- Oct 1 C, Gordon Fullerton, American USMC Colonel, and NASA astronaut (STS-3; STS-51-F), born in Rochester, New York (d. 2013)
- Oct 1 Duncan Edwards, English soccer midfielder (18 caps; Manchester United), born in Dudley, Worcestershire (d. 1958)
- Oct 1 Edward Villella, American ballet dancer (NYC Ballet, 1957-79), and artistic director (Miami City Ballet, 1985-2012), born in Bayside, Queens, New York
- Oct 1 Stella Stevens [Estella Eggleston], American actress (Girls! Girls! Girls!; The Nutty Professor; Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows), born in Yazoo City, Mississippi (d. 2023)
- Oct 2 Dick Barnett, American basketball guard (NBA All-Star 1968; NBA C'ship 1970, 73 NY Knicks), born in Gary, Indiana
- Oct 2 Ian McLachlan, Australian cricket batsman (Cambridge Uni & SA; 72 FC matches) and politician (45th Australian Defence Minister), born in Adelaide, South Australia
- Oct 2 Johnnie Cochran, American attorney (O.J. Simpson defense attorney), born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 2005)
- Oct 2 Roger Sainsbury, Anglican Bishop of Barking
- Oct 3 Steve Reich, American minimalist composer (Drumming, Double Sextet), born in New York City
- Oct 4 Charlie Hurley, Irish soccer centre half (40 caps Republic of Ireland; Sunderland 402 games), born in Cork, Ireland (d. 2024)
- Oct 4 David Pithey, Rhodesian cricket all-rounder (8 Tests for South Africa), born in Salisbury, Zimbabwe (d. 2018)
- Oct 4 Sally Mary Caroline Belfrage, writer
- Oct 5 Annerose Schmidt [Boeck], East German concert pianist, and educator, born in Wittenberg, Germany
Václav Havel (1936-2011)
Oct 5 Czech politician (President of Czechoslovakia, 1990-2, Czech Republic, 1993-2003), born in Prague
- Oct 6 Anna Quayle, British actress (A Hard Day's Night, Stop the World - I want to Get Off), born in Birmingham, England (d. 2019)
- Oct 6 Rob Touber [Noordervliet], Dutch television music and variety director, and record producer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1975)
- Oct 7 Charles Dutoit, Swiss conductor (Montreal Symphony, 1977-2002; Orchestre National de France. 1991-2001; Royal Philharmonic, 2009-18), born in Lausanne, Switzerland
- Oct 7 Gennadi Mikhailovich Kolesnikov, Russian cosmonaut, born in Dauriya, Russia
- Oct 8 Carman Moore, American composer, born in Lorain, Ohio
- Oct 8 Peter Swan, English soccer defender (19 caps; Sheffield Wednesday, Bury), born in South Elmsall, England (d. 2021)
- Oct 8 Rona Barrett, American gossip columnist (Tomorrow Show), born in New York City
- Oct 9 Brian Blessed, English actor (King Arthur, High Road to China), born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, England
- Oct 10 Artie Dick, New Zealand cricket wicket-keeper (NZ of 60's), born in Middlemarch, New Zealand
- Oct 10 Gerhard Ertl, German surface chemist (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007), born in Stuttgart, Germany
- Oct 10 Judith Chalmers, English TV hostess (Wish You Were Here), born in Stockport, Cheshire, England
- Oct 11 Billy Higgins, American jazz drummer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2001)
- Oct 12 Tony Kubek, American baseball shortstop (MLB All-Star (1958, 59², 61, 61²; World Series 1958, 61, 62; NY Yankees) and sportscaster (NBC-TV, Madison Square Garden), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Oct 13 Cliff Gorman, American actor (Boys in the Band, Angel), born in Queens, New York (d. 2002)
- Oct 13 Elizabeth Furse, American politician (first naturalized American born in Africa to win election to the United States Congress), born in Nairobi, Kenya
- Oct 13 John Menzies, Scottish publisher and multi-millionaire
- Oct 13 Tony Knapp, English soccer manager (Iceland, Viking FK) and defender (Leicester City, Southampton), born in Newstead, England (d. 2023)
- Oct 15 Kari Rydman, Finnish composer, born in Helsinki, Finland
- Oct 16 Akira Machida, Japanese judge
- Oct 16 Andrei Chikatilo, Soviet-Russian serial killer who murdered at least 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990, born in Yabluchne, Ukraine, Soviet Union (d. 1994)
- Oct 16 Gerardo Gandini, Argentinian pianist and composer (Laberynthus Johannes), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2013)
