October 6:
1996 : Bill Clinton debates Bob Dole 
On this day in 1996, Democratic President Bill Clinton faces his Republican challenger, Senator Bob Dole from Kansas, in their first debate of that years presidential campaign.
1908 : Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina 
On October 6, 1908, the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary announces its annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, dual provinces in the Balkan region of Europe formerly under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
October 7:
1960 : Kennedy and Nixon debate Cold War foreign policy
In the second of four televised debates, Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon turn their attention to foreign policy issues. 
2001 : President Bush announces military action in Afghanistan
On this day in 2001, less than a month after al-Qaida terrorists flew commercial jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, President George W. Bush announces that American troops are on the offensive in Afghanistan. The goal of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the mission was dubbed, was to stamp out Afghanistans Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime, which had aided and abetted al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden, a Saudi national who lived in the Afghan hills and urged his followers to kill Americans.
October 8:
1871 : Fire rips through Chicago
At nine o'clock on a Sunday evening, the Great Fire of Chicago erupts after a cow reportedly kicks over a lantern in the barn of a resident named Mrs. O'Leary. Within hours, the conflagration, driven by a strong wind out of the southwest, engulfed the center of the city and around midnight jumped the Chicago River, burning the southern portion of the city to the ground by daybreak. As thousands of panicked Chicagoans fled to the north, the fire pursued them, and by Monday the flames had reached Fullerton Avenue, then the northern-most limit of the city. Tuesday morning, a saving rain began to fall, and the flames finally died out, leaving four square miles of Chicago a smoking ruin. Property damage was estimated at $200 million, 90,000 people were made homeless, and at least 250 people perished in the blaze.
1998 : U.S. House of Representatives initiates Clinton impeachment inquiry 
On this day in 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives votes to proceed toward impeaching President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. By December 1998, the Republican-led House had gathered enough information from an investigation committee to vote in favor of impeachment, which in turn sent the case to the Senate.
October 9: 
1940 : John Lennon's birthday
John Lennon is born in Liverpool, England. As part of the Beatles and as a solo artist, Lennon became one of the most influential musicians in rock history.
1635 : Rhode Island founder banished from Massachusetts
Religious dissident Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony by the General Court of Massachusetts. Williams had spoken out against the right of civil authorities to punish religious dissension and to confiscate Indian land.
October 10:
1973 : Vice President Agnew resigns
Less than a year before Richard M. Nixon's resignation as president of the United States, Spiro Agnew becomes the first U.S. vice president to resign in disgrace. The same day, he pleaded no contest to a charge of federal income tax evasion in exchange for the dropping of charges of political corruption. He was subsequently fined $10,000, sentenced to three years probation, and disbarred by the Maryland court of appeals.
1944 : Eight hundred children are gassed to death at Auschwitz
On this day in 1944, 800 Gypsy children, including more than a hundred boys between 9 and 14 years old are systematically murdered.
October 11:
1968 : Apollo 7 launched
Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, is launched with astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Donn F. Eisele; and Walter Cunningham aboard. Under the command of Schirra, the crew of Apollo 7 conducted an 11-day orbit of Earth, during which the crew transmitted the first live television broadcasts from orbit.
1986 : Reagan and Gorbachev meet in Reykjavik
Following up on their successful November 1985 summit meeting in Geneva, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, to continue discussions about curbing their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe. Just when it appeared that agreement might be reached, the talks fell apart amid accusations and recriminations, and U.S.-Soviet relations took a giant step backwards.
The sticking point arose when Gorbachev requested that the talks concerning the missiles be expanded to include limitations on America's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Referred to as the "Star Wars" initiative by opponents, SDI was one of Reagan's pet projects. A multi-billion-dollar program, SDI was supposed to use space technology to provide a "shield" from nuclear attacks. 
October 12:
1810 : The origin of Oktoberfest
Bavarian Crown Prince Louis, later King Louis I of Bavaria, marries Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The Bavarian royalty invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. These famous public fields were named Theresienwiese--"Therese's fields"--in honor of the crown princess; although locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n." Horse races in the presence of the royal family concluded the popular event, celebrated in varying forms all across Bavaria
1492 - Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean. The explorer believes he has reached East Asia

