October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 91 days remain until the end of the year.
331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.
366 – Pope Damasus I is consecrated.
959 – Edgar the Peaceful becomes king of all England, in succession to Eadwig.
965 – Pope John XIII is consecrated.
1553 – The coronation of Queen Mary I of England is held at Westminster Abbey.
1588 – The coronation of Shah Abbas I of Persia occurs.
1730 – Ahmed III is forced to abdicate as the Ottoman sultan.
1779 – The city of Tampere, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.
1787 – Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn.
1791 – First session of the French Legislative Assembly.
1795 – The Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium) are officially annexed by Revolutionary France.
1800 – Via the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain cedes Louisiana to France, which would sell the land to the United States 30 months later.
1827 – Russo-Persian War: The Russian army under Ivan Paskevich storms Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination of Armenia.
1829 – The South African College is founded in Cape Town, later separating into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools.
1832 – Texian political delegates convene at San Felipe de Austin to petition for changes in the governance of Mexican Texas.
1890 – Yosemite National Park is established by the U.S. Congress.
1891 – Stanford University opens its doors in California.
1898 – The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration is founded under the name k.u.k. Exportakademie.
1903 – Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.
1908 – Ford Model T automobiles are offered for sale at a price of $825.
1910 – A large bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building, killing 21
1923 – Georges Carpentier knocked out former British heavyweight champion Joe Beckett a mere 20 seconds into the first round of their boxing match at Olympia in London.
1928 – Newark Liberty International Airport opens, becoming the first airport in the New York City metro area.
1931 – The George Washington Bridge in the United States is opened, linking New Jersey and New York.
1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia dissolves itself, handing control of Catalan defence militias over to the Generalitat.
1938 – Pursuant to the Munich Agreement signed the day before, Nazi Germany begins the military occupation and annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.
1939 – World War II: After a one-month siege, German troops occupy Warsaw.
1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic.
1942 – World War II: USS Grouper torpedoes Lisbon Maru, not knowing that she is carrying British prisoners of war from Hong Kong.
1943 – World War II: After the Four Days of Naples, Allied troops enter the city.
1946 – Nazi leaders are sentenced at the Nuremberg trials.
1949 – The People's Republic of China is established.