldest state university building in the United States, is laid at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
1798 – Flemish and Luxembourgish peasants launch the rebellion against French rule known as the Peasants' War.
1799 – Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse becomes the first woman to jump from a balloon with a parachute.
1810 – The citizens of Munich hold the first Oktoberfest in celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Louis of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
1822 – Pedro I of Brazil is proclaimed the emperor.
October 13
1710 – Port Royal, the capital of French Acadia, falls in a siege by British forces.
1775 – The Continental Congress establishes the Continental Navy (predecessor of the United States Navy).
1792 – In Washington, D.C., the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid.
1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: Austro-Prussian victory over Republican France at the First Battle of Wissembourg.
1812 – War of 1812: Sir Isaac Brock's British and native forces repel an invasion of Canada by General Rensselaer's United States forces.
1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is publicly proclaimed.
October 14
1758 – Seven Years' War: Frederick the Great suffers a rare defeat at the Battle of Hochkirch.
1773 – The first recorded ministry of education, the Commission of National Education, is formed in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1774 – American Revolution: The First Continental Congress denounces the British Parliament's Intolerable Acts and demands British concessions.
1791 – The revolutionary group, the United Irishmen, is formed in Belfast, Ireland, leading to the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
1805 – War of the Third Coalition: A French corps defeats an Austrian attempt to escape encirclement at Ulm.
1806 – War of the Fourth Coalition: Napoleon decisively defeats Prussia at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt.
1808 – The Republic of Ragusa is annexed by France.
1809 – The Treaty of Schönbrunn is signed, marking the end of the War of the Fifth Coalition, the final successful conflict in Napoleon Bonaparte's military career.
October 15
1781 – The Battle of Raft Swamp marks the last battle fought in North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War with a Patriot victory. It occurred four days before the British surrender at Yorktown.
1783 – The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon makes the first human ascent, piloted by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier.
1793 – Queen Marie Antoinette of France is tried and convicted of treason.
October 16
1736 – Mathematician William Whiston's predicted comet fails to strike the Earth.
1780 – American Revolutionary War: The British-led Royalton raid is the last Native American raid on New England.
1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 finishes after its sixth day, killing between 20,000 and 24,000 residents of the Lesser Antilles.
1793 – French Revolution: Queen Marie Antoinette is executed.
1793 – War of the First Coalition: French victory at the Battle of Wattignies forces Austria to raise the siege of Maubeuge.
1805 – War of the Third Coalition: Napoleon surrounds the Austrian army at Ulm.
1813 – The Sixth Coalition attacks Napoleon in the four-day Battle of Leipzig.
1817 – Italian explorer and archaeologist Giovanni Belzoni uncovered the Tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings.
1817 – Simón Bolívar sentences Manuel Piar to death for challenging the racial-caste in Venezuela.
October 17
1713 – Great Northern War: Russia defeats Sweden in the Battle of Kostianvirta in Pälkäne.
1771 – Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Mozart at age 15.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis, surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
1797 – Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the First Coalition.
1800 – War of the Second Coalition: Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
1806 – Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I, is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
1811 – The silver deposits of Agua Amarga are discovered in Chile, becoming in the following years instrumental for the Patriots to finance the Chilean War of Independence.
1814 – Eight people die in the London Beer Flood.
October 18
1748 – Signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession.
1775 – African-American poet Phillis Wheatley is freed from slavery.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Burning of Falmouth (now Portland, Maine).
1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Franco-American Siege of Savannah is lifted.
October 19
1781 – American Revolutionary War: The siege of Yorktown comes to an end.
1789 – John Jay is sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States.
1791 – Treaty of Drottningholm, between Sweden and Russia.
1805 – War of the Third Coalition: Austrian General Mack surrenders his army to Napoleon at the Battle of Ulm.
1812 – The French invasion of Russia fails when Napoleon begins his retreat from Moscow.
1813 – War of the Sixth Coalition: Napoleon is forced to retreat from Germany after the Battle of Leipzig.
October 20
1740 – France, Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction, and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.
