| 6 October 877 | Carolingian Empire [political events] | The Frankish emperor, Charles II the Bald, falls ill after a meeting with Pope John VIII at Vercelli, Italy, and dies at Briançon while returning to Francia to face a rebellion of his magnates. He is succeeded by his son Louis II the Stammerer. |
| 6 October 1014 | Byzantine Empire, Bulgar Khanate [political events] | Samuel, the Bulgarian emperor, dies two days after seeing the 15,000 survivors of the defeat at the pass of Kleidon who had been blinded by the Byzantine emperor Basil II. |
| 6 October 1307 | Florence, Italy, Holy Roman Empire [political events] | Corso Donati, an aristocrat and leader of the Black faction of the pro-papal Guelph party in Florence, is killed while evading arrest. He had planned a coup to reverse the recent reform of the Florentine constitution, produced as a result of financial depression and popular unrest. Donati's failure and death brings to an end the period of dominance of the ancient noble families in Florence. |
| 6 October 1496 | Naples, Aragon, Italy [administration] | The decrepit Frederick III (Federigo) succeeds his nephew Ferdinand II (Ferrante) as king of Naples (–1501). |
| 6 October 1689 | Papal States, Italy [Catholicism] | Pope Alexander VIII is elected following the death of Pope Innocent XI. |
| 6 October 1732 | England [births and deaths] | Nevil Maskelyne, English astronomer who developed a method of determining longitude by observing the Moon, and published The British Mariner's Guide (1763) and the Nautical Almanac (1766), born in London, England (–1811). |
| 6 October 1887 | Switzerland [births and deaths] | Le Corbusier (assumed name of Charles-Edouard Jeanneret), Swiss architect and city planner whose designs combines expressionism and functionalism, born in Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (–1965). |
| 6 October 1891 | England, Ireland [births and deaths] | Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish nationalist who led the movement for Irish home rule, dies in Brighton, Sussex, England (45). |
| 6 October 1908 | Austria-Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina [colonies and mandate] | Austria annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Ottoman Empire, by decree. |
| 6 October 1927 | USA [cinema and film] | The film The Jazz Singer, directed by Alan Crosland and produced by the film company Warner Brothers, is released in the USA. It is the first feature film with spoken dialogue, and it stars Al Jolson, May McAvoy, and Warner Oland. All US film studios convert to sound within two years. |
| 6 October 1928 | China [political events] | The nationalist leader Jiang Jie Shi is elected president of China, the Guomindang (Chinese National People's Party) having secured control of nearly all the country. |
| 6 October 1973 | Egypt, Syria, Israel [Yom Kippur War (1973)] | Full-scale war erupts in the Middle East, as Egypt and Syria attack Israel while Israelis are observing the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. |
| 6 October 1976 | Thailand [political events] | A military coup in Thailand seizes control from Prime Minister Seni Pramoj. |
| 6 October 1983 | India [law and government] | The Indian government takes over direct control of Punjab state in response to growing violence between the Sikh and Hindu communities there. |
| 6 October 1987 | Fiji [law and government] | Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka declares the Fiji Islands a republic, formally severing its legal ties with Britain. |
