1st » The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of University of California, Berkeley.
1st » Japanese 'Shinkansen' ("bullet trains") begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka.
10th » The opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite.
12th » The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits
14th » Leonid Brezhnev becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union known as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and thereby, along with his allies - such as Alexei Kosygin - the leader of the Union of Soviet
16th » China detonates its first 596 (nuclear test) named nuclear weapon.
17th » Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opens the artificial Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of the capital Canberra.
22nd » Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, but turns down the honor.
22nd » Canada: A Multi-Party Parliamentary Committee selects the design which becomes the new official Flag of Canada.
24th » Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Zambia called Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony until the next year, with the Unilateral Declaration of Independence)
26th » Eric Edgar Cooke becomes last person in Western Australia to be executed.
27th » Ronald Reagan delivers a speech on behalf of Republican candidate for president, Barry Goldwater. The speech launched his political career and came to be known as "A Time for Choosing".
28th » Vietnam War: U.S. officials deny any involvement in bombing North Vietnam.
29th » The United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar is renamed the Tanzania named United Republic of Tanzania.
29th » A collection of irreplaceable gemstone gems, including the 565 carat (113 g) Star of India (gem) Star of India, is stolen by a group of thieves (among them is Jack Roland Murphy "Murph the surf") from the American Museum of Natural History in New York Cit
Famous Birthdays on October in 1964
1st » Harry Hill, English comedian, actor, and author
1st » Max Matsuura, Japanese songwriter, producer, and manager
1st » Jonathan Sarfati, Australian-New Zealand chess player and author
1st » Christopher Titus, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
2nd » Sam Bockarie, Sierra Leonean commander (d. 2003)
2nd » Dirk Brinkmann, German field hockey player
2nd » Jaanus Kuum, Estonian-Norwegian cyclist (d. 1998)
11th » Michael J. Nelson, American actor, director, and screenwriter
11th » Diane Gaidry, American actress, filmmaker, and life coach
13th » Allen Covert, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
13th » Nie Haisheng, Chinese general, pilot, and astronaut
13th » Christopher Judge, American actor and producer
13th » Marco Travaglio, Italian journalist
13th » Masaya Onosaka, Japanese voice actor
14th » Joe Girardi, American baseball player and manager
14th » David Kaye, Canadian voice actor
14th » Olu Oguibe, Nigerian-American painter, author, and critic
14th » Jim Rome, American radio host
15th » Roberto Vittori, Italian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
16th » Shawn Little, Canadian politician (d. 2012)
16th » James Thompson (author) e.g James Thompson, American-Finnish author (d. 2014)
18th » Dan Lilker, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Anthrax (American band) or Anthrax, Stormtroopers of Death, Nuclear Assault, Exit-13, and Brutal Truth)
30th » Humayun Kabir Dhali, Bangladeshi journalist and author
30th » Howard Lederer, American poker player
31st » Frank Bruni, American journalist and critic
31st » Colm Ó Cíosóig, Irish drummer and songwriter (My Bloody Valentine (band) called My Bloody Valentine, Mazzy Star, and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions)
31st » Marco van Basten, Dutch footballer and manager
31st » Darryl Worley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Famous Deaths for October 1964
10th » Eddie Cantor, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (b. 1892)
10th » Heinrich Neuhaus, Ukrainian-Russian pianist (b. 1888)
10th » Guru Dutt, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1925)
15th » Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (b. 1891)
19th » Vance and Nettie Palmer e.g Nettie Palmer, Australian poet and critic (b. 1885)
20th » Herbert Hoover, American engineer and politician, 31st President of the United States (b. 1874)
23rd » Frank Luther Mott, American historian and journalist (b. 1886)
24th » Toni Kinshofer, German mountaineer (b. 1931)