October 6

Pre-1600

• 105 BC – Cimbrian War: Defeat at the Battle of Arausio of the Roman army of the mid-Republic
• 69 BC – Third Mithridatic War: The military of the Roman Republic subdue Armenia.
• AD 23 – Rebels decapitate Wang Mang two days after his capital was sacked during a peasant rebellion.
• 404 – Byzantine Empress Eudoxia dies from the miscarriage of her seventh pregnancy.
• 618 – Transition from Sui to Tang: Wang Shichong decisively defeats Li Mi at the Battle of Yanshi.
• 1539 – Spain's DeSoto expedition takes over the Apalachee capital of Anhaica for their winter quarters.
• 1600 – Euridice, the earliest surviving opera, receives its première performance, beginning the Baroque period.

1601–1900

• 1683 – Immigrant families found Germantown, Pennsylvania in the first major immigration of German people to America.
• 1762 – Seven Years' War: The British capture Manila from Spain and occupy it.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British forces capture Forts Clinton and Montgomery on the Hudson River.
• 1789 – French Revolution: King Louis XVI is forced to change his residence from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace.
• 1810 – A large fire destroys a third of all the buildings in the town of Raahe in the Grand Duchy of Finland.
• 1849 – The execution of the 13 Martyrs of Arad after the Hungarian war of independence.
• 1854 – In England the Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead leads to 53 deaths and hundreds injured.
• 1884 – The Naval War College of the United States is founded in Rhode Island.
• 1898 – Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the largest American music fraternity, is founded at the New England Conservatory of Music.

1901–present

• 1903 – The High Court of Australia sits for the first time.
• 1908 – The Bosnian crisis erupts when Austria-Hungary formally annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 1910 – Eleftherios Venizelos is elected Prime Minister of Greece for the first of seven times.
• 1915 – World War I: Combined Austro-Hungarian and German Central Powers, reinforced by the recently joined Bulgaria launched a new offensive against Serbia under command of August von Mackensen .
• 1915 – World War I: Entente forces land in Thessaloniki, to open the Macedonian front against the Central Powers.
• 1920 – Ukrainian War of Independence: The Starobilsk agreement is signed by representatives of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Makhnovshchina.
• 1923 – The Turkish National Movement enters Constantinople.
• 1927 – Opening of The Jazz Singer, the first prominent "talkie" movie.
• 1939 – World War II: The Battle of Kock is the final combat of the September Campaign in Poland.
• 1942 – World War II: American troops force the Japanese from their positions east of the Matanikau River during the Battle of Guadalcanal.
• 1943 – World War II: Thirteen civilians are burnt alive by a paramilitary group in Crete during the Nazi occupation of Greece.
• 1944 – World War II: Units of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps enter Czechoslovakia during the Battle of the Dukla Pass.
• 1973 – Egypt and Syria launch coordinated attacks against Israel, beginning the Yom Kippur War.
• 1976 – Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 is destroyed by two bombs, placed on board by an anti-Castro militant group.
• 1976 – Premier Hua Guofeng arrests the Gang of Four, ending the Cultural Revolution in China.
• 1976 – Dozens are killed by Thai police and right-wing paramilitaries in the Thammasat University massacre; afterwards, the Seni Pramoj government is toppled in a military coup led by Sangad Chaloryu.
• 1977 – The first prototype of the Mikoyan MiG-29, designated 9-01, makes its maiden flight.
• 1979 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House.
• 1981 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is murdered by Islamic extremists.
• 1981 – NLM CityHopper Flight 431 crashes in Moerdijk after taking off from Rotterdam The Hague Airport in the Netherlands, killing all 17 people on board.
• 1985 – Police constable Keith Blakelock is murdered as riots erupt in the Broadwater Farm suburb of London.
• 1987 – Fiji becomes a republic.
• 1995 – The first planet orbiting another sun, 51 Pegasi b, is discovered.
• 2007 – Jason Lewis completes the first human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth.
• 2010 – Instagram, a mainstream photo-sharing application, is founded.
• 2018 – The United States Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Associate Justice, ending a contentious confirmation process.
• 2022 – Annie Ernaux is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Pre-1600

