First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.

North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device.

Second mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attack.

The last flight of the SR-71.

An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona.

A 13 kilogram (est.) fragment of the Peekskill meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu

Ecuador becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

In Leipzig, East Germany, 70,000 protesters demand the legalisation of opposition groups and democratic reforms.

An official news agency in the Soviet Union reports the landing of a UFO in Voronezh.

The musical ''The Phantom of the Opera'' has its first performance at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.

Rangoon bombing: attempted assassination of South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during an official visit to Rangoon, Burma. Chun survives but the blast kills 17 of his entourage, including four cabinet ministers, and injures 17 others. Four Burmese officials also die in the blast.

Abolition of capital punishment in France.

The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia.

In Chicago, the United States National Guard is called in for crowd control as demonstrations continue in connection with the trial of the "Chicago Eight" that began on September 24.

A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia.

In northeast Italy, over 2,000 people are killed when a large landslide behind the Vajont Dam causes a giant wave of water to overtop it.

Uganda becomes an independent Commonwealth realm.

Parade in NYC for Fleet Admiral Nimitz and 13 USN/USMC Medal of Honor recipients

The last day of the October Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps forces withdraw back across the Matanikau River after destroying most of the Imperial Japanese Army's 4th Infantry Regiment.

Statute of Westminster 1931 formalises Australian autonomy.

A coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango the new president.

World War II: Battle of Britain

Generators at Boulder Dam (later renamed to Hoover Dam) begin to generate electricity from the Colorado River and transmit it 266 miles to Los Angeles, California.

Regicide at Marseille: The assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France.

Black Sox scandal: The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series.

World War I: Siege of Antwerp

Steamship SS Volturno catches fire in the mid-Atlantic.

An accidental bomb explosion in Hankou, Wuhan, China leads to the ultimate fall of the Qing Empire

Las Cruces, New Mexico is incorporated.

The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public.

General Postal Union is created as a result of the Treaty of Berne.

A meeting at the U.S. Naval Academy establishes the U.S. Naval Institute.

American Civil War: Battle of Tom's Brook

American Civil War: Battle of Santa Rosa Island

Crimean War: The siege of Sebastopol begins.

The eminent and controversial Anglican, John Henry Newman, is received into the Roman Catholic Church.

The Royal College, Colombo in Sri Lanka is established with the name Hillstreet Academy.

Capo d'Istria is assassinated.

Slavery is abolished in Costa Rica.

Guayaquil declares independence from Spain.

War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: {{HMS|Detroit|1812|6}} and HMS ''Caledonia''.

Prussia declares war on France.

Hobart, capital of Tasmania, is founded.

Sinking of HMS ''Lutine'', with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000.

Father Francisco Palou founds Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California.

The Dutch merchant ship ''Vrouw Maria'' sinks near the coast of Finland.

Seven Years' War: Russian forces occupy Berlin.

The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he speaks out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land.

Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way.

The Spanish army captures Cambrai.

Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

Mérida is founded in Venezuela.

Marriage of Louis XII of France and Mary Tudor.

The hangul alphabet is published in Korea.

The Kingdom of Castile conquers the city of Jerez that was under Muslim occupation since 711.

James I of Aragon conquers Valencia and founds the Kingdom of Valencia.

Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks.