Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.
Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in October 2021 (so you have time to write about them!)
We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2021. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2022 edition is also available, and the 2023 edition will be out very soon.
1 Oct 1946 – 75 years ago
Mensa International, the high IQ society, was founded.
2 Oct 1941 to to 7 Jan 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Battle of Moscow, Soviet Union (also known as Operation Typhoon). Nazi Germany launched a massive (but ultimately unsuccessful) offensive against the Soviet capital. It was one of the largest and most important battles of the war. Soviet victory.
3 Oct 1896 – 125 years ago
Death of William Morris, British textile designer, poet, novelist and socialist. Best known for his association with the Arts and Crafts Movement. He also helped establish the modern fantasy fiction genre, and propagated the early socialist movement.
4 Oct 1821 – 200 years ago
Death of John Rennie the Elder, Scottish civil engineer who designed many notable bridges, canals and docks.
5 Oct 1921 – 100 years ago
International PEN, an organisation of writers, poets and editors, was founded in London.
6 Oct 1961 – 60 years ago
Cold War: US President John F. Kennedy advised Americans to build bomb shelters to protect themselves from nuclear fallout in the event of an attack by the Soviet Union.
7 Oct 1996 – 25 years ago
The IRA exploded 2 car bombs at the British Army’s headquarters in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. 1 person was killed and 31 injured.
8 to 10 Oct 1871 – 150 years ago
The Great Chicago Fire, Illinois, USA. A fire in a barn quickly spread following a long period of hot, dry weather. About 300 people were killed, over 3 square miles of the city was destroyed, and around 100,000 people made homeless. There were four large fires in the Mid-West around this time, including the Chicago Fire, the Holland Fire and the Manistee Fire in Michigan, and the Peshtigo forest fire in Wisconsin that killed between 1,500 and 2,500 people – the deadliest wildfire in US history.
9 Oct 1981 – 40 years ago
Capital punishment was abolished in France. It was the last Western European country that had allowed it. It has since been abolished in all European countries except Belarus. (Russia has not officially abolished it, but suspended it indefinitely in 1996.)
10 Oct 1971 – 50 years ago
London Bridge was officially opened in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA. It was purchased from the UK by Robert P. McCulloch in 1968, then dismantled, shipped to the USA, and rebuilt as a tourist attraction.
11 Oct 1521 – 500 years ago
Pope Leo X granted the title “Defender of the Faith” to King Henry VIII of England and Ireland. It recognised the King’s defence of the sacrament of marriage, the supremacy of the Pope, and his opposition to the Protestant Reformation and the ideas of Martin Luther. The title has been inherited by all English and British monarchs since then.
12 Oct 1971 – 50 years ago
Death of Gene Vincent, pioneering American rockabilly and rock and roll singer. Best known for the song Be-Bop-A-Lula.
13 Oct 1921 – 100 years ago
The Treaty of Kars was signed in Turkey. It established the borders between Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
14 Oct 1951 – 70 years ago
The Organization of Central American States was established.
15 Oct 1951 – 70 years ago
The first episode of the TV sitcom I Love Lucy was broadcast on CBS in the USA.
16 Oct 1996 – 25 years ago
More than 80 football fans were killed and 150 injured in a stampede/crush at the Mateo Flores Stadium in Guatemala City. Authorities had allowed in thousands more people than the stadium could handle.
17 Oct 1771 – 250 years ago
The première of Mozart’s pastoral opera Ascanio in Alba, in Milan, Italy. Mozart was aged 15.
18 Oct 1871 – 150 years ago
Death of Charles Babbage, British mathematician and engineer who invented the first mechanical computer and originated the concept of a programmable digital computer. Sometimes regarded as the “father of the computer”. Known for his difference engine and analytical engine.
19 Oct 1921 – 100 years ago
Portuguese Prime Minister António Granjo and several other politicians were assassinated in Lisbon in a revolt known as the “Bloody Night”.
20 Oct 1946 – 75 years ago
The puppet character Muffin the Mule made his first television appearance on the BBC show For the Children.
21 or 30 Oct 1921 – 100 years ago
The US première of the silent romantic drama film The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino. (Released: 20th November.)
22 Oct 1721 – 300 years ago
Peter I (Peter the Great), the Tsar of Russia, was proclaimed Emperor of All Russia.
23 Oct 1941 – 80 years ago
The US première of Walt Disney’s animated film Dumbo. (UK: 8th February 1942.)
24 Oct 1821 – 200 years ago
Death of Elias Boudinot, President of the Confederation Congress (1782-83), US Congressman (1789-95), Director of the US Mint (1795-1805).
25 Oct 1971 – 50 years ago
Taiwan, governed by the Republic of China, was expelled from the United Nations and the People’s Republic of China was installed in its place.
26 Oct 2001 – 20 years ago
The USA Patriot Act was signed into law in the USA. (Its name stands for: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
27 Oct 1946 – 75 years ago
The French Fourth Republic was established. The current French Fifth Republic was established in October 1958.
28 Oct 1846 – 175 years ago
Birth of (Georges) Auguste Escoffier, French chef, restaurateur and food writer. France’s leading chef of the early 20th century – known as “the king of chefs and chef of kings” by the press.
29 Oct to 7 Nov 1956 – 65 years ago
Suez Crisis. Israel invaded Egypt in an attempt to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and remove President Gamal Abdel Nasser from power. Britain and France joined the invasion but were forced to withdraw by the United Nations, USA and USSR, leaving Sinai under Israeli occupation until March 1957. British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigned (in January 1957).
30 Oct 1961 – 60 years ago
The Soviet Union exploded the Tsar Bomba, a 57-megaton hydrogen bomb, in a test at Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean. It is currently the largest nuclear weapon ever built.
31 Oct 1971 – 50 years ago
An IRA bomb exploded near the top of the Post Office Tower (now the BT Tower) in London, causing extensive damage.
More anniversaries:
You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2021. The 2022 edition is also available if you need to work further ahead, and we’re just putting the finishing touches to the 2023 edition. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.