• 649 – Yuknoom Yichʼaak Kʼahkʼ (d. around 696)
• 1289 – Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (d. 1306)
• 1459 – Martin Behaim, German navigator and geographer (d. 1507)
• 1510 – John Caius, English physician and academic, co-founded the Gonville and Caius College (d. 1573)
• 1510 – Rowland Taylor, English priest and martyr (d. 1555)
• 1552 – Matteo Ricci, Italian priest and missionary (d. 1610)
• 1555 – Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (d. 1604)
• 1565 – Marie de Gournay, French writer (d. 1645)
• 1573 – Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (d. 1624)
• 1576 – Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland (d. 1612)
• 1591 – Settimia Caccini, Italian singer-songwriter (d. 1638)

1601–1900

• 1610 – Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier, French general (d. 1690)
• 1626 – Géraud de Cordemoy, French historian, philosopher and lawyer (d. 1684)
• 1716 – George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1771)
• 1729 – Sarah Crosby, English preacher, the first female Methodist preacher (d. 1804)
• 1732 – John Broadwood, Scottish businessman, co-founded John Broadwood and Sons (d. 1812)
• 1738 – Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (d. 1789)
• 1742 – Johan Herman Wessel, Norwegian-Danish poet and playwright (d. 1755)
• 1744 – James McGill, Scottish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded McGill University (d. 1813)
• 1767 – Henri Christophe, Grenadian-Haitian king (d. 1820)
• 1769 – Isaac Brock, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1812)
• 1773 – John MacCulloch, Scottish geologist and academic (d. 1835)
• 1773 – Louis Philippe I of France (d. 1850)
• 1801 – Hippolyte Carnot, French politician (d. 1888)
• 1803 – Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, Polish-German physicist and meteorologist (d. 1879)
• 1820 – James Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont, Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Armagh (d. 1892)
• 1820 – Jenny Lind, Swedish soprano and actress (d. 1887)
• 1831 – Richard Dedekind, German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1916)
• 1838 – Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Italian soldier, poet, and author (d. 1910)
• 1846 – George Westinghouse, American engineer and businessman, founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (d. 1914)
• 1862 – Albert J. Beveridge, American historian and politician (d. 1927)
• 1866 – Reginald Fessenden, Canadian engineer and academic, invented radiotelephony (d. 1932)
• 1874 – Frank G. Allen, American merchant and politician, 51st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Ernest Lapointe, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 1941)
• 1882 – Karol Szymanowski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1937)
• 1886 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (d. 1960)
• 1887 – Le Corbusier, Swiss-French architect and painter, designed the Philips Pavilion and Saint-Pierre, Firminy (d. 1965)
• 1888 – Roland Garros, French soldier and pilot (d. 1918)
• 1891 – Hendrik Adamson, Estonian poet and educator (d. 1946)
• 1893 – Meghnad Saha, Indian astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (d. 1956)
• 1895 – Caroline Gordon, American author and critic (d. 1981)
• 1896 – David Howard, American film director (d. 1941)
• 1897 – Florence B. Seibert, American biochemist and academic (d. 1991)
• 1900 – Vivion Brewer, American activist and desegregationist (d. 1991)
• 1900 – Willy Merkl, German mountaineer (d. 1934)
• 1900 – Stan Nichols, English cricketer (d. 1961)

1901–present

• 1901 – Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, German-Brazilian zoologist and academic (d. 1990)
• 1903 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
• 1905 – Helen Wills, American tennis player and painter (d. 1998)
• 1906 – Janet Gaynor, American actress (d. 1984)
• 1906 – Taffy O'Callaghan, Welsh footballer and coach (d. 1946)
• 1908 – Carole Lombard, American actress (d. 1942)
• 1908 – Sergei Sobolev, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1989)
• 1910 – Barbara Castle, English journalist and politician, First Secretary of State (d. 2002)
• 1910 – Orazio Satta Puliga, Italian automobile designer (d. 1974)
• 1912 – Perkins Bass, American lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
• 1913 – Méret Oppenheim, German-Swiss painter and photographer (d. 1985)
• 1914 – Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian ethnographer and explorer (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Joan Littlewood, English director and playwright (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Carolyn Goodman, American psychologist and activist (d. 2007)
• 1915 – Humberto Sousa Medeiros, Portuguese-American cardinal (d. 1983)
• 1915 – Alice Timander, Swedish dentist and actress (d. 2007)
• 1916 – Chiang Wei-kuo, Japanese-Chinese general (d. 1997)
• 1917 – Fannie Lou Hamer, American activist and philanthropist (d. 1977)
• 1918 – Goh Keng Swee, Singaporean soldier and politician, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (d. 2010)
• 1918 – André Pilette, French-Belgian race car driver (d. 1993)
• 1919 – Tommy Lawton, English footballer and coach (d. 1996)
• 1920 – John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington, English lawyer and judge (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Evgenii Landis, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1997)
• 1921 – Joseph Lowery, American minister and activist (d. 2020)
• 1921 – Giovanni Michelotti, Italian automotive designer (d. 1980)
• 1922 – Joe Frazier, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
• 1922 – Teala Loring, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Robert Kuok, Malaysian Chinese business magnate and investor
• 1923 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (d. 2015)
• 1925 – Shana Alexander, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Bill King, American sportscaster (d. 2005)
• 1928 – Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Barbara Werle, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
• 1929 – George Mattos, American pole vaulter (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Hafez al-Assad, Syrian general and politician, 20th President of Syria (d. 2000)
• 1930 – Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Nikolai Chernykh, Russian astronomer (d. 2004)
• 1931 – Eileen Derbyshire, English actress
• 1931 – Riccardo Giacconi, Italian-American astrophysicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
• 1933 – Prince Mukarram Jah, 8th Nizam of Hyderabad (d. 2023)
• 1934 – Marshall Rosenberg, American psychologist and author (d. 2015)
• 1935 – Bruno Sammartino, Italian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 2018)
• 1936 – Julius L. Chambers, American lawyer, educator, and activist (d. 2013)
• 1938 – Serge Nubret, Caribbean-French bodybuilder and actor (d. 2011)
• 1939 – Melvyn Bragg, English journalist, author, and academic
• 1939 – Jack Cullen, American baseball player
• 1939 – Richard Delgado, American lawyer and academic
• 1939 – Sheila Greibach, American computer scientist and academic
• 1939 – John J. LaFalce, American captain, lawyer, and politician
• 1940 – Jan Keizer, Dutch footballer and referee
• 1941 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men's Health Crisis (d. 1987)
• 1942 – Dan Christensen, American painter (d. 2007)
• 1942 – Britt Ekland, Swedish actress and singer
• 1942 – Fred Travalena, American comedian and actor (d. 2009)
• 1943 – Richard Caborn, English engineer and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
• 1943 – Peter Dowding, Australian politician, 24th Premier of Western Australia
• 1943 – Alexander Maxovich Shilov, Russian painter
• 1943 – Cees Veerman, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Merzak Allouache, Algerian director and screenwriter
• 1944 – Patrick Cordingley, English general
• 1944 – Boris Mikhailov, Russian ice hockey player and coach
• 1944 – Carlos Pace, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1977)
• 1945 – Ivan Graziani, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
• 1946 – Lloyd Doggett, American lawyer and politician
• 1946 – Tony Greig, South African-English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2012)
• 1946 – John Monie, Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1946 – Eddie Villanueva, Filipino evangelist and politician, founded the ZOE Broadcasting Network
• 1946 – Vinod Khanna, Indian actor, producer and politician (d. 2017)
• 1947 – Patxi Andión, Spanish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2019)
• 1947 – Klaus Dibiasi, Italian diver
• 1947 – Millie Small, Jamaican singer-songwriter (d. 2020)
• 1948 – Gerry Adams, Irish republican politician
• 1948 – Glenn Branca, American guitarist and composer (d. 2018)
• 1949 – Lonnie Johnson, American inventor
• 1949 – Penny Junor, English journalist and author
• 1949 – Thomas McClary, American R&B singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1949 – Leslie Moonves, American businessman
• 1949 – Nicolas Peyrac, French singer-songwriter and photographer
• 1950 – David Brin, American physicist and author
• 1951 – Kevin Cronin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1951 – Clive Rees, Singaporean-Welsh rugby player and educator
• 1951 – Gavin Sutherland, Scottish singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1951 – Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver (d. 1985)
• 1952 – Ayten Mutlu, Turkish poet and author
• 1953 – Rein Rannap, Estonian pianist and composer
• 1954 – Bill Buford, American author and journalist
• 1954 – David Hidalgo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Tony Dungy, American football player and coach
• 1956 – Sadiq al-Ahmar, Yemeni politician
• 1956 – Kathleen Webb, American author and illustrator
• 1957 – Bruce Grobbelaar, Zimbabwean footballer and coach
• 1958 – Sergei Mylnikov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2017)
• 1959 – Turki bin Sultan, Saudi Arabian politician (d. 2012)
• 1959 – Oil Can Boyd, American baseball player
• 1959 – Brian Higgins, American politician
• 1959 – Walter Ray Williams, Jr., American bowler
• 1960 – Richard Jobson, Scottish singer, songwriter director and producer.
• 1961 – Miyuki Matsuda, Japanese actress
• 1961 – Paul Sansome, English footballer
• 1961 – Ben Summerskill, English businessman and journalist
• 1962 – David Baker, American biologist and academic
• 1962 – Rich Yett, American baseball player
• 1963 – Sven Andersson, Swedish footballer and coach
• 1963 – Elisabeth Shue, American actress
• 1964 – Ricky Berry, American basketball player (d. 1989)
• 1964 – Mark Field, German-English lawyer and politician
• 1964 – Tom Jager, American swimmer and coach
• 1964 – Miltos Manetas, Greek painter
• 1964 – Knut Storberget, Norwegian lawyer and politician, Norwegian Minister of Justice
• 1964 – Matthew Sweet, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1965 – Jürgen Kohler, German footballer and manager
• 1965 – Peg O'Connor, American philosopher and academic
• 1965 – Steve Scalise, American lawyer and politician
• 1965 – Rubén Sierra, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• 1965 – John McWhorter, American academic and linguist
• 1966 – Melania Mazzucco, Italian author
• 1966 – Jacqueline Obradors, American actress
• 1966 – Niall Quinn, Irish footballer and manager
• 1966 – Tommy Stinson, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1967 – Kennet Andersson, Swedish footballer
• 1967 – Svend Karlsen, Norwegian strongman and bodybuilder
• 1967 – Steven Woolfe, English barrister and politician
• 1968 – Bjarne Goldbæk, Danish footballer and sportscaster
• 1968 – Bob May, American golfer
• 1969 – Byron Black, Zimbabwean golfer
• 1969 – Muhammad V of Kelantan, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
• 1970 – Amy Jo Johnson, American actress
• 1970 – Maria Kannegaard, Danish-Norwegian pianist and composer
• 1970 – Shauna MacDonald, Canadian actress and producer
• 1970 – Darren Oliver, American baseball player
• 1971 – Phil Bennett, English race car driver
• 1971 – Takis Gonias, Greek footballer and manager
• 1971 – Emily Mortimer, English actress
• 1971 – Alan Stubbs, English footballer, coach, and manager
• 1972 – Daniel Cavanagh, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1972 – Anders Iwers, Swedish bass player
• 1972 – Jarrod Moseley, Australian golfer
• 1972 – Mark Schwarzer, Australian footballer
• 1972 – Ryu Si-won, South Korean actor and singer
• 1972 – Ko So-young, South Korean model and actress
• 1973 – Jeff B. Davis, American comedian, actor, and singer
• 1973 – Ioan Gruffudd, Welsh actor
• 1973 – Sylvain Legwinski, French footballer and manager
• 1973 – Rebecca Lobo, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1974 – Walter Centeno, Costa Rican footballer and manager
• 1974 – Kenny Jönsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
• 1974 – Seema Kennedy, British politician
• 1974 – Jeremy Sisto, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1974 – Hoàng Xuân Vinh, Vietnamese shooter
• 1975 – Reon King, Guyanese cricketer
• 1976 – Freddy García, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1976 – Brett Gelman, American actor and comedian
• 1976 – Magdalena Kučerová, Czech-German tennis player
• 1976 – Stefan Postma, Dutch footballer and coach
• 1977 – Daniel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Melinda Doolittle, American singer-songwriter
• 1977 – Shimon Gershon, Israeli footballer and singer
• 1977 – Jamie Laurie, American singer-songwriter
• 1977 – Vladimir Manchev, Bulgarian footballer and manager
• 1977 – Wes Ramsey, American actor
• 1978 – Carolina Gynning, Swedish model, actress, and singer
• 1978 – Ricky Hatton, English boxer and promoter
• 1978 – Liu Yang, Chinese astronaut
• 1979 – David Di Tommaso, French footballer (d. 2005)
• 1979 – Mohamed Kallon, Sierra Leonean footballer and manager
• 1979 – Richard Seymour, American football player
• 1979 – Pascal van Assendelft, Dutch sprinter
• 1980 – Arnaud Coyot, French cyclist (d. 2013)
• 1980 – Wes Durston, English cricketer
• 1980 – Abdoulaye Méïté, French footballer
• 1981 – Zurab Khizanishvili, Georgian footballer
• 1981 – José Luis Perlaza, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1982 – Levon Aronian, Armenian chess grandmaster
• 1982 – Latonia Blackman, Barbadian netball player
• 1982 – Will Butler, American musician and composer
• 1982 – Fábio Júnior dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 – Hideki Mutoh, Japanese race car driver
• 1982 – Paul Smith, English boxer
• 1983 – Renata Voráčová, Czech tennis player
• 1984 – Morné Morkel, South African cricketer
• 1984 – Joanna Pacitti, American singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Mitchell Cole, English footballer (d. 2012)
• 1985 – Sylvia Fowles, American basketball player
• 1985 – Sandra Góngora, Mexican ten-pin bowler
• 1985 – Tarmo Kink, Estonian footballer
• 1986 – Meg Myers, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1986 – Olivia Thirlby, American actress
• 1987 – Joe Lewis, English footballer
• 1987 – Akuila Uate, Fijian-Australian rugby league player
• 1988 – Trey Edward Shults, American film director
• 1989 – Albert Ebossé Bodjongo, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2014)
• 1989 – Tyler Ennis, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Pizzi, Portuguese footballer
• 1990 – Quincy Acy, American basketball player and coach
• 1990 – Scarlett Byrne, English actress
• 1990 – Jordan Hamilton, American basketball player
• 1990 – Marcus Johansson, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1990 – Nazem Kadri, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1990 – Han Sun-hwa, South Korean singer and actress
• 1991 – Roshon Fegan, American actor, rapper, and dancer
• 1992 – Josh Archibald, Canadian-American ice hockey player
• 1992 – Taylor Paris, Canadian rugby player
• 1993 – Adam Gemili, English sprinter
• 1993 – Jourdan Miller, American fashion model
• 1993 – Joe Rafferty, English-Irish footballer
• 1993 – Nail Yakupov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1994 – Jake Guentzel, American ice hockey player
• 1994 – Lee Joo-heon, South Korean rapper and songwriter
• 1997 – Kasper Dolberg, Danish footballer
• 1999 – Niko Kari, Finnish race car driver
• 1999 – Trevor Lawrence, American football player
• 2000 – Jazz Jennings, American internet personality
• 2000 – Kyle Pitts, American football player
• 2000 – Addison Rae, American social media personality, dancer, and singer
• 2002 – Jonathan Kuminga, Congolese basketball player
• 2004 – Bronny James, American basketball player

Pre-1600

• AD 23 – Wang Mang, emperor of the Xin Dynasty
• 404 – Aelia Eudoxia, Byzantine empress
• 836 – Nicetas the Patrician, Byzantine general
• 869 – Ermentrude of Orléans, Frankish queen (b. 823)
• 877 – Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 823)
• 997 – Minamoto no Mitsunaka, Japanese samurai (b. 912)
• 1014 – Samuel, tsar of the Bulgarian Empire
• 1019 – Frederick of Luxembourg, count of Moselgau (b. 965)
• 1145 – Baldwin, archbishop of Pisa
• 1090 – Adalbero, bishop of Würzburg
• 1101 – Bruno of Cologne, German monk, founded the Carthusian Order
• 1173 – Engelbert III, margrave of Istria
• 1349 – Joan II of Navarre, daughter of Louis X of France (b. 1312)
• 1398 – Jeong Dojeon, Korean prime minister (b. 1342)
• 1413 – Dawit I, ruler (Emperor) of Ethiopia (b. 1382)
• 1536 – William Tyndale, English Protestant Bible translator (b. c. 1494)
• 1553 – Şehzade Mustafa, Ottoman prince (b. 1515)
• 1559 – William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen, German count (b. 1487)

1601–1900

• 1640 – Wolrad IV, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg (b. 1588)
• 1641 – Matthijs Quast, Dutch explorer
• 1644 – Elisabeth of France, queen of Spain and Portugal (b. 1602)
• 1660 – Paul Scarron, French poet and author (b. 1610)
• 1661 – Guru Har Rai, Indian 7th Sikh guru (b. 1630)
• 1688 – Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, English soldier and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica (b. 1652)
• 1762 – Francesco Manfredini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1684)
• 1819 – Charles Emmanuel IV, king of Sardinia (b. 1751)
• 1829 – Pierre Derbigny, French-American politician, 6th Governor of Louisiana (b. 1769)
• 1836 – Johannes Jelgerhuis, Dutch painter and actor (b. 1770)
• 1873 – Paweł Strzelecki, Polish-English geologist and explorer (b. 1797)
• 1883 – Dục Đức, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1852)
• 1891 – Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish politician (b. 1846)
• 1892 – Alfred, Lord Tennyson, English poet (b. 1809)

