- Oct 1 General Dutch Werkliedenverbond (ANWV), forms in Utrecht
Brigham Young Arrested
Oct 2 US Mormon leader Brigham Young arrested for bigamy
- Oct 6 Fisk Jubilee Singers, an African-American a cappella ensembe from Nashville's Fisk University, begin 1st national tour of US in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Oct 7 16-hour fire injures 30 of Chicago's 185 firefighters
- Oct 8 Forest fire destroys Peshtigo, Wisconsin, killing between 1,200 and 2,500 people, making it then the deadliest wildfire in recorded history
Great Chicago Fire
Oct 8 The Great Chicago Fire kills an estimated 300 people and destroys over 4 square miles (10 square km) of buildings and the original Emancipation Proclamation
- Oct 10 The Great Chicago Fire is finally extinguished after 3 days, leaving approximately 300 dead, 100,000 homeless, and costing $222m in damage
- Oct 12 US President Grant condemns Ku Klux Klan
- Oct 13 The Delphic Fraternity is founded as the Delphic Society at the State Normal School in Geneseo, New York.
- Oct 17 Great Britain annexes Griqualand, South Africa
Grant Takes on the Klan
Oct 17 US President Ulysses S. Grant suspends habeas corpus in parts of South Carolina during prosecutions against Ku Klux Klan
Boss Tweed Arrested
Oct 27 Democratic leader of Tammany Hall NY, Boss Tweed is arrested after the NY Times exposes his corruption
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists