- Oct 1 Reginald Hall, endocrinologist
- Oct 1 Sylvano Bussotti, Italian composer, filmmaker and novelist, born in Florence, Italy (d. 2021)
Glenn Hall (92 years old)
Oct 3 Canadian Hockey HOF goaltender (7 x NHL First All-Star Team; Stanley Cup 1961 Chicago Black Hawks; butterfly goalkeeping), born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan
- Oct 4 Basil D'Oliveira, English cricket all-rounder (44 Tests, 2,484 @ 40.06, 47 wickets), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2011)
- Oct 4 Dick Tracy, comic strip crimestopper
- Oct 4 Terence Conran, English designer and restaurateur (Habitat), born in Esher, England (d. 2020)
- Oct 6 Fred Graham, American newscaster and journalist (CBS News, Court TV), born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 2019)
- Oct 6 Riccardo Giacconi, Italian American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize for Physics 2002 for X-ray astronomy, born in Genoa, Italy (d. 2018)
- Oct 7 Cotton Fitzsimmons, American Basketball HOF coach (NJCAA C'ship 1966, 67, Moberly Area CC; Kansas State; NBA: Phoenix Suns; Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs), born in Hannibal, Missouri (d. 2004)
Desmond Tutu (1931-2021)
Oct 7 Anglican Archbishop of South Africa and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner, born in Klerksdorp, Western Transvaal, South Africa
- Oct 8 Anderl Molterer, Austrian alpine skier (Olympic silver Giant slalom, bronze Downhill 1956; Hahnenkamm Race 1959), born in Kitzbühel, Austria (d. 2023)
- Oct 8 Bill Brown, Scottish soccer goalkeeper (28 caps; Dundee, Tottenham Hotspur), born in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland (d. 2004)
- Oct 8 Pepper Rodgers, American football coach (University of Kansas, UCLA, Georgia Tech; USFL: Memphis Showboats), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2020)
- Oct 9 Anthony "Tony" Booth, British actor and father of Cherie Blair (Till Death Us Do Part), born in Liverpool, Lancashire (d. 2017)
- Oct 11 Dorothy Woolfolk, American comic book editor (Kryptonite), born in New York City (d. 2000)
- Oct 12 Mohamed Soukhane, Algerian soccer defender (6 caps; Le Havre AC), born in Algiers, Algeria (d. 2021)
- Oct 12 Raoul Pleskow, Austrian-American composer, born in Vienna, Austria
- Oct 13 Eddie Mathews, American Baseball HOF third baseman (512 career HRs; 12 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1957, 68; Boston/Milwaukee Braves) and manager (Atlanta Braves 1972-74), born in Texarkana, Texas (d. 2001)
- Oct 13 Janice Elliott, English novelist, born in Derby, England (d. 1995)
Raymond Kopa (1931-2017)
Oct 13 French soccer attacking midfielder (45 caps; Angers, Reims, Real Madrid; Ballon d'Or 1958; 'the Napoleon of football'), born in Noeux-les-Mines, France
- Oct 14 Duško Gojković, Serbian trumpeter (Balkan Blue), born in Jajce, Bosnia
- Oct 14 Nikhil Banerjee, Indian classical musician, born in Calcutta, India (d. 1986)
- Oct 14 Rafael Puyana, Colombian baroque harpsichordist (NY debut 1957), born in Bogotá, Colombia (d. 2013)
- Oct 14 Rinus Bennaars, Dutch soccer midfielder (15 caps; Feyenoord Rotterdam), born in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands (d. 2021)
- Oct 15 (Lionel) Frederick "Freddy" Cole, American jazz singer and pianist, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2020) [1]
- Oct 15 A. P. J. [Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen] Abdul Kalam, Indian scientist and politician, 11th President of India (2002-07), born in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu (d. 2015)
- Oct 16 Charles W Colson, presidential adviser (Watergate figure), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2012)
- Oct 16 Rosa Rosal [Florence Gayda], Filipino actress and humanitarian described as "original femme fatale of Philippine cinema", born in Manila, Philippine Islands
- Oct 17 Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian writer
- Oct 18 Ed Biles, American football coach (College: Xavier 1962-68; NFL: Houston Oilers 1981-83), born in Reading, Ohio (d. 2020)