1901–present

• 1912 – Auguste Beernaert, Belgian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Belgium, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1829)
• 1923 – Damat Ferid Pasha, Ottoman politician, 285th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1853)
• 1942 – Siegmund Glücksmann, German politician (b. 1884)
• 1945 – Leonardo Conti, German SS officer (b. 1900)
• 1947 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer and critic (b. 1887)
• 1951 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, founded the Kellogg Company (b. 1860)
• 1951 – Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German-American physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
• 1959 – Bernard Berenson, American historian and author (b. 1865)
• 1962 – Tod Browning, American actor, director, screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 1968 – Phyllis Nicolson, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1917)
• 1969 – Walter Hagen, American golfer (b. 1892)
• 1969 – Otto Steinböck, Austrian zoologist (b. 1893)
• 1972 – Cléo de Verberena, Brazilian actress and film director (born c. 1909)
• 1973 – Sidney Blackmer, American actor (b. 1895)
• 1973 – François Cevert, French race car driver (b. 1944)
• 1973 – Dick Laan, Dutch actor, screenwriter, and author (b. 1894)
• 1973 – Dennis Price, English actor (b. 1915)
• 1973 – Margaret Wilson, American missionary and author (b. 1882)
• 1974 – Helmuth Koinigg, Austrian race car driver (b. 1948)
• 1976 – Gilbert Ryle, English philosopher and author (b. 1900)
• 1978 – Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer-songwriter (b. 1935)
• 1979 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and short-story writer (b. 1911)
• 1980 – Hattie Jacques, English actress and producer (b. 1922)
• 1980 – Jean Robic, French cyclist (b. 1921)
• 1981 – Anwar Sadat, Egyptian colonel and politician, 3rd President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
• 1983 – Terence Cooke, American cardinal (b. 1921)
• 1985 – Nelson Riddle, American composer, conductor, and bandleader (b. 1921)
• 1986 – Alexander Kronrod, Russian mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1921)
• 1989 – Bette Davis, American actress (b. 1908)
• 1990 – Bahriye Üçok, Turkish sociologist and politician (b. 1919)
• 1991 – Igor Talkov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
• 1992 – Denholm Elliott, English actor (b. 1922)
• 1992 – Bill O'Reilly, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1905)
• 1993 – Nejat Eczacıbaşı, Turkish chemist, businessman, and philanthropist, founded Eczacıbaşı (b. 1913)
• 1993 – Larry Walters, American truck driver and pilot (b. 1949)
• 1995 – Benoît Chamoux, French mountaineer (b. 1961)
• 1997 – Johnny Vander Meer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1914)
• 1998 – Mark Belanger, American baseball player (b. 1944)
• 1999 – Amália Rodrigues, Portuguese singer and actress (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Gorilla Monsoon, American wrestler and sportscaster (b. 1937)
• 2000 – Richard Farnsworth, American actor and stuntman (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Arne Harris, American director and producer (b. 1934)
• 2002 – Prince Claus of the Netherlands (b. 1926)
• 2006 – Bertha Brouwer, Dutch sprinter (b. 1930)
• 2006 – Eduardo Mignogna, Argentinian director and screenwriter (b. 1940)
• 2006 – Buck O'Neil, American baseball player and manager (b. 1911)
• 2006 – Wilson Tucker, American author and critic (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Laxmi Mall Singhvi, Indian scholar, jurist, and politician (b. 1931)
• 2008 – Peter Cox, Australian public servant and politician (b. 1925)
• 2009 – Douglas Campbell, Scottish-Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 2010 – Rhys Isaac, South-African-Australian historian and author (b. 1937)
• 2010 – Antonie Kamerling, Dutch television and film actor, and musician (b. 1966)
• 2011 – Diane Cilento, Australian actress and author (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Chadli Bendjedid, Algerian colonel and politician, 3rd President of Algeria (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Anthony John Cooke, English organist and composer (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Nick Curran, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1977)
• 2012 – Albert, Margrave of Meissen (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Joseph Meyer, American lawyer and politician, 19th Secretary of State of Wyoming (b. 1941)
• 2012 – B. Satya Narayan Reddy, Indian lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of West Bengal (b. 1927)
• 2012 – J. J. C. Smart, English-Australian philosopher and academic (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Ulysses Curtis, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Rift Fournier, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Paul Rogers, English actor (b. 1917)
• 2013 – Nico van Kampen, Dutch physicist and academic (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Vic Braden, American tennis player and coach (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Igor Mitoraj, German-Polish sculptor (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Diane Nyland, Canadian actress, director and choreographer (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Marian Seldes, American actress (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Serhiy Zakarlyuka, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1976)
• 2014 – Feridun Buğeker, Turkish football player (b. 1933)
• 2015 – Árpád Göncz, Hungarian author, playwright, and politician, 1st President of Hungary (b. 1922)
• 2015 – Vladimir Shlapentokh, Ukrainian-American sociologist, historian, political scientist, and academic (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Juan Vicente Ugarte del Pino, Peruvian historian, lawyer, and jurist (b. 1923)
• 2017 – Ralphie May, American stand-up comedian and actor (b. 1972)
• 2017 – David Marks, British architect, designer of the London Eye (b. 1952)
• 2018 – Scott Wilson, American actor (b. 1942)
• 2018 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano (b. 1933)
• 2019 – Ginger Baker, English drummer (b. 1939)
• 2019 – Eddie Lumsden, Australian rugby league player (b. 1936)
• 2019 – Rip Taylor, American actor and comedian (b. 1931)
• 2020 – Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1955)
• 2020 – Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)

• Christian feast day:
  • Blessed Marie Rose Durocher
  • Blessed Juan de Palafox y Mendoza
  • Bruno of Cologne
  • Faith
  • Mary Frances of the Five Wounds
  • Pardulphus
  • Sagar of Laodicea
  • October 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • William Tyndale (commemoration, Anglicanism), with Myles Coverdale (Episcopal Church (USA))
• World Space Week (October 4–10)
• Day of Commemoration and National Mourning (Turkmenistan)
• Dukla Pass Victims Day (Slovakia)
• German-American Day (United States)
• Memorial Day for the Martyrs of Arad (Hungary)
• Teachers' Day (Sri Lanka)
• Yom Kippur War commemorations:
  • Armed Forces Day (Egypt)
  • Tishreen Liberation Day (Syria)

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on October 6". OnThisDay.com.