October 1971
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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.[1]
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.[2]
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, Downstairs is 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, US. An investigation lasting nearly 5 years reveals that one of the residents set the fire which killed him and the others.
- 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.