A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on October 1st. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On October 1, 331 B.C., one of history’s most significant battles occurred: The Battle of Gaugamela in which Alexander the Great dealt a decisive defeat to the then largest empire the world had ever seen (at 3.08 million square miles the Persian Empire even surpassed the Roman Empire’s 2.51 million square miles!).
On October 1, 1942, the United States was a bit behind Germany and Britain in the development of jet engines and jet powered aircraft, but still managed to conduct the first ever flight of an American prototype jet fighter, the Bell P-59 Airacomet.
On October 1, 1946, Dr. Lancelot Ware and Roland Berrill established an organization in Caythorpe (Lincolnshire), England called Mensa International.
On October 1, 1957, for the first time the phrase “In God We Trust” appeared on American paper currency. Although the phrase had appeared on American coins as early as 1864, it had only become the co-motto of the United States in 1956 (the other co-motto being “E Pluribus Unum”).
On October 1, 1982, Disney’s latest and greatest attraction opened at their Orlando, Florida Walt Disney World location, EPCOT Center, now known as EPCOT.
On October 1, 1985, the United States began celebrating National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, founded by The American Cancer Society and Imperial Chemical Industries (later to become AstraZeneca).
On October 1, 1993, twelve-year old Polly Hannah Klaas (January 3, 1981 – October 1, 1993) was murdered under horrifying circumstances erroneously starting the rumor that Nirvana’s “Polly” was inspired by the event.
On October 1, 1994, the Pacific island nation of Palau entered an agreement with the United States called “a Compact of Free Association with the United States,” maintaining its independence while reaping some of the territorial benefits of being part of the “American Empire.”
On October 1, 2001, Mullah Omar agreed to a proposal by the head of Pakistan’s most important Islamic party to have terrorist Osama bin Laden taken to Pakistan where he would be held under house arrest and tried by an international tribunal.
On October 1, 2009, paleontologists formally announced the discovery of the relatively complete Ardipithecus ramidus fossil skeleton first unearthed in 1994.
On October 1, 2014, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities, began.
On October 1, 2014, the findings of a medical study of adults between the ages of 57 and 85 published in the online journal PLOS ONE created a little stir on the internet when it was reported that a loss in one’s sense of smell could be indicative that one has less than five years to live! In other words, how good or bad one’s olfactory system is operating could be an indicator of one’s mortality and remaining life expectancy.
On October 1, 2017, while attending a country music outdoor concert by singer Jason Aldean the crowd came under what was probably automatic rifle fire by Stephen Paddock, resulting in 58 people killed and 515 or more wounded, making this mass shooting the deadliest such shooting in US History.
On October 1, 2021, the international exposition known as Expo 2020 was opened in Dubai, an expo delayed by the Covid 19 pandemic since its intended opening of October 20, 2020.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.