Historical Events
- Oct 1 Special delivery mail service begins in US
- Oct 3 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: Bob Martin wins his second Championship by 1 stroke from fellow Scot Archie Simpson
- Oct 13 The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is founded in Atlanta, Georgia
- Oct 17 Baseball sets all players salaries at $1,000-$2,000 for 1885 season
- Oct 22 John Ward & several teammates secretly form Brotherhood of Prof Base Ball Players, 1st baseball union
- Oct 24 "World Championship" Baseball Series, Cincinnati Base Ball Grounds: St. Louis Browns beat Chicago White Stockings, 13–4 in Game 7; disputed series tied at 3-3-1
- Oct 24 Johann Strauss' operetta "Zigeunerbaron (Gypsy Baron)" premieres in Vienna
Brahms' 4th Symphony
Oct 25 Johannes Brahms conducts the premiere of his 4th Symphony in e, Op. 98, in Meiningen, Germany
Famous Birthdays
- Oct 1 Louis Untermeyer, American poet and critic (Immortal Poems, Story Poems), born in New York City (d. 1977)
- Oct 2 Ruth Bryan Owen, American politician (first woman appointed as a U.S. ambassador, Denmark 1933-36), born in Jacksonville, Illinois (d. 1954)
- Oct 3 Langley Collyer, American hoarder, born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1947)
- Oct 3 Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist, born in Stockton, California (d. 1970)
Niels Bohr (1885-1962)
Oct 7 Danish physicist who expanded quantum physics (Nobel Prize 1922), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Oct 8 Johnny Lush, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1904-10 (Philadelphia Phillies, St . Louis Cardinals 2 no-hitters - 1 official, 1 rain-shortened), born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania (d. 1946)
- Oct 8 Will Vodery, African-American theater and film arranger, orchestrator (Showboat; Ziegfeld's Follies; Blackbirds), and composer (From Dixie to Broadway), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1951) [1]
- Oct 10 Walter Anderson, German folklorist, born in Minsk, Russian Empire (d. 1962)
- Oct 11 Alfred Haar, Hungarian mathematician, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1933)
- Oct 11 Francois Mauriac, French novelist, poet and playwright (Nobel 1952), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1970)
- Oct 15 Dirk Filarski, Dutch painter and lithographer (Bergense School), born in Amsterdam (d. 1964)
- Oct 15 Frank Hurley, Australian photographer (Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914-16; Australian Army WWI & WWII), born in Glebe, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1962)
- Oct 16 Dorando Pietri, Italian athlete (Olympic-famous DQ gold marathon 1908), born in Correggio, Italy (d. 1942)
- Oct 17 Aaf Bouber [Aaf ten Hoope], Dutch actress (Bleeke Bet, Jantjes) and wife of Herman Bouber, born in Hoorn, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 1974)
- Oct 19 Charles E. Merrill, American investment banker (Merrill Lynch), born in Green Cove Springs, Florida (d. 1956)
- Oct 21 Egon Wellesz, Austrian-British composer (Alkestis; The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo), teacher, and musicologist (Byzantine), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1974)
- Oct 21 Jan Altink, Dutch Expressionist painter (co-founder of Ploeg), born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1971)
- Oct 22 Giovanni Martinelli, Italian operatic spinto tenor singer (New York Metropolitan Opera, 1913-45), born in Montagnana, Italy (d. 1969)
- Oct 22 Lothar Windsperger, German composer and music publisher, born in Ampfing, Bavaria, Germany (d. 1935)
- Oct 23 Lawren Harris, Canadian landscape painter, born in Brantford, Ontario (d. 1970)
- Oct 24 Ernest Claes, Belgian author (De Witte - Whitey), born in Zichem, Belgium (d. 1968)
- Oct 25 Sam M. Lewis [Levine] American singer and lyricist ("Street of Dreams"; "Just Friends"; "Dinah"), born in New York City (d. 1959)
- Oct 27 Sigrid Hjertén, Swedish modernist painter, born in Sundsvall, Sweden (d. 1948)
Ezra Pound (1885-1972)
Oct 30 American poet (The Cantos), critic and fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II, born in Hailey, Idaho
Famous Deaths
Doc Durant (1820-1885)
Oct 5 American financier and railroad promoter (Transcontinental Railroad-Union Pacific), dies at 65
George McClellan (1826-1885)
Oct 29 American Major General (Union Army), dies of a heart attack at 58