1774 – American Revolution: The Continental Association, a nonconsumption and nonimportation agreement against the British Isles and the British West Indies, is adopted by the First Continental Congress.
1781 – The Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Austria.
1803 – The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.
1818 – The Convention of 1818 is signed between the United States and the United Kingdom, which settles the Canada–United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.
1827 – Greek War of Independence: In the Battle of Navarino, a combined Turkish and Egyptian fleet is defeated by British, French, and Russian naval forces in the last significant battle fought with wooden sailing ships.
October 21
1774 – The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts, is the first to include the word "Liberty".
1797 – In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched.
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A British fleet led by Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve in the Battle of Trafalgar.
1824 – Portland cement is patented.
October 22
1721 – The Russian Empire is proclaimed by Tsar Peter I after the Swedish defeat in the Great Northern War.
1724 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, O dear soul) in Leipzig on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, based on the communion hymn of the same name.
1730 – Construction of the Ladoga Canal is completed in Russia.
1739 – The War of Jenkins' Ear begins with the first attack on La Guaira.
1746 – The College of New Jersey (later renamed Princeton University) receives its charter.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: American defenders of Fort Mercer on the Delaware River repulse repeated Hessian attacks in the Battle of Red Bank.
1790 – Northwest Indian War: Native American forces defeat the United States, ending the Harmar Campaign.
1797 – André-Jacques Garnerin makes the first recorded parachute jump, from 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above Paris.
October 23
1707 – The First Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain convenes.
1798 – The forces of Ali Pasha of Janina defeat the French and capture the town of Preveza in the Battle of Nicopolis.
1812 – General Claude François de Malet begins a conspiracy to overthrow Napoleon, claiming that the Emperor died in the Russian campaign.
October 24
1795 – Poland is completely consumed by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.
1813 – Treaty of Gulistan: The Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 comes to a close with the signing of the Treaty of Gulistan, under which terms Qajar Iran agrees to cede the bulk of its Caucasian territories, which comprise much of modern Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, to the Russian Empire.
October 25
1747 – War of the Austrian Succession: A British fleet under Admiral Edward Hawke defeats the French at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre.
1760 – King George III succeeds to the British throne on the death of his grandfather, George II.
1809 – Golden Jubilee of George III is celebrated in Britain as he begins the fiftieth year of his reign.
1812 – War of 1812: The American frigate USS United States, commanded by Stephen Decatur, captures the British frigate HMS Macedonian.
1822 – Greek War of Independence: The First Siege of Missolonghi begins.
October 26
1774 – American Revolution: The First Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia.
1813 – War of 1812: A combined force of British regulars, Canadian militia, and Mohawks defeats the United States Army in the Battle of the Chateauguay.
1825 – The Erie Canal opens, allowing direct passage from the Hudson River to Lake Erie.
October 27
1726 – J.S. Bach leads the first performance of Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, one of the few works he called a cantata.
1775 – King George III expands on his Proclamation of Rebellion in the Thirteen Colonies in his speech from the throne at the opening of Parliament.
1795 – The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, which establishes the boundaries between Spanish colonies and the U.S.
1806 – The French Army under Napoleon enters Berlin following the Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt.
1810 – The United States annexes the former Spanish colony of West Florida.
1838 – Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order, which orders all Mormons to leave the state or be killed.
October 28
1707 – The 1707 Hoei earthquake causes more than 5,000 deaths in Japan.
1726 – The novel Gulliver's Travels, written by Jonathan Swift, is published.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: British troops attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Continental Army.
October 29
1792 – Mount Hood (Oregon) is named after Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, by Lt. William E. Broughton, who sighted the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.
October 30
1806 – War of the Fourth Coalition: Convinced that he is facing a much larger force, Prussian General von Romberg, commanding 5,300 men, surrenders the city of Stettin to 800 French soldiers.
1817 – Simón Bolívar becomes President of the Third Republic of Venezuela.
1831 – Nat Turner is arrested for leading the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history.
October 31
1822 – Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempts to dissolve the Congress of the Mexican Empire.