- Oct 16 Peter Bowles, British actor (I, Claudius; Rumpole of the Bailey - "Featherstone"), born in London, England (d. 2022)
- Oct 17 David Hobson, American politician (Rep-R-Ohio 1991-2009), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Oct 17 Hiroo Kanamori, Japanese seismologist
- Oct 19 Dimitrios Stefanakos, Greek soccer defender (7 caps; Olympiacos FC), born in Kalamata, Greece (d. 2021)
James Bevel (1936-2008)
Oct 19 American civil rights activist (Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Direct Action), born in Itta Bena, Mississippi
- Oct 19 Johnetta Betsch Cole, educator/president (Spellman College)/(Sen-D-KY)
- Oct 19 Sylvia Browne, American author and self-proclaimed medium dubbed "America's most controversial psychic", born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2013)
- Oct 19 Tony Lo Bianco, American stage and screen actor (The French Connection; A View From the Bridge; Hizzoner!), born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2024) [1]
- Oct 20 Joanna Simon, American mezzo-soprano (1962-86), and Emmy Award-winning arts journalist (PBS, 1986-92), born in New York City (d. 2022) [1]
- Oct 21 James H "Simon" Gray, English playwright (Butley)
Bobby Seale (87 years old)
Oct 22 American political and civil rights activist (Black Panther Party) and author, born in Liberty, Texas
- Oct 22 John Blashford-Snell, British Army officer (founded Operation Raleigh), born in Hereford, England
- Oct 22 Neville E Alexander, South african (10 years in Robbeneiland Jail)
- Oct 23 Barry Sinclair, New Zealand cricket batsman and captain (21 Tests, 3 x 100s; Wellington CA), born in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 2022)
- Oct 23 Philip Kaufman, American director (Right Stuff, Henry & June), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Oct 24 Annelien Kappeyne van de Coppello, Dutch politician (VVD)
Bill Wyman (87 years old)
Oct 24 English rock and jazz bassist (Rolling Stones, 1962-93 - "Under My Thumb"), born in Lewisham, London
- Oct 24 David Nelson, American actor (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), director, and producer, born in New York City (d. 2011)
- Oct 24 Rainer Kunad, German composer, born in Chemnitz, Germany (d. 1995)
- Oct 25 Alan Smith, English cricket wicket-keeper (6 Tests), born in Birmingham, Warwickshire
- Oct 25 Sir Martin Gilbert, British historian (Winston Churchill biography), born in London, England
- Oct 26 Al Casey, American rock and session guitarist (Duane Eddy; The Wrecking Crew), born in Long Beach, California (d. 2006)
- Oct 26 Bruce Belland, American singer (Tim Conway Hour), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Oct 26 Shelley Morrison, American actress (General Hospital, Will & Grace), born in New York City (d. 2019)
- Oct 28 Carl Davis, American-British conductor and BAFTA Award-winning film score composer (The French Lieutenant's Woman; restored silent film Napoléon; BBC's Pride and Prejudice), born in New York City (d. 2023)
- Oct 28 Charlie Daniels, American country-rock guitarist, fiddler, and singer ("Devil Went Down to Georgia"), born in Wilmington, North Carolina (d. 2020)
- Oct 28 Horst Antes, German painter and sculptor, born in Heppenheim, Germany
- Oct 28 Juan Carlos Harriott Jr., Argentine polo player (Argentine Open C'ship x 20, Hurlingham Open x 15, Tortugas Open x 7), born in Coronel Suarez, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2023)
- Oct 28 Ted Hawkins, American singer and guitarist ("The Next Hundred Years"), born in Biloxi, Mississippi (d. 1995)
- Oct 29 Akiko Kojima, Japanese model (Miss Universe 1959 - 1st Japanese and Asian woman to win the title), born in Tokyo
- Oct 30 Polina Astakhova, Soviet-Ukrainian gymnast (5 Olympic gold 1956, 60, 64), born in Zaporizhia, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (d. 2005)
Michael Landon (1936-1991)
Oct 31 American actor (Bonanza - "Little Joe"; Little House on the Prairie - "Charles"; Highway to Heaven - "Jonathan"), born in Forest Hills, New York
- Oct 31 Sergei Nikolayevich Gaidukov, Russian cosmonaut, born in Zhuravka, Voronezh, Russia (d. 2008)
About October 1936
How Old? 87 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: Yes