- Oct 2 20th College Football Holy War: Notre Dame beats Boston College 31-13 in Chestnut Hill
Farm Aid Concert
Oct 2 Farm Aid 23 held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; performers include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Jeff Tweedy, Kenny Chesney, Jason Mraz, Norah Jones, Amos Lee, The BoDeans, and Jamey Johnson [1]
- Oct 3 19th Commonwealth Games open in Delhi, India
- Oct 4 Ryder Cup Golf, Celtic Manor Resort, Wales: Europe wins 14½-13½; with scores level Irishman Graeme McDowell holds nerve to beat Hunter Mahan 3 & 1
- Oct 5 Injured Indian cricket batsman VVS Laxman is the hero with 73 not out as the home team chases down 216 to beat Australia with just 1 wicket to spare in the 1st Test at Mohali
Instagram Launched
Oct 6 Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launch social media app Instagram
- Oct 6 Phillies ace Roy Halladay pitches only the 2nd postseason no-hitter in MLB history in Game 1 NLDS, 4-0 v Cincinnati Reds, at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
Nobel Prize in Literature
Oct 7 Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat" [1]
Senior Players Championship
Oct 10 Senior Players Championship Men's Golf, TPC Potomac: Mark O'Meara wins his lone Champions Tour major title with par on first playoff hole against Michael Allen
- Oct 10 The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved
Copiapó Mine Rescue
Oct 13 Copiapó mining accident in Chile comes to a happy end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground
Election of Interest
Oct 14 Mark Rutte sworn in as Prime Minister of the Netherlands after his People's Party for Freedom and Democracy party became the largest party in the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections
Canonization
Oct 17 Brother André is the first Canadian to be canonized post Federation by Pope Benedict XVI [1]
- Oct 17 The Teshima Art Museum by architect Ryue Nishizawa and artist Rei Naito opens on the island of Teshima, Japan [1]
The Union
Oct 19 Decca Records releases "The Union", a collaborative album between Elton John and Leon Russell, in the US; it becomes the highest charting album for both artists in over 30 years
Speak Now
Oct 25 "Speak Now" 3rd studio album by Taylor Swift is released (Billboard Album of the Year 2011)
Sports History
Oct 31 Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters beats Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 for her 3rd season ending WTA Championship in Doha, Qatar
- Oct 31 Belgium leaves the recession with 0.5% growth in the third quarter
The Walking Dead
Oct 31 Post-apocalyptic zombie TV series "The Walking Dead" premieres, starring Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal and Lauren Cohan on AMC
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists