October 1971

January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December

The following events occurred in October 1971:

October 1, 1971 (Friday)

• Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida.
• Aurigny Air Services commences operations with the Britten-Norman Trislander.

October 2, 1971 (Saturday)

• Soul Train, the African-American equivalent to American Bandstand, makes its first appearance.
• Preserved ex-Great Western Railway steam locomotive No. 6000 King George V inaugurates a series of special trains on British Rail, the first steam allowed on the main line for several years.

October 3, 1971 (Sunday)

• François Cevert of France wins the United States Grand Prix, his only Formula One win. Jackie Stewart ends the season as champion.
• Died: Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, 57; Seán Ó Riada, Irish musician and composer, 40 (of cirrhosis of the liver)

October 4, 1971 (Monday)

• Petroleum is found under Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.
• Filming of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii begins.

October 5, 1971 (Tuesday)

• The last British Rail Class 42 locomotives go out of use in the UK.

October 6, 1971 (Wednesday)

• Vietnam War: Operation Jefferson Glenn comes to a close.

October 7, 1971 (Thursday)

• Swiss water-skier Marina Ricolfi-Doria marries Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, in Tehran.
• Died: K. Kelappan, 82, Indian civil rights activist

October 8, 1971 (Friday)

• Tathra National Park and Alexander Morrison National Park in Western Australia are officially named.

October 9, 1971 (Saturday)

• Vietnam War: Conclusion of Commando Hunt IV.

October 10, 1971 (Sunday)

• Classic British TV drama series Upstairs, Downstairsis shown for the first time on ITV.
• The 1831 London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
• Born: Evgeny Kissin, Russian pianist, in Moscow

October 11, 1971 (Monday)

• Died: Chester Conklin, 85, American comedian and silent film star

October 12, 1971 (Tuesday)

• New York City Department of Consumer Affairs recommends the repeal of a city law banning homosexuals from working in or going to bars.
• Died: Gene Vincent, 36, American singer, of a ruptured stomach ulcer

October 13, 1971 (Wednesday)

• Born: Sacha Baron Cohen, British comedian, in Hammersmith, London

October 14, 1971 (Thursday)

• The asteroid 2446 Lunacharsky is discovered by Lyudmila Chernykh.
• The U.S. conducts an underground nuclear weapon test at the Nevada Test Site.

October 15, 1971 (Friday)

• The 2,500 Year Celebration of Iran begins, celebrating the birth of Persia.
• Died: William Hill, 68, English gambling magnate

October 16, 1971 (Saturday)

• John Lennon and Yoko Ono move to 105 Bank Street, Greenwich Village, New York City.
• Died: Robin Boyd, 52, Australian architect, of a post-operative stroke

October 17, 1971 (Sunday)

• First meeting of the Northern Resistance Movement in Omagh, Northern Ireland.

October 18, 1971 (Monday)

• In New York City, the Knapp Commission begins public hearings on police corruption.

October 19, 1971 (Tuesday)

• Soviet satellite Kosmos 453 is launched into orbit around the Earth.
• Opening of the Kieferngarten and Sendlinger Tor stations on the Munich U-Bahn.
• 15 elderly residents die in a fire at the Geiger Nursing and Convalescence Home in Texas Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, USA. An investigation lasting nearly 5 years reveals that one of the residents set the fire which killed him and the others. The tragedy would lead to reforms in the laws pertaining to nursing home safety.
• Died: Betty Bronson, 64, American silent film star

October 20, 1971 (Wednesday)

• The Nepal stock exchange collapses.
• Swiss astronomer Paul Wild discovers the asteroids 1838 Ursa, 1839 Ragazza and 1893 Jakoba.
• Born: Dannii Minogue, Australian singer and actress, in Melbourne
• Died: Louis E. Woods, 76, American aviator

October 21, 1971 (Thursday)

• U.S. President Richard Nixon nominates Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. and William H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• A gas explosion in Clarkston, Glasgow kills 20 people.
• Born: Jade Jagger, English-Nicaraguan model and socialite, in Paris, to Mick and Bianca Jagger

October 22, 1971 (Friday)

• Fire breaks out at Texas Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne, England. The fire service requires over 40 appliances to fight the blaze and a fireman is killed. The historic building is completely destroyed.

October 23, 1971 (Saturday)

• In the 1971 Scottish League Cup Final, Partick Thistle defeat Glasgow Celtic 4–1 at Hampden Park in a major upset.
• Died: Ion Rîmaru, 25, Romanian serial killer ("The Vampire of Bucharest"), executed by firing squad

October 24, 1971 (Sunday)

• Born: Dervla Kirwan, Irish actress, in Dublin

October 25, 1971 (Monday)

• Under Resolution 2758, the United Nations General Assembly admits the People's Republic of China and expels the Republic of China (or Taiwan).
• Born: Midori, Japanese violinist, in Osaka

October 26, 1971 (Tuesday)

• Luboš Kohoutek discovers over 30 new asteroids, including 1840 Hus, 1841 Masaryk, 1865 Cerberus, 1894 Haffner, 1895 Larink and 1896 Beer.
• Born: Audley Harrison, British boxer, in London

October 27, 1971 (Wednesday)

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire.
• Born: Reema Khan, Pakistani film star, in Sahiwal

October 28, 1971 (Thursday)

• The British House of Commons votes 356–244 in favour of joining the European Economic Community.
• The United Kingdom becomes the sixth nation to launch a satellite into orbit, the Prospero X-3, using a Black Arrow carrier rocket.
• The Egyptian Opera House (Khedivial Opera House) in Cairo burns down.
• The Newfoundland general election results in a hung parliament; Joey Smallwood retains the premiership for only another three months.

October 29, 1971 (Friday)

• Vietnam War – Vietnamization: The total number of American troops still in Vietnam drops to a record low of 196,700 (the lowest since January 1966).
• Born: Winona Ryder, American actress, in Olmsted County, Minnesota
• Died: Duane Allman, 24, American rock musician, in a motorcycle accident; Arne Tiselius, 69, Swedish biochemist and Nobel laureate

October 30, 1971 (Saturday)

• Rev. Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party is founded in Northern Ireland.

October 31, 1971 (Sunday)

• A bomb explodes at the top of the Post Office Tower in London.