The database currently contains 6466 historical events.
- The Reno Brothers Gang carried out the first train robbery in U.S. history near Seymour, Indiana. They obtained approximately $16,000.
- The Paris Moulin Rouge opened its doors to the public for the first time. The cabaret later became famous as the birthplace of the modern form of can-can dancing.
- Marian Anderson became the first Black female singer to be engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The announcement of her engagement was published on October 7, 1954; her debut at the Metropolitan Opera followed in January 1955.
- Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding played together for the first time, forming The Jimi Hendrix Experience. All three were living in London at the time. Their first joint performance took place just over a week later, on October 13, in Évreux, France.
- Led Zeppelin arrived in Hong Kong, where they were surrounded by fans asking for autographs. The group was only passing through Hong Kong on its way home after concerts in Japan.
- Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA attended the premiere of their new musical Kristina från Duvemåla at the Storan Theatre in Malmö, Sweden.
- The Rock the Vote campaign, focused on registering young voters in the United States, received support from the NFL. Quarterbacks Jeff Blake, Drew Bledsoe, Jim Kelly, and Steve Young recorded public service announcements supporting the campaign.
- Britney Spears poured a full cup of cola over a photographer who was waiting outside a fast-food stand in Malibu for photographs of the singer and her new husband.
- Howard Stern announced on his radio show that he would move to Sirius satellite radio, where he was scheduled to begin broadcasting in January 2006 under a five-year contract. His move significantly boosted the development of satellite radio and allowed him to broadcast without the same content restrictions imposed by the FCC on traditional terrestrial radio, with fewer commercials.
- Bob Marley was posthumously honored with a commemorative plaque at his former home at 34 Ridgmount Gardens in London's Camden. The event was part of Black History Month.
- Babyshambles postponed the remaining five concerts of their UK tour to give singer Pete Doherty more time to recover from drug addiction treatment.
- Spotify was launched. The most-streamed song for October was “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, while the most-streamed song for the whole of 2008 was “Human” by The Killers. Ten years later, the company reported 180 million active users and more than 40 million tracks.
- The FBI seized a set of John Lennon's fingerprints from a New York music memorabilia dealer who wanted to sell them for a minimum bid of $100,000. The fingerprints had been taken at a New York police station in 1976 when Lennon applied for permanent residency in the United States. The FBI believed the card still belonged to the government and investigated how it had ended up in private hands.
- Davy Jones announced plans to reunite The Monkees for a 2011 tour. The An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour brought Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork together for their first live performances in ten years and became Jones's final tour with the group before his death in February 2012.
- Annie Lennox described sexualized images in modern pop music videos as “dark” and “pornographic” and called for them to be age-rated similarly to films.
- The Paisley Park estate belonging to Prince was opened to the public.
- A letter signed by John Lennon on the day of his assassination was offered at auction by Gotta Have Rock and Roll. It was addressed to his accountant Barry Nichols and named three voting representatives for an Apple Corps meeting scheduled nine days later. The document sold for $63,750.
- Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson announced a Rush reunion tour, with German drummer Anika Nilles replacing Neil Peart, who died in 2020. Lee said that after everything that had happened since their last performance, he and Lifeson concluded that they genuinely missed playing together.