- Oct 18 Ien Dales, Dutch politician (Minister of Internal minister 1989-94), born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 1994)
- Oct 19 Atsushi Miyagi, Japanese tennis player (US Open doubles 1955 [with Kosei Kamo] first Japanese players to win a Grand Slam event), born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 2021)
- Oct 19 John le Carré [pen name for David Cornwell], English novelist (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold), born in Poole, England (d. 2020)
- Oct 19 László Kalmár, Hungarian composer (Triangles), born in Budapest (d. 1995)
- Oct 20 Jules Eskin, American cellist (Boston Symphony, 1964-2016), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2016)
- Oct 20 Ken Morrison, English supermarket tycoon (Morrisons), born in Bradford, England (d. 2017)
Mickey Mantle (1931-1995)
Oct 20 American Baseball HOF outfielder (1956 Triple Crown; 20 x MLB All Star; 7 × World Series; 3 × AL MVP; NY Yankees), born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma
- Oct 20 Zeke Bratkowski, American football quarterback (Super Bowl I, II; NFL C'ship 1965–67; Green Bay Packers HOF), born in Danville, Illinois (d. 2019)
- Oct 21 Jim Parks, English cricket wicketkeeper (46 Tests, 114 dismissals, 2 x 100, 9 x 50, HS 108no; Sussex CCC, Somerset CCC), born in Haywards Heath, England (d. 2022)
- Oct 21 Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor and director known as the "Elvis Presley of India" (Amaran, Brahmachari, Vidhaata), born in Bombay, British India (d. 2011)
- Oct 22 Hikaru Hayashi, Japanese pianist, conductor and American (Onibaba), born in Tokyo (d. 2012)
- Oct 23 Diana Dors [Fluck], British actress and singer (Berserk!, Steaming), born in Swindon, Wiltshire (d. 1984)
Jim Bunning (1931-2017)
Oct 23 American Baseball HOF pitcher (9 x MLB All-Star; perfect game 1964; no-hitter 1958; Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies) and politician (US Senator Kentucky 1999-2011; US Representative 1987-99), born in Southgate, Kentucky
- Oct 24 Sofia Gubaidulina, Tatar-Russian composer (Stimmen Verstummen), born in Chistopol, Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
- Oct 25 Annie Girardot, French actress (Three Rooms in Manhattan, Gypsy, Jacko & Lise), born in Paris, France (d. 2011)
- Oct 25 Jimmy McIlroy, Irish footballer and football manager, born in Lambeg, Ireland
- Oct 25 Klaus Hasselmann, German oceanographer (2021 Nobel Prize for Physics for pioneering work on climate change), born in Hamburg, Germany
- Oct 26 Hank Garrett [Henry Weinblatt], American actor (Car 54 Where Are You?; Three Days of the Condor), and professional wrestler (The Minnesota Farm Boy), born in Monticello, New York
- Oct 27 David Bryant, English lawn bowler (World Outdoor C'ship singles 1966, 80, 88; 4 x C'wealth Games gold singles), born in Clevedon, England (d. 2020)
- Oct 27 Nawal el-Saadawi, Egyptian feminist writer and activist, born in Kafr Tahla, Egypt (d. 2021) [1]
- Oct 29 Franco Interlenghi, Italian actor (I Vitelloni, Ulysses, Sciuscià), born in Rome, Kingdom of Italy (d. 2015)
- Oct 30 David Wilson, British archaeologist and director of British Museum (1977-92), born in Dacre Banks, England
- Oct 30 Dick Gautier, American stage and screen actor (Get Smart -"Hymie"; Bye-Bye Birdie; When Things Were Rotten), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2017)
- Oct 30 John Macchia, American actor (Beach Blanket Bingo, Beach Party), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1967)
Dan Rather (92 years old)
Oct 31 American news anchor (CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes), born in Wharton, Texas
- Oct 31 David Lumsdaine, Australian composer (Annotations of Auschwitz), born in Sydney, Australia
About October 1931
How Old? 92 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
Chinese Zodiac: Goat/Sheep
Star Signs: Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22), Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21)