- Oct 1 Free agent center Wang Zhizhi, the first ever Chinese-born player in the NBA, signs a 3-year offer sheet with the Los Angeles Clippers; waived in 2003 and moves to Miami Heat
- Oct 2 The Beltway sniper attacks begin, extending over three weeks
- Oct 5 For the first time in its 42-year old history, the Anaheim Angels win a post-season series by beating the Yankees, 9-5 to take the ALDS, 3-1
Canonization
Oct 6 Pope John Paul II canonizes Opus Dei founder Josemaría Escrivá as a Catholic saint
- Oct 6 The French oil tanker Limburg is bombed off Yemen.
Nobel Prize for Economics
Oct 10 American Vernon L. Smith and Daniel Kahneman awarded Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences for work in experimental economics
Election of Interest
Oct 10 Former cricketer Imran Khan elected to the Pakistani Parliament after winning the seat of Mianwali-I
Nobel Prize in Literature
Oct 10 Hungarian writer and Holocaust survivor Imre Kertész is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature
- Oct 11 A bomb attack in a shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven.
Nobel Peace Prize
Oct 11 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to former US President Jimmy Carter [1]
- Oct 12 Terrorists explode two bombs in Bali's nightclub district killing 202 and injuring 209 mostly foreign tourists
F1 World Champion
Oct 13 Michael Schumacher wins season ending Japanese F1 Grand Prix for his record 11th victory of the year & 3rd straight World Drivers Championship; title margin: 67 points from Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello
- Oct 13 MLB American League Championship: Anaheim Angels beat Minnesota Twins, 4 games to 1
- Oct 14 MLB National League Championship: San Francisco Giants beat St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 1
- Oct 16 Bibliotheca Alexandrina in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, is officially inaugurated.
Top Gear
Oct 20 Motoring TV series "Top Gear" premieres on the BBC, starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and Jason Dawe (replaced after the first season by James May)
Music History
Oct 24 Twyla Tharp's rock ballet "Movin' Out", set to songs of Billy Joel, opens at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, NYC; runs for 1,303 performances
- Oct 26 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Arlington Park, winners: Volponi, Vindication, Azeri, High Chaparral, Starine, Storm Flag Flying, Domedriver, Orientate
- Oct 26 Moscow Theatre Siege ends: Approximately 50 Chechen rebels and 150 hostages die when Russian Spetsnaz storm a theater building in Moscow, which had been occupied by the rebels during a musical performance three days before
- Oct 27 Baseball World Series: Anaheim beats San Francisco Giants, 4-1 in Game 7 at Edison Field to win Angels' first title; MVP: Anaheim 1st baseman Troy Glaus
- Oct 27 The British ITV Network airs a regional service for the last time in England and Wales, LWT loses its identity completely
- Oct 29 Ho Chi Minh City ITC Inferno, a fire destroys a luxurious department store with 1,500 people shopping. Over 60 people died and over 100 are missing. It is the deadliest disaster in Vietnam during peacetime.
- Oct 30 British Digital terrestrial television (DTT) Service Freeview begins transmitting in parts of the United Kingdom.
- Oct 30 Run-DMC founding member Jam Master Jay is shot and killed in his recording studio in NYC by a drug dealer [1]
- Oct 31 A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas formally indicted former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists