October 13, 1884 – Greenwich was established as the universal time from which standard times throughout the world are calculated.
October 14, 1947 – U. S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier flying in a rocket-powered research aircraft.
October 15, 1899 – In Major League Baseball, the Cleveland Spiders close out the season losing both ends of a double-header (16-1 and 19-3) to the Cincinnati Reds on the road. The Spiders close out the season with a record of 20 wins and 134 losses, still the standard for fewest wins (the 2024 White Sox ended the season with 41 wins and 141 losses - giving them most losses in a single season).
October 19, 1781 – British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown effectively ending the Revolutionary War (although the final peace treaty is not signed until September 1783).