- Oct 1 Newspaper editor Alejandro Córdova assassinated in Guatemala
- Oct 1 St Louis Browns beat New York Yankees 5-2 at Sportsman's Park III to win their only AL pennant; lose World Series 4-2 to neighbour Cardinals
- Oct 2 Polish resistance fighters capitulate in the Warsaw Uprising, with some 250,000 people killed
- Oct 2 US B-17's drops pamphlets on Walcheren
- Oct 3 1st broadcast of Radio Herrijzend Netherland
- Oct 3 RAF bombs West Kapelse
- Oct 4 British troops land on Greek mainland
- Oct 4 The only all-St. Louis World Series opens at Sportsman's Park with the visiting Browns beating the Cardinals, 2-1 on George McQuinn's home run; Cards win series, 4-2
- Oct 5 Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg's musical "Bloomer Girl" premieres in NYC
- Oct 5 Kerkrade is liberated in the Netherlands
- Oct 5 Suffrage is extended to women in France
- Oct 6 Allied aircraft accidentally bomb Fishing, Overijssel
- Oct 6 Canadians free Austria
- Oct 6 Royal Dutch Navy submarine Zwaardvis (Swordfish) sinks German submarine U168 in the Java Sea
- Oct 6 Soviet forces march into Hungary & Czechoslovakia
- Oct 7 Allies bombs sea dikes at Vlissingen
Rommel Ordered to Berlin
Oct 7 Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ordered to return to Berlin
- Oct 7 Riots in Amersfoort/Utrecht/Strugle
- Oct 8 "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" debut on CBS radio
Capricorn Concerto
Oct 8 Samuel Barber's "Capricorn Concerto" premieres at The Town Hall, NYC, in a performance by Daniel Saidenberg and his Little Symphony
- Oct 9 Baseball World Series: in the only all-St Louis WS, the Cardinals beat the Browns, 3-1 at Sportsman's Park for 4 games to 2 series victory
Churchill Visits Russia
Oct 9 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Russia for talks with Joseph Stalin
- Oct 9 Canadian offensive in West-Zeeuws-Flanders
- Oct 9 German occupiers turn off electricity in Amsterdam
- Oct 10 Admiral Halsey's Task Force 30 bombs Okinawa, 700 die
Laura
Oct 11 "Laura" directed by Otto Preminger starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews is released in NYC, New York
- Oct 11 Allies bomb sea wall at Veere
- Oct 11 Tuvinian People's Republic or formerly Tannu Tuva was annexed by the U.S.S.R
Columbus Day Riot
Oct 12 "Columbus Day Riot": 30,000 fans descend on NYC's Times Square for singer Frank Sinatra's performance at Paramount Theatre (capacity 3,500)
- Oct 12 German army retreats from Athens
- Oct 13 Riga, capital of Latvia, freed
- Oct 13 US 1st army begins battle of Aachen, first German city captured during World War II
- Oct 14 Allied troops land in Corfu
- Oct 14 British troops march into Athens
- Oct 15 The Arrow Cross Party (very similar to Hitler's NSDAP (Nazi party)) takes power in Hungary
- Oct 16 Hungary's government of Miklós Horthy falls; Nazi German general Döme Sztójay becomes prime minister
Allied Generals Confer
Oct 18 Allied generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery confer in Brussels, Belgium
- Oct 18 Soviet troops invade Czechoslovakia during WW II
- Oct 19 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill flies back to London from Moscow
- Oct 19 Canadian troops liberate Aardensburg, Netherlands
I Remember Mama
Oct 19 John Van Druten's stage play "I Remember Mama", marking the Broadway debut of Marlon Brando (20), in a minor role, opens at the Music Box Theatre, NYC; runs for 716 performances premieres in NYC
- Oct 19 US forces land in the Philippines
- Oct 19 US Navy says Black women can join WAVES
- Oct 20 Liquid-gas tanks in Cleveland, Ohio, explode, 135 die, and 3,600 are left homeless
- Oct 20 Revolution by workers & students in Guatemala
- Oct 20 Soviet and Yugoslav troops free Belgrade
- Oct 20 US 1st army wins battle of Aachen on Germany's western border
'I Shall Return'
Oct 20 US forces under General Douglas MacArthur return to the Philippines with the landing of the US 6th army on Leyte
- Oct 21 Canadian troops occupy Breskens
Fugue on a Victory Tune
Oct 21 Walter Piston's "Fugue on a Victory Tune" premieres in NYC
- Oct 21 World War II: US troops capture Aachen, 1st large German city to fall
- Oct 22 David Diamond's 2nd Symphony premieres with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky
- Oct 22 WWII: Japanese Navy Admiral Takeo Kurita's fleet leaves North Borneo
- Oct 23 Battle of Gulf of Leyte begins - largest naval battle of WWII near the Philippines
- Oct 23 First Central Kitchen opens in Amsterdam
Enver Hoxha
Oct 23 General Enver Hoxha becomes interim Prime Minister of Albania - retains the leadership until his death in 1985
- Oct 23 Soviet army invades Hungary
- Oct 23 Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's flagship the heavy cruiser Atago sinks during the Battle of Leyte Gulf
- Oct 24 Rotterdam Passage fight frees 46 prisoners
- Oct 24 US air raid on Japanese battleships and cruisers in Sibuya Sea: Musashi sinks
- Oct 24 US aircraft carrier Princeton sinks at Philippines
Flying Ace David McCampbell
Oct 24 US naval pilot David McCampbell sets a combat mission record by shooting down 9 Japanese planes during Battle of Leyte Gulf, in the Philippines
Appalachian Spring
Oct 30 Aaron Copland's ballet score "Appalachian Spring" premieres in Washington, D.C. with Martha Graham dancing lead role
Anne Frank to Belsen
Oct 30 Anne Frank is deported from Auschwitz to Belsen
- Oct 30 Last transport for Auschwitz arrives in Birkenau
- Oct 30 Scots Highlanders liberate Waalwijk
- Oct 30 Sweden announces intention to stay neutral & refuse sanctuary in WW II
- Oct 30 Tholen Island (Netherlands) freed during WWII
- Oct 31 Chief of staff Kruls names De Quay chairman of Universal Commission
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists