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This Year in History

Our Selections From October

December 30, 2015
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All year, we've been highlighting historical news events—and Foreign Affairs articles about those events—as part of our "This Day in History" series. Here are our collected selections for October.

Click here to see all months.

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October 1, 1949: People's Republic of China Founded

Facing an imminent victory in the Chinese civil war, Chairman Mao Zedong declares the PRC founded. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 2, 1941: Battle for Moscow

Nazi Germany advances on Moscow. The battle ends in January 1942 with a Soviet victory. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 3, 1961: UAW Strike

The United Auto Workers union goes on strike at Ford plants across the country for higher wages and better benefits. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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October 4, 1965: Pope Visits United States

It is the first visit by a sitting pope to the United States. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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October 5, 1974: Reagan Decides to Tear Down U.S. Embassy in Moscow

An earlier security and engineering report revealed that the U.S. embassy was so extensively bugged by the KGB that it had to be destroyed and rebuilt. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 6, 1973: Yom Kippur War Begins

The coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria attack Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 7, 2001: Launch of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan

With the assistance of the United Kingdom, the United States strikes al Qaeda and Taliban targets. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 8, 1939: Germany Annexes Western Poland

Adolf Hitler orders the occupation of Western Poland. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 9, 1967: Execution of Che Guevara

Ernesto "Che" Guevara is captured and shot in Bolivia. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 10, 1845: U.S. Naval Academy Opens

The school opens in Annapolis, Maryland. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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October 11, 2002: Jimmy Carter Wins Nobel

The former president wins the peace prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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October 12, 1984: Brighton Hotel Bombing

The Provisional Irish Republican Army bombs the hotel where British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is staying. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 13, 1946: Constitution of the Fourth Republic Adopted

In a referendum, the French vote in favor of the new constitution. The Fourth Republic is established a year later. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 14, 1943: Sobibór Uprising

Prisoners at the Nazi Sobibór extermination camp in Poland revolt against the SS guards. About half of the camp's 600 prisoners escape and about 50 of these survive the end of the war. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 15, 1945: Execution of Pierre Laval

Laval, who served as prime minister during the Third Republic, is executed for high treason. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 16, 1964: China Conducts Its First Nuclear Weapons Test

And becomes the world's fifth nuclear power. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 17, 1973: OPEC Starts Oil Embargo

It prohibits any nation that had supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War from buying OPEC oil. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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October 18, 1898: United States Takes Control of Puerto Rico

Movements for Puerto Rican statehood and independence followed. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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October 19, 1960: Cuban Embargo Begins

The United States prohibits the export of all items, except food and medicine, to Cuba. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 20, 1935: The Long March

The Communist Party's Red Army ends its year-long flight from Chiang Kai-shek's forces, arriving in Shensi Province in northwest China with 4,000 survivors. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 21, 1944: Japan's First Kamikaze Attack

During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, a Japanese fighter crashes his plane into an Australian navy cruiser. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 22, 1972: South Vietnam Rejects Peace Proposal

In Saigon, South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu turns down a ceasefire deal offered by Henry Kissinger, who was serving as President Richard Nixon's U.S. National Security Advisor at the time. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 23, 1956: The Hungarian Revolution Begins

The nation revolts against the Soviet-imposed policies of the Hungarian government. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 24, 1970: Salvador Allende Becomes President of Chile

As a Marxist, Allende was considered a security threat by the United States, which for the next three decades sought to destabilize his government and remove him from power. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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October 25, 1971: UN Expels Taiwan

The Security Council votes Taiwan out and gives China a permanent seat. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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October 26, 1988: Reagan Decides to Tear Down U.S. Embassy in Moscow

An earlier security and engineering report revealed that the U.S. embassy was so extensively bugged by the KGB that it had to be destroyed and rebuilt. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 27, 1922: Mussolini's March on Rome Nears Its End

Italian Prime Minister Luigi Facta loses his cabinet and Benito Mussolini takes power two days later. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

 
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October 28, 1919: The National Prohibition Act Passes

Also known as the Volstead Act, the law enables the prohibition of alcohol in the United States, which begins the following January. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 29, 1929: Wall Street Crashes

On this day, also known as "Black Tuesday," 16 million shares are traded in a panic and the market loses $14 billion. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 30, 1947: The Birth of GATT

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is signed by 23 nations at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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October 31, 1984: Indira Gandhi is Assassinated

Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India, is assassinated in New Delhi by two of her bodyguards